Teen daughter is wanting to give up!

how do we keep teens wanting to take their shots when they are giving up… of course she does not have a choice but she is tired of poking herself any help

I sympathise with your daughter, it is hard having to do this. It could be teen rebellion against you too openly caring. Try just try not asking if she has tested, injected, eaten sensibly and see if that improves matters. So hard for you, but she is of an age where independence needs to be attained.

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She does have a choice

Would you be able to find out if Afrezza - insulin you inhale is appropriate for your teen? Do you know that there is an option by getting some samples from your doc and see how your teen does?

You can read some here about Afrezza

http://afrezzadownunder.com/afrezza-insulin/

^^ You can contact Sam and may be he can connect you to other teens on Afrezza

http://afrezzajustbreathe.com/

^^ this seems to be ac collection of social media on Afrezza

http://www.afrezzajustbreathe.com/a1cs-of-afrezza-users/#more-270

Excuse me but if the teen is not 18 years old then Afrezza is not an option that should be suggested. Also, basal insulin will still need to administered somehow, and last I heard it is delivered by injection so one or two shots will still be necessary. And the pokes for blood glucose checks will not be eliminated.

Dear lost, is there an opportunity for you daughter to join a community gathering where young diabetics can meet and commiserate or even have fun? How old is your kiddo?

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Have you looked into an insulin pump? It’s just one stick every 3 days, then no discomfort other than that. And kids are sponges for technology, so she might think it’s really cool. Not to mention you can “bling” out your pump with cool colors and stickers so she can personalize it to her personality. Has she been to a diabetes camp? Lots of kids have found it really great to be able to hang out with other kids who “get it”, and that might rejuvenate her a bit.

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I’m going to suggest something counterintuitive. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I read it on the Parents of Children with Diabetes forum. In addition to feeling burned out by the never-ending 24/7 of D, your daughter has some teen angst and rebellion thrown into the mix just to make things a little more challenging. :unamused: You might consider setting aside a time when she is in the best mood possible and say something like the following:

“You know, sometimes I feel so sick and tired of the never-ending hassle of ___________ (fill in the blank with a pain in the a$$ chore or task you hate that you have to keep on doing over and over until you die, like laundry or dishes or whatever) and I wish someone would just do it for me for awhile to give me a break. I bet you must feel that way about your diabetes at times. So I got to thinking that maybe I could give you a break and do all your BG testing, carb-counting, and injecting for you whenever you’re home, so you could take a little break from your diabetes when I’m around. I just want to make sure you understand that I’m not offering to do this stuff for you because I think you’re doing a bad job or aren’t responsible. What do you think?”

I’ve used this approach successfully with my 13-year-old daughter. I told her that, as long as she’s being responsible, I won’t butt in, but that whenever she doesn’t feel like doing something she needs to do, I’ll stop what I’m doing and take over for her, no questions asked. A few times a week or sometimes for a few days in a row and then not again for a few weeks, she’ll come up to me and say, “I’m sick of it. Mom, will you do it for me?” And I’ll poke her finger or calibrate her Dexcom or change her Pod or whatever. Now I obviously can’t do her stuff for her while she’s at school and/or I’m at work, but whenever we’re together, all she has to do is ask. Needless to say, I still do all her Dexcom sensor changes because that’s a little challenging to do yourself when using the backs of your arms, and I let her sleep all night every night and I do all the corrections whenever her Dex alarms. I check her BG all day on my Apple Watch and I text her when she needs to correct or treat. But she is responsible for counting carbs and prebolusing at school. Sometimes I can just see it in her face when she’s becoming especially sick and tired of all the work and I won’t wait for her to ask. But if she says “No, I want to take care of it myself,” I let her. We can and should give our D-kids a breather whenever we can and they ask. After all, they have the rest of their lives to take care of it on their own once they move out…

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I’m sure glad the Afrezza police are here to save the day. People can discuss whatever they’d like with their doctors. It’s their doctors who decide if it’s appropriate to prescribe medications off label-- not you (which doctors do all the time by the way-- if not for that authority we could just let anyone with Internet access and Google practice medicine.) I can assure you, my own life having been changed profoundly by Afrezza, that if I had a t1 teen who was struggling, there is no length I wouldn’t go to in order to find a doctor who would prescribe it and effectively manage its use.

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SO. INCREDIBLY. AWESOME!

What a wonderful share.

