What if you start message to him, and he might have option to reply.
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Same in my house. Because my wife and I butted heads a lot in the past about how / what the best treatment was and because I am like you, it was decided in our house that, to keep the peace, I would be the āmainā caregiver for Liam. My wife knows how to do everything in the event Iām not around, but the āresearch/learningā as well as the day to day caregiving and monitoring has been mainly done by me and I pass along important info that I learn about through books or the great members here on the forums, to my wife. Itās easy for partners to bump heads and our approach was to just let me manage (because I really am OCD with it and my wife isnāt) and I run things by her to get her input/perspectives on how she feelsā¦but she is OK with me making the decisions that I feel are best for Liam and sheās turned into the supporter role.
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Sent him a PM as a test.
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Yep, I just sent one. Thanks! 
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I just bumped his member level up. He should now have the ability to initiate PMās.
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Many of us on this board were in exactly the place you are not that long ago. Please donāt feel like you have to absorb everything. It takes quite a while, and if you need to re-ask questions donāt feel like that is a problem either. I remember clearly the toll that exhaustion takes as you try to develop a treatment strategy that works for you and your son.
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Thank you @Chris!
Can I ask- is it normal to be consuming 600mg+ of caffeine per day to stay awake?
Iām a very fitness oriented person who loves my schedules and routines, but once this hit, Iāve been staying awake until 1-2am and not really sleeping. Plus my son is still asking me to play with him all day long, and my one year old daughter is constantly getting into trouble. On top of it all Iām still trying to get work done and now research all of this diabetes stuff. I canāt even tell up from down anymore.
Unfortunately itās taken a toll on my stomach as I think all the stress and anxiety with caffeine are catching up. I need to remember to take care of myself as wellā¦
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I drink about that every day. 
Thatās 2.5 cupsā¦at a minimum I drink 2 cups, but when I was up all nights, I probably drank 1200mg (5 cups) per day. Youāre fine if thatās all itās taking! lol
I always add ācreamā to my coffee, thoughā¦black coffee tears up the stomach.
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yeah I can see myself crossing over the 1 gram threshold soon. 2 cups and I still feel like I could take a nice afternoon napā¦
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@Dusty_19,
I shipped 3 months of Dexcom supplies to you. Unfortunately from my state to yours itās not super fast, so you are looking at Monday or Tuesday. (The overnight and Saturday delivery options were ridiculous.)
It is a little bit of a trust-fall giving your name and address to an internet stranger. Take your time, read posts, spend some time on FUD. But at some point - maybe in 3 days or 3 months or 3 years - you will be glad you found FUD.
Eventually you will realize, not only did your son get a new disease diagnosis, but he also got a thousand new brothers and sisters.
On the Dexcom and endo stuff - you will have a bit of a cushion with it once you get the stuff in the mail. So if your endo does not give you a prescription for CGM on your first visit, it should be one-and-done. Keep looking.
I am curious what insight others here may have on this, but I am not sure of any reason why you would not have a prescription on your first visit. Your endo needs to be engaged with you on this right away. And if he/she is not, you have the CGM side of it covered for a few months, so research other endos and keep looking.
It is the same deal if you need insulin, you donāt need to worry about getting it. If you need it, you will have it.
Spend some time here reading and asking questions. Thatās the best thing to start with.
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This is one of the main reasons I wanted to get myself as educated as possible, as quickly as possibleā¦so that I could speak intelligently with the Endo and let them know I knew what I was talking about and to ensure we understand the relationshipā¦she works for me and I make the decisions. I listen to her input but at the end of the day, Iāll do what I think is best for the management of my sons Diabetes. She can either get on board with that or I will find a new Endo - there is no comprimise with me. I am not a know it all and I am open for learning, but so far I havenāt learned anything new from my Endoā¦her purpose (in my view) is to listen to my concerns, write my scripts and monitor Liam for the kinds of hypoglycemia related concerns that diabetics may get throughout their lives.
When I visit my Endo, she understands that Iām one of those patients that knows what heās doing and sheās onboard with doing whatever I think is necessary. Thatās a good Endo/Patient relationship imo.
If the Endo isnāt open to writing an immediate script for CGM then I would want to know why and it better be good. There are only UP sides to CGMs and your job is to convince him/her of thatā¦the benefits are many.
- Ability to see BGs every 5 minutes is HUGE in quality of life for everyone involved.
- Ability to have the BG trending data is HUGE to the ability of parents to sleep at nights.
- Ability to see that BG data will assist in knowing when to eat, when to bolus, when to correct, etc., etc.,
- Ability to see that BG data will SAVE your son endless finger-sticks and significantly improve his quality of life.
Iām sure others can add even more good reasons why everyone (young and old) should have and use CGMs.
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If you read no other posts, learn what the GLUT3 enzyme is. If you donāt understand the significance of it after reading the post, ask away.
When my Endo talked about Hypoglycemia, I actually asked her āDo you know what the Glut3 enzyme is and what itās purpose is?ā Youād be amazed to see the yes headshaking but little intelligent discussion about it from them. Why? Because, after your visit, most of them will run off and do their research to figure out how itās VERY relevant to the bodies (brains) ability to get and keep a constant supply of glucose.
I love this post and learning about GLUT3 helped me relax a little when worrying about ālowsā in general
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When you do get the Dexcom prescription, be sure to check your health benefits and see if they will be covered under your pharmacy benefit vs. DME (Durable Medical Equipment).
