My 19 yr old Son

[gaudinho's stolen car]

Daniel is 6' 1" and 65kgs, so if anything he is underweight. He has a good appetite but I think he takes after his Mum who tall and also slim. Thank you again for the advice from people with first hand experience of this condition, the links and offers of help are very comforting for us all. Definately not as frightened anymore :)

Up the Blues Terry

You took that comment a lot fucking better than I would have mate. All the best to your son, with your support he will be able to live the same life as anyone else, he's just a little bit different.

He is different my mate, he's a Blue like us and we are definateley different,lol

Ha ha exactly, and we know how to handle adversity with a smile!

 

[bluebird113]

learn how to recognise "hypos" hypoglycaemic episodes these can occur quickly and symptoms vary
some people can become suddenly aggressive other symptoms can range from feeling dizzy, blurred vision, slurred, speech pale faced and profuse sweating to name a few some can be mistaken as being drunk. get your son a sos medallion or wristband in case of emergency and make sure he carries something sweet ie polo mints ,mars bar, or glucose tablets in case it happens

 

[shadygiz]

learn how to recognise "hypos" hypoglycaemic episodes these can occur quickly and symptoms vary
some people can become suddenly aggressive other symptoms can range from feeling dizzy, blurred vision, slurred, speech pale faced and profuse sweating to name a few some can be mistaken as being drunk. get your son a sos medallion or wristband in case of emergency and make sure he carries something sweet ie polo mints ,mars bar, or glucose tablets in case it happens

i carry a card in my wallet that he can also get from the doctors.....its states i am diabetic and gives contact details for doctors and in case of emergency

 

[bluebandits]

I got Daniel a MedicAlert bracelet and he has a card for his wallet. I know it sounds as though we are being overly protective of him, he is 19 after all, but he has never been a minutes trouble to us and he was a tremendous help to his Mum when I was battling Cancer 10 yrs ago. We are going to handle this illness in the same way.... Together.
He has an appointment tommorrow with his Diabetic nurse and he has been keeping a Diary of all his meals & BG readings which have been averageing 9mmol, so he will probably have more news then.

 

[Blue Maverick]

My wife is type 1 and currently pregnant (which is a nightmare in itself never mind shaving diabetes) as others have said as long as your son is sensible he can still lead an active healthy life, unfortunately getting bladdered with his mates will be a thing a thing of the past.
A word of warning to all who have insulin dependent diabetes, the DVLA are cracking down now due to new EU directive, if you are diabetic you will have to re apply for your driving licence every 3 years this is nothing new, but now if you write down on the form you have 2 or more hypos a year there's a good chance you will lose your licence, I would personally not tell them I'm having any, unless they can prove it how will they know, I say this because my wife recently did this only claiming she had 1 last year and they are now writing to her doctor before issuing her licence, if she doesn't get it she will lose her job as she has to drive to the airport from Oldham!!

Is that not grossly irresponsible?

Would you want her to have someone's death on her conscience?

No because the DVLA in their wisdom are counting hypos that people have in their sleep something which the EU doesn't state, my wife doesn't have hypos during the day as she is very good with managing her bloods etc. If they take her licence off her she loses her job, if that's the case I'd be pushing for disability benefit and let her take off the state for the rest of her life, their are over 1million people with Type 1 to treat them this way is terrible. She flies all over the world as cabin crew and has never had a problem,she's never had an episode whilst driving, if they want o do this ban every fucker caught on their mobiles, eating or smoking whilst driving as well.

 

[pauldominic]

I got Daniel a MedicAlert bracelet and he has a card for his wallet. I know it sounds as though we are being overly protective of him, he is 19 after all, but he has never been a minutes trouble to us and he was a tremendous help to his Mum when I was battling Cancer 10 yrs ago. We are going to handle this illness in the same way.... Together.
He has an appointment tommorrow with his Diabetic nurse and he has been keeping a Diary of all his meals & BG readings which have been averageing 9mmol, so he will probably have more news then.

Good stuff Terry and many blessings to Daniel.

 

[Blue Maverick]

learn how to recognise "hypos" hypoglycaemic episodes these can occur quickly and symptoms vary
some people can become suddenly aggressive other symptoms can range from feeling dizzy, blurred vision, slurred, speech pale faced and profuse sweating to name a few some can be mistaken as being drunk. get your son a sos medallion or wristband in case of emergency and make sure he carries something sweet ie polo mints ,mars bar, or glucose tablets in case it happens

Some great advice from BB there mate (but don't be tempted to let it go a little longer as we used to as kids to get the old fella to spill the beans on family secrets lol, they have a tendency to be brutally honest and an urge to tell the truth sometimes during these phases).

