Ask Our Team
"How do we get over the high sugars our daughter constantly has?"
Responses
Deana Herrera Walker says
There are many medical components that go into answering this question. I would certainly speak to your Diabetes Management Team regarding how to handle this issue on a medical level.
As a mother and individual living with diabetes and high blood sugars, I always make sure to not focus on any particular number. It is important to "fix" a high BG reading (as per your physicians instructions) and then move on to "bigger and better " things. "This too shall pass" is a phrase that often enters my mind when I see a high BG on either of our machines. Unfortunately, high blood sugars are part of the diabetes puzzle. You must a lways keep in mind the much larger picture.....Even with diabetes, you and your family can enjoy many wonderful moments!
Stay healthy....Stay positive!
Laura Plunkett says
In the first year after diagnosis, parents of children with juvenile diabetes face a steep learning curve. Everything is new and each high blood sugar could be due to a variety of factors. Eventually, you will develop a clearer sense of what affects your individual child the most. When my son Danny was diagnosed at the age of seven, even though we carefully counted carbohydrates and double-checked insulin doses, he had many inexplicable high blood sugars. Sometimes we wondered if it was a surge of growth hormones, other times it seemed like it was too little exercise or too long a car ride. Ultimately, the changes that helped us the most were giving insulin at least ten minutes ahead of eating and a change in the quality of the food we ate. Each child is different, but Danny's body responded very differently to fruits, vegetables, meat, and whole grains than it did to pasta, fried food, white flour bread, desserts and white potatoes.
I notice that Italian food and pasta are listed as favorite foods on your family's profile. Danny's favorite food was macaroni and cheese or pasta with butter. Once I was sure that the pasta was raising his blood sugar levels despite the insulin, if we ate Italian food, I served larger portions of chicken with marinara sauce and vegetables and smaller helpings of pasta as a side dish. Even that didn't solve the problem completely, so we adjusted to whole-wheat pasta or no pasta at all. We made these kinds of changes at every meal, so that breakfasts were eggs or fruit shakes instead of pancakes or toast. Although it wasn't always easy to pass up the bread or the desserts, Danny's blood sugars levels improved dramatically along with his overall sense of well-being. In truth, we all felt better.
Another positive change was exercising after we ate or during long periods of inactivity. Sometimes a walk around the block after dinner or a game of basketball after lunch was all it took to counteract the effects of the food. We learned to break up long car rides with a Frisbee game or soccer halfway through the drive and to suggest a game of tag after a movie. Just remember that it is important to test your child's blood sugar before exercise to avoid lows.
Most importantly, be easy with yourselves. Taking care of a child with diabetes is not an exact science. Even if you have done everything you can think of, there will still be highs and lows. In the first year, diabetes creates a huge strain on a family. Make sure to celebrate when things go right, notice when your daughter is happy, and remind yourselves that things will get better over time.
Alicia H. McAuliffe-Fogarty says
"How to get over the high sugars our daughter constantly has" is a very complex matter. First, if she is having consistently high blood sugars, I would make an appointment and meet with your diabetes team, because her regimen may need to be changed a bit. Keeping a log of her blood sugars will be important to identify a trend in high BGs, so that your diabetes team can make appropriate adjustments. If your child is/was honeymooning after diagnosis, she may gradually need more insulin, so you may see more frequent high blood sugars which is expected.
"How to get over the high sugars our daughter constantly has" on an emotional level may be more difficult for you. What I tell all parent is "she has diabetes, she will have high blood sugars- her BGs will not be perfect." Accepting that your daughter has a disease that you cannot fix and make better will take time. It seems like an uphill battle- you try and do everything perfect and then a 300 pops up -sometimes for no apparent reason. With diabetes you have to do the best that you can and not stress out over an occasional high blood sugar (or it can consume you). As a parent, this is easier said then done, because we constantly worry about our children. But talking with your family, your healthcare providers, and other parents of children with diabetes will help. And, as they say, time helps- as you get more comfortable with diabetes management, things will also get a little easier for you.
