Diabetes

Diabetes Management for your Teen

September 7, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

A short time ago, I chaperoned an outing for our middle school youth group. The mom of one of the boys, a friend of mine, pulled me aside before the group left. She needed to let me know that Jake had recently been diagnosed with diabetes. While I struggled for something appropriate to say, she let me know that he had a kit with him in case he needed to check his blood sugar level or take a snack. My job was primarily to make sure he didn’t leave the kit behind, subtly help him watch what he ate, and keep his mother’s cell number handy.

My job was over at the end of the outing, but Jake and his family have started on a lifelong journey of practicing healthy living for those with diabetes. No matter what one’s age when diagnosed with diabetes, it’s going to be a sometimes frightening challenge. Teenagers like Jake have particular complications, dealing with both the disease and adolescence simultaneously. Rapid physical and emotional development adds challenges to the control of diabetes. My friend is off to a good start, letting her son take the lead on sharing details of this new development in his life. My daughter and Jake’s other friends are aware of his condition (the girls think, “Just like Nick Jonas!”), but none of them considers it a big deal because he keeps his diabetes management low-key.

Parents of all teens need to be alert to moods, needs and limit-testing. Parents of diabetic teens need to be even more in tune. It is not unusual for a teen to test the limits of his or her diabetes plan or to rebel against the structure of taking insulin and checking glucose levels. It is important for the parents and the teen to work with the doctor to determine who will shoulder which responsibilities and to make clear the consequences of letting responsibilities slide. Listening to your teen’s concerns and making the diabetes plan as flexible as possible can help. Just like with other parenting challenges, setting short-term goals and rewards together can help ensure success.

Developing a good, communicative relationship with your teen is a distant dream for many parents. However, when families confront the adversity of a diabetes diagnosis, such communication becomes even more important.

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Tips For Teens With Diabetes

August 28, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Diabetes is a struggle for anyone, but it can be especially difficult for teens who have it because it seems to conflict with a normal teen lifestyle at every turn. The best way to deal with it is to find out as much as you can, so here are the basics of dealing with it.

What is it?

Diabetes is a condition that makes it difficult for your body to process your blood glucose, which some people called blood sugar. Glucose is necessary for your body, and it gives you energy. However, having too much glucose isn’t healthy.
Normally, an organ called the pancreas produces something called insulin and it helps to take your glucose from your blood to your cells so that it can be converted to energy. With diabetes, your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, meaning that the glucose just stays in your blood. If it stays that way for too long, it can really damage your body. It’s important to monitor your blood glucose levels and get the levels down when they’re too high.

Why do teens get diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes can be caused by genetic factors or viruses and toxins. With type 1 diabetes, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed completely, and people with the disease have to get insulin shots every day. While researchers can now predict who is at the highest risk for type 1 diabetes, they are still working to find a way to stop the destruction of pancreatic cells.

Type 2 diabetes, in which the pancreas still makes insulin but the cells can’t use it very well, has been linked to unhealthy lifestyles. People who are overweight, eat unhealthy foods and are not very physically active are at a higher risk for diabetes. There’s also a genetic factor, so people with family members with diabetes are at a higher risk.

How do I take care of it?

The best thing to do is to try to keep your blood glucose levels in a normal range. You can do this by making healthy food choices, eating the right amounts of food, being active, staying at a healthy weight, and of course taking your medicines and checking your blood glucose levels often. This may seem like a lot to remember, but your doctor or a diabetes educator will help you learn how to use a blood glucose monitor, and to know how to deal with the numbers and adjust things accordingly.

You should also know what might make your blood glucose levels abnormal. Illnesses and stress can raise it, and physical activity lowers it (although you don’t want it to get too low either). Certain carbs are more likely to raise your glucose levels quickly than others, like white bread, fruit juice, soda, potato chips, desserts, etc. (Yeah, all of the good stuff. I’m sorry.) Whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and low-fat milk are much better substitutes.

It’s important to take care of your diabetes to prevent other health problems that can result from not taking care of it. Some of these are serious problems, like heart attacks, strokes or organ damage. By taking good care of your diabetes, though, you can reduce and sometimes avoid these problems altogether.

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Helping Teenagers with Diabetes: Communication is Key

June 2, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Adolescence is a time of change and turmoil, add to that daily diabetes management and diet control, and it can be quite stressful for young adults. As teens try to fit in with their peers, they may be less likely to adhere to their insulin therapy, whether it be by injection therapy or insulin pump therapy. Monitoring blood sugar, programming the basal/bolus in their pump or administering injections can be time consuming and challenging. In addition, new pressures may arise for teens, such as drug and alcohol use, romantic relationships, and body image; and since this is a critical time for a young adult, having diabetes can become embarrassing or ignite feelings of loneliness and/or anger. It is crucial during this time that parents listen to the concerns of their teens, maintain an open line of communication and incorporate a healthy diabetes management style that applies to their concerns. These lessons could be the tools they need to effectively manage their diabetes for life.

Even though some young adults aren’t ready for the pressures adulthood and diabetes management can pose, they can get through it with the help of their parents, doctors and friends. If a child is diagnosed with diabetes at an early age, parents can teach their children how to master the basics of diabetes management, such as learning to eat right, exercising, and taking insulin injections regularly. Once a parent has supplied the basic tools needed to manage diabetes, it is time to encourage your teen to become more self-sufficient. This should be a step by step process, whereby the parents let their teen have more control over a period of time. Parents should let their child know that they fully trust them to handle the responsibilities associated with diabetes management, and mention that they will always be there as a resource for advice or help, should their teen ever need it.

The key ingredient to accomplishing self-management lies in communication. Frequent and clear communication about who is responsible for which aspects of diabetes management is an important element in this process. Yielding a greater amount of responsibilities to teens that have shown gradual improvement and accountability for their diabetes will help them develop a sense of self-confidence for successfully maintaining effective treatment. A great place to start could be with charts. Make a list of daily tasks such as monitoring injections, nutrition, exercise and frequently and consistently checking blood sugar levels, so that the individual can begin to recognize their patterns. This way, you can see all the variables playing a role in their diabetes management, and your teen can learn to handle them independently. Additionally, it’s a good way for your teen to start analyzing what activities, emotions and or nutrition type had a positive effect on their diabetes, and ultimately fall in to healthy activities that provide positive results.

Effective teen-parent communication is frequent, open, and respectful. Additionally, it leads to mutually acceptable solutions to problems or disagreements. With the support of family and medical professionals, teens can cope with diabetes in constructive ways that prepare them for long and satisfying lives.

Parents should understand that their teen is most likely experiencing a great amount of stress with all the challenges growing up with diabetes can pose. Being an approachable parent capable of clear communication is very important. Let your adolescent know that they can come to you with questions, concerns, or ideas, and that you will be receptive to their needs.

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