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Original poster

To think I should have been able to buy half a drink??

205 replies

Edenviolet · 28/07/2015 23:44

Went out today and for a treat went to a cafe as dd1 and dd2 wanted a drink

Dd1 chose hers and dd2 decided she would like a creamy fruit type drink. Dd2 has type 1 diabetes so we went on the website to work out the carbs in a small drink, it was quite a lot so thought I'd get her half a small drink instead but this proved to be quite a problem
The first person said no when I requested exactly half of a small drink ( they could do it as all measurements are on the jugs etc). I asked why and was told 'no we can't do custom drinks" so I asked to see the manager and was told "no we can't do half" and "I don't know what to charge for half a small drink"

I suggested that perhaps half the cost of a small drink might be a good figure but was told again "no, we can't do it"
I explained again why we needed just half and said could I not just pay for a small drink but they just measure half instead. "No"again?

By this point dd2 was getting upset so I said "ok I will have a small drink and please can I have an extra cup?" To which they replied "no, just one cup" and I had had to then virtually beg for the drink to be split equally between two cups. Ridiculous

Yet again, dd has been upset and something simple like getting a drink has been complicated by diabetes and she is getting more and more negative about things due to incidents like this

Surely I should have been able to buy half a drink? Or at the very least a small one split into two cups without having to beg?!

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 29/07/2015 22:10

Hedgehog's dd needs to be able to live as normally as possible and that's a major 'selling' point for the pumps - that adjustments for 'treats' can be made more easily and effectively. It's not wrong to give this child something other kids and adults take for granted.

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 22:24

God there are some proper self righteous arses on this thread who seem to want to post just to stick the boot in. Good on you hedgehog for challenging such petty issues which could just make a small disabled child's life a little easier and more enjoyable. And as for the sanctimonious 'I would never allow Tarquin to consume anymore than a grain of sugar a week' brigade seriously have as many of Biscuit as it takes your teeth to rot!

Morloth · 29/07/2015 22:25

Giving a child with diabetes a sugary drink+ insulin is no different whatsoever to giving a child without diabetes the same drink and letting their pancreas release the insulin

Now this I agree with.

It isn't a 'treat' if it involves upset for all and you having to get into a drawn out situation with the wait staff. Followed by an insulin hit.

There has got to be an easier way. The world is not going to bend, this stuff is going to happen. You can only control your response.

suchafuss if any of the drinks in Costa UK contain freshly blended whole fruit plus full fat dairy and protein of some description I will eat my hat. They are almost certainly made out of purees and fruit juice concentrates and skim milk and cream is probably sweetened.

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 22:28

Oh morloth go and shove one of those wonderfully sugary dummies you get from the funfair in your mouth and stop being such a holier than thou misery

Costacoffeeplease · 29/07/2015 22:31

oh do shut up

Thanks - great contribution to the thread

The 'treat' of this drink caused a chain of events that ended up with the child being upset - how is that a good thing? A more suitable treat, and no-one upset, that's a result

Morloth · 29/07/2015 22:31

Getting kinda excited there sharon.

Top much sugar can do that. Wink

Bramblesinforrin · 29/07/2015 22:32

Hedgehog, look for the cwd uk group on facebook if you want to chat to more parents of little ones with t1. Keep on doing a good job for your little one. It's a dark art, managing t1 diabetes in a little one according to our Dsn. Flowers

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 22:33

It caused upset due to the rigidity and inflexibility of the store being unwilling to make reasonable adjustments for someone with a disability. The drink is irrelevant as is it's bloody sugar content

Costacoffeeplease · 29/07/2015 22:38

The initial upset was caused by proposing to pay half the price for half a drink, and went downhill from there - an initial request for a drink and an extra cup would probably have been received better - BUT - a more appropriate treat would not have required any special treatment, any upset or embarrassment, and would have meant a happy day for everyone Smile

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 22:40

But a more appropriate treat wasn't what she wanted so would yet again reinforce that she is in some way different to others who could have that drink without consequence.

Morloth · 29/07/2015 22:41

Yup. A simple thought of 'shit that is a lot of sugar'.

Can I please have a small drink and and extra cup please would almost certainly been met with no problem. It happens all the time in shops everywhere.

