We’re 4 months into my son’s Type 1 Diabetes and while I wouldn’t say things are always rosy, I thought we were getting a good handle on things. My trip to Israel was wonderful and my husband was on point with caring for my son. He went low a few times and yes — I stalked his Dexcom monitor through the app most of the time I was awake — but nothing bad happened. Every low or high was caught and dealt with (although I did get very upset one morning when it was 3AM in NYC and he dropped down to 50. But my husband heard the alarm and dealt with it. When I got home, I tried to keep him steady in the night by following what several T1d parents had recommended on Facebook and used Fairlife Chocolate Milk to keep him steady through the night. I give him 8 ounces, I don’t cover it with insulin and he is steady through the night. We’ve also cut his basal insulin (the long-acting insulin down and raised his carb to insulin ration to 1 to 35 for breakfast and dinner). I started mostly sleeping through the night again. We were approved for Omnipod Tubeless Insulin Pump and start training next week. I felt confident. And then last night knocked me down. My kid went up to 498 for his blood sugar. He hasn’t been that high since he was in the hospital in DKA. I failed. When My Son Goes High — Our Life with Type 1 Diabetes

My kid is 12 and we’re trying to treat him like a 12-year-old. I’m usually on him about blood sugar and I do ask him 40 times a day what his sugars are. He wears a Dexcom monitor and has a receiver and it talks to his iPhone, which talks to my iPhone and my husband’s iPhone. But we’re up at my in-laws and the wifi is not so great, so I can’t always get readings on my phone. He was high yesterday morning (he had oatmeal) and then spent way too long doing math homework. After he was done, around 5:30PM, he took a nap for an hour (and didn’t drink much water today).

By the time we finished dinner last night, it was after 8 and he took his insulin after dinner, 30 minutes later I had him take his long-acting insulin. But right as I was checking his blood sugar, it read 343. That can’t be right I thought and I washed my hands and checked again. It was now 401. His Dexcom monitor was saying 335, so I calibrated it and then I checked him around 20 minutes after that — he rose up to 498!!!! I had him take his Lantus and started him drinking water, and then called the doctor and tried NOT to lose my mind. The doctor on call and I agreed that he would take one unit of insulin to bring him down. She said that he could have gone high because he didn’t drink enough water that day. Normally more would be the right rate, but he goes very low at night and I know that he has to be over 165 and have Fairlife Milk to surf through the night. 27 minutes later, I checked my son and his blood sugar was 343 and going down. I made him drink around 3 more cups of water and then sent him to bed. When I went to sleep, he was steady at 162.

Thank God.

Diabetes 1, Nancy 0

Note: I am not a doctor or have medical training. I talk about Type 1 Diabetes from a parent’s point of view. Always consult your endocrinology team if you have any questions. I advocate for my child until he can advocate for himself.