10 year old with type 1 diabetes?

[stobaugh6]

Hello DISers! My 10 year old DS has type 1 diabetes. We are planning our first WDW vacation since he was diagnosed. He's on a Medtronic insulin pump. Our trip is planned for April 12-19. We are staying in a travel trailer at Ft Wilderness, so we will eat quite a few meals at our campsite. We do have a few ADRs scheduled though, and plan on a few counter service meals as well. I would LOVE any tips for making this vacation fabulous for him, and less stressful for the rest of us. Also, I think I may have read somewhere that we will have to disconnect his pump on the rides. Is this true? Thanks for all your help!

 

[buffettgirl]

Hello DISers! My 10 year old DS has type 1 diabetes. We are planning our first WDW vacation since he was diagnosed. He's on a Medtronic insulin pump. Our trip is planned for April 12-19. We are staying in a travel trailer at Ft Wilderness, so we will eat quite a few meals at our campsite. We do have a few ADRs scheduled though, and plan on a few counter service meals as well. I would LOVE any tips for making this vacation fabulous for him, and less stressful for the rest of us. Also, I think I may have read somewhere that we will have to disconnect his pump on the rides. Is this true? Thanks for all your help!

Hey there. So, you don't have to disconnect for anything, we've never had a problem. You may want to bring zippy bags for rides like Splash Mountain and Kali River as you do not want the pump getting wet. We generally have my son use a spi-belt while at disney (during the year he just throws the pump in his pants/shorts pocket, but the spi-belt keeps it from getting tangled up getting in and out of rides, etc. So, between the pouch and the zippy bags it will stay dry.

Disney won't give any carb counts beyond a few basic packaged foods, but carbs are pretty consistent. Get an app for your phone like Fat Secret or Calorie King and you'll be pretty good figuring out basic carbs. Just beware that restaurant food is sneaky high in fat, and that fat will spike BGs in the middle of the night. That is often to your advantage though, as it probably will offset any potential lows that occur from all the activity during the day.

Plan to test at least double what you do at home. You haven't said how long your son has had diabetes, but if he's more newly diagnosed you want to err on the side of caution. If he's been diagnosed longer, just do what you'd do on any other high activity day. Plan to test at night, every night. Even if you don't normally do that.

Bring double the supplies you think you'll need. And, bring at least one site a day and then maybe a few extras. Water - sweating - can all make those things less sticky that at home.

Good luck. We've enjoyed many vacations since my son was dx in 2005 and we've never had any trouble.

 

[acebatonfan]

Hi! I'm also a type 1 and was last at Disney in August. Disney does not offer the carb counts for any of their meals/snacks. I ended up bring along a physical copy of the Calorie King book and downloaded the Calorie King app on my phone, and they were a good tool in being somewhere in the ballpark of the meal's actual carbs. If worst comes to worst, one of the little cups of any flavored soda from Club Cool was -surprisingly- 10-16g of carbs each (perfect for hypo treatments if you're nearby and sick of glucose tablets).

Please remember that BG levels are going to be far from perfect while at Disney. I remember 5 minutes after riding Test Track, I was in the 280's for two separate checks (when I was around the 100-140's before riding). About ten minutes later, I sharply dropped into the 160's (when stupid me just corrected for the high ) with no apparent reason. If a BG seems off, test again 10 or so minutes later to make sure it wasn't a freak adrenaline high.

I ended up disconnecting from my pump for any thrill ride as a preventative measure. Though this was most likely overkill, I also avoided riding the PeopleMover (the ride uses strong magnets, and I was told by my TSlim rep to avoid that ride because of it).

 

[stobaugh6]

Thank you for the tips! DS was diagnosed 4 years ago when he was 6. He hasn't been on the pump long though. We did daily injections for the first 3.5 years. Our vacations the past 4 years have just been beach trips...very relaxed and laid back. I know WDW vacation is completely different. We don't usually take afternoon breaks during our park days, but I'm wondering if I should plan to this trip? DS is a fairly active kid (typical 10 year old boy), but a WDW isn't exactly a normal day. Lol! Thoughts??

