8 yr old with type 1 diabetes?

Question

My 8 yr old son has just been been diagonised with diabetes type1.Am wondering how he will manage at school. Any experiences out there? What of life expectancy? My wife and I really feel for him

Answer 1

If his levels are maintained at a decent level then he can live a long life without complications.  That's what my doctor says.  Get him on a Medtronic Minimed insulin pump.  It's way better than giving insulin shots all day and night.  Young kids can wear them.  I saw a girl at my daughter's school who wore an insulin pump on the outside of her clothes.  She played just fine.  Keep the levels good, read a lot, get education so you can help him.  Good luck.  

Answer 2

This happens to be a lot more common than we would like it to be. Kids are really pretty good about adapting to what they have to do. School is not a problem as long as he takes his own food and keeps away from junk food. If he has to have insulin injections, after about a year he will be able to do it on his own without a problem.

As for life expectancy, there are really too many variables to predict it. If his temperament will help him to become disciplined in managing his health, he might even be able to cure the diabetes. Dr. Ray Strand tells a remarkable story about an adult patient he had that did just that. I recommend that you take a look at his website and get some of his books to read.  Since I have done that my health has improved remarkably.  

Answer 3

My son is 15 and was diagnosed at 7.  Happily so far, there have been no big issues at school.  Teachers, administrators, nurses have all been so helpful.

You'll need to learn different tricks to help him manage when he's not with you.

I developed this for food issues in school - My son had a set number of carbs to eat for snack and for lunch.  When I packed his lunch I put a number on every item.  Because adding 15 and 15 was tough I put a one on items with 15 carbs and 2 for items with 30 carbs etc.  He knew he could have "4" for lunch and "2" for snacks.  This way he could choose what he wanted to eat to a certain extent.

The biggest problem you may face is other children's birthdays!  Always cupcakes and brownies and sweets - You son can have these but you need to plan.  Ask you teacher to send a note home requesting that parents give 24 hours notice before bringing snacks to the class.  If you know ahead of time, you can plan for the cupcakes.

I'm happy to talk to you about our experiences so far - feel free to email me.  Also www.childrenwithdiabetes.com is a fabulous site.

Oh - SEND YOU CHILD TO DIABETES CAMP NEXT SUMMER!!  My son learned sooo much and was so happy to meet other boys with diabetes.

One last thing - my son has played football, baseball, soccer, played in the marching band, and is on the high school crew team this year.  He can do anything, you just need to plan a bit more.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Here is a website that you might want to visit.. There are tons of parents of children with Type 1, even some kids and teens... It's a great support system, with many people who have experience. They will gladly and sadly (gladly b/c they'd like to help, but sadly b/c of your reason for having to join) welcome you... They are really great people, who will answer any question you may have... There are no stupid or dumb Q's there! ha ha.. the website is www.childrenwithdiabetes.com and my user name on there is Diet Dr. Pepper, if you want to contact me there... Please join up!

Answer 5

Your childs biggest challenge is going to be his diet and learning how to eat properly.  The task of teaching him how to do it right falls on you and your wife.  Sign up for some diabetic educational classes, and make an appointment with a dietitian or a nutritionist.  She can be a life saver.  Don't give in when your child wants more of some kind of food that will put him too far over his carb limit.  Letting him eat more carbs than he really should and making up for it with more insulin is not just a bad way to learn to control his disease, it can also cause weight gain.  Allowing more of something once in awhile is ok, but his diet should be kept within his carb boundries.  It's very hard sometimes to say no to a child, I know, I have 2 of them with diabetes, but it is for their own good health.  You must teach your child the right way to eat, make sure he learns how to do his own injections, (when the time is right) and encourage him to get plenty of exercise.  He will be depending on you to teach him, and if you teach him bad habits now, they will most likely carry over into his adult life.  When he is older, he could have serious complications with his health because he was not taught to make good choices about his diabetes control.  When he is older, sign him up for the classes.  My daughter was testing herself when she was 4, of course, I had to do the readings and enter everything into her log book, but she new the mechanics of testing.  When she was 7, I measured out her insulin, but she did her own injections.  By the age of 9, she measured it out herself, but I still helped in calculations.  She also learned about carbs and how to count them by the age of 12.  I was very proud of her.  She was diagnosed when she was 2 months old.  As long as you teach your son the right things, he will do well in school.  Just be sure to make sure every teacher he has is very aware of his condition, and make sure to send glucose tablets and carb snacks to school with him.  My daughters teachers kept her things in their desk for her so they were close at hand.  Also teach your son to be sure to not be afraid to tell his teacher, or any adult at school when he is not feeling well so they can watch for hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes.  Make sure he wears a medic alert tag of some sort.  Good luck.  It can be frustrating in the beginning.  It is very common for the doctor to have to change or adjust the medications, don't be afraid to go to him for any problem, no matter how small it seems.

