8yr old niece just been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes - any top tips for my sister?

[Snowstorm]

Would be very gratefully received - I can pass them on as it's all very, very new for her. Just diagnosed yesterday.

Apparently my niece is most concerned with the fact that she won't be able to eat chocolate! Are there sweets and chocolate and things out there that she might be able to eat?

Very ignorant of me - am off to Google to try and understand it better.

TIA.

Hello Snowstorm, sorry to hear about your DN. My DS has had type one since he was 5 yrs old - he's coming up to his 15th birthday in a couple of weeks. It is a shock to find out that your previously healthy child has a chronic condition, and there's a lot to get your head around about blood testing/injecting/carb counting.

There's a fantastic community of parents of children with type 1 diabetes http://www.childrenwithdiabetesuk.org/. There are email and facebook support groups, and many of us meet up and go on holiday together (it's great for the children to be with other children with diabetes as well). When your sister is ready, she'll be made very welcome.

Your DS/DN will be taught to manage her blood sugar levels by matching the amount of insulin she takes to the amount of carbohydrate in her food (in crude terms, there are more variables than that, but that's the gist of it). Your DN will still be able to have sweets/chocolate, but she will need to include them as part of a normal healthy diet. Depending on the insulin regimen she ends up on, she may need to snack before taking exercise/doing PE - DS would often have a fun size mars bar/twix/2 finger kit kat for his snack at that age.

Is your DN in hospital?

Sending best wishes to you, your DS and your DN.

I've had type 1 diabetes since I was in primary school.....your DN will still be able to have chocolate..as soon as they sort her insulin regime she can adapt her insulin to suit her diet ... It will be more traumatic for your sis I think ... Diabetes has never stopped me doing anything ... If you want to know anything ask away!

Thank you so much for your replies, I'll copy them and send them to my sister(she's in the middle of trying to move back to England with her family at the moment after 15'ish years abroad).

Yes, I think that my DN is in hospital - she has to spend some days there in order to sort her out. Apparently her blood sugar level was so high that she was very close to going into a diabetic coma. My sister had mentioned to my mother how my DN was drinking lots, eating like a horse but losing weight and fortunately my mother made her go straight to the doctor as she thought it could be diabetes.

Lucky your mum was so on the ball...when I was diagnosed I went into a diabetic coma....probably cos the GP told my mum Togo home and give me calpol!!!!

My DN was diagnosed with type one in november. I will be watching this closely. I have a thread in childrens health about it.