Eating Out With Diabetes

We have had some great and terrible experiences when eating out since Jack has been diagnosed.
I must say that 90% of our experiences have been very positive. In the most people are very attentive and try their best to help.

So here is our survival guide to restaurants, what works for us.

Obvious I know, but I always ensure Jack has checked his sugar before we go out to eat.  If his sugar is low it can make him a little grumpy, not the best frame of mind for choosing a meal.

Install Carbs & Cals onto a mobile device, this is fantastic as it shows portion sizes so enables you to identify the exact size of your meal. Thus helping you to work out your carbs almost exactly. We have it on all of our devices, for us it is a must have app that makes life so easy. There is also a paperback version available.

When ordering your meal, speak to the staff in the restaurant. People have been so helpful with Jack, helped him work out his portion sizes. On occasions he has even been taken into the kitchen to meet the chef who has shown him portion sizes.

Hypo Awareness Week, Please Don't Judge

As we a coming to the end of Hypo Awareness Week  I though I would share a concern that has been on my mind lately. We have had 3 incidents recently where Jack has lost control. When I say lost control I mean really lost his temper and totally seen red, causing him to lash out in some way. 

One of the incidents was during a football match and he hit his opponent who tackled him, now of course he was immediately sent off and fined and rightly so. 

On another occasion he was on Holiday with his friends parents, they had an argument he hit and punched his friend square on the nose then ran off. When his friends Mum rang me to tell of course she was upset and a little angry and rightly so.

Now on these occasions I wasn't present, he had tested his sugar, which did not appear low. But I know this is not my child, he is laid back happy go lucky and chilled out and mostly always has a smile on his face, friends I have told who know Jack very well have also been baffled. Don't get me wrong like every teen he can whine till the cows come home, is lazy and would starve rather than make a sandwich and constantly irritates his little brother. By no strength of the imagination is he perfect, I am not deluded. But he is not aggressive. 

Letting Go! When To Let A Teen Be A Teen, Diabetic Or Not

As I write this post Jack is spending the first night of a full week away from us, I know arghhh. As a parent it is your worst nightmare, your children staying away from home. Yet part of you is glad you have brought them up to be confident enough to leave you. 

Jack is 13, very nearly 14 but the difference is; he has type 1 diabetes. I cant compare him to another child, he has not got an older sibling. Is it worse because of his condition? I don't know. 

When he was diagnosed at the age of 10 he was booked on an educational for 4 nights with school, of course we let him go, how could we not, but I never slept for a week. School were fantastic and had all the relevant training, and Jack had a wonderful time.

Jack is becoming more and more independent, as teens do. But I have always controlled his diabetes, understood very high, every low. However lately he has started to take control himself. At first I was horrified, but his team suggested Chris and I take a back seat.

I know they are 100% right, Jack manages extremely well, and in fact he has excelled in diabetes management. If there was a grade, I would give him A*, but his team think he is ready to be more independent. To make his own decisions on insulin, carb counting, sports factors etc.  Yes, he will make mistakes; it is part of learning, of growing. He will learn from these mistakes, but he has to start to take ultimate control of his condition. 

Low Fat Jelly Sweets, A healthier alternative to Haribo

Every week at slimming world people talk about these sweets, now I have an admission to make; to be honest I don't like haribo or jelly sweets. When I tell people this they look at me at disgust, like I have two heads or something. I just don't get what all the fuss is about, they are over sweet and sickly. 

The boys love them, this is something that Jack will always have to give an extra injection for and you would not believe the carbs in them soooo high. I really am not keen on him eating them, but he's a teenager I can't deny him things he likes. 

So I was keen to try these, if there is a chance they are a good substitute then these have got to better for him. So here goes

You will need;

2 sachets sugar free jelly crystals
2 sachets powdered gelatin
1 pot mullerlight yoghurt

I used Raspberry for this Batch

Peoples Misconceptions of Diabetes.

Jack has been very lucky with the way people surrounding him have reacted to his diabetes; he was in year 5 at primary school when he was diagnosed. School was fantastic,his class friends were so supportive, in fact 6 weeks after his diagnosis he was due to go away for a week with school. I didn't think this would now be possible, there was so much for us to learn, how would school manage. But they arranged an appointment with Jacks nurse Vicky and received all the relevant training to make the trip possible. They even did a fund raising event for diabetes UK in support of Jack.

His high School is exactly the same, I was terrified when he started High School but they are amazing, he is in lots of sports teams and last year won an award as one of the runners up, as sport personality of the year. They encourage him and push him to do lots of sports and he loves sport, as a result he absolutely loves School.

100 Happy Days, Day 37, Jacks Diabetes Review.

For day 37 I am choosing Jack, we went to see his consultant and the diabetic team today for Jack's 3 monthly check up. At the clinic up they weigh and measure Jack to ensure he is growing correctly, discuss any concerns or issues he may have. And most importantly Jack has a test called a HbA1c. 

This test is able to check the glucose/sugar levels of Jacks blood, and is able to understand his levels for the last 12 weeks, so it is hugely important; if this is right we are on the right track for Jacks long-term health.

Living With Type 1 Diabetes, Traveling With Medication.

There is so much to think about when going away on holiday, sun cream, toiletries, clothes, and shoes. But now we also have to ensure we have all of Jacks necessary medication, and trust me there is loads. And spares in case of emergency. 

The first time we went away this blew my mind a bit as we had to make sure we had all bases covered. A typical holiday list looks a bit like this.