This may have already been mentioned to him but a useful tool is to keep a diary logging the times he's administered his insulin, when and what he's eaten etc, how he felt and also activity levels (very important and often over-looked, took my Dad a good while to adjust at work because they'd given him more duties which were far more physically demanding) this can have a big impact if not taken into consideration.

Hypos can often be mistaken for people been drunk, easiest way to treat them is a warm sugary drink or bar of chocolate, hypers are a lot more difficult and need to be dealt with at hospital as it involves fluids into the body etc.

 

[pauldominic]

My wife is type 1 and currently pregnant (which is a nightmare in itself never mind shaving diabetes) as others have said as long as your son is sensible he can still lead an active healthy life, unfortunately getting bladdered with his mates will be a thing a thing of the past.
A word of warning to all who have insulin dependent diabetes, the DVLA are cracking down now due to new EU directive, if you are diabetic you will have to re apply for your driving licence every 3 years this is nothing new, but now if you write down on the form you have 2 or more hypos a year there's a good chance you will lose your licence, I would personally not tell them I'm having any, unless they can prove it how will they know, I say this because my wife recently did this only claiming she had 1 last year and they are now writing to her doctor before issuing her licence, if she doesn't get it she will lose her job as she has to drive to the airport from Oldham!!

Is that not grossly irresponsible?

Would you want her to have someone's death on her conscience?

No because the DVLA in their wisdom are counting hypos that people have in their sleep something which the EU doesn't state, my wife doesn't have hypos during the day as she is very good with managing her bloods etc. If they take her licence off her she loses her job, if that's the case I'd be pushing for disability benefit and let her take off the state for the rest of her life, their are over 1million people with Type 1 to treat them this way is terrible. She flies all over the world as cabin crew and has never had a problem,she's never had an episode whilst driving, if they want o do this ban every fucker caught on their mobiles, eating or smoking whilst driving as well.

Very fair point and well said.

 

[pauldominic]

The injections are nothing to worry about, there's no syringe type needles or finding veins.
The insulin is administered by a small needle in what looks like a fountain pen, into a bit of fat (belly or bum).

Things will be fine, it's hard to deal with at first, coming to terms with it is almost like a grieving process, but it gets easier and becomes normal. No need to fear, if he looks after himself, there's no reason why he won't live a full life, like a tampon tv advert.

His diet needs to improve and so too will yours (presuming he lives at home with you) - no more ready cook meals, shop pizzas, no more sauce jars. They are crammed with sugar & salt (the healthy lifestyle ones are among the worst). Fresh food prepared by you. Not McDonalds and Subway shite. I'm not being presumtious about your eating habits, just saying. A lot of excercise too. He's young so I'm sure he's active.

Don't fret too much, you've just got to get on with it. This is it for life. Good luck.

Expert post!

 

[bluemoon22]

Hi BB sorry to hear about you son's news.My daughter is 11 and has been diagnosed type 1,8 months ago.The initial news was a real shock,her mum and i are divorced and live apart.I see the kids each Wednesday and have them every other weekend to stay.My daughter was never a great eater and was quite fussy with her food but the symptoms came on quite quick.There was quite a weight loss in a couple of weeks,the doctor worked out she could have lost up to 6lb in that time.She injects 4 times a day at present including a slow acting one for nightime.She does her own injections and blood tests without too much fuss,her biggest problem is realising that her condition won't be going away.We have had the "why me? why won't it go away" etc all the emotions she is feeling.It's really difficult to hear but she has lots of support from friends and family and this helps.She is asking her nurse if she can be considered for an insulin pump rather than taking her jabs.Her sugar levels have been up and down a bit but are getting better.
We have just returned from 2 weeks in Egypt and she did great,her levels were good,she eat like all the other kids and adjusted her insulin to suit any ice creams,cakes etc.Due to the extra swimming,activities she was doing we just kept her sugars topped up with fruit juice and biscuits as a snack between meals and all was good.
There is no reason why diabetics can't have a normal life,they just need to be aware of what their body is telling them.
God luck with it mate !