Mothering diabetes

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, we will stick to pens and strips for now - it’s good to know what tech is available, even if she doesn’t use it.

1 Like

Nothing wrong with letting her see the tech info “over your shoulder” or happen to see information “laying around the house”.

lol

1 Like

I will definitely give your blog a visit!

My name is Elena and I’m from Texas, USA.
I diagnosed at age 4. I am now 44. I completely understand how you feel. I have come to use these times of well meaning interjections from people who do not know better, as educational opportunities. I have to put on my authoritative voice and speak quite matter-of-factly.

The world does need DIABETES AWARENESS. I’ve met many parents of diabetic children, as well as fellow Diabetics who have found a great passion and purpose in spreading this awareness. I’m excited about your blog and see it as an opportunity to educate others.

It is this process that ends up saving people’s lives. Sadly, many juvenile Diabetics go undiagnosed and pass away. This is an opportunity to put out the proper information and encourage others to do so.

Happy writing! I will see you on your blog!
Elena

1 Like

Hi Elena

Thank you for connecting with me. I am going to practise my authoritative voice so that I am ready for next time! It is so encouraging to hear other people’s stories and to feel less alone. Please feel free to tell me if you think the blogs are useful or not - I am always open to discussions and very aware that I am relatively new to the world of diabetes! Best wishes to you, Wendy

1 Like

Hi, Wendy!

Nice to meet you! Welcome to TuDiabetes!

I have three children. My middle child, Caleb, was diagnosed at the age of three, is currently 14 and is also starting high school. I’ve learned so much from people who understand - most of whom I’ve met on the internet. I think these connections have dulled the sting of the misinformed comments we come across from time to time. I too have developed an increased sensitivity to my own behavior. I know I didn’t know anything at all about diabetes until I needed to, and I’m still uninformed about so many other issues - health and otherwise - that other people have to manage every day. Keeping that perspective makes comments more bearable and I try to inform when I think it will be productive.

I’ve heard great things about the Libre - we have members here who are users. I understand not wanting to be attached to devices though. Like @Tim35 says, diabetes is not one size fits all. When Caleb was diagnosed, he seemed so relieved when given the opportunity to make any choice on his own, no matter how minor, after having so much change forced on him. I definitely agree that success is more likely for any kind of therapy change when it’s initiated by the user.

If you haven’t already, you might want to check out another recent post - New and scared dad - #11 by scorona. Lots of great feedback along similar lines to this convo.

Hi Wendy! I also have a 14 year old (boy) starting high school who was diagnosed about two years ago. I have very similar feelings. The “she’ll outgrow it” comment is particularly stupid.

For us, 14 is a tough time for us parents, because my son is taking over almost all of the diabetes decisions, from the technology he will use, to his approaches to insulin dosing. While he will still talk his decisions over with me, it is usually after the fact. While my wife and I want to help him lighten the load, he is running in the other direction and taking care of things for himself as he sees fit.

Good for him, tough for parents. Hang in there.

1 Like

Hi Lorraine

Thanks for the welcome and for introducing yourself. High school has been quite a leap in responsibility (diabetes speaking) from Junior school for Kate. The teachers are not quite so " mothering" . She has always been rather independent, so is coping well. Work load and busy schedules do make for interesting glucose numbers at times though. I hope Caleb enjoys his new school.

The Libre looks really good. But we will wait until Kate is ready. She is dealing with enough at the moment, and the tech scares her a bit.

1 Like

Hi Chris - yes this new teenager independence stuff can be such difficult thing. I am so proud of Kate and the way she handles her diabetes, and yet I am very aware she is still a child and we are the responsible adults!! I have always tried to give her as much independence as is safe - sometimes it feels like a tightrope balancing act! Does your son use a pump? Best wishes to you and your family

Yes Wendy, we use the Tandem X2 pump. It is definitely a balancing act. For us the bit of technology that makes a difference is the Dexcom with share enabled. That lets his mother and I “peek” into how he is handling things without asking, since it seems the asking usually triggers the frustration.

1 Like

@Chris72 - same here. X2 and G5. Are you doing bolus from G5 or from fingerstick? (We bolus from G5).

And we are planning to apply the X2 update this week so as to have the G5 integrated right onto the X2.

