Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Always Room for Improvement




Today's Diabetes Blog Week prompt: We probably all have one thing we could try to do better. Why not make today the day we start working on it. No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on!

Like so many of the wonderfully terrific blogs I have read today I too have a loooooonnnnnnggggg list of things I could improve on. Trying to find just one would be too difficult so I cheated. I have TWO kids with Diabetes so that means I get TWO things that I need to improve on. ; P

First my dear Sweetstuff - I meant to ask her what she needed to improve on but she is an emotional mess lately and I was afraid to ask the simple question "Hey baby - what would you say is the one thing that you could improve on regarding your diabetes?"
I was afraid because knowing her like I know myself in the state that she is currently in she would get defensive, take it as an attack, argue that she is trying her best, etc etc - she would likely add something about the two pimples she has, the fact that her bangs do this odd flippy thing and her bff is being a total butt. (I love my daughter I love my daughter - it's only the hormones it's only the hormones)

So I avoided asking her and instead thought of all the things she does great - checks bs often, doses insulin in a timely manner, recognizes symptoms of lows or highs, advocates, educates, changes pump sites, changes her lancet every morning, carries fast acting carbs, and tests before physical activities.
With all this stuff she does so right I was having a difficult time thinking of the one thing she could do better. Then I realized the one thing she could do better is something she currently doesn't do at all - log BS and Doses. She did it while she was on her pump hiatus but then stopped as soon as she put back on Alice (her pump -  because diabetes is a rabbit hole and because the magic liquid inside it makes her get smaller (lower) after eating cookies which make her get bigger (higher) - Have I said how much I love my daughter and her inner nerd).
Thus the one thing I feel Sweetstuff could do better is begin logging again - yes it is a total pain in the arse but hand written logs do more for her and I than downloading her pump each week (haven't downloaded in over a month). Logs keep us vigilant. They help keep us accountable.
I might suggest this advice to her tomorrow if her pimples have cleared up and she is having a good hair day.




Now for Sugarboy -

While my dear boy can be very independent I am still very much involved with his care. I include carb notes with his lunch, I fill the insulin cartridges, I do most the infusion set placements, I count his carbs at meals that do not come pre-packaged. I sometimes even check his blood sugars when he is awake. He is more than capable - but how can I resist this cute face when he asks me to check for him. Overall he does very well with most diabetes care that I give him and I continuously give him additional control as he requests it.
The thing that Sugarboy could improve on (and me too) is reducing the amount of processed sugar that he consumes (not being used to treat a low bs).
He is an 8 year old by with a sweet tooth. He is always asking for ice cream, M&Ms, Laffy Taffy and lollipops. I'm a sucker too and if his blood sugars are decent I allow him to have the treats. I guess one could say I practice what I preach. I am always educating the general public that a person with Type 1 diabetes can eat everything a person without diabetes can eat. The part I forget when I am at home confronted by a small dimpled child with eyes as bright as the sea is that just because they CAN eat it doesn't mean they SHOULD eat it. It is a fact that the less carbs (especially the fast acting carbs found in processed sugars) a person with diabetes consumes the better - not to say a person with diabetes should go carb free - I think that is unrealistic for small kiddos especially. I do think reducing carb intake can truly improve blood glucose control and make managing diabetes a tad bit easier  - well until PMS, or Job Change, or it starts raining, or there is traffic, or or or or or.....

So to recap - encourage hormonal pre-teen to start logging again (carefully) and discourage Sugarboy from eating too many processed sugars.
This will be a piece of cake (if the cake has to be weighed, ingredients determined, multiple math problems solved, and then more calculations to be completed to determine the correct dose of insulin is required at bedtime after a day of swimming, hiking, and soccer) - like I said easy peasy.


2 comments:

  1. Oy... I am not looking forward to when Elise enters the hormonal water of puberty. She's already dramtic enough.

    I'm scared.

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  2. you should be - scared that is. Ive called my mom a half dozen times apologizing for the way I treated her when I was growing up - begged her to remove the curse. Hope you were all peaches and sunshine to your mum - maybe you won't get the hormonal hubbub.

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