To be honest, i probably do it more then your son has! i've beena type 1 for 18 years i just tuned 23 years and when i was his age i was VERY careless for eht same reason...my boyfriend didn't even know i was a diabetic until we graduated! I was very self conscious about D but as a i got older i learned this is just something i have and most likely veryone i went to school with probably had some sort of medical issure as well....i say just let him run the course and i absolutly agree let him run higher rather then lower....thats what i always did.... and by the way my a1c has been up to 11 before! so dont worry im not even close to having this thing under control :)
Well my first comment to her was "has he ever been tested to see if he still produces insulin?".
Second was "how long has he been type 1?"
She doesn't really know enough about it to exaggerate. She was in fact asking me what it meant. This was apparently his first Doc appointment in years due to his insurance (lack of).
He's been a type 1 for 11 years. No idea here about specifics here.
I follow these rules too. I haven't yet been in a position with a low to need assistance and I want to postpone that as long as possible. Despite using a CGMS I still test on average 12 times a day...inspired by folks on here, I am aiming for an A1C just under 6. The margin for error gets less the lower you go. Hence I don't cheat on testing.
I frequently don't test before lunch. But that's because my fasting numbers are very stable and I eat the same breakfast every day and spend my mornings doing the same thing, activity-wise.
I agree that it sounds like you are a wise and responsible mom!
thanks kathy! everyday is a different challenge although some are smooth sailing :). this site has really helped me with the emotional end of things so thanks for the vote of confidence. we are heading into the teen years.. he seems to want to take more control.. but doesn't quite have the skill set that i have since i have been doing a lot of his calculations and tweaking things for him to ease his burden.. one day at a time i guess! best wishes amy
I like to have *a* number I can use as a reference point, but I am often OK if that number is an hour or 2 old and it's a situation where my BG is typically pretty stable. Also, I go out for lunch with coworkers a lot, and will sometimes test before leaving the office rather than right before I take a bolus. If I have any reason to suspect my BG *might* be out of whack, then I'll definitely test.
This is a great post! As a mom of a 12 year old girl (T1 for nearly 5 years) in the throes of puberty and wanting more independence from me, I’m also benefiting from reading all the responses to Jacob’s mom’s strategy. I think she’s got a realistic attitude which will go far with her son - nagging and ultimatums are so rarely successful. Recently my daughter and I spent a month out of the country and away from our usual carb counting resources (scale, internet, English language labels) and so we guessed on nearly every meal she ate. We also engaged in different activities than we would normally and so on. Obviously I had to relax a bit (well, a lot really) with regards to her BG control and yet, interestingly, a month after our return my daughter’s A1c was the best yet! While I believe that good habits with regards to her diabetes are important, I also see some room to reduce my rigidity. Thanks for sharing this with us Jacob’s Mom.
So glad your traveling went well, i think with experience you can count carbs without looking at the labels for the most part, we tend to round up with everything to make things work lately. There are so many variables, confidence comes with experience i guess, not saying i am super confident with all my decisions or with handing over more control to jacob which is what he seems to be looking for lately, i think that is the teen i don't need you as much thing as opposed to a true desire to the the "head of his diabetic team" at this point. he has good skills but doesnt seem to think outside of the what his pump is telling him to do as much as i do.... we all do the best we can i guess, thanks for the vote of confidence, sharing with others here has really helped me, since my friends and most family not affected directly by D really can not truly empathize. best wishes with you and your daughter! amy