Quick service advice for new Type 1 diabetic?

[DavidandLeahZ]

Hi everyone,
A close family friend had their 6 year old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 36 hours before they left for a week long stay at WDW. Needless to say, they're having a rough time, as is she, dealing with this new wrinkle while eating out. They're avoiding table service due to cost, so I would love any recommendations about good options for a 1st grader while dining primarily at quick service locations. Thanks in advance!

 

[Granny square]

Wow. I couldn't have done that. We wouldn't have gone.


Test test test test and play Alice in wonderland. A bite of this a bite of that and see how she is doing.

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

Yeah, I'm a type 1 as well, for 30 years, but I don't remember what it was like to eat out at that age. Hoping to get some kid friendly recommendations from people who have been there.

 

[Granny square]

Yeah, I'm a type 