Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by sugarboy on August 10, 2011 at 7:44am

Don't blame him, blame the diabetes, It is difficult enough without being punished even more, I think you will find he will be fine after some rest and when the glucagon high has worn off he can get back to normal, but help him learn form it! I have over 30 years and still learning but one lesson he can get from this perhaps is that if we have a days hard exercise then the body continues to use more glucose than normal during the next day too so remember that for next time.
depending how bad the hypo was he may feel some bad muscle pain after the shakes and a bad headache etc but it dose go away I promise.
been there and got a cupboard full of the t shirts.
Best wishes.
Sugarboy.

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Permalink Reply by Valerie on August 10, 2011 at 7:51am

Actually, it is not about blame, but to acknowledge responsibility: He knows about delayed lows. I heard from his dad that he has the headache, I will warn him about the muscle aches.
and I have a question for you: "cupboard full of t shirts"? I am not getting it.
thanks

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Permalink Reply by karen on August 10, 2011 at 8:27am

Do you think the hypo happened because you were not there, Valerie? Wow! Hypos happen to any diabetic on insulin from time to time. Seizure is extreme but can also happen. I hope your kiddo is okay, but it might take a day to feel well. Should a 13 year old know better?? OMG, that is a lot of pressure on a kid who is not even finished growing yet. The body of a 13 year old is out of control in more ways than a broken pancreas!! Please cut the kid some slack, and realize that managing this condition is a constant chore, and for the rest of his life he will learn from mistakes and need to make adjustments when things change and I bet he already feels bad and sure doesn't need to hear about responsibility and lack of proper effort. Even us grown up responsible diabetics have bad days. Please take care, and let your kid off the hook, it was way worse for him and his dad...I promise!

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Permalink Reply by Valerie on August 10, 2011 at 8:49am

of course I think that it happened because I was not there! and of course I realize that it might have happened with me there. Diabetes has been so easy on us over all, that we should look at this in a positive light, as a wake up call and not take good control as a given.
this reminds me of the early days, before the freedom the pump gave us and the daily chants of "we hate diabetes".
but i have a question for you all with T1: both my kids (13 and 15) have slacked off lately with their control -forgetting to test, forgetting to bolus, etc. will there be a time when they will automatically do it, without even thinking of it, just like brushing your teeth before bed?

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on August 10, 2011 at 8:55am

It just seems like a universal truth as kids grow into teenagers, they will exert their independence, want to be adults and make their own decisions, but they don't always use the best judgement. And it will drive you crazy. They will take over being responsible for all this stuff and they probably won't do as good a job as you would do. And they will make some mistakes and those mistakes will play a role in them learning. I know that you love your kids dearly and you want to prevent anything bad from happening to them. If you followed your kids around everywhere so that this sort of thing never happens, then they would never learn to take care of themselves. It is just a difficult balance.

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Permalink Reply by Katsz on August 10, 2011 at 9:09am

My niece... because she has a tubed pump that she can dose w/out using the meter... has gotten in to a habit of "blind" bolusing her food with using just the pump to dose. She is in her first year of college and has been diagnosed for about 3 years... so.. not sure.. but that might be something you have to watch for as they get older.

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Permalink Reply by Katsz on August 10, 2011 at 9:14am

You have 2 teens w/ t1?? That must create whole new issuses that can be hard. Did they both get diagnosed around the same time. I have 2 sons... one 17 w/T1 and the other 14 w/out. I worry that he might get it too. My sister has family on her husband's side where their girl got it at age 4 and her older brother got it at age 30!

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Permalink Reply by Valerie on August 10, 2011 at 9:37am

the youngest was attacked by T1 first when he was 6, came out of nowhere as nobody has it in our family, i had no idea what diabetes was (kind of) and I diagnosed our oldest at age 11, two years later. but as I wrote earlier, diabetes has been "kind" to us, this is the first major issue, but for the 2 DKAs, but seizures are so much scarier than dka.

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Permalink Reply by Doris D on August 11, 2011 at 2:28pm

Please don't blame yourself for not being there and don't blame him for "knowing better". My 1st seizure came when I was 24 I think. Yes I knew all the symptoms of lows (seeing I had had it since I was 10) but I just didn't know how low it was. Now you have the meters and GMC's but back then well my excuse is the price compared to our income at the time. It will take him about a day to get better but now that I've had so many after 38 years of diabetes, and I've got a daughter who's a diabetic now for 12 years (she took d at 11)like the DKA's (no fun at all) now I just try to catch them b/f they go to far. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on August 11, 2011 at 7:21pm

I have been down the seizure road myself. I certainly understand your concern. My son had a low while sleeping, and I woke him to find him at 32 and he started twitching while I was treating him. It went away quickly and he didn't seem to have much in the way of aftereffects -- maybe a little tired, but nothing more. I was the one who was a mess!

Don't blame yourself or the kid. It happens. Yes, your son should know better but at the same time, keep in mind, his teenage brain is going through a lot of hormonal changes and teens are simply dippy that way. Try not to hover, but also try not to put too much of his care on his shoulders either.

And as for seizures being scarier than DKA, well, yeah, sure, they're a lot more dramatic, but I'll take a seizure (treated easily & quickly w/glucagon, and a trip to a hospital isn't really necessary) over DKA (day or two in-patient, plus an extended follow-up with the endo) ANY day.

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Permalink Reply by Angie on August 10, 2011 at 8:37am

I agree with the others - your son in 13 years old and trying to live with a condition that doesn't always play by the rules. I don't think anyone should be blamed, but you can take this as an opportunity to learn. I know you say it isn't about blame, but responsibility, but IMHO, if you suggest to him that his actions resulted in the seizure and that he was responsible for it at such a young age, he's going to blame himself, and I don't feel this is fair or productive in the long run. :)

I've had two seizures, after both I was aching all over for the next couple of days, but it went away eventually. The other thing was that I had to keep a really close eye on my levels, and I ran a reduced basal for 24 hours after, because his liver will need to replenish it's glucose supply. :)

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Permalink Reply by Katsz on August 10, 2011 at 8:50am

My son was 16 when he had his first hypo sezure/pass out. I was not w/him and the adults that were barely knew he was diabetic but called 911 quickly and they were one block litterally from the hospital at the time. My son was high before he left for where he was.. and dosed empty carbs..along w/ a big correction and went on his merry way.... then BOOM... and litterally it was a boom.. he is 6'2 200lbs and he hit his head hard on the way down and tore up his knee. They were told NOT to give him any sugar.. and there was no glucogon around .... by the time the ambulance got him he was 67... and coming around... his liver gave him a burst of glucogon... and by the time I got to the ER he was in the 80's still....w/no sugar or iv.
I did not blame him.... he blamed himself enough... he forgot to even bring his meter/pdm with him cuz he was only gonna be gone an hr... and was "high" so he thought he would be fine. This was over a year ago now..... and believe me..he has learned by it all. The best we can do is teach them all we know... be their partners in it all .. .let them know we are there for them and they aren't alone...and..learn from each new experience. And... hope there are no new ones...but there will be.... inevitably. ( Oh. .his endo at the time took away his pump for awhile and had him go MDI... was a horrible thing to do..and we ended up changing endos over this issue) At 17... my son now drives. YES... DRIVES... wait till that one hits! So far.. he is being very responisble about this. If I find that he isn't... I will take the keys away from him though... in this case and he knows that. Oh... and even w/out Glucogon... he took about a week to feel "normal" again..but he did have a concussion.

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