“Light the candle”= conduct experiments? I agree that what AustinMom is doing is what you’d want to do. The thing we don’t know more about that I was trying to reference was that we don’t know anything about what happened to the people who sadly died of the “dead in bed” business. The parent side of me understands wanting to know the kid’s BG all the time but the scientist would be satisfied with sampling data.
Every person with diabetes is different, and you are conducting a science experiment of n=1. That means you do what you have to for your own son, regardless of what anyone else is doing. If he’s not showing any signs of lows (sweaty bedsheet and pillow, wet hair, moaning, thrashing, etc.) and not having rebound highs, then he may well be doing just fine!
On the other hand, remember things may change, especially as he goes through adolescence. So you still do have to be on your toes. But I don’t believe in excessive worry (worry-wart that I am) – just be prepared to take it as it comes!
Good luck!
I don’t know if its inevitable, but I think most T1 diabetics who are diagnosed at the age of your son will eventually have at least some low overnight BG. That may not be for a few years, or if very lucky it may be never. It is possible that he will retain enough pancreatic function that this won’t happen to him (the Joslin study of longterm T1’s suggests some retain pancreatic function for more than 50 years).
Keeping his basal well tuned, and avoiding eating and bolusing soon before sleeping can do a lot to improve his chances of avoiding overnight low BG if he does become prone to them. Of course when he is a teenager, trying to push the limits of eating, sleeping, staying up, exercising, drinking, … - that may be a tough time for him regardless of how much pancreatic function he retains.
But everyone is different and no one can predict the future, so if he’s doing fine now, and it sounds like he is, then enjoy that.
I agree with Jag1 and Natalie about trying to be ready for changes too. To me, it was worth it to get a second meter that I just leave by my bed. I don’t use it a lot but enough that the strips aren’t that old but it’s there if I wake up feeling wierd or whatever.
OK, I took a different meaning to light the candle. When people are working hard, they say they are burning the candle at both ends so I took your statement to mean she has to work harder!
I think that it’s in “the Right Stuff”, best said laconically while sitting atop 30,000 lbs of LOX waiting to hurtle you into outer space. Spam in a can indeed!
You can also put your hand over your mouth to do “The Astronaut Voice”…
I don’t think I ever saw that movie! I will have to look & see if it is on YouTube.
Great idea. We have an extra meter, but it’s not by my son’s bed. I think I’ll put it there right now, just in case.
Thank you. So far, so good. I am hoping and praying for him to break the world record for the longest honeymoon ever! It would be awesome if he could retain some function for the rest of his life and if that continued to make his diabetes comparatively easy to deal with.
Thanks Natalie. We’re grateful for things being fairly smooth for him but know that it could change. If the deepening voice, massive growth spurt and peach fuzz are any indication, puberty is underway! I’m as prepared as I can be for whatever that brings, but I’m sure some surprises will be thrown in just to keep me on my toes.
I abhore the term "dead in bed"! It sounds so cute and rhymey... like a dance move. I myself am plagued by nighttime lows (I'm talking 35 at 2am a few times per month, at least) even though I wear a pump and CGM. Remember though, that having a low sugar at night does not necessarily mean the dreaded DIB is around the corner. It's dangerous, but I've had diabetes for 33 years and I still always feel the lows a wake up when I'm well enough to fix the situation without outside help. In fact, I usually know I'm low before my CGM does. Your son may get low at night sometime, but that doesn't mean disaster is inevitable.