If covered by Pharmacy benefits, it will save you a lot of frustration dealing with DME. Not a lot of plans cover as Pharmacy, but when they do itās pretty awesome.
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Your caffeine intake may not be normal, but right now it is necessary. Once you get the CGM going, you will be able to sleep more soundly since the system will alarm when your son is low. Once you get the hang of dosing and donāt grossly overdose your son you will also lose the fear about lows, because your sonās body will be able to manage these even with diabetes assuming you donāt absolutely crush the insulin.
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@Dusty_19, welcome! Iām so sorry that your family has landed on this journey. But I am SO impressed at how youāve jumped in IMMEDIATELY to give your son and your family the best care possible! FUD is the place to be for (1) Kindness, (2) Sound advice, (3) Emotional Support, (4) Generosity, (5) Friendshipā¦and the list goes on and on.
I wasnāt diagnosed with T1D until I was 21 years oldā¦so the kid specific part of the journey is probably outside of my wheelhouse.
But the adjustment process is something that I feel comfortable trying to be helpful with because T1D is an adjustment for everyone. So much to learn! So much to worry about! So much to sift through!
Your son is already going to be okay because you are fighting for him. You and your family are going to be okay, too. But the initial stages are definitely exhausting and overwhelmingā¦I just say that to reinforce that what you are feeling is totally normal and okay. Itās hard to adjust when you donāt quite know what all you are adjusting to. Your familyās rhythm will change for a bit while you make room for T1D care. But it definitely gets easier. And like others have said, itās so much better to face this diagnosis now than 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. We have so much technology to help us smooth down the rough edges of diabetes in our daily lives.
Iāve gone on to have a great career, two healthy high risk pregnancies, spontaneous traveling, countless outdoor adventures, etc. My life does look different with T1D but it is in no way ābadā. I just have to make room for the T1D.
Iām so glad that you are here! There are so many awesome parents of T1Dās here and T1Dās here! You are already in SUPER good hands! The same people who have rescued me a million times and become my lifelong friends are happy to help everyone!
By the way, I love your sonās Jurassic Park t-shirt and Carhartt hat. Looks like one of my boys!
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Agreed. I have a large humalog stash if needed. You just need to ask.
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Hi Dusty_19
My son was diagnosed about 6 months ago, so I cannot really offer any words of wisdom when it comes to treatment decisions as Iām really on the same side of the learning curve as you! (He, too, has a birthday coming up at the end of March! Happy Birthday to your boy!!)
Currently, we are on the strict āDonāt Dieā MDI rules from the hospital, filing out paper logs that we submit for review until our appointment with his Endo
Oooph . . I sure hope the hospital staff didnāt refer to it as āDonāt Dieā MDI rules . . . I donāt think I could have handled that! We too left the hospital with strict guidlines, ratios, correction factors, and directions to call every morning with his numbers. We did not leave with a CGM, but with a glucometer and insulin. In those first weeks I followed their instuctions closely, and really didnāt allow myself to think outside that box; the diagnosis alone and hospital stay (did I mention ours included life flight??) was more than I could bear at the time. But in short order, youāll probably find yourself predicting their changes before you even call. By the end of those first weeks, I could usually predict, for instance, that they were going to change his breakfast ratio, or dinner ratio, etc. 9 times out of 10 I was right.
The REAL learning began when we got a CGM, about 3 months after diagnosis. It is a great tool and will be a game changer for you, for sure. Not pump yet for us (still MDI), but Iām pushing for that as well.
I really just want to say, if it offers any encouragement at all, that you are doing all the right things, even if it seems like you arenāt (at least thatās what I tell myself!!). I just joined this forum myself and was also blown away at the immediate response to my question and concerns. It was so encouraging, and if nothing else, it really made me feel like I had this āteamā behind me.
Hang in there . . . there seems to be a lot of parents here that walked in those same steps you are now, myself included. The folks here have reassured me that in due time it will get easier and more routine, and Iām sure theyāll say the same things to you. Keep up the good (but oh so very hard) work!
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Awesome, @diabeatit2020. This paragraph really sums up, I believe, for every parents experience during those first few weeks. After the first few weeks, you begin to think outside of that box and you will begin reach out less and less to the Endo/medical staff and eventually, you wonāt ever be calling them and youāll be making 100% of the decisions on your own (and WANTING to make them because we, as parents, want to do what we have to do to get the BEST control for our kids).
We want to limit the hypos (low BGs) NOW while ALSO limiting the hypers (high BGs) that matter when they get OLDER. Only a loving parent / caregiver can find the happy medium because, unfortunately, all our kids are just statistics outside of our own households. And we will educate ourselves and do what we have to do to ensure we give them the best chances NOW AND LATER in life.
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Thank you so much! Yes my son is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs and Jurassic park-
Actually no, thatās an understatement
He thinks he IS a dinosaur 75% of the time 
I actually think Iāve spent so much money on Jurassic park toys that I should be a majority shareholder and have a seat on the board over at Universal Pictures at this point.
Iām so happy to hear stories like yours. Itās nice to know ānormalā is attainable and nothing will stop him in life. I think the daunting part right now is just knowing that thereās many years of trial and error ahead. Thankfully, as you mentioned, with todayās tech., things are made much easier!
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You guys are seriously the best. I hope I never have to ask, but knowing that you are all so helpful brings a little more confidence.
I hope one day I can extend my hand and pay it forward as well.
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