I have friends and family with both types. You are getting great advice. More important, it sounds like you have the situation well in hand.

One thing I have gleaned from observation, is that those who make their diet a priority seem to feel better more often.

In the very near future, life will get back to normal again for you and your family.

Best wishes

My 9 year old boy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 4. I'm an occasional lurker to this forum but thought I might be able to help a little with this post, even if I am a bit late to the game



I wouldn't hesitate with getting the medic-alert tag. My son has been wearing one since shortly after his diagnosis and it is an unquestioned part of what he wears at all times. For your child's age, I'd stick with the bracelet style though ... the sport bracelet (nylon & velcro) seems to work best. My son has only recently moved to a dog-tag style.



My son absolutely hates the idea of the pump, but from what I understand it is a great piece of technology for kids whose glucose level is really hard to control. I agree its something to consider in the coming years, but not something to worry about right now. I know how big the learning curve is, best to stick with the basics now!

You are very blessed to have insurance for this all, given the cost I know I'd have a much harder time without the coverage I have.

It sounds like you have a good support system with the hospital too. We also have a great programme at our Children's Hospital here for which I am incredibly grateful.



One word of caution, the Glucagon injectors only have shelf life of one year.



Originally we used candies or fruit leathers but have eventually moved to the Dex4 tabs. For whatever reason, my son stopped responding well to those other sugars and they just wouldn't raise his blood sugar level enough to get him out of the low. The Dex4 work great now, but I'd say use what works (if you do use candies or something more "common" I would recommend pre-packaging them in per-serving baggies - its much easier).

Also, get your boy to start carrying his necessities with him. I (or my wife) carry needles or insulin if needed, but my son carries his meter, strips & Dex4 tablets himself ... we started this habit right away too. He uses a little caribbeaner on his meter pouch (his "kit") and hooks it onto his belt loop. He either carries the tablets with the meter or in a pocket. Not that we haven't run into issues with forgetting things, but ultimately it seems best.

Another piece of gear we've found helpful is a watch with multiple alarms. He has a Casio Baby-G which has 5 alarms which are set for each of his snack/meal times except breakfast. Its a good tool to keep us all on track. I also set my own watch to go off when its time for his night-time needle.

As someone else mentioned, Diabetic camps for kids are great. My guy was finally old enough to go to one last year and it was an incredibly positive experience.

Another point made earlier was to get his teachers involved. Every year we sit down with our son's teacher right before the school year begins and educate her on what type 1 diabetes is and what my son needs to do to manage it while at school. The Canadian Diabetes Association publishes a document called Kids with Diabetes in your Care which is very helpful for this (I'm pretty sure I've seen an American version too). This has always been a very positive experience.

I'm likely forgetting some useful tidbits, so if you have any other questions at all feel free to ask away!

Just a quick thing, The test strip will degrade with high temperature so keeping them in the truck might not work in the summer.
If you are stuck in the middle of nowhere and his or your blood sugar drops to low and can not take the glucose orally and you do not have the glucagon with you. Take the glucose and give it PR (per rectum). The rectum is a very rich capillary bed like the under side of your tongue. It sounds disgusting but it works.

In a way your son is luckier than you and I are being typeII. They are making incredible advances in the typeI arena. Good luck and smooth sailing to you and your boy.

Hard plastic rolls of glucose tablets from Wal Greens.

a friend bought 6 testers (some came with valid strips) from flea markets and thrift stores. He got them over about a year. Theyall take the same strips as his and he has them in all kits and at the house.

My grandfather used to work on trains with a guy who would lapse suddenly. He carried packets of grape jelly for him. Easier to swallow in a pinch than dry tablets.

I found the thread "interesting" - I ended up in the hospital 1/5 and ended up with a damaged pancrius (sp) - I'm now insulin dependand too - just learning this as the hospital did most of it until the 19th

According to the folks I have constant contact with the insulin pump is the only way to fly. (assuming you can.)

Sorry to hear of your illness, and in many ways, it's harder for you to deal with all the meds, shots, measurements, etc, than it is for my son. You been in your habits for a long time.