One of the hard things about having a young child with diabetes is that they often cannot tell when they are low. Whenever Riley has been low, I ask him how he feels so hopefully he will start identifying that feeling with a low sugar. He usually says his "head feels funny" and a few times he's said he's cold.
I had gotten to where every once in a while I'd ask if his head felt funny and reinforce with him that if his head does feel funny that he needs to tell us so we can check his sugar.
I had my MRI on Saturday. Afterwards, we went to lunch. We were sitting at the table waiting for our food. Riley was playing a game that was on the table. All of a sudden he looked at me and said, "I think my sugar is low. My head feels funny." I quickly checked his sugar and it is 59. Low indeed.
I was so happy that he did this. We let him pick out a small toy and told him how proud we were that he told us that he felt low. A couple of days later I asked him, "What happens when you're sugar is low?" Without missing a beat, he looked up at me and grinned when he said "I get a toy?" Ok, maybe the toy wasn't a good idea. I explained to him that the toy was a one time deal and why it's important to tell us when he feels low. And that he needs to have food to bring his sugar up. I was thinking maybe it was just a fluke that he told us.
But, he's done it twice since then. He was 79 on Tuesday. I only checked his sugar because he said he felt low. Then another time, he told me he felt low and he was in the 90s. So, maybe it's not a fluke.
If he is starting to sense his lows, it's a really big deal. Hopefully, he won't have many lows, but if he does it's comforting to me that he may be able to tell us.
3 comments:
Woo Hoo, go Riley!! That is awesome. It may still have times of inconsistency but what a start. You guys are doing an awesome job.
It's good for him to tell you he's low anytime he feels funny.
I think the toy treat was a nice idea for that one time. Anything to motivate them to pay attention to how they feel is a great thing.
Penny,
My son is nearly 4 also and was diagnosed in January.
He started doing the same thing about 2 months ago, 'my tummy is sick' is his phrase. It really reduces the stress levels about lows.
Of course, he also has the 'I'm low I need some glucose' - he loves the glucose. Generally with that one we test him and he is fine :) - he just wants glucose.
Chris.
Post a Comment