Comments on: Newly Diagnosed Week: Get Your Head in the Game

By: Cath Allison

Cath Allison — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:33:26 +0000

We found out my 2 year old has it aug 5th this year Such a shock but luckly we using an Animas pump and are starting to get our head round things. I think while he is this young in some ways has made it easy we have time to get our heads round everything before the worry of him learning how to starts……

By: DS

DS — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:35:41 +0000

Interesting post. The hardest part (in my opinion) for children with diabetes is the feeling of why they cant be normal. with the right direction it can be much easier.

By: Edwin

Edwin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:02:20 +0000

Thanks a lot…

I told that the diabetic patients who also have depression are more likely to have been younger at the time of diabetes diagnosis and to have poor management of diet, exercise, and medications and a higher risk of complications.

By: www.healthcareandlife.com

www.healthcareandlife.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:10:19 +0000

I look forward to follow this blog now

By: Scott S

Scott S — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:27:13 +0000

I tend to agree with Allison’s response to Lauren K, a child (particularly a young child) is not mature enough to understand the full ramifications or details involved in managing a complex disease like type 1 diabetes. For example, calculations and ratios are items that few young children have even learned yet, so it’s kind of hard to expect them to dose correctly based on carb content for a meal combined with data on their current blood glucose levels. Ultimately, the parents are responsible for overseeing the child and they’re responsible for ensuring the kid is safe. At one time, dosage decisions were nowhere near as complex as the standard treatment protocol of today is, but the parents’ job is to raise the child in a way that they can ultimately care for themselves.

By: Allison Blass

Allison Blass — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:52:21 +0000

I disagree that type 1 diabetes is the sole responsibility of the child. Diabetes is a life-threatening illness, and mismanagement of insulin can have deadly consequences. I would never trust an eight-year-old to have the mature comprehension of why she needs to take insulin for her food and whatnot. That’s child abuse, in my opinion. I’m sorry that your parents were so uninterested in helping your brother and understanding what it is that he was going through, and that he wasn’t provided assistance during what must have been a very difficult and confusing time for him.

My diabetes is my diabetes – now. Like anything, parents need to eventually give their child sole responsibility for the disease when they are old enough. For me, that was about 15 or 16 years of age… right about the time I started driving and spending more time away from them. My parents do not dictate to me what I need to do now, because they know that as an adult I can make mature, responsible decisions for my health. A child cannot and should not be expected to understand the ramifications of diabetes. I would never in my life give that advice.

By: Lauren K

Lauren K — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:16:17 +0000

My little brother was diagnosed in childhood and I was diagnosed type 1 in my twenties. I have to say that the diagnosis is the kid’s alone, not the family’s, and the family should not try to take ownership of it. The kid is the one who has the disease, and the parents need to remember that and be respectful of the challenges the child faces — challenges that non-diabetic people will never come close to understanding.

My brother was told that the disease was his responsibility from day 1, and he shouldn’t expect coddling or support. My parents to this day are still hazy on the details about type 1 diabetes — for example, they don’t understand that insulin isn’t optional. My brother and I learned to be responsible because it was quite clear that we were on our own. And that’s the reality of type 1 diabetes. You rely on yourself, and no one else.

By: Stacey Divone

Stacey Divone — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:52:28 +0000

Great advice Allison! I’m always curious to see how other families cope with having a child with D. I was diagnosed when I was 5 but my father already had it so it wasn’t something “brand new” to our family.

By: Michael Ratrie

Michael Ratrie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:20:05 +0000

Great blog! Really appreciated the normalizing and keep a positive attitude they really resonate with me.

Fair Winds,
Mike

By: anonlurkermom

anonlurkermom — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:34:39 +0000

Along the don’t judge yourself line, I remember very early on instituting the rule that a number is a number, that there aren’t “good” numbers or “bad” numbers. It was really hard at first not to gasp or otherwise react to a bg reading. (my daughter was dx at 8, now 13)