# teenagers with type 1



## nitaduck (Mar 12, 2012)

hi
i am new to this but does anybody have any advice - my 14yr old daughter has type 1 and was diagnosed at 8yrs of age. 
the last 2 or 3 years have been difficult - her hba1c has been constantly in double figures and if i try to talk to her about her diet, insulin and blood sugars we have a big arguement.
nita


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## fencesitter (Mar 12, 2012)

Hi Nita
I'm the parent of a type 1 teenager too (boy, aged 14). It's hard to talk to teenagers at the best of times, so you have my sympathy. There are quite a few parents of kids who've been through/are going through a rebellious stage, and several T1s who were rebellious themselves, so I'm sure you'll get some good advice here. Do you have a good diabetic team? You can ask for help with psychological stuff if you think there may be complicated things going on (eg. worries about body image - some kids go through a phase of running high to help them lose weight for instance). Do you know whether your daughter is testing/taking her insulin? My son is away at school during the week but we do have an agreement that I download his meter data every Friday so I can see how things have been going.
Looking forward to chatting more. 
Best wishes, Catherine


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## MeanMom (Mar 20, 2012)

Nita Hi

If your daughter has Face Book there is a group called Type One Teens she could take a look at.

Xx


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## nitaduck (Mar 26, 2012)

thank you ladies - will def tell her about fb  type 1 teens and thanks for your support


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## Estellaa (Mar 26, 2012)

Hey im 17 had diabetes since i was 6, so i've gone through it all, if you need any advice or anything then contact meeee  x


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## nitaduck (Apr 7, 2012)

thanks estella - still struggling, she makes all sorts of promises at the clinic then gives me the attitude at home . i can't help but worry about her but don't know how to get through and she has such a sweet tooth like me :-(
since she was diagnosed 6yrs ago i am afraid i have neglected my own diabetes (type 2) so its a double whammy at the mo.
that said i glad i found this website it helps to know i am not alone


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## Tina63 (Apr 7, 2012)

Hi Nita

Sorry, no advice, just empathy.  I have a rebellious 17 year old son, diagnosed 16 months ago.  He complied beautifully for 6 months, got HbA1c down from 15.8% at diagnosis to 6.1% 6 months later.  In September it had crept up to 9.1% but since December he has been in double figures.

Is your daughter on MDI?  Does she 'deal with it' at school?  It turned out my son suddenly felt very uncomfortable testing and injecting at school as he moved to 6th form with a new bunch of friends who didn't know about his diagnosis, so suddenly went into denial about it all.

His team came up with a solution, which though not perfect, seems to be helping a bit.  He used to be on Novorapid with all meals and Lantus at bedtime.  He started skipping lunchtime doses.  Once he skipped one dose, it seemed to him not to be a problem to skip another too, hence the high HbA1c.  What his team suggested was putting him on a mixed insulin (Humilin M3) at breakfast time to cover him whilst at school, then back to the Novorapid with evening meals/snacks and Lantus still at bedtime.

It's not perfect, they had to stab in the dark with dose levels to begin with, and have now upped it a bit, so hopefully we see positive improvements at his next clinic appointment in May, but I feel things are a bit better than they were.

He won't test though, he goes weeks and weeks without testing.  Even when hypo he says he knows he is hypo, so doesn't need to test to confirm it, just treats it!  He too has a very sweet tooth (and a weight problem) and as he earns his own money from a weekend job now, I feel powerless to stop him buying bars of chocolates and sweets and eating them in one go, mid evening.

Just like you, any mention of anything diabetes/diet related, and he goes off on one at me.  No magic answers I'm afraid.  I really have backed off lately, going days without mentioning anything, but only last night he mentioned feeling sick as he had been given an Easter egg at work and came home and scoffed the lot.  Of course I mentioned he shouldn't have eaten it all, and certainly needed to inject for it, and off he went at me.  What can I do?  I don't have a clue.  He won't consider online forums or facebook pages or anything.  To him, I think that would just be a step too far in accepting he has the condition.  I really fear for his long term health given his denial, but feel powerless to do anything about it.

We see his DSN in about 10 days just for a chat, but that's all that will be, no blood tests, so won't really know how it's truly going, and of course he will say just what they want to hear.  He will admit to not testing, but when they suggest he does at least a couple of times a day he will agree to, but won't.

So sorry, no magic answers, just shedloads of empathy!

Good luck.
Tina


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## HOBIE (Apr 21, 2012)

Keep Nagging (in the best possible way) One day they will thank you   KIDS ! who would have em.   Good Luck


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## nitaduck (May 6, 2012)

thanks for all the support guys - Tina - it might not have been advice but it helps more than you know to hear that somebody else has the same problems and struggles to cope like myself.
My daughter d team are good but have not talked bout any change in regime - YET one of the nurses did suggest she tried a pump for a trial period so we maybe going to look into that but sadly at moment i don't hold out much hope - anyway thanks for that and any time u wanna chat contact me 
nita


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## justlikethehotels (May 24, 2012)

Not sure if it will help, but I keep trying to explain to G (diagnosed in December, age 13) that good control NOW will avoid problems LATER - hard for anyone aged 14 to understand but that's what I go for ...

If she's being "difficult" I use the "when I was your age I was a size 10 and now look at me (age 41)..."  and show her photos .... then I hit her with the scare tactics - "Diabetes is a life changing, but completely manageable condition, but if you don't control it it WILL control you and you WILL suffer the consequences including, in the worst case kidney problems, eye problems blah blah blah ..."

G is VERY sensible, always has been, and if she were a different child I'm not sure I'd use this tactic, but it seems to work for/with her ... for now


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