Hi there! I was diagnosed at 11 (10, technically; 3 days before my birthday). Been over a decade now. I see that you’re scared and hurting and overworked right now, so I wanted to share some stuff with you.
First of all, it is really weird that they’re asking you to give him insulin every 3 hours. Did they not prescribe long acting insulin? When I was first diagnosed, I was given a long acting insulin immediately. Asking the family/patient to deal with that is kind of extreme, and I’m very much so questioning the doctor. Was s/he a family doctor? If so, I highly recommend you get your son in to see an endocrinologist ASAP. At any rate, yes, managing the insulin dosages will become much easier, and not just because you’ll “get used to it.” The schedule itself will become significantly more reasonable once long acting insulin is introduced to the routine.
You are Super Mom. Your son might not understand everything that you’re doing for him right now, but when he’s older he’ll come to appreciate what you’re going through, which is a lot. Maybe more than even he is right now, depending on his understanding of what “chronic” means. I certainly didn’t at that age. On his behalf, thank you so much. You’re amazing.
There is definitely hope for a cure. Apparently research at Harvard has had a major breakthrough recently; however, do not expect a cure within the next few years. I wouldn’t even tell your son about the Harvard thing, if I were you. It is heartbreaking to be told over and over that there will be a cure soon, and then have nothing happen. When they cross the finish line and a cure is found/becomes available, then shout it from the rooftops!
Finally, some advice. Do not manage your son’s diabetes for him, as much as you might want to. He NEEDS those skills later in life. Measuring meals for him is one thing, but make sure he knows how to carb count and calculate insulin doses and all that fun stuff. I’ve had doctors tell me horror stories about college kids who didn’t know how to give themselves a shot.
Don’t let his fears (or your’s) hold him back. All through school, I shied away from sports because I was too afraid of going low. It took me until after I graduated high school to try martial arts, which is honestly now one of my passions. He will learn how to best prevent lows and handle them when they do happen.
Managing diabetes is like a very, very long marathon, and after a while he will get tired and stumble. Please do your best not to be judgmental when his sugars are out of whack. It’s just information to help him choose what to do next, not a grade. As one of my old doctors used to say, “it’s just a number.” That kind of pass/fail thinking messes up a lot of diabetics, discouraging testing sugars regularly, or sometimes leading to overly controlling/obsessive behavior. Imagine having someone look over your shoulder when you stand on a scale and then grade you on whether your weight is “good” or not. That’s a lot like how it feels.
Lastly, feel free to turn to the diabetic community. :) People don’t always realize this, but support-givers need support too! If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help out.
theartofmadeline
gummygunk
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