Friend's Daughter Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes... Post Your Support

FMZ

"K" was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes today. Her mother took her into the hospital this morning, where the diagnosis was made. She will have to have shots of insulin every day for the rest of her life.

Please send your thoughts and best wishes to K and her mother, these are tough times. I will print off this thread for them to read. If anyone suffers from this condition, your words of advice and encouragement would mean the world to her right now.

Please send your positive energy, thoughts, and prayers to K tonight. This 10 year old's life will never be the same.

Always in love

FMZ

John Doe

I've been type one since I was five. Eating roughly the same amounts at regular intervals every day, and making sure to get your exercise are important--this helps the body to maintain more normal blood sugar. Sweets are not a problem, as long as they're eaten in moderation--half serving sizes are a good rule. It will take a while to get the insulin/exercise/diet regulated, but once you do there are not many limitations. Shots aren't bad, what hurts is the blood testing done in your fingers, but even this doesn't bother you after a bit.

Like anything that requires adjustment, it won't be fun for a while, but with the information that's now available, it's much easier than it used to be. (in the seventies shots were reusable and had to be boiled between uses) Also, keep in mind that your blood sugar WILL affect your mood. If it's too high or too low for too long, you're going to be cranky. Keep it in range, and you'll feel fine. Everyone one will offer their advice about how to live your life when they have little knowledge on the subject, and you have to learn to deal with that, which was the most annoying aspect of the disease for me. THe most important factor is to keep in touch with your doctor and figure out a program that works for you. Really, it's no big deal once you get the ins and outs worked out.

Sparkplug

FMz...Send her name and I will walk in her honor when we do the huge diabetes walk in Dallas this November. I will finally have a name to wear. Not that that is such a good thing, but it will show support. Last year I was about taken out of the wwalk by an 8 year old girl who has diabetes and ran circles around me. She was so very cute. This girl and her mom raised about 2 thousand themselves.

jeanniebeanz

Dear K,

When in my third month of pregnancy, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Although the form of diabetes that I have is now under control without the use of insulin, there were a period of time that I had to give myself insulin shots three times a day. I am sorry that you will be going through this. I hope that in the future a new treatment will be found that will make you not have to have the shots.

My niece has diabetes that she used to have to take the shots for, but now is able to take a pill for hers. I hope that with advances in medicine that you too will some day be healed.

My thoughts are with you!

Jeannie

FMZ

John, thanks for the info mate. Your advice is greatly appreciated, I will certainly pass it on to mother. It is just what she needs right now.

Sparky... sent you a PM as you know. Is there a site people can visit to get more information on the walk. I may actually take part myself. Hmmm, an aposta-diabetes-walk...

Jeannie... your post was beautiful, thanks for the words of encouragement. :) With all that take part in these charity walks and raise money, the meds you mentioned may actually become a reality for K.

Thanks again everyone. Let's keep this bumped and active.

FMZ

MelbaToast

My family has a large history with both types of diabetes. It does take a little while to get adjusted to the new way of dealing with highs and low blood sugars and they can take a toll on moods. That being said, always make sure to have a little glucose on hand if the sugar drops low. Orange juice works good in a pinch too.

Dont worry hon, this is a totally controllable way of life. With all the advances and research going into new options for diabetics, medicines are always changing.

My thoughts are with you *hugs*

Melbatoast

talesin

Hi, FMZ. Diabetes is in my family, and I am lucky to only be a Type 2. This is a difficult thing for the little one, so young ... K will face lots of food challenges as a child, especially from the other children tempting/teasing her. One of the things you can do to help is find/cook special little treats that are 'legal' for her to eat .. I hope her parents are not users of aspartame, as lots of diabetics go overboard with this dangerous chemical, and it's not for children. Do they know about stevia? Back in the day, we gave up 'sweet' in my family, so I don't use it myself, having lost my taste for sweets (hehe, they make me sick, so I don't find them appealing, go figure!), but K's parent(s) may find the stevia to quite be useful ...

Amazing discoveries these days in diabetes research, and for K, there is a possibility that this may not be a lifetime sentence!

Hi, K! I hope you're not too sad from hearing this news. It's hard to have to take needles every day, and I'm sure you are very brave! Try not to feel bad about the sweets and other stuff that the doctor says you can't eat. When you are older, you will be much healthier than a lot of your friends who eat foods that are bad for them. Though I don't have to take needles, I've been eating this way since I was your age, and you won't mind once you get used to it. Don't forget to carry your extra snack with you, just in case you need it.

I'll be thinking of you, rock on! (that's an expression that us old people use, it''s from way back in the 70s)

xo

tal

Markfromcali

I've known a couple of people who are type 1, so just echoing everybody that it can be manageable. The two guys I knew had a pump too and while you have to test regularly they are able to manage very well.

Scully

There is so much going on in the way of research for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes (also known as Juvenile Diabetes) - it's an exciting thing to see the advances that are being made.

Diabetes can be really hard on a young person's self esteem. They feel "different" and like their friends don't understand. They always have to be prepared to manage symptoms of their illness and take extra special care of their body. If "K" enjoys physical activity, it helps a lot to manage blood sugar levels.

While she is becoming accustomed to how her body responds to insulin injections, she will probably have to check her blood sugar several times a day. Eventually, most people with diabetes check their sugars twice daily and if they experience symptoms.

Here's a neat Online Community for Kids with Diabetes and their Families. It really helps to talk to other people who have gone through the same things and understand the feelings that are being experienced, and learn different coping strategies from people who have been there too. This particular site even has a link for summer camps for kids with diabetes... how cool is that??

Talesin is right, needles and finger sticks aren't fun, but your doctor can refer you to a Diabetes Educator who can show you some really neat things - like how to rotate injection sites and finger stick sites so one spot can heal really well before you have to poke it again.

One thing I know is that Diabetes can't stop you from having dreams for yourself and reaching goals that you set. You can still do anything you want with your life. Looking after your Diabetes can be overwhelming at first, but eventually it becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth and combing your hair and everything else that you want to do still gets done. Don't let this stop you from dreaming big dreams for your future!

Here's a List of Celebrities who have Diabetes. None of these people let diabetes stop them from realizing their dreams!

I thought this was a really cool outcome for a group of girls who are all Type 1 diabetics:

Pump Girls
Pump Girls is a musical group composed by three girls, Brittany Rausch (born 1987), Sarah Ann Carey (born 1989), and Debbie Lemus (born 1989), all of whom have juvenile diabetes.
Before early 1998, the three members of the group were going through bouts of teen depression, caused by, among other things, their illness.
That began to change when they decided to join as a group in February of that year. A few months later, they hired H.B. Barnum of Little Star Records to manage them. Barnum had already worked with performers such as Aretha Franklin, Puff Daddy and Barry White. Soon, the girls were able to release their first, self-named CD.
The Pump Girls have been featured on CNN, Peter Jennings' show, and various other media outlets. They tour all over the United States but live in California. They perform primarily at hospitals where there is a large population of children with diabetes.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Love, Scully

Funchback

This is a coincedence.
I was just about to post a thread on this very subject!
My friend is in an identical situation.

Her 3-year-old son was taken to the hospital last week and was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenille Diabetes.
She actually just became a member to this site a month or two ago. I will send her this link.

Friend's Daughter Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes... Post Your Support

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