Living With Juvenile Diabetes

Posts Tagged ‘Type 1 diabetes’

Has your child been recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes? Are you up “in arms” about what you should do next? Well, take it from a parent who has “been there and done that”, it is overwhelming in the beginning. Chances are the hospital has sent your home with a few books to read that are probably an inch thick, each. And, they have probably set you up with a home nurse just to help out in the first week after arriving back at your home from the hospital; however, this is not long enough for you, as a parent to adjust to the situation or for your child either.

Now, the big question is, “what about school?” Here are a few tips about what we did when my daughter was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes:

1. Contact the school. Set up a meeting with the nurses. Explain to the nurses how to perform the insulin injections according to your child’s sliding insulin scale and how to figure the insulin dosage based upon what they are going to eat for lunch. (Helpful Tip: My daughter packs her lunch every day. Since we count carbohydrates, we premeasure everything at home and put a note in her lunch with the amount of Carb points and the amount of insulin that she should take based upon on her meal alone. Then, all the nurses have to do is take her blood glucose levels, apply the sliding scale (if needed), and give her the insulin injection.) Also, have the school put out your child’s recent picture into the mailboxes of all employees who work there. This will help to get the word out just in case of an emergency in the school with your child.

2. Set up a “Diabetic Kit” for your child. Since my child is a girl, she uses a purse. Inside of it, she has her glucometer, test strips, lancets, alcohol pads, insulin pen, pen needles, ketosticks (used to check ketones), glucagon pen, and even some peanut butter and cheese crackers (just in case). Upon arrival at the school, she takes her kit straight to the nurse’s office and leaves it. At lunch time, she goes a few minutes before her class does in order to go to the nurse’s office to get her insulin injection. Then, prior to getting on the bus in the afternoon, she just swings by the nurse’s office and picks up her kit.

3. Leave extra at school. We provide the nurse’s office with an extra glucagon pen at the beginning of the school year. We also provide snacks that they keep in the office in case her blood sugar is low. We send extra test strips and insulin to be kept at the school, as well.

4. Do not go anywhere without the kit! We have made it a habit that before she leaves the house that we ask her if she has her kit.

5. Train other family members how to care for your child in an emergency. In the beginning, my daughter couldn’t go anywhere. First, we had to get everyone trained on how to care for her. Cell phones nowadays make this a lot easier. We even taught her older brother how to give insulin injections, take her blood sugar, and how to use the glucagon pen.

6. Clean your cabinets out. Although, a diabetic can have sweets and other items, as long as they take their insulin for it, we cleaned out cabinets out and got rid of anything that was not recommended for her. This was just in the beginning until she became used to the idea that she could not have these items like she once did. Once she learned, we began to purchase those items again.

All of the tips listed here we have used ourselves. As a parent of a child with Type 1 Diabetes, once you come home from the hospital after the initial diagnosis, you feel lost. I wish I had information like this; it would have made our lives easier at that point in time. I hope this helps you, your child, and your family!

By: TJacks

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Tami Jackson is a freelance writer who has dedicated most of her past 6 years to learning about Type 1 Diabetes. She has done a lot of research on the subject in order to try to make her daughter’s life much easier. From new research studies that have been initiated to new insulin forms and beyond, her research has entailed countless hours of trying to find the best resources that are available on the market today for Type 1 Diabetes. She and her daughter have helped to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Association and more. They have participated in numerous walks, fundraisers through various organizations such as Hardee’s, and even have set up a lemonade stand in their hometown in order to raise funds for the cause.