# New Type 1 diagnosis -13 year old boy



## Billy B (Apr 22, 2018)

Hi 

My 13 year old son has just been diagnosed with Type 1.  All of a sudden a lot of things he'd been doing over the last few weeks made complete sense.

He's into every sport, especially rugby.  We have a lot to learn in the weeks ahead.

We'll we be reading here.

All the best 

Billy


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## HOBIE (Apr 22, 2018)

Welcome Billy B . Sorry 2 here about your son but being active is the best way. I used to play rugby for my school & have been T1 for more than 50yrs. Please keep asking if you are not Shure. Good luck


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## stephknits (Apr 22, 2018)

Welcome Billy, glad you found us.  How did your son's diagnosis come about?  There are lots of people on here who do sports so hopefully you will get some great advice whenever you need it


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## Ralph-YK (Apr 22, 2018)

Welcome to the forum Billy. I hope you find the place supportive.


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## Matt Cycle (Apr 22, 2018)

Hi Billy and welcome to the forum.   It must have been a big shock for both your son and you.  Over time though things will become more routine although you never stop learning with T1.  In terms of sport there is no reason at all why he can't continue to participate with a few adjustments.  A number of us on here take part in all sorts of sports at various levels.  There are now a number of professional athletes with Type 1 competing in a range of sports including football, rugby and cycling.

Runsweet is a great site that covers a whole range of sports and exercise and Type 1 diabetes.


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## SB2015 (Apr 22, 2018)

Hi Billy
There is indeed a lot to learn about, very quickly with a diagnosis of T1.  I was a lot older than your son when diagnosed and at whatever age it is a big shock.  After 10 years all the testing and delivering insulin is part of the new normal.  As others have said it does not need to stop him doing anything, it just takes a bit more planning beforehand and lots of monitoring.

Things tend to be a bit unpredictable in the early stages during the so called Honeymoon Period.  This is when the pancreas’s final few beta cells, which make insulin get a bit of a rest, as your son is now diong most of the work by injecting, and decide that they can make a bit of insulin.  Then they get tired and decide that they can’t.  Then ....so don’t let hime get too annoyed if it is difficult to get things levelled out at first (or even later on).  They will want to bring his blood glucose levels down slowly to normal levels.

Once things are more settled they should then start to teach hime about carb counting and how to adjust his own doses of insulin.  But that is a little way ahead.  Patience is what is needed now.  

A book that I have found invaluable is Type 1 Diabetes in Children, adolescents and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas.  I was 53 at diagnosis and wish I had known about the book then.  It explains things very clearly and is well referenced so makes it great when looking for a solution to a problem.  It is updated regularly with information on the latest technology, so worth finding a copy of the most recent edition. Not cheap but well worth the money.

If you or your son have any questions there are plenty of people on here who are only too happy to help, and they are able to draw on loads of practical experience.


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## Radders (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi Billy, glad you found us. There are quite a few parents of children with type 1 on here who I am sure will be happy to answer any questions you have as a carer.


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## Northerner (Apr 23, 2018)

Billy B said:


> Hi
> 
> My 13 year old son has just been diagnosed with Type 1.  All of a sudden a lot of things he'd been doing over the last few weeks made complete sense.
> 
> ...


Hi Billy, welcome to the forum  Sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis  The good news is that it should not stop him achieving all he hopes for, and particularly in sport. There are many, many examples of top-flight sportsmen and women with Type 1 who manage their  diabetes very well on very rigorous and intensive training programmes, as there are in all walks of life - it just tends to take a bit of extra planning and a few extra precautions  I've run several half-marathons since diagnosis, and the exercise has actually helped me to maintain good blood sugar control - you just need to take things steadily to begin with and learn how your body responds - this can vary greatly from individual to individual.

I would highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas, it is excellent, and covers all aspects of living with Type 1. It's not cheap, but it's best to get the latest edition as things can move quite quickly in the world of diabetes and available treatments, so the book is frequently updated 

Also, you and he may be interested in getting a copy of the Diabetic Athlete's Handbook, which is very useful for explaining how to deal with various types of exercise and explains the physical processes very well 

What insulin is he on, and how is he finding things so far?

Good luck! There is a steep learning curve, but you will get there. Any questions or concerns, please ask, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience here, and there is unlikely to be anything that has not been experienced by others, who have found an answer or strategy


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## Billy B (Apr 23, 2018)

Thanks to everyone for their replies - much appreciated indeed.

We've be in hospital since Friday and are due to meet the diabetes team today to sort the care plan.

Not that it's the most important thing right now but he has a rugby cup final he's due to play in a couple of weeks.  Really don't want him to miss that.

