I just can't believe that my daughter's character has changed sooo much. She wasn't perfect before but she was a really good girl and obedient. Now she has been one tuff toddler to take care off. She is cranky, moody, doesn't listen, and doesn't know boundaries. She has to be watched continuously so it makes it very difficult trying to wash dishes or do laundry or anything else around the house. I don't know if it's because we've been dealing with the diabetes all month but she has forgotten some letters of the alphabet, messes up when trying to count to 10 and before she could count to 15 and she mixes up some shapes. I know she's only 2 yrs 8 months old but it feels like we have taken a big leap backwards in her development. Maybe it was the 5 day stay in the hospital being in diapers but she doesn't want to use the potty anymore. She will not drink out of regular cups we've gone back to sippy cups. I guess right now sippy cups are easier too because they have the oz. lines on them. Also, she was always so verbal before but now she just points at things and makes sounds instead of saying what she wants so we have to keep trying to guess what she wants in the refrigerator.
Elyssa is constantly sweating and no longer wants to take baths. She kicks & fights and it still takes 2 of us to hold her down for her shots. The endocrinologist asked if she lets us give her insulin shots without crying. Well sorry Dr. but no she is a toddler and puts up the biggest fight when she sees both of us coming at her. If she knows it's time for a shot she runs to a bedroom then locks the door, or to her closet and shuts the door and puts her weight on the door so we can't open it, she hides under the table, and she's hid under the kitchen sink in the cabinet and held on to the pipes while we tried to get her out. The endocrinologist said she will end up stabilizing and life will get easier but from what I have read and heard from other parents is that Blood Sugar Levels never stabilize and it is a never ending balancing act. I'm finally coming to terms with reality that Diabetes, Dr. visits, Injections, Insulin, Blood Glucose Levels, No Sleep & Moody child is now a part of our lives and isn't going to leave. So I have to try and suck it all up and just keep trying to do the best I can.
P.S. I have only cried a couple times this week and not daily like the previous 2 weeks and anyone who knows me knows I'm not the crying type. So Yay me!
Hello. My name is Angela. I have 2 kids with type 1 diabetes. My eldest dd was 2 1/2 when she was diagnosed. She went from being completely dry day and night back into nappies. My son was 5 when diagnosed and he soon worked out how to do carb strikes to stop injections.
ReplyDeleteI't a hard adjustment to make, and diabetes trys very hard to rule my life.
I'm about if you want me to hold your "virtual" hand. Can't be a physical one as I live the other side of the big pond.
I find art therapy great - even if it just involves splatting poster paint at a larger sheet of newspaper rather forcefully. My hubby bought an African drum to bash on to help him.
It will get easier but yes it is a balancing act for sure. I really think a pump would help. 1 "needle" every 3 days vs 4 or more a day! And I think it would help with dosing as well.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing great!
When Josh was on shots, especially in those first months, we went out and got a bunch of small "prizes" to put in a grab bag. Then I made a shot chart and for every 3 or 5 or 10 shots (we worked our way up) he could pick a prize out of the bag. He would put little stickers on his chart whenever he got a shot. You could do the same for finger pokes. You have to remember that she is majorly traumatized right now. She doesn't understand why all of this is happening. It is natural for her to regress developmentally for a little while and to act out. She is going to do whatever she can to gain whatever control of her environment that she can since she has lost so much control over her life. She is going to act out, and refuse food, and complain, and throw fits,etc. because that's what she CAN do. Just for right now, try to be patient and as much as possible put little bits of control back into her hands. Give her choices where you can. Reward her for small victories - stickers or stamps for finger pokes, prizes for shots. As much as possible try to bring some fun into a totally NOT fun disease. I know it seems impossible, but she will slowly get used to it and be ok with it all. It took a couple of months before we felt like we could breathe.
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