Ask Our Team
"I would love to know how to stop worrying ALL the time, especially when Alexis isn't with me, at a sleepover for example."
Responses
Gary Scheiner says
"A little bit of worry can be a good thing. It keeps us on our toes and keeps us from being neglectful. But worrying too much too often just isn't healthy for anyone.
A good way to minimize worry when your child is not with you is through sound planning and open communciation. The planning should include provisions for blood glucose monitoring, insulin dosing, snacks, adjustments for physical activity, and treatment for mild hypoglycemia. The communication is best provided through web messages (if you carry a blackberry or similar e-accessible device), text messages, or calls to & from a cell phone at regular intervals.
Joe Solowiejczyk says
One of the best ways to "stop worrying all the time" about your child's diabetes is to make sure that if it's a 2 parent family, that both parents are equally knowledgeable about how to manage the daily aspects-carb counting, insulin dose adjustment based on blood sugar results, etc. How you "divide" up who's responsible for what is totally up to you guys (parents) BUT it's absolutely important that it be a shared burden. If it's a 1 parent family, make sure you have a network of support made up of friends and family that care and that are sensitive and compassionate.
Also, it's important to try and find out why you might be worried all the time, to the point of having a hard time 'letting go". Having a child diagnosed with diabetes absolutely makes it hard to let go, especially when coming to terms about your inability as a parent to "fix" the problem or make the "boo boo go away". All parents have difficulty with this one! It's the reality that makes most parents feel powerless. Recognizing this and acknowledging your feelings of powerlessness in this area can make you cry and feel sad, but it's real and might make it easier to let go over time. It will give you the power to help you and your child realize what you do have control over.
It's perfectly normal and okay to feel powerless, angry, frustrated, sad, hopeless and defeated. One should worry a little if you're not feeling that! The more you accept these feeling as part of the process, the freer you'll feel and the more you'll be able to let your child have a sleep over without being worried to death. Part of sharing the burden is to be able to have someone else there so that you can collapse, from time to time, into their arms, knowing that you can't make it go away, you can face it together and that if you all keep on doing the footwork and suiting up and showing up everyday, that your child will have an incredible life-that's a promise!
