Hard Morning

Got home from work around 7am to find Macey, my 3 year old asleep on the sofa not a big deal she was sick yesterday and got a second wind around 8pm after telling me she feels better. As I go to lay down on the sofa I patted her butt to move her aside. Ugh, I thought great she peed herself. Wake her up change her clothes not really a big deal. Then I remember she drank and peed a lot yesterday. She had a charlie horse in the afternoon and laid about not moving much throughout the day.So in my paranoid over acted mind I’m seeing the signs of my worst fear coming true. Crap what to do.


I decide just to be safe I need to test her blood sugar. Thinking to myself I am being necrotic as my mother, but better safe then sorry. I pull out my monitor from my bag "what cha doing Daddy" she ask me. "I need to test your blood sugar pumpkin."

"why" she asks I respond "To make sure sure you are not getting sick like Daddy was."

"But I don't want to get a shot"

"It's not a shot Mouse I just need to see your finger and give it a little prick"

I load my delica with a new lancet and set it to 1. She hold up her little thumb. I press it against her thumb "click" nothing but her saying "Ouch" and I can see the tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Pumpkin I need to try it again.' Set the delica to 2 and after some protest I get her thumb in place and "click", Success I see a tiny drop of blood. More protest as I squeeze her tiny thumb to get a large enough droplet of blood. Hold my breath as the countdown begins. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1(last second seem to take awhile). The reading pops up 79. OK decent fasting number.

"I don't want to take a shot Daddy" she tearfully tells me"

"Pumpkin your fine" I reassure her and that Talk that I didn't know how to give her came out. How Daddy doesn't take shots because he is sick, but to keep him from getting sick again. How part of Daddy's insides don't work right and daddy needs to test his sugar and take shots to make sure his sugar is not to high or to low. To remember that if Daddy is acting funny or falls asleep and won't wake up to tell some one that Daddy has Diabetes and needs sugar.

I let her Know that she was very brave and that Daddy hopes she never has to take shots like Daddy, And most of all Daddy loves her no matter what. She gives me a big sleepy hug we cuddle for a little, then I hear it the 6 words that mean I am not getting much sleep today "Daddy I want a drink and a snack"

It’s my worst nightmare too. I haven’t checked my children myself…yet. It’s hard not to let the mind go there when they say “I’m thirsty.” Its like a gut punch. Hopefully all of our children will be spared.

I’m in the same boat with you with my 3 kids. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, knock wood, nothing. I pray it stays that way.

While I don’t have kids, I do have two nephews. Two years ago, the older of the two began having severe headaches. The doctor told my sister-in-law that it could be he had diabetes, considering I have type 1 and both his grandmas have type 2. When Lori brought out his meter to show me the month’s worth of bg tests to ensure he wasn’t having bg problems, my heart just sunk. Everyday I do not get a phone call from my brother saying one of the boys has developed diabetes is a good day, IMO.

Glad beautiful pumpkin is fine & hope she always will be. She’s the luckiest little girl to have a daddy like you. I love reading posts about your girls.

I want to test my husband when he’s sleepy after high carb snacks, but he’s not cooperative.

Gerri I want to do the same to my wife
T-2 on her side And she has PCOS

Think I’ll tell him that a 3 year old is braver about testing than he is! We’ve got stubborn partners.

LOL! That’s great news to hear. Nothing wrong with you wanting to check the bs. I done that to my kids when they were younger (got a Type 1 now but I caught it b/f it got too bad) and I also do it to my 3 g-kids. Just wanna know.

I test my older son now and again, just to be safe. He’s usually cool with it. He did say, “Mommy, am I going to have diarrhea?” I had to explain to him that diarrhea and diabetes were two VERY different conditions. :slight_smile:

How cute!

AWE! What a relief! You are a super dad! I always want to check my daughters too! What a lucky little girl.

Thanks for sharing your story and thoughts…keep us posted.

Man, that hit hard. I have 2 young girls and I worry about the same thing. Prep them with a diet of high fat, moderate protein and low carb to help keep their betas healthy and the immune system from from over activity due to inflammation. (high carb response). If it does come, at least both you and are there for them to make the transition to health easier than what we had to go thru without the right guidance. Good luck Brother.

I’m glad she was okay; frequent urination is a good reason to test. Disagree with the other poster… No reason to put a child on a low carb, high protein fat diet, whether they have Type 1 diabetes or not. Pediatric endocrinologists do not do this for children with Type 1, but have a nutritionist figure out the amount of carbs needed for growth, devise a properly spaced out meal plan, not too high in protein and definitely not high in fat.

Sadly, endocrinologists & nutritionists are sadly behind the times in continuing to promote high carb/low fat diets. The fat phobia is dead wrong. It’s not fat that is responsible for cardiac problems, it’s high carb diets. The growing bodies of children also need a good amount of protein & fat.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published their research that included about 350,000 subjects. Their conclusion–dietary saturated fat was not associated with increased CVD or CHD risks. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajcn.2009.27725v1

You are my tribe, Diabetics. But please, unless you know, don’t think you know. Advising about diet to others who need to know the truth to help them maintain "normal and healthy’ blood sugars and “normal and healthy” insulin levels is a crime against the diabetic community. I work with Dr. Ron Rosedale and am I student of Dr. Richard K. Bernstein. If you can normalize BS and Insulin like they can with your ways…speak on. If you can’t, then please read and study their work for your own health is in the balance. I only know what I know, that they are right and conventional wisdom is wrong. It is in the numbers…A1c, Meter readings, C-Reactive Protein etc…take up the challenge and get healthy. I am just the messenger, Dr. B and Dr. R are the message.

I definitely want kids someday and I’m sure I would be constantly checking their BG out of fear…but if they did develop D, at least I wouldn’t have to go through the fear that new parents of T1 Ds have to go through when they face the unknown challenges of dealing with D - been there, done that. It’s being a good parent and raising strong, intelligent, and well-adjusted children that I am most concerned about…

And now for something completely different: How did this story about a man fearing for his child’s health turn into a discussion about treatment methods? I’d just like to say that while Dr. Bernstein’s methods work for the body, life isn’t just a numbers game and if eating carbs is going to make you happy, then eat carbs (and bolus appropriately). The food choices we diabetics make do not always have to be about maintaining a BG level - sometimes it’s healthy just to eat what you want and bolus appropriately. His diet may be good for the BGs and insulin levels but I’m more concerned about my overall well-being. People on this site do not always distinguish fact from fiction but they should not be told to keep their ideas to themselves because they haven’t been scientifically proven. It is about the numbers, but it is also about quality of life.

My two sons are 28 and 30, and they still tuck tail and run when they see me coming with the glucomoter. LOL It has been part of their entire lives, and I hope they can keep it on a one or twice a year basis. But so long as I am dad and so long as they are sons I will be checking them them. After all it is not really for them, it is for me.

rick

LOL My mother had offered to test mine about a week before I found out I was T-1. Out of pig headedness I refused might have saved me a few days in the hospital.

Right on. I want to be a father someday and you seem to be doing okay! You sir are an inspiration, raising kids while living with what you have. My hat off to you.