6 to 1 for dinner. 6 to 1 for bedtime snack. It’s heart wrenching to hear this as a mom. If you aren’t familiar with Type 1 Diabetes it means nothing. If you do know anything about the battle of hormones, puberty, the teen years and Type 1 Diabetes you can mourn with me.
Now almost every carb consumed has a consequence. Every 6 carbs equals 1 unit of insulin. It now means even a bowl of popcorn has to be dosed for. It means 1/4 cup of corn needs 1 unit of insulin. It means that 1 cup of macaroni and cheese is now 7 units of insulin. It’s a little mind boggling and numbing at the same time.
You see I was too sick to go to the Endo’s appointment. I missed the news of Eldest’s A1C climbing another .3 points. I missed the Dietitian coming in to talk to him because his weight increased slightly more then his height on the growth curve. I missed the doctor’s slightly snarky jab at my husbands weight. Eldest didn’t seem too phased since the Dietitian quickly realized that food wasn’t being snuck and that Eldest wasn’t obese. She didn’t unpack all of her fake food models or boxes and bags for an object lesson. Thank heavens!
As I write this it is 7:04 am in the morning. The morning after his appointment. I woke up still sick but to the sounds of a puppy puking at the foot of my bed. I clean that up and put her outside. I come back through the kitchen and see Eldest’s meter bag. I grab that small black bag that holds the numbers to keep my son alive. I get out a test strip. I slide it into the meter. I take the lancet and press the button. Poke! I get plenty of blood to test. Beep! Beep! I look at the meter 78! Eldest is low for bedtime and since he isn’t going to wake for a few hours and I am exhausted. I ask if he’s thirsty. He says, “Yes, just grab me a juice box mom.”
I go to the kitchen and grab a 15 carb juice box. I begin to unwrap the straw as I walk back to his room. I hand him the juice box. I decide to go ahead and make myself a hot cup of tea and try to figure out what medicine will help this head cold sinus thing go away.
I hear the dog bark. I let her in and check to make sure she has water. I follow her back into my room to discover I left the side lamp on. I turn off the lamp and coax her back out into the living room.
More then 15 minutes has passed since I handed Eldest a juice box. Since he is not on a CGM (his Dexcom got dropped in a creek a couple of weeks ago and we are waiting for a replacement!) I check his Blood Glucose level to see if he is trending high, low or acceptable for sleep. His BG has gone up to 98 which satisfies my motherly intuition. He usually experiences a rise in BG early in the morning called Dawn Phenomenon. I will check his BG in 1-2 hours or go sit on his bed to be sure he is still breathing. You see our training has been that a Type 1 shouldn’t fall asleep if BG’s are under 120 at night but since his night is almost over I am not too worried.
Everyday with Type 1 Diabetes is a new day but each and every day has it’s own challenges.
To read more of our son’s story check out these posts:
The ER, DKA, and Diabetes Diagnosis Part 1
The ER, DKA, and Diabetes Diagnosis Part 2
The ER, DKA, and Diabetes Diagnosis Part 3
The ER, DKA, and Diabetes Diagnosis Part 4
More Type 1 Diabetes Posts:
How a Juice Box Saved my Son’s Life
Type 1 Diabetes Rescue Boxes for Back to School
Type 1 Diabetes Facebook Support Groups
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I hate knowing children end up with this Disease and it doesn’t go away. As my Ex ended up with it at the age of 4 and by the time my daughter passed away he was up to 5 shots a day. And even though we are no longer together I still worry about him every day. And for everyone that has this Disease or may get it in the Future.
Wow, what a small world! I had no idea that you knew a TID!