Hi I have been ghosting this site for a little while just reading and learning and my heart goes out to you because I can definitely remember those days. The beginning. I agree with everything that was written by this mom but mostly the last paragraph. You will get to know your daughters trends better and better. In the beginning it’s so hard because .5 can either be too much or not enough and you can’t beat yourself up over it. You’re going to be learning something new EVERYDAY!
I’d say keep a log like the other mom said and try to keep her on the same meals and keep your meal times consistent one week at a time. Once you kind of mastered those meals then you can try other things one thing at a time and see how she responds to the new meals. You’ll get the hang of it
Btw a little background on myself my son was also diagnosed at 5. He turned 5 in July and was diagnosed in August. There was a lot to learn before he started kindergarten and it was ruff. A lot of sleepless nights. He’s now 11 yrs old. I also have a 16 yr old brother that was diagnosed at only a year old. As for my so we used the insulin pen (novolog) for 2 years giving shots manually. Then we went to the Dexcom (Hated it his numbers were wrong most of the time) now we’re using the Medtronic pump (which I love it has its moments but I get more rest and a better piece of mind) my brother on the other hand has been doing his injections with the syringe for a lot of years. Then moved to the pen. Now for say 9 months he’s been using the Dexcom g5 and he’s has better results than my son did with the Dexcom. So I have a lot of hands on experience with type 1 diabetes and I can tell you no one diabetic is like another. But I hope that you get the support you need from your doctor. I find myself knowing my son better than her as well. I always run changes by her but I know when changes need to be made.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, woman to woman. take care of yourself first so you can take care of her. Mentally, emotionally and physically. Take time for yourself even if it’s an hour and as you get better maybe two, etc. It took me up until he was 9yrs old (4 yrs) to be comfortable with going on a short trip without him. Here’s an anology for what I just said. When you get on a flight (long story short) the flight attendant tells you put the face mask on yourself then you can assist others. You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of her.
I know I said a lot and I hope someone can take something from what I wrote. This is my first post. Thank you
Passing along some of the best tips I’ve received. Most kids tend to eat an average of 10 foods.
Consider each time you serve a food a chance to practice. (I kept a notebook with serving size/carb amounts, insulin dose & premeal & 2 hour post meal BG.) Refer to your notes, but always remember food & insulin aren’t the only things affecting BG.
Learn to use foods to help slow/blunt the spikes. Starting a meal with a protein or higher fat food can slow carb absorption.
Be as as precise as you can in carb counting. Use measuring cups or a food scale to help. Calorie King is a great help. I still have paperback copies in both vehicles. Lol My daughter used the app for a while, but she knows the carb counts for most foods. (The 10 foods thing? She’s almost 21 & hasn’t outgrown it.)
FWIW, this advice came from Dr Stephen Ponder, a now fairly well-known pediatric endo & T1 himself since age 9 (although he’s been quite famous among D parents in Texas a long time ).You can find him on Facebook…Stephen Ponder, The Power Within by Stephen Ponder, & Sugar Surfing. I highly recommend his Sugar Surfing page, his book by the same name, & his workshops if there’s one near you. We’ve been using his CGM techniques for 9 years. They work. He also has a real talent for building confidence in parents. He believes in empowering parents through education.
A basic primer on T1D. Most parents that have been at this a while know this as The Pink Panther Book. Each chapter has its own link. Pages are not printable.
Ragnar Hanas
Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults
This was my go-to for quick, concise information. It’s a lot like an encyclopedia for parents. I noticed the price on Amazon is ridiculous now, but you might try your local library or an online used book store. It’s definitely worth owning IMO.
Some parents take to this stuff like a duck to water. Some struggle with the overwhelming number of things to learn. To quote my favorite blogger & fellow D mom, “It doesn’t get easier. You get better.” Be good to yourself. You’ll look back in a year & be amazed at how far you’ve come.
I’ve been reading everything everyone is posting, and lot of the info may help, but there seems to be too much information and a lack of essential focus. I was diagnosed at 8 years old and went through many different directions and drs, but the most important things I’ve learned over the years came from various sources. The 1st thing you want to do is fast and check blood sugars to make sure the lantus dose is correct… seems too low. Then figure out the insulin correction factor. 1 unit will probably bring her down 50mg/dl , but it might be more or less, but finding that out is crucial. They have formulas to make a better guess, but its really trial and error, and ignore the sliding scale nonsense… start with the 2 most important numbers insulin to carb ratio, and her correction factor… insulin calculators can also help, but a normal calculator does the same thing. If she’s at 200, I’m guessing 2 units will bring her back to 100, but you’ll need to verify. You can also find out where her blood sugar is going if you don’t have a working Dexcom, or if you want to know why its predicting lows or highs. I have the freestyle cgm, but before that I would test on my arm, then the finger to see if my blood sugar was changing and which direction.
).You can find him on Facebook…Stephen Ponder, The Power Within by Stephen Ponder, & Sugar Surfing. I highly recommend his Sugar Surfing page, his book by the same name, & his workshops if there’s one near you. We’ve been using his CGM techniques for 9 years. They work. He also has a real talent for building confidence in parents. He believes in empowering parents through education.