I'm back off to the hospital now.

Best wishes all.


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## Northerner (Apr 23, 2018)

Billy B said:


> Not that it's the most important thing right now but he has a rugby cup final he's due to play in a couple of weeks. Really don't want him to miss that.


Much will depend on what toll the circumstances leading up to his diagnosis have taken on him. I was due to run a marathon the week I was diagnosed and once they gave me insulin I felt so full of life (after not realising how ill I had become) that I honestly thought I would still be able to make it. Unfortunately, I was still in hospital 8 days later and when I came out I started to realise just what it had all taken out of me. I hope that his circumstances are much better, but the most important thing is to regain his health and strength, and also to work out a strategy for trying to keep his blood sugars under control if he is feeling well enough to participate.

Good luck, I hope he is home soon!


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## Billy B (Apr 25, 2018)

Thanks to everyone for their kind replies.   We are feeling better as a family now we have been drilled in the measure/count/inject regime. The people at the hospital have been fantastic. I've ordered the Ragnar Hanas book.

We are back home now and my son is just about to try an afternoon at school with him injecting himself after lunch.

He has a Freestyle Libre Sensor on his arm and we are going to try him with it at a rugby training session tomorrow.  Covered up with some rubber tubular bandage. I'm reading the various threads about experience with the Sensor at sport.  I'd be very grateful for any advice anyone has about playing rugby with one of these.

Thanks again.


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## trophywench (Apr 25, 2018)

Just had a thought re Rugger - you could always ask the RFA if they have any contacts/info? - there must surely be some other T1s playing Rugby at a high level of the sport?


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## christophe (Apr 25, 2018)

Billy B said:


> Thanks to everyone for their kind replies.   We are feeling better as a family now we have been drilled in the measure/count/inject regime. The people at the hospital have been fantastic. I've ordered the Ragnar Hanas book.
> 
> We are back home now and my son is just about to try an afternoon at school with him injecting himself after lunch.
> 
> ...


Hello Billy B.
Not sure how relevant my experience is, as my time playing rugby and being diabetic didn't coincide. But if this helps..
I am on my fourth libre sensor now, three held on pretty well but one just fell off, I guess it's going to be as random as that. In terms of rugby, I am sure your son can relate to this as can anyone who played.. whatever is bothering you, that's where you will get hit first and hardest, I would say put micro porous tape around the sticky pad for a bit of extra hold-on, cover the sensor so that the edges are less likely to snag on anything and.. forget about it as best as he can.. easy to say but as an example, I can't tolerate things in my mouth, toothbrushing is a battle against a gag reflex but I could wear a mouth guard for an entire game. I was focused on something else..

are you planning to scan during the game? Whatever the plan is.. perhaps do it first in a couple of training sessions just to get readings from comparable situations, the exact values aren't the most valuable data but the trend and movement is. 
Good luck to you both! What team is he playing for??


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## Billy B (Apr 25, 2018)

Thanks - will do. I see there's some info on the web site. I understand England player Henry Slade is Type 1.


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## Billy B (Apr 25, 2018)

We've got training tomorrow night - mum is going to be on the side lines for scanning him occasionally during the session. I won't say the team yet on here - just figuring how with my wife and son how low profile or not we want to keep his condition. (of course the folks at the club and team members will know).


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## Matt Cycle (Apr 25, 2018)

Billy B said:


> Thanks - will do. I see there's some info on the web site. I understand England player Henry Slade is Type 1.



There is a thread featuring an article about Henry Slade below.  Link to the article doesn't seem to work now and I can't locate the original article but here's an interview with him from JDRF.

https://jdrf.org.uk/news/emerging-r...-diabetes-and-salutes-fellow-jdrf-supporters/
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/henry-slade-rugby-union-with-type-1-diabetes.56415/


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## christophe (Apr 25, 2018)

Billy B said:


> We've got training tomorrow night - mum is going to be on the side lines for scanning him occasionally during the session. I won't say the team yet on here - just figuring how with my wife and son how low profile or not we want to keep his condition. (of course the folks at the club and team members will know).


That's all good.. still very early and if I am anything to go by, my head was spinning for weeks about all kinds of things. Still is to be honest, you kind of develop work-arounds as you go. 
Didn't know about Henry Slade! I was watching him at twickenham against Argentina about a month before my diabetes became noticeable.. Chris Pennell at Worcester is another, you would do a lot worse than contacting the clubs directly. I would be surprised if the players didn't respond with some encouragement..