Always at the DOC service :slight_smile: You should see my uniform :wink:

Even with Afrezza, the young lady would need to do pokes and shots. So that bit of tired of it would not be eliminated. It’s clear that you are happy with this insulin. Did you know that in some practices it is not recommended for a doctor to ignore prescriptive guidelines. That’s great that you will go to lengths to find a doc who would throw liable to the wind. It would likely be okay, but the product is not approved for anyone under 18.

Not meaning to take sides here, but doctors routinely prescribe medications off-label, especially relatively newer medications, without concern for potential liability, as long as they are meeting Standard of Care guidelines. There’s a good chance that many, if not the majority, of members of this Forum are taking one or more meds “off-label” as we speak.

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I agree. This is a wonderful share. I have two daughters with Type 1. I remember the nights. It has taken me a long time to admit the grief involved in this familial life changing event. I think it is wonderful what you are doing for your child as I truly believe it is a group effort. I know when my kids turned 18, they are now 23 and 25, they went back to camp as counselors. The support was/is invaluable. One more thing…remember to take a break for yourself. The burnout is real for caregivers too, 'specially when on extended night duty!

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Unfortunately, I can’t take a break (other than the 6 days/5 nights per year that my daughter attends D-camp) because we have no real family still living, other than my daughter’s father, who refuses to learn anything about her D even though it means he will never have her for an overnight until he does, and her sister and brother-in-law who live about an hour away and are still having trouble registering how serious Type 1 is and how you can’t ignore it for more than a minute without having to deal with potentially dangerous consequences. (I’ve pretty much accepted that they see the way I manage my daughter’s Type 1 as attention-seeking “helicoptering”…) I’m OK with the “break” I get while I am working, even though I am always checking her BG via Dexcom Share. You have 2 daughters with Type 1, so you more than know what it’s like!

Yes, I can relate. I found though as the years went by, I became more and more exhausted. Emotionally and physically. I am not sure what part of the country you live in, but I definitely recommend searching out other parents who are in a similar situation. Even if you don’t talk to them all the time, it is great to have a least a couple of people who understand what you are going through. Even if it’s just to cry. My kids left home a couple of years ago and it still happens to me! I would be more than happy to chat anytime. My email is mday@outofsightcases.com if you are interested. Thanks

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Of course— but I’ll always personally try to choose a doctor that cares more about doing what’s best for myself and his other patients rather than following guidelines.

Nobody seems to care when antidepressants not approved for insomnia are prescribed to treat insomnia, or when drugs only approved for type 2 diabetes are used to supplement insulin therapy in type 1 diabetics etc etc. the list goes on forever. I’m not clear why everyone is so worried about guidelines with Afrezza but not with anything else. If all a doctor is doing is following guidelines they’re not really practicing IMO. I expect expertise and judgement beyond basic reading skills from my physicians.—

If we all wanted to follow the official guidelines and not recommend anything else I suppose that means we can’t recommend low-carb diets to each other either…

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If she wants anyone to talk to who is in her age range, she is free to contact me! Just send me a pm and i can give you my fb or phone number if she prefers whatsapp. I am 20 and have had diabetes for 12 yrs this may12th (cant believe how fast time passes!), so i am sure there are many levels we can connect on.
Let me know if you think i could be of any help! Hugs❤️

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First you have to realize her age, hormones, hell part of their brain is fully fuctioning yet. You wouldnt let your hormonal teenager to tell you she was going to jump off a bridge…no bc their could be fatal consequences, you would help her and think…she is just, I dont know 15 or 16, she doesnt even know what she’s doing yet. This applies so very perfectly. This is hard for her but nothing compared to her decline in health if you dont put a stop to this. You are not sugar talking her into loving family trips. You are keeping her safe even when she doesnt understand, you are being her own built in body guards…nothing is going to help her more than you showing her you care to much about her to give in to it period.

Can you adopt me for a few weeks, I could do with the break​:grin: :grin::grin: lol, I’m 40 but would looove if someone did that for me! Seriously though, this is an amazing support you give your daughter, love this idea. :heart:

A pump certainly reduces the number of pokes for injections.

The Freestyle Libre also reduces finger poke testing and allows almost CGM style data for your daughter to review.

UNFORTUNATELY pushing teens is a risky task. Just realize she is more adult than child now.

Good luck.

Hello Lost,

Reading old topics thought Id ask how your daughter is doing with things these days? How are things…?