Diabetes type 1 in 9 year old

[AgnesDiPesto]

DS2 diagnosed on Monday out of blue I thought at worst he had urine infection. Still in hospital while we get levels sorted and learn how to use all equipment. He's not ill. Lost bit weight (thought due to growth spurt) and just been bit off colour for few weeks. Looking for advice about how long can expect for him to be confident with injections, he has done 3 already. How long before can go to school. What school will do eg re supervision or actual injections or checking dose? I have 2 other children, one with autism and spend most of my week to and froing to appointments with him or at work which can be 15 miles away so worried about whether its sensible to be so far away from DS2. He's coping really well but I suppose once the reality of measuring food etc and change in lifestyle kicks in I can expect a delayed response. Any tips eg do kids have watches to remind them to test blood etc.

Hi sorry to hear the news it's a shock isn't it.
I don't have a child with diabetes but my friends son was diagnosed at 7 and iv tried to listen and help her as much as possible. My Dad and cousin are also type 1 diabetic so I know a bit about it.

www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/uk/ is a really good site as it has a mailing list which are informative.

Hopefully your son will get put on a pump soon, this seems to be the best way of controlling it these days, but they don't start with this at diagnosis. Carb counting sounds scary but you get into it quite quickly. Make sure school have someone trained to support your DS.
How many times a day injections is he on? Hope he is coping ok, 9 is a tricky age, but easier than being diagnosed as a teenager and rebelling as my cousin did.
It seems over whelming but soon becomes a way of life.
Best wishes

My dd2 was diagnosed in december (she is 3). We were in hospital for a week getting things under control/getting used to doing injections.

The cwd email list is brilliant for support and advice.

Dd2 has 4 injections a day and we carb count which has made things much better as before it was a set dose and she had hypos. She still has treats and a varied diet we just adjust her insulin dose accordingly which once you get the hang of is relatively easy (we use the 'carbs and cals' book a lot).

Not sure what schools do/dont do as dd is still only at pre school but her dsn did training sessions for them and they manage things well and check her regularly.

All the best x

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My daughter was diagnosed at aged 10. There is a lot of information to take in at first but that is one of the kinder sides of diabetes that you start in the honeymoon period and you don't have to take all the information in at once. My daugthter returned to school after 3 days. Her DSN went in to school before her return to help do a care plan and then she went back. When children are ready to do injections themselves depends on the child. Some do it sooner than others. My daughter had an incentive that she was due to go on a residential trip 7 weeks after diagnosis and couldn't go unless she could do her own injections. There was a lot of tears but she manged it and went on the trip. Schools vary in the care they provide to children with diabetes. Unfortunately having other children does not necessarily mean good care. Hopefully your school will be one of the better ones. I would recommend that you join childrenwithdiabetes list where there are lots of parents who can support and offer advise.

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My daughter was diagnosed at aged 10. There is a lot of information to take in at first but that is one of the kinder sides of diabetes that you start in the honeymoon period and you don't have to take all the information in at once. My daugthter returned to school after 3 days. Her DSN went in to school before her return to help do a care plan and then she went back. When children are ready to do injections themselves depends on the child. Some do it sooner than others. My daughter had an incentive that she was due to go on a residential trip 7 weeks after diagnosis and couldn't go unless she could do her own injections. There was a lot of tears but she manged it and went on the trip. Schools vary in the care they provide to children with diabetes. Unfortunately having other children does not necessarily mean good care. Hopefully your school will be one of the better ones. I would recommend that you join children with diabetes list where there are lots of parents who can support and offer advise.

Hope your ds is doing ok.

Thanks everyone, will look at that website. He is doing well. We are home but on ward leave. His levels are still what they call 'bumpy' and the DSN is on holiday until Tuesday so we cant take him back to school until after then. He's very nonchalant about it and I'm nervous about doing ordinary things so at the moment he's reassuring me. But that might be because he wants to go low so he can eat sweets.

Glad you have been able to go home.

Dd2 often tells me she "feels reaaalllyy low" when she isn't as she wants sweets!
I too was nervous about doing ordinary things in the first few weeks and couldn't leave dds side. We checked her constantly through the night as well but gradually it got easier and less stressful and it is now just a part of our lives. We always have her bag packed with hypo things, snacks, blood sugar monitor etc and so far are doing ok.

Hope your ds gets on well when he goes back to school next week. Our dsn did lots of really good training with dd pre school which helped immensely.

Good luck. Will be thinking of you x