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## TheClockworkDodo (Apr 25, 2018)

Just make sure he has some rapid acting glucose (jelly babies or glucose tablets or full-fat coke or pure fruit juice) to hand while he's training or playing, so that if he has a hypo he can treat it immediately and just have a few minutes break and then a biscuit or two before carrying on.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Apr 26, 2018)

Sorry to hear about your son’s diagnosis Billy. Good luck with getting to grips with it all.


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## Billy B (Apr 26, 2018)

Thanks again everyone - I much appreciate the replies.

Billy


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## novorapidboi26 (Apr 26, 2018)

A late welcome from me Billy....sorry to hear of the diagnosis.......I was 15 when I became diabetic, and looking back, it wasn't that bad......and that was before basal/bolus regimes and structured education/flash glucose systems etc.....

so your boy is in good hands....


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## stephknits (Apr 26, 2018)

i hope the training session goes well.  There have been some interesting threads on here about how private or not  people keep their diagnosis and you are right, it is worth thinking carefully about.


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## Billy B (Apr 29, 2018)

Thanks for all the messages.  We've had a hectic mad first week going from the horrible feeling of the diagnosis on Friday 20th, 3 days of measurement in hospital through to getting my son back to school on the Wednesday, starting with a half day first. We do feel much more in control now we understand a bit more of the measure/count/injection regime. His glucose is still consistently above 10 but  it is coming down and the hospital says he is doing ok. 

We've got a Libre Freestyle patch installed on him which has been helpful for getting quick reassurance of where he's up to at night and during the day outside of the regular finger prick measures.   It was good that all this kit has been free on the NHS (apparently a recent change with the sensors). The hospital and all the staff on the children ward have been brilliant.  Everyone from the senior consultant through to the cleaning staff have been kind, considerate and professional to a fault - even putting up with me sleeping on the ward for 3 nights.

Getting my son organised for school has been a challenge. He was bit chaotic anyway, especially when he had a trumpet and sports kit, and now he has his insulin kit to remember too.  We took him for for an eye test yesterday and he now also has glasses. We aren't sure if this is linked to the diabetes or just the way his eyes have become.  We have another test booked in a fortnight.

We are running into exam revision time now which adds more pressure in the house.   We had this anyway with conflicts with his xbox which was always a battle to limit.  When he is moody ('time to revise - get off your xbox'), we aren't sure him being a teenager or is something linked to higher blood sugar.   I need to look into this. A colleague at work with Type 2 mentioned he was moody when his blood sugar was up.

My son made it to rugby training on the Thursday as planned ready for the final on 6th May.   He was a bit nervous about going but all the boys were great and he was soon playing as physically as he always was, even with the sensor on.  It turns out he'd lost over 5kg before the diagnosis so I think it makes a difference now he has got some of his weight back.

Thanks again for all the messages and support. We'll see how we go on this week.


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## stephknits (Apr 29, 2018)

Thanks for the update - what a week!  It's great that you have a libre, as you say, fantastic for reassurance and as you get used to things, for spotting trends and patterns in blood sugar levels.  Glad the team is do good and you feel well supported.  
High blood sugars often affect eyes temporarily and this tends to resolve as blood sugars go down.  Hopefully the glasses were free for children.
You are quite right to think the mood swings may be due to high blood sugars. I was diagnosed wrongly and spent 9 months with high bs.  During that time I would totally loose it with my kids over the slightest thing.  It was hugely upsetting as I felt out of control and didn't know the cause.  When re-diagnosed and given insulin I went back to normal.  However as I have a 14 year old in the house, I can only sympathise and wish you good luck on working out what normal is .


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## trophywench (Apr 29, 2018)

I bet you are the 'only parents who make their son stop playing with' an X-Box, Game Boy, Lego, football - whatever just happens to be the trend at the moment ,because nobody else has to do this!'

You are exactly as totally unreasonable as parents always were, still are and hopefully evermore will be, for their kids education needs.  Of course it didn't used to start until a bit later - but I can easily remember having such unreasonable parents when I was at school myself, even though I'm 68 now.  I could be 'a right little madam' when I wanted to be though funnily enough 99% of reasonably well educated adults admit to the same.

High BG does indeed make us grumpier than usual - but adolescents of either gender are most definitely grumpy anyway.  You could try striking a dad/son deal with him.  Explain that you've researched it and discovered that high BG always makes T1s grumpier than normal - but since you aren't him so never know whether it's that or not, can he simply reserve his grumpiness for when he is high.  If he agrees, then say good - and then test his blood every single time he grumps! - no exceptions 'just in case'.


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## HOBIE (Apr 30, 2018)

Billy B said:


> Thanks again everyone - I much appreciate the replies.
> 
> Billy


Keep at it Billy & son


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