First illness since diabetes diagnosis

For the past two days, Max's numbers have been unusually high, in the upper 100s to mid 200s, even hitting 300s once. We thought it was because of Easter, but Max hasn't had any Easter candy since Easter (his own choice, we do allow it, as long as it's bolused.) But still, when everyone else has reported that their numbers have finally come back to normal since Easter, Max was still high. Then last night, he complained of a sore throat. That explained it!

I've been told that blood sugar will usually spike a day or two before symptoms come about but since I still thought this was from candy on Easter, it didn't occur to me that Max might be getting sick. Just a cold, and I am thankful for that. I have read in others posts about how kids with T1D have the flu, throwing up and can't keep anything down and have to go the hospital. It makes a cold seem almost trivial, but I've been warned that things can change very quickly and to keep an eye on his numbers regardless.

So I'm keeping an eye on it almost obsessively.

I called Endo and they told me to check for ketones. This is the first time I've had to use a ketone strip, sort of awkward when you have a teenage son! You have to pee on a strip but you can't pee on it too long or it can give you a false reading. Obviously standing there with Max while he pees on a stip doesn't work so we had him pee in a cup. Thank goodness for snack cups! Still kind of gross and awkward, but better than the alternative. It's easy enough to do that I'm going to teach him to do it on his own, but for this first time illness, I'm doing it for him, to make sure we're doing it right.

So far, so good. I think it says no ketones, or maybe just a trace, but I can't figure out which color it is. It's sort of right in the middle.

I called Endo and they want me to check for ketones twice a day. That's how quickly they can come up. This whole thing is weird. I mean, it's just a cold, and my head is saying, it's only a cold, no big deal. But the diabetes thing is saying, it's a big deal! This is about keeping your kid out of the hospital.
Which is weird--because I keep thinking, it's just a cold! Even though it's not!

I am still transitioning, trying to absorb this new medical world of medical mumbo-jumbo that I don't know or care about--or didn't really need to worry about before diabetes, other than the occasional flu or illness. Now I have to care. And worry. Ok, I don't need to worry, but I have to have enough concern to not shrug it off or be lazy about it. It is a strange thing to me.

For Max, it's still pretty normal to him. I think this is because we haven't completely handed the reigns over to him. I would like to, and I do intend to (working on it!) but there are certain things he's in charge of with his diabetes, and certain things he isn't--yet.

For instance, when his numbers were high yesterday at school, the nurse knew he needed a correction but didn't know how much to give him. (Which is weird, because they have his chart but I think they forgot about it until I mentioned it to them.) While the nurse was mulling the problem over, Max suggested, "how about five units?"

He has said this to me as well. How about five units, he says, for...basically everything! Five units for this number and five units for that number. We looked up his number and it said to give him 3 units for the blood sugar he was currently at. So you can imagine why we hesitate to give him full control just yet. Five units....yikes. This is why I am still hesitant to put him on a pump. I can see him thinking, hmmm, how about 10 units? And punching it in.

Anyway, along with the ketones check, I have to give Max corrections every 3 hours (as needed.) Or give him something to eat and bolus him. Carbs, insulin, and fluids is the key to fighting down blood sugars. Very different from cough drops and fluids.

I can imagine next year, after having more experience with colds and stomach bugs that I will be looking back on this and wondering why I even blogged about this. But for now at this moment, firsts are still a scary thing, and there sure are a lot of them.