[abbymac05]

I am sorry to hear about your Daughter . I hope things are starting to get better for you guys. I know sometimes it feels like it never will get better but trust me it does.

My daughter was just 15 months old when she was diagnosed. She is now 8 and doing well. I am not saying we dont have our issues but it is easier then when she was first diagnosed.

If there is anything you need to talk about I am here for you. Just as I am sure everyone else is as well.

Abbymac05

[cassidy98]

Thanks eveyone for your stories it makes me feel like we are not alone. Which is how we feel a lot. The school she attends feel its not appropriate that she does her insulin in the class room! They make her walk down to the office and eat by herself?? I don't know how you feel about this but I think if she is not embarrased why should they make her feel ashamed. When I approach the teacher she says that its a safety procedure?? She doesn't want to go to school any more. Not sure what to think????

[dano]

I can't say that I blame her! Is this not discrimination? Can she not eat with the other children and walk down to the nurse's station to take her shot. I realize the safety concern, but why should your daughter have to suffer this cruel treatment? It seems that nothing has changed in the public schools system. I once wrote a letter to each school board member, and their lawyer, and sent the letter registered to each person. They knew by this that I had a very good case against them and it got their attention. They rectified the problem immediately. I hope you have similar results.

[gette]

I was reading all the post and I'm not a parent with a diabetic child, but I am a teacher and a Type 2 diabetic. I teach 2nd grade in TN and this year I had a diabetic child in my class. Her mother, the school nurse and I had a plan on how things would work concerning testing and giving shots. She always ate lunch with her class. She would check her own BG levels in the classroom, she felt comfortable enough to do that. However for shots she would go to the nurse's office by herself, especially after lunch. There were times that the nurse was out, I would help the child with her insulin, but she would go to the restroom to give herself the shot. I never pressured her to check her BG or give herself a shot in the class, I always asked what she wanted to do and she would make the decision. I think she felt more comfortable because I was dealing with the same disease she was. She carried a small backpack with her glucometer, insulin pen, extra needles for the pen, sugar tablets for lows, and snacks. She carried this to recess, to PE or she had it at her desk or I cared for it during assemblies. The other students were warned at the beginning of the year about taking other peoples stuff and/ or looking in other people's bags, so they never messed with it.

As a parent you might want to talk to the child's teacher and the nurse and come up with a plan on how to "treat" your child; let them know what they can and cannot do on their own, educational material on how to spot high and low BGs and specifically what happens to your child when they have a high or low, how you want the child to be treated and how the child feels about being diabetic. In TN, the nurse has to keep logs on each diabetic child- BG levels, insulin units given, amount of carbs eaten and where the shot was given. My parent even got a note from the child's doctor on what she needed to have in the classroom and how to handle her highs and what needed to be done if she had a low.

I hope this gives you some insight on how a teacher works with a diabetic child and her parent. I know every school system/ district is different, but I believe that every child should be treated with respect whether or not they have diabetes.

[alexroed]

I'm sorry to hear about your school situation. I was very lucky when my son was diagnosed in kindergarten. His school principal and teachers were fantastic. They did everything possible to make him feel that everything we did to manage his blood sugars during all of elementary school was completely normal and empowered him as much as possible to handle what he could on his own at that age. They let him educate the other students and answer questions until no one gave it a second thought.

We then heard some negative things about the middle school and how the principal there did not allow blood sugar testing or shots outside of the office, and would refuse to administer a glucagon shot in an emergency, etc. Another parent a couple years ahead of my son fought the school board and system for quite a while without success. I was told that the school principal has a certain amount of control over how medical conditions can be managed on school grounds and you can get a lucky or unluckly draw. I'm not sure if that's still the case, or I was given bad information, but we enrolled him in another nearby school which had a much more relaxed attitude, and never had a problem.

I would definitely find out your legal rights and do whatever is necessary to make sure your child is completely comfortable and safe in school.

[redrevis]

Originally Posted by kyramom

We were at her cousin's school fair last night. It was breaking my heart to see her stare at a boy eating ice cream in front of her and to see the look of longing on her face. Then I thought all that sugar in the ice cream is not good for anybody, so she was much better off than the boy who was eating it!

Surely it is ok for her to have an ice-cream. Being Diabetic doesn't mean you have to cut any food out completely, that includes sugary treats. All it means is that you have to be careful to not have too much of them. They become a 'treat' rather than a daily food. It is the same for any healthy diet whether you have diabetes or not, everything in moderation.
I guess the only problem with children is their self control. If they have one sugary treat they will want more, but that is just a learning curve for them that they will get used to.

[cassidy98]

Thanks guys for all your feedback. It has helped alot. I have approached the High School Cassidy would be attending next year and have arranged to talk to the Priniple to talk about a plan we can come to. Our Educator is talking about Actrapid? It would replace the morning Novorapid and she wouldn't need another shot until she came home. Has anyone have any info on this?
But my next problem is that Cassidy is lossing her hair now. This just sent me back into another mess. It has thinned very much, her hair was thin to start with and this has just brought her down again.

I feel so helpless AGAIN. I can deal with the needles the schedules but what do I say to my 11 year old coming into puberty who is lossing her hair???

[redrevis]

Hi Cassidy

It appears actrapid lasts for upto 8 hours which is why it should last her through the school day.

Regarding the hair loss here's a few links to have a read of
http://www.hairlossexpert.co.uk/Caus...sCategory.html
http://www.cots-tri.co.uk/hairlosswomen.html

You have 2 options really. Wait and see if her new routine, insulin, diet etc has some effect and improves the hair loss issue or take her to the GP and see what they recommend for the hair loss and what tests they can do to determine the cause, as hair loss can occur for many reasons. This time in her life being stressful could easily be a contributing factor to the hair loss. Having the thyroid checked could be a start as this can be linked to diabetes and hair loss.

Sometimes hair loss is a symptom of uncontrolled diabetes. Give yourself a chance to adjust to your new routine of insulin, diet and exercise and see if the condition doesn't improve.

Stress can certainly cause it, too, and new diabetics -- or those who undergo a treatment change -- often feel pretty stressed about it all.

Wish I had more info to offer than "wait & see." Do check with your endocrinologist since thyroid issues can be an underlying cause, too. Many of us diabetics also have thyroid issues.

Source

Hope that is some help to you.

[beba0675]

Hi my name is Maria and my daughter is now 14 but was diagnose 7 years ago and our lives have been a roller coster since. Just when things seem to be going well something happens and it seems we have to start all over again. We have tried everything we could possibly think of but she she just doesn't want to accept it. She sees diabetes as the worst thing that could have ever happened to her and numerous times she has lied about both her sugar levels as well as administering her shots. So we start all over again by monitoring everything she does and treating her like a baby. We thought we would make her feel more in controll of it by lettting her take responsibility and trusting her to monitor her levels but she continues to spiral out of control and she has gone as far as to say she rather die than to have diabetes. Me and my husband just don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any suggestion?

[dano]

beba0675;

I understand your desire for information, therefore, I am not going to delete your double post. Reference can me made to this thread. Good luck in finding helpful information.