Tough few weeks - honeymoon over?

[HollyB]

Coinciding with the end of school and a completely different sleep schedule,
Aaron's BGs have been running way high, seemingly no matter what we do. This kid for the past 9 months has been the poster boy for great control, though honeymooning of course. (Last A1c 5.5)

So we've been fiddling away with his doses -- his TDD has gone from an average of about 25 to 35-40 in a 2-week period and we are still seeing way too many BGs in the 10 to 15 range. (Yesterday as an example. He woke up about noon in normal range. 9 by afternoon snack, 9 at dinner, 16!!! at 9 pm. He took a correction and skipped his bedtime snack and then started coming down fast, going a bit low just before he went to sleep.) He used to be able to eat just about anything and, if he bolused appropriately, he'd be fine. Now eating just about anything seems to send him way up -- and he's 14, growing like mad, he eats a lot!

I'm guessing we are looking at the end of the honeymoon plus peak hormones plus big lifestyle change -- but it doesn't make it any less frustrating (or anxiety-inducing). We've been through several major dosage adjustments before but it's always just been a matter of tweaking up his ratios. This seems to be a whole different ballgame.

Anyway, I'd love to hear from some of the teens/young adults out there -- did you go through a phase where your BG was really hard to control? Did it eventually settle down again? Anything you found that helped? Did you have to restrict your diet, even on a pump?

Any help, advice, or hand-holding welcome.

[sbuff28@charter]

so im guessing its close to a year after diagnosis? Especially being 14, yes i would say his honeymoon may be about over. Its definatly not going to get easier with the control. It still seems as though he has some insulin production left becuase 35 units per day still isnt very much for a 14 year old growing boy....that will still probally go up a good deal.

Im in pretty much the same situation except im 7 years older. I would say don't pressure him/ get upset at all over the BG numbers. Being 14 is tough enough anyways, sometimes he might not want to show off his diabetes stuff to the whole school everyday. It's tuff, but its something that you just have to roll with and take the punches. Don't stress him out over his numbers, its really not that important...the point being it will get better.

Bad BG numbers? Hes gonna have to adjust... and move on, thats the best way to deal with diabetes in my opinion. Stressing isnt worth it. it probally wont physically hurt him that bad anyways as long as he gets some insulin.

Give him support... but dont stress him/yell at him/ get upset over it.... that will make it worst

Pumps are nice.

[Nejeda]

I was in the honeymoon phase for two years... and my bloodsugars are still hard to control because of the wonderful puberty bug. But my blood sugars were in control between the honeymoon period and puberty. It seems once I got over one bump, I hit a hug snag... but it's part of growing up I guess. All I did and do is test my sugars more and watch what I eat.

I'm not sure whether you know this or not, but the honeymoon phase can last for a long time, or a short time. Mine lasted, as I said two years, my friend, only two weeks. And everyone is different when it comes to how their sugars react. Mine were slightly high, his were slightly low... For awhile I thought it was like playing darts in the dark.

[Cyborg]

Maybe it's time for a new round of testing.

[HollyB]

I hear you about not too much pressure. I would never yell at him or rag him -- I know he's really conscientious, it's just that things have changed and we're having a hard time figuring out the new reality. But being new at this myself, I do get really anxious about consistently high BGs (at least, I'm pretty calm about it with him, and then lie awake at night with a stomach ache!) and really want to "fix" it -- and even when you're being supportive, there's a limit to how much hovering/checking/fiddling/testing a 14-year-old can take.

Cyborg, if it were me, I would be doing the whole careful basal setting thing. But with a kid this age, it's mind-boggling even to contemplate it. Skip meals? Even skipping snack is a hardship -- he's growing so fast, he's hungry all the time. He's on holiday, so his wake-up time is all over the map. Some days he's doing stuff with his friends all day (sometimes all night, it's peak sleepover age). His activity level varies hugely. So there's more trial and error than I would like. I do suspect his basals are still too low in proportion to his total insulin -- we need a few "normal" nights in a row that I can check him in the middle of the night and early morning so we know at least how his BGs are running while he sleeps.

That said, we had a great day yesterday. We took a bunch of kids up to our cottage, and though he did go low just before dinner (after spending hours in water play and doing a long-distance swim) his numbers were great. The magic power of exercise, I guess.

[Cyborg]

Keep up the good work. As a parent, I know it's gotta be tough. :top:

[HollyB]

Thanks. Another good day yesterday, and I did a 7 a.m. test today (about 4 hours before wake-up time) and he was running a lovely 5.6. I'll do a 3 a.m. test tonight assuming his bedtime reading is good and that will give us an initial sense of what's going on at night. I'm encouraged though -- we seem to be close to a good new set of ratios. For now.

It is tough sometimes. But then I give myself a mental slap -- I mean, if it's tough for me, what's it like for Aaron? And he is handling it with an amazing amount of resilience and grace.