BG and Puberty

[right2fight]

So many of you here were dx'd at a young age and I assume survived puberty. Could you share some of your experiences with raging hormones at 13 and diabetes, so I may have a heads up on the situation.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Margaret

[duck]

Yeah. "Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here..."

Just kidding. It was rough, and I developed T1 at the tail-end of puberty. Basically, your sugars are literally all over the place, and control is not easy. Though, looking back and reflecting, I can now say 99% of my problem was I *just* didn't want to test at all. The other 1% was lack of education...I know so much more today about the importance of testing, what to do based on the results, etc. Back in the early 90's, we were still in the Dark Ages, as far as I am concerned. And my care team was terrible, though they tried hard.

Childrenwithdiabetes once recommended that teens try Metformin as well to control liver dumps and associated spikes. You may want to consider that, though I am not one to push more meds.

[Mick]

I was dx'ed at age 13--right in the midst of puberty. However, that was in 1966, long before we could monitor our blood sugar levels in any accurate way. We had to pee into a cup, measure 5 drops of urine into a test tube with 10 drops of water, put in a tablet of (whatever that stuff was called...!), let it boil and then match the color it turned to a chart--blue was good, orange was bad is how I remember it. All that told you was if you were "spilling sugar" in your urine--which was some indication of what your blood glucose might have been several hours earlier. But because we had no idea what our "renal threshold" for glucose might be, that whole process really told us nothing of any use whatsoever. I had my blood glucose measured by the doctor twice a year--it was generally in the 70s or 80s, but my urine tests at the time seemed all over the place--4+ one moment, zero the next. Who knew?

Michael

[HollyB]

Hi,

My son Aaron was diagnosed a year and a half ago, at 13, and is turning 15 on Saturday. The puberty thing seemed a non-issue while he was honeymooning but we are seeing it now. His insulin needs have gone steadily up -- he's using about 50 units a day now, sometimes 60, and p***ed because his pump won't hold a full three day supply. But it hasn't been as bad as I've heard some kids go through, not yet anyway.

We have to adjust his doses a lot, and he does sometimes just spike way up for no apparent reason. But luckily he has totally bought into the value of frequent testing so he doesn't stay up there for too long.

I would say the biggest challenge right now is his growth rate and appetite! The kid gets these hunger jags where he could rip through 100 carbs at a go... for snack. Usually hits at bedtime -- he's starving, pacing around the house stuffing food in his mouth. I can only imagine how high he spikes before the insulin brings him back to normal. So then he's going to bed with big wads of insulin still active, which means I am fairly often checking him at about 1 a.m. to make sure everything has settled down safely.

I think so far we've been lucky. He hasn't had D that long so he isn't "burned out" like some teens are, and the pump makes everything much easier. I'm pretty sure we would have major issues without it.

[right2fight]

Thanks for all your input, gives me some info for comparison. Margaret

[Dewey]

Hi Margaret,

I agree that it was rough at times. I think that's true of all phases in our lives, no matter the age. However, with hormones & other changes we experience during teen years, it does indeed serve to cause troubles with levels and other things. I went through some serious stuff throughout my teens. At 13, I seemed to be ok, but at 16, lost my father to a brain aneurysm. :( Talk about issues...of course, that was the same year menstrual cycles started (& actually paused for about a month or so, after his death).

During my teens, I didn't do so hot at times. At 13, I seemed (or thought I was) ok, but at 16, was all over the place. Any fluctuations I'd been having over the previous years stirred up a few problems (one with my eyes, the other with kidney functions). Luckily, I started getting back on track, and truly believe that it saved my rear. Also, pumping has helped tremendously. I'm sure that had I been able to pump during my teen years, I might have done better during some of those times.

If you need help or have any questions, Always feel free to ask us here. We'll do our best to assist when and wherever possible. Diabetes can sometimes be a confusing disease, as it can vary from person to person. No reason that getting answers should be any crazier! ;)

[right2fight]

Dewey, thanks. While nothing has happened emotionally, he is doing a lot of socializing and the hormones are raging and his #'s are all over the place suddenly. Insulin adjustments just are not doing the trick, where he has always been pretty insulin sensitive. We've been told in the past by endos to expect the wacked out #'s but as careful as he is, his #'s remain high. Awaiting a call back from CDE. Thanks again for you willingness to help and share your experiences. Margaret