Another type 1 diabetes question w/ regard to shots

[Teddys~Mom]

My son was just diagnosed on Wed of this past week(he's got multiple disabilities, is wheelchair dependent and we've seen how great Disney is at dealing with most situations). We've been given the okay by our endocrin to still go on the trip but I'm curious how you all manage giving insulin before meals. My son needs to receive his bollus directly before he eats. I'm anxious about how sanitary it is to give the insulin in the bathroom but also don't want to freak out other people by giving him a shot at the table. Any tips would be great, thanks so much.

Also I read in another thread that chefs are not allowed to give out carb counts because of liability. I do have a carb counting app on my Iphone but that won't really account for anything Disney adds extra sugars or carbs to. He's such a foodie too he was really looking forward to the sampling so much of the Food and Wine fest foods. I've only been counting carbs for 3 days now so I don't really feel I have the best handle on items that are surprisingly high in carbs. Do you find speaking to the chef even wihout carb counts is still helpful?

 

[Janet Hill]

Ok no flames, but my husband does just take his injection right at the table. He brings in a needle that is already to go and just discretely takes his shot, and no one has flipped out yet. I don't think anyone really notices. He's been doing this since I've known him (~14 years).

He does speak with the chef, because you can make better decisions and estimates if you know the ingrediants.

 

[PatT240]

Before my son started pumping we would just give him his injection at the table. I never experienced a negative reaction from the other diners. I think the last place I would go would be the bathroom, too many germs.

We have been counting carbs for eight years now and what we go by when we aren't sure of the carbs is the size of your closed fist is about 25 carbs. This works well for pasta, rice and potatos.

Another thing that we do whenever we go to any type of theme park or restaurant is we bring ketone diastix to check to make sure the soda is really diet. We learned the hard way that just because the server says it's diet doesn't always mean it is. My sons blood sugar jumped to 400 after dinner and we later realized that he was drinking regular soda. You just take the diastix and drip a small amount of soda on it and will change colors if there is sugar in it.

 

[Teddys~Mom]

Ok no flames, but my husband does just take his injection right at the table. He brings in a needle that is already to go and just discretely takes his shot, and no one has flipped out yet. I don't think anyone really notices. He's been doing this since I've known him (~14 years).

He does speak with the chef, because you can make better decisions and estimates if you know the ingrediants.

Oh gosh I hope nobody flames you and thank you so much for answering despite that risk We have a pretty big party and I think I could very discretely do this with out anyone noticing. thank you for your answer

 

[SueM in MN]

Oh gosh I hope nobody flames you and thank you so much for answering despite that risk We have a pretty big party and I think I could very discretely do this with out anyone noticing. thank you for your answer

Actually, from things people have posted over the years and from being an RN, I would say the majority of people with diabetes who do insulin injections do it at the table.
Even though it might seem like everyone is looking at you, they really are not and most guests won't notice the shot at all.

 

[BCholly]

My daughter uses an injector pen.... it doesn't even look like an injection and it is easy to inject anywhere discretely. So sorry about your son's Dx. My daughter was Dx this spring she was 11.

 

[Teddys~Mom]

Before my son started pumping we would just give him his injection at the table. I never experienced a negative reaction from the other diners. I think the last place I would go would be the bathroom, too many germs.

We have been counting carbs for eight years now and what we go by when we aren't sure of the carbs is the size of your closed fist is about 25 carbs. This works well for pasta, rice and potatos.

Another thing that we do whenever we go to any type of theme park or restaurant is we bring ketone diastix to check to make sure the soda is really diet. We learned the hard way that just because the server says it's diet doesn't always mean it is. My sons blood sugar jumped to 400 after dinner and we later realized that he was drinking regular soda. You just take the diastix and drip a small amount of soda on it and will change colors if there is sugar in it.

thanks so much! that is a great tip about the soda and the carbs. this is all still completely brand new to us We are also just still so unsure of the protocol for things like needles at the table, etc. I really appreciate your confirming how I felt about giving insulin in the bathroom.

 

[Teddys~Mom]

Actually, from things people have posted over the years and from being an RN, I would say the majority of people with diabetes who do insulin injections do it at the table.
Even though it might seem like everyone is looking at you, they really are not and most guests won't notice the shot at all.

thanks Sue, it seemed like the most reasonable way to do things but I also know there are people who are so frightened of needles the mere sight of them is enough to give them the willies.

 

[Teddys~Mom]

My daughter uses an injector pen.... it doesn't even look like an injection and it is easy to inject anywhere discretely. So sorry about your son's Dx. My daughter was Dx this spring she was 11.

We can't use the injector pens because his bollus insulin amount is still varying so much meal to meal. We aren't yet stable given that its only been three days since his diagnosis, his endocrin said it may take a week or two to see it really even out more. thanks so much for your kind words, it sure has been a whirlwind week trying to learn enough to convince my brand new endocrin that I understand all this well enough to leave on Monday. LOL thankfully I work in a calibration lab so correction and carb covering formulas are pretty close to the numerical formulas we use in our lab. I hope your daughter is doing well

 

[smokeyblue]

My bf is a type I. Give the injection where or whenever comfortable. I wouldn't worry about the bathroom being unsanitary. You really shouldnt have to set anything down.

As far as counting carbs: you will grow accostomed to it. At some point you will just be able to eyeball something and know how many carbs it is. It's going to be a learning process. My bf and I usually count up the carbs and compare how many we think it is. We are usually within one carb of each others estimate.

During the first few weeks and months I'm sure that your doctor wants to find some semblance of control, but not really tight control. On your trip you will want to keep a happy medium, not too low and not too high. Just starting out on insulin I would be most concerned about the lows. Just make sure you have some quick sugar on hand, glucose gel/tabs, candy or sugar packets or bottles of juice work really well too. I would also make sure to bring a good supply of test strips just in case you have to do extra tests for suspected highs and lows.

Good luck on your trip.

 

[BCholly]

The injector pens my daughter uses are from Lily and you can dial the dosage you want. She has two in different colours for the 2 different insulins she uses. At first she was on syrynges so she could mix the insulin and have fewer shots. But she opted for twice the shots but the increased flexibility with her routine that goes with it. The pens just don't look so scary. Google the pens and you will see what they look like. Wish I felt comfortable with the carb/ insulin amounts.... I still don't.

Any recommendation about how to figure out the carbs of disneyland california treats??? She is going to want to eat some and who is going to blame her but I haven't got a hope in just "knowing" what the carb counts are....

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I do my son's shots wherever we are when he needs one. He has the Novolog pen, so the needle isn't something that should scare people. Only one person so far (in 10 months) has ever commented negatively about my giving him a shot at the table, and his wife shot him down for it Her exact answer was "Do you think a 2 year old likes getting a shot? He probably likes it less than you like seeing it"

As far as the carbs at Disney, I haven't been yet, so no real good idea. I know from going to the fairs and such this summer that the Carb King book has been a godsend. Usually we find the closest listing to whatever it is we're looking for, and go from there. He's only 2, so we don't usually need to deal with the carbs for various sauces and such.

We've found that carrying a measuring cup with us goes a long way when we go out for dinner. We can measure out portions pretty easily that way.

Jen