1 Like

Yes, we bolus from the Dexcom probably 2/3rds of the time, and blood sticks the other 1/3. We will also be applying the update, and look forward to having another point of duplication in the system.

Just as an FYI. Dex Tech Support told me that having the three devices (pump, receiver & phone) paired with the G5 transmitter will cause the battery to run down faster. Whether it will run down sooner (w/ three devices) than the 3 months (and 3 weeks) is an unknown.

I do not plan on using the receiver continuously but plan to just use it at night and when we are in the car together (easy for me to glance at the receiver).

Other times I will power down the receiver such that when it happens to be in range of the transmitter, it will not be using transmitter battery power when not needed. And I will see how long the transmitter battery lasts.

Wow, I feel like I should give you my mother’s phone number! I was diagnosed when I was 11 years old. At the time, I did not realize the emotional turmoil this would put my mother through. Years later (on the cusp of 30) we talk all the time, and she shares with me what it was like. (We are very close, and always have been.) At the time, we were both so frustrated. I was little gothy punk kid so I often blew it off and got angry. Everyone was just an idiot. My mom was emotionally hurt, frustrated, and sad, and she had no one to talk to. Not to mention, 11-17 were probably the roughest years to try and get your kid to take care of their disease, especially when they were in major denial over it. It will take time, but years down the line, the things people say will roll right off your shoulders. If you’re not ready to laugh about it, then don’t. People say these things because they don’t understand. Someone might understand the basic mechanics of the disease, but they will never truly understand unless they have lived with it. Sometimes people say these things because they don’t know what to say. I still get annoyed, but I only spend two seconds on it. People don’t know about a disease unless they have a good reason to know about it. Though it never ceases to amaze me how people don’t stop for two seconds and use logic when saying something, or how about just saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t know much about diabetes,” before they start talking.

I’m actually going to tell my mother to check out your blog, because I think she would relate to you very much.

3 Likes

Quite possibly your perspective as the T1 (former) teenager is the most helpful here.

Being a teenager comes with its own sets of issues before adding anything else to the mix.

1 Like

Thank you so much for writing this. I would love to connect with your Mom. It is so scary at times - actually most of the time- and, as you say, unless you’ve reason to know about diabetes, it remains a vague notion to many people. It is lonely being a parent - her friends’ parents don’t really “get” it. Kate very much knows her own mind - which is good that she is a strong female! - but does add to my dilemma at times. She is sick at the moment, with a bronchial infection. Her glucose levels are too high. Let’s hope the antibiotics work soon. Please keep in touch!

@Wendy19 - Our experience with being ill and high BG (over 250) would be to check BG every 2 hrs and dose every 2 hrs based on that BG check. The dose depends on the individual person and BG level of course but we would use somewhere from 2~4 units. Repeat every 2 hrs around the clock. Also check for ketones at each bathroom trip. Trace or small we would not take (additional) action but moderate or large ketone while sick with high BG then we would put a call in to our Endo to discuss the situation.

And typical advice for being sick - always push the fluids to stay hydrated and try to avoid dehydration on top of everything else. Although with high BG - carb free fluids would be helpful.

1 Like

Thanks, Tim. She had a correction dose earlier today. We are seeing her GP later as he was concerned when he saw her yesterday. I am going to persuade her to down another glass of water now.

1 Like

Really biggest difference with sick is “every 2 hrs”.
Keep checking BG and dose again.
Normally that would be excessive insulin stacking but being sick is different. At least that is the direction from our Endo. When you see your doc later, you can be sure to get what their specific “sick day” directions are and how that would differ from the more typical non-sick days.

Good Luck and hope she is well soon !!!

1 Like

My experience with respiratory infections being treated with antibiotics is that my insulin requirements doubled. As long as you’re willing to remain vigilant with frequent fingerstick testing, I would not be afraid to substantially increase your insulin doses. Infections can make a person with diabetes very insulin resistant. Keep your doctor advised.

Drinking lots of water and testing for ketones are also good ideas. I remember when this happened to me I would start to feel much better after taking the antibiotics for 24 hours. It was tempting to not finish the complete course of pills. Don’t do this! Always take the complete course of antibiotics unless your doctor tells you to stop.