 

[stobaugh6]

Question...what is a spi-belt?

 

[SueM in MN]

Regarding magnetics - you certainly want to listen to your device manufacturer, but also be aware that Disney's official information is. Dry re-assuring.

Their website says that the magnetic fields guests experience are generally not going to be any stronger than generated by common household appliances like vacuum cleaners and hair dryers.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/guests-with-disabilities/

"Magnetic Fields
Common equipment, such as electric motors and radios, that produce electric and magnetic fields are utilized extensively throughout the world and also within our Resorts. These fields are generally no greater than you would experience in any urban environment or may be exposed to through common household appliances such as vacuum cleaners and hair dryers.

If you—or any member of your party—has questions regarding the above, you may speak with a Guest Relations Cast Member for details."

 

[SueM in MN]

Question...what is a spi-belt?

Small Personal Items belt
http://www.spibelt.com

 

[stobaugh6]

Great information! Thanks.

 

[ttintagel]

Another Type 1 here saying test, test, and test again! I found that fatigue, overstimulation, dehydration, heat, noise, distraction, excitement, and all the other things that make WDW unlike the real world could so very easily mask or mimic my usual, recognizable symptom of high or low BG. I end up testing at LEAST twice as often as at home.

 

[stobaugh6]

Another Type 1 here saying test, test, and test again! I found that fatigue, overstimulation, dehydration, heat, noise, distraction, excitement, and all the other things that make WDW unlike the real world could so very easily mask or mimic my usual, recognizable symptom of high or low BG. I end up testing at LEAST twice as often as at home.

Will definitely plan on having him do that! Last year on our beach vacation he had a couple lows that hit hard and fast, after all day swimming and sun. Thankfully we were checking him often and caught it both times. He usually is very aware of dropping blood sugars, but both times he says he had no symptoms. My older son actually noticed and alerted me that DS was "acting low".

Type 1 is a cruddy disease and my heart goes out to each one of you that lives with it. It's changed our lives for sure. But thankfully DS is a rock star and just takes it all in stride.

 

[stobaugh6]

Ok just have to brag on my kiddos for a minute. I'm having a "proud mama" moment! Lol!

So our kids were asked to be the face of Texas Children' Hospital Trial Net. Trial Net does clinical trials and research for type 1 diabetes. They just got their website up recently. My kiddos are the ones in the photo at the top of the page!

http://texaschildrens.org/trialnet/

 

[anorman]

My DD12 has had type 1 diabetes for 2 1/2 years now. We did WDW 2 years ago when she was on injections but thankfully she is now on the insulin pump.

With the extreme heat of August at WDW and the long lines, we took advantage of the GAC program. Being in the heat really masks her low symtoms since the symptoms of overheating are very similiar to low glucose readings and can mask a low event. Also, having to get out of line to treat a low was no fun at all! I understand that the new system is a little different in that while they no longer allow you through the fastpass line right away, they give you a return time that is roughly equivalent to the standby wait time and then let you in via the fastpass line. This still works perfectly for a type 1 diabetic in that it keeps them out of the heat and allows food to always be accessible. Additionally, if your child in on the pump it would help prevent the insulin from spoiling in the Florida heat in a long line.

I did find it very frustrating that while WDW is very good at providing gluten free options and allergy information, they have really fallen down on the job with the needs of diabetes and nutritional information requirements. They will send out their chef to have a tableside consultation if requested, but I didn't find that was helpful at all in determining carb counts.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Ok just have to brag on my kiddos for a minute. I'm having a "proud mama" moment! Lol!

So our kids were asked to be the face of Texas Children' Hospital Trial Net. Trial Net does clinical trials and research for type 1 diabetes. They just got their website up recently. My kiddos are the ones in the photo at the top of the page!

http://texaschildrens.org/trialnet/

All seven of those children are yours?