Teens with Type 1

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Permalink Reply by dlanakila on August 29, 2009 at 1:20pm

If you can get her involved in helping someone else a little younger then her it could help. If she goes for it, she will start to get under better control herself. Teaching someone else is a great way to reinforce all the information she already knows but isn't using.

Have them use an online tracking site (I use SugarStats.com,) so they can see how they are doing and also text each other with encouragement and advice.

I lived through these years and survived, and it was scary and tough. It wasn't until my son was on his own that he started to manage himself much better. Now he is doing great.

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Permalink Reply by Stacy Palmer on September 20, 2009 at 7:28pm

I just joined this group and saw your post. I haven't had a chance to read through all the posts, but will try later. My daughter is 15(will be 16 in Nov) She was diagnosed at 18 months and we have always had issues with her blood sugars. When she started high school last year, we allowed her to go to a school a little farther away because we knew the principal there. She ended up lying to everyone there, not doing her tests, but telling everyone she had. She didn't do needles like she was supposed to etc. Her A1C's have always been bad, but we just got back one recently and it was 14.2!!! That's the highest it's been. She wants to get a pump, we even have it in our closet, but she has a deal with the dr that if she gets her bg's down before her next A1C then he will allow her to get one over the holidays at Christmas. She has seen what happens when things go wrong as we volunteer at JDRF and the manager there has been trying to help me get her to understand what happens when bg's stay high for any length of time. I truly think it took her ending up in the hospital overnight just after school started to get her to understand. The dr in the ER basically told her that the reason things went this far was because she wasn't looking after herself. It scared her to have to have 3 litres of IV put through before her heart would stop racing and her bg's to go down. It also showed the dr's there that she did go down in the middle of the night like I had said. It was able to show her endo what we meant as well. I'm hoping that by changing a few things and her growing up a little over the summer will change some things.

I can totally see where you are coming from as I can see what the future for her can be and where it will go if she continues not to follow instructions. Hugs Stacy

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Permalink Reply by Christina Luis 20 hours ago

Hi Christi,
I know exactly how you feel. My daughter is 15, she was diagnosed when she was 14. We have only been doing this for a year. Not long. Its never easy to deal with a teenager let alone a diabetic teenager. They want so desperately to fit in at this age, but they can't cause they have to check their blood or take shots. Yes it is a lot to deal with. As a parent its a lot to deal with. My DD's A1c was 14.6 2 mo ago. This month and last mo it was 11.3. no change. We have been very diligent with it. OR at least I have. I text her every day and remind her to check her blood. I have found that if I do not overreact about the # and just tell her what her Number was - no emotion even when it doesn't register on the meter its so hard, but it is just that its a number. You can change that number and help it come down, but if you add the emotion into it, she will jsut shut down and not want to do anything with it. This year since her Honeymoon was over we have dealt with non compliance. Lying. Not checking, not taking insulin -yes not taking it at all. My SIL is a RN. DD was at her house watching kids. DD told SIL that she did not feel good. They checked and it was so high it didn't register on teh meter, my SIL almost had a heart attack. To me, I don't' react, I just correct. This helps a lot. The hardest thing for me is to understand when she is mean, or awful if its her being a teen, or is it the diabetes. I try so hard not to make it always about the diabetes, cause she is a teen. Emotional, and awful, and mean. Thats a teen, but she is diabetic and sometimes it is her BG. I NEVER pay. I was against the pump as well. However the DR. is putting her on it cause "the pump doesn't lie" so if she isn't taking her insulin, or checking, it will show it. Unfortunately there isn't much more you can do. Just be her mom. I have found that we are acting more as a team with her diabetes these days I have my cell set to an alarm for the times at school that she is supposed to check her blood, and then she does it at home before school - i set it out open in the bathroom - then reminder at dinner - I stay up till 11 to check her blood again. i know there are a lot of me's in there, but I am her mother, and ultimately right now I am responsible for her. I would rather be proactive right now with her and help her develop good habits then be in college and have to be afraid for her life. (I know a mom like this). I am sorry for writing a book, I hope it helps you some. Its a long hard road ahead.

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