For Zach's Granny and Significant Others of Type 1, Juvenile Onset Diabetics... What you CAN do...

Zach's Granny,
There is a ton of stuff you can do to help Zach!

#1 Become educated about the disorder of Juvenile Onset Type 1 Diabetes. This means learning some anatomy and a bit of physiology (like where the pancreas is and how it works). This is best accomplished by reading a book from the library about anatomy, not diabetes. Anatomy books give facts, not opinions of programs, diets or supplements.

#2 Learn what the nutrition labels on foods mean. Basically all foods fall into one of three categories: Fats, Proteins and Carbohydrates. Zach should be on a food program and if you learn how to measure a food then you can have the right foods on hand for him when he visits. For the most part fats and proteins affect the blood sugar levels very little or very slowly. For example, some foods, like nuts, are mostly fat, a little protein and a little carbohydrate. The great news is that the fat in most nuts is a monounsaturated fat and helps the good cholesterol that your body needs for nerve function and other processes. Fat also delays food absorption so you feel satisfied longer when you include it in your foods. The protein is great for a growing boy and the small amount of carbs is ok for the most part. So a small serving of peanuts may be good to have on hand for him to snack on (if he doesn't have nut allergies.) The thing is, you have to read the label to find out what a serving is!

Some foods, like broccoli are carbohydrate although you may not think of them that way. Vegetables are mostly made up of plant sugars and starches, and cellulose(fiber) as well as some vitamins and minerals. Because the plant sugars are packaged inside the cell walls of the vegetable our bodies have to work to get at them. This is why you can eat a mountain of broccoli and gain no weight. The calories are present in the broccoli but your body can't access all of them. In foods like spaghetti or bread the cell walls of the wheat have been broken down and the plant starches have been stuck together in an almost pure starch (carb!) form. These foods raise blood sugar levels and give us the energy we need to function but insulin is needed to handle this carb load and get the sugar into the body's cells where it's used for energy production.

Please understand that insulin is like a UPS truck moving packages from here to there. Each package has some food energy for the cells but if you don't have enough trucks (insulin) the packages never reach their destination. This is why you don't want to interfere with the amount of insulin that Zach needs. He needs all he is supposed to have and unless his pancreas spontaneously starts pumping out insulin again he needs to make it available via injection so he can use the food he eats.

3# Accept his diabetes as part of him and his new lifestyle. Don't waste time and hope on 'miracle cures' and 'natural' or 'alternative' meds. His doctor has diplomas all over his wall testifying to his/her knowledge and experience in handling medical conditions. She/He has scientific training and care about his/her patients. This is the person to help Zach with his insulin needs so he is able to use the food he puts in his body. He/she is the one who will order nutrition and insulin classes and make sure that Zach knows how to regulate his blood sugar levels for optimum health and energy needs. Turn your anxiety for him into something positive by learning new ways to help him cope. If you are allowed to, attend his nutrition classes with him. Look at positive things in his future instead of how untreated diabetes can affect people.

4# Let Zach teach you about his condition. Show a healthy curiosity of what he does each day and as he teaches you he will become more self assured about owning his own health care. Ask him about foods and insulin needs. Help him pick out a cool ‘medical alert’ bracelet or necklace to wear so if he should run into problems there will be info for health workers to zone in on. Help him discover answers if he doesn’t know them. And finally, find out his favorite soda pop and get a case of it in diet. That way he will always feel welcome at your house.

Sunday! You are a treasure! I love the pie story!

And Hello Again Sunday , How do you feel about Zach's diet of all those carbs? I know you have type 1 Does that seem normal? He went back to school today and everything went ok. He was a little scared, but there is another little boy there who has type 1 also. He now uses the pump though. They said it would be a while before Zach could have one . His sugar levels keep running 200 or above with the exception of Sat. They stayed below 150 During that day. The doctors didn't seem to be alarmed , But I sure as heck am. Am I being too paranoid? Any input from you guys would be appreciated.

Totally agree with you about the video games, Jeannie. LOL.

And everything you wrote for Zach's granny. Zach, as a growing teen, needs a lot more carbs than the rest of us.

Zach's Granny: You've mentioned he is under the care of a pediatric board-certified endocrinologist. Trust that credential and don't let anyone cause you to second guess the doctor's recommendations. It sounds like Zach is off to a good start.

Remember to take care of yourself, too. Particularly since you two are so close and spend so much time together. I know it's hard not to worry, but it's good for Zach if he knows you're okay and not upset. Stress just makes the predictablity of an insulin regimine more difficult. It will take awhile for his life to settle back into a normal teen existence, but it will.

Hey, thanks you guys . Didn't mean to start a war LOL. I am doing much better with understanding all that is going on with Zach right now. And he is awesome at doing what the Doctor tells him. He checks his own blood and also gives his own shots. All his life he has had to be a tough cookie.  He is doing well with it at school also. He skateboards and as long as he can still do that he is content. He also plays video games but And you are right Jennie, he can beat those and I sure can't.We do get him to exercise and that also helps his sugar counts. I am very careful at fixing his meals So is his mom. His sugar levels are getting better. He seems to be the highest between lunch and dinner. Other times he is between 84 and 137.So I guess we are getting there. I will learn more of course as we go along and so will he. He never sees me worry. When he is here we just have fun together. After all I am a young 58 year old granny.

Hey Jeannie and Wbisme ,don't worry. I was only kidding. We have to have a sense of humor don't ya think? Thank you all for taking time to address my questions. I am getting better at understanding a lot though. Of course now I have to figure out how to keep him full. I cook things that are lower in carbs and always have several different dishes so he can get full. 10 minutes later he is hungry again. That I don't understand. I guess it is normal. I even make sure he has a good bit of fiber. So who knows................

Wbise,

It's important to remember that Type 1 cannot be managed to consistently achieve the same results as a healthy person with a normal pancreas over an extended period of time.  I happen to get irritated when Type 2s talk about weighing and counting and measuring to the point that Type 1s think they must be doing something wrong not to achieve an A1c of less than 5.  Type 2s have not been doing that sort of thing for forty years.  It's diagnosed later in life and often the result of lifestyle. 

For ZM:  Type 1's do not "tend" to gain weight.  That's Type 2.  I've been within my ideal weight my entire life and I am not unusual for a type 1. 

http://jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=100106

Sunday

48 years old

Type 1 for 40 years

MBA

Mother of One

Myth: All cases of diabetes are the same.

Fact: There are two major types of diabetes mellitus, called Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is also called insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), or juvenile onset diabetes mellitus. In type 1 diabetes mellitus, the pancreas essentially releases no insulin at all, and the patient relies on insulin medication for survival. Type 1 diabetes tends to occur in young, lean individuals, usually before 20 years of age, and the cause is most often secondary to an autoimmune destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas. Approximately 10% of the patients with diabetes mellitus have type 1 diabetes, and the remaining 90% have type 2 diabetes mellitus.