The sugar really is rather the issue though with Type 1 Diabetes. So head stuff off at the pass.

thetroubleis · 29/07/2015 22:42

Hedgehog. I haven't read the whole thread because it's nearly bedtime, but can I just say you are doing a brilliant job. My DP is type 1 and was diagnosed at 2yo in 1978 when they still had glass syringes. His mum used to count out peas according to his dieticians instructions. He is now a relatively healthy (if a little moody) 39yo father of one working full time. He got a pump a few years ago so I understand the anxiety you're having with regards to carb counting- your DD can't do it herself so you have to and it's a BIG responsibility. In your case, I would get a plastic cup and some lightweight scales that measures in mls and grams and keep them in your bag. People who get snippy with you don't know what it's like to get a BG of 19 or 2.4 and how the effects vary. DP has been walking hypo at 2.0, but last year I couldn't wake him up and had to call an ambulance to him- it was 3.2! There are so any variables and you can only do your best. I'm sorry you had a crap experience today, hopefully they will be more understanding next time x

LadyRivers1 · 29/07/2015 22:44

So she can't have a sugary drink be a use she is diabetic? Rubbish. That's what insulin is for. Just like the insulin our bodies produce. So will I just stop letting my DD have the same as her sister and her friends at school too? Aye nae bother

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 22:47

This is why pumps have been developed you know to enable people to lead relatively normal lives and partake in food and drink any other people do...no idea why you seem so resentful of this?

Morloth · 29/07/2015 22:47

But she is different, it is shit. It really is.

Though perhaps not that different really. 6 teaspoons of sugar in a couple of mouth fulls isn't a good idea for anyone, treat or not.

People are eating something like 30+ a day. It is crazy. Personally it isn't the teeth I worry about it is insulin reponse. I skated along as a prediabetic in my teens on a supposedly 'healthy' diet. Then I dropped the sugar, I have seen the difference in my nephew and my kids don't appear to suffer from any sort of lack of normality.

The OP has a hard complicated life. Telling her there there isn't necessarily support.

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 22:49

So what next Morloth? Epileptics should avoid going to the cinema as it may trigger their condition? Well they are different after all no point even trying to allow them to live a 'normal' life..

Costacoffeeplease · 29/07/2015 22:50

But she is different, unfortunate, but it's a fact. I have a disability, not diabetes, but I am different to other people and can't do what they can

Surely it's better to find ways round it, rather than having confrontations which only exacerbate the situation and make her feel even more different?

Costacoffeeplease · 29/07/2015 22:52

But the pump isn't allowing her to lead a relatively normal life - how many people weigh their food and constantly calculate the carbs?

Samcro · 29/07/2015 22:54

op just carry your own cup, its not hard I do it for my child who has sn

Garlick · 29/07/2015 22:56

Surely it's better to find ways round it, rather than having confrontations

I'm not so sure about this. She's only 5 and we don't know much about her personality - but, generally speaking, I would want to imbue any child with a long-term disability with a very strong sense of priorities regarding her rights and needs. Far better to argue the toss than hide away in a corner trying not to be a problem and risking being killed by some twat's ignorance.

LadyRivers1 · 29/07/2015 23:00

We weigh food and count carbs so our kids can eat what they want, we just have to do manually what everyone else's body does naturally.

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/07/2015 23:01

Spot on Garlick.
And costa you are being most obtuse. I'm assuming deliberately?

Garlick · 29/07/2015 23:01

Costa (bloody unfortunate nickname on this thread!), the world is absolutely teeming with people leading relatively normal lives, even outstanding ones, while using insulin pumps and calculating their glucose.

In fact the world's teeming with perfectly healthy people who constantly calculate their food stats and monitor their body data!

Morloth · 29/07/2015 23:03

My nephew can't go to the movies. He has to wait until it is available at home so he can watch it with all the lights on so that contrast is not so great.

It sucks.

On the being killed by a 'twat's ignorance' point isn't that kind of what was possible with the OP putting the onus on the staff to measure the drink? What if the staff got it wrong? What if the nutrition table on the website is out as much as a PP says it could be? Who is liable?

Of course I agree to making the world easier for people with disabilities, of course I do. But it is too dangerous to rely on other people when it comes to stuff like this. They will get it wrong.

MammaTJ · 29/07/2015 23:07

I don't think a costa drink twice in six months is excessive No, it's really not.

I'm very worried that by her early twenties she could start having problems as i had read somewhere that after 20 years is usually when things start to go wrong so I try to keep bg as within range as possible. Her target bg on pump is 6.5 and ideal range 5-10

You spend hours anxsting over whether she can have half a smoothie, you fought for her to have the pump, you research, you check, you double check. She will not be the person in her 20s with problems. Unless she rebels, which you have to educate about and hope she takes note.