Type 1 Diabetes

[gsimms]

Anyone have kiddos with T1D? My 4yo was just diagnosed. I understand the disease from work but curious on any tips that will help make managing the disease easier.
Thanks

[125Dad]

Get him a pump. I use a Omnipod it’s tubeless.
Way much easier then 5 to 7 shots a day. I was diagnosed later in life (20) so no help with being a kid. But would think it would be easier to find out younger just for the fact of bad eating habits.

Good luck for you and your son.

[SoTXAg06]

Wife was diagnosed at 31 which is very rare. Agree with getting the omnipod. It makes checking and managing blood sugar a lot simpler.


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[Acameron52]

Four years old?! That’s rough.

[icetrauma]

My son is a T1D for 3 yrs now. He is on the Dexcom CGM, highly recommend it, Medtronics 670G pump and his censor just came in so we can get him on auto mode. I highly recommend using every single discount card you can. Use it for his insulin, supplies, glucometer strips which are freaking expensive. They also have groups on Facebook you can join that will help out with tips and other things as needed. I'm not sure what kind of work you do, I'm an ER-RN, but I can tell you that I had no clue what people with DM goes through on a daily basis until my son became one. If you have a facebook acct and want access to the groups, shoot me a PM and I'll invite you. They are closed groups. Yes, Texas has a group for it's own state. There is also a Lions Camp every year that is offered to T1 kids and is very helpful. My son has no interest in it but my cousins kid loves it.


Edit..my son is 15.

The pumps available to you will be limited because not all are approved for pedi use. At least that is how I understand it.

[OldRiverRat]

My best friend has a 14 yr old girl, who is my daughters best friend, and a 12yr old boy both with type 1 for a few years now. His daughter spends a lot of time with us and at our house so we have learned a lot about it. Additionally she is celiac so we also have lots of gluten free food in the house, horrible combo! The boy has a pump and the girl prefers shots. What you will have to figure out is how your child adapts and understands the severity of diabetes before you can make a definitive decision. The boy doesn’t really get it but the girl, being more mature, does. The good news is that your kid can have a normal active life, my daughter and her friend play select softball and every school sport so it hasn’t slowed her down. However it does come with a LOT Of responsibility which really makes me sad but it’s just the reality of a diabetic’s
Life. You will likely be very timid about allowing your kid to leave your site, which is understandable and we experienced this with my daughters friend but we took the time to learn about the disease, symptoms, signs etc and now her parents trust us and she travels with us and spends a lot of time with us. The reason I say this is because your natural reaction will be to protect your child but at the same time you are going to want them to experience as normal of a life as possible so you need to find friends and families you can trust so she isn’t isolated. You guys, as parents, will also need some time so it’s a win win.
I hope she adapts well, my daughter was diagnosed with a very rare autoimmune disease at age 3 which they managed to put into remission after 2 years of intense medication so we have had issues to deal with ourselves and what I can tell you is that kids are very resilient and they adapt well generally. The important thing is they understand the severity and the responsibility that comes with it and that’s a hard thing for a young child to understand sometimes. Be patient and find friends of hers that want to understand and have genuine concern for your child, she will need it to feel normal and you will need it to help keep you from being over protective.


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[Robertt]

My 12 year old son started drinking water instead of soda like crazy. He was eating 24/7 and lost 20 pounds in two weeks. He only weighed 92 pounds at the time. Took him to the doctor and said something is wrong. Ended up in an ambulance to the children's hospital ER then pediatric ICU. Once the doctors figured out what was wrong all has been good. They have a specialty clinic connected who were outstanding. You have to count every carb he/she is eating at each meal and give the dose of insulin for that meal. The pump is the way to go especially at his/her age. The have one that will monitor their sugar and automatically give them insulin without having to give the shots. My son is now 13 and doing great. He understands it and knows how to figure carbs and units needed based on the doctors recommendations. He is resisting the pump because of his age and not wanting someone to notice it. I have probably read every food label in the store for total carbs. Calorie King App is a great resource. I will be happy discuss what I have learned thru this if you want to pm me your phone number.

[icetrauma]

Absolutely do not trust my fitness pal for calorie/carb counting!!!!!!

Weight Watchers has a good app for carb/calorie counting.

Keep plenty of snacks around and quick sources of sugar. My son likes Capri Suns.

[Robertt]

Absolutely do not trust my fitness pal for calorie/carb counting!!!!!!

Weight Watchers has a good app for carb/calorie counting.

Keep plenty of snacks around and quick sources of sugar. My son likes Capri Suns.

CalorieKing has worked good so far. I agree with plenty of snacks. I keep 20g snacks for my son in his own box just for him. If his sugar goes low his hands get the shakes so we check his level. If low we give him a regular Dr Pepper or Coke plus a 20g snack and it pops right up. They use to say chocolate bar but that takes too long to digest. We carry regular soda and snacks every where we go now.

[icetrauma]

CalorieKing has worked good so far. I agree with plenty of snacks. I keep 20g snacks for my son in his own box just for him. If his sugar goes low his hands get the shakes so we check his level. If low we give him a regular Dr Pepper or Coke plus a 20g snack and it pops right up. They use to say chocolate bar but that takes too long to digest. We carry regular soda and snacks every where we go now.

We are not fans of solid sugar sources for quickie needs. I remember when my son was first diagnosed. He had a low while we were out and the smile on his face was crazy. BTW, the best desserts for diabetics, other than sugar free/low carb, is cheese cake.


Edit...Calorie King and Fat Secret are the ones I use. My wife is on Weight Watchers and she uses it.

OP..the best calorie counters is the ones the restaurant provides. Also, regarding restaurant, there servings are not always true to the calorie content. Fries are notorious for being off.

[Planopurist]

A lot has been said. I was diagnosed as T1 6 years ago at age 41, which is again fairly rare. After 1 year of pens, I switched to Omnipods and Dexcom CGM. That’s a major upgrade, plus dexcom has been getting better over the last couple of years. I only ***** my finger 2, maybe 3 times per day.

Get a good Endocrynologist, learn to accurately count carbs, and learn to be very disciplined about food choices.

Best wishes.


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[jgard]

I have been a type 1 since I was 9 months old I’m 34 now As said above get the pump and the cgm and a good dr those have been the best things I have done it’s hard but it will get easier as you go there is alot more and better stuff out then when I was diagnosed it is a learning curve for all that are involved for sure

[Icedown12pk]

Sorry to hear about you kiddo man. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help out.

[icetrauma]

Blood sugars can drop for up to 6-8 hours after playing/exercise. My son has his 1st seizure after swimming on vacation one day. And it was 6 hours after swimming.

[tex4k]

My son was diagnosed at 12, he's 32 now, so much has changed over the years most of what I knew is outdated now. Educate yourself daily, you'll have ups and downs just remember that our kids are probably more resilient than we are.