Answer 6

He has a long life ahead of him. The trick now is to teach him while he is young, to care for himself.

Tell him how lucky he is. Most people with functioning pancreas feel like they don't have to watch what they eat. They eat garbage, too much sugar, and get fat. Most American adults are obese.

He's different. Because he really has to watch what he eats, he's going to be more healthy and live longer than most. The important thing is that he learns how to care for himself.

Diabetes is a great thing. It's an excuse to take extra good care of yourself, your whole life long.  

Answer 7

School can be a problem. so you have to keep in CLOSE touch with them, especially his teachers, principal, and nurse.

ALL school personnel need to be able to discern the sign of HYPOGLYCEMIA, the most common problem with young diabetics.

The school may also need to make certain 'special" arrangement, like having him eat a special snack that the other kids don't get, or making sure that he doesn't try to share his lunches.  And of course, take his medicines, and shots of necessary.

If you do everything the doctor says, and he is completely cooperative, then his life expectancy is the same as anyone else.  With proper planning, there is no reason why he can't participate is just about everything -- except pie eating contests! :-)  He should grow up just fine, and some day bring you some grandchildren!

He's plenty old enough to begin to understand the seriousness of his disease,  You may need to have the doctor recommend you to a diabetic "trainer" who can teach ALL OF YOU more about the disease.

Keeping that blood sugar consistently in the normal range is CRITICAL!  Learn how to use that meter, and use it lots -- at least 3-4 times a day.

You might want to ask the doctor about the possibility of an insulin pump.  The ones available right now require more finger sticks (10-15 a day) but the over-all blood sugar control is much tighter, which leads to a much more fulfilling lifestyle.

There are some new version of the pumps being tested that will eliminate the finger stick, but these still need testing and FDA approval, and so won't be available for 5-7 years.

AND -- depending on your doctor, there is the possibility of a pancreatic transplant. As with any transplant, anti-rejection drugs are needed for a lifetime.  These drugs also reduced the body's ability to fight infections and colds, so this may not be the best choice until he reaches adulthood.

Answer 8

Teach him to balance insulin with food eaten.  Carry granola bars for low blood sugar...  sweating, shaking, fast heart beat.

Answer 9

I was diagnosed at age 10. On November 11 of this year, it will be 21 years that I've had Diabetes. For me, it was a little difficult to adapt to the changes my body was going through at first. I was always pretty active in sports, and I enjoyed eating sweet stuff as much as I could. My mom was an RN, and I think that helped me at first when I was learning to care for myself. The thing to remember about Diabetes is that you can lead an as close to normal life as anyone else if you take it upon yourself to have good self discipline.

As far as school goes, I lived in a pretty small community at the time, so pretty much everyone found out rather quickly about my diagnosis. My parents were very good about informing the school administration, my teachers, and the school nurse. I think they did a good job explaining what was going on with me, the signs of hypoglycemia, my need for snacks at certain times, and they purchased an extra blood glucose monitor to be kept at the school. You should also get a glucagon kit and some glucose tablets to give to the school nurse in case of an emergency. Your doctor will write a Rx for the glucagon kit, and the tablets are readily available at any drugstore over the counter. As your son becomes more used the daily routine with Diabetes, he will want to take it more upon himself to test his blood and administer injections. Encourage him to do that if he feels comfortable with it.

Life gets back to normal pretty quickly. I was quickly back to playing sports and doing the things that I did before my diagnosis. My parents always made sure that my coaches and my Cub Scout leaders knew about my condition and what to expect (signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia). As I grew into middle school, high school, college, dental school, and career, I took it upon myself to keep people informed that I was Diabetic. I wear a medical medallion in case anything ever happens to me so that people will know for sure what to do to care for me.

I will be honest, the life expectancy is lower for a Diabetic than a non-Diabetic, but with proper management of the disease, the life expectancy can almost equal that of a healthy individual. I'm sure that your doctor will talk to you about complications that can arise for the disease, and if not, you should ask. I'm turning 31 on Monday, and I definitely feel just as great today as I did 20 in my teens. Try to find a good Endocrinologist in your area. We also met with a dietician when I was first diagnosed. She was very good at teaching me about how to count my servings and set out a meal plan.

One more thing, when I was 12, I went to a great camp in Kerrville, TX - Texas Lions Camp. It was a camp solely for kids with Diabetes - both male and female. I had a great experience there meeting kids that shared my disease. Of course, that was before the internet, so I can imagine that there are chat groups on the internet for things such as this now too.

Sorry I've been so long winded. Your story just took me back and brought back a lot of memories for me - from diagnosis to today. Best of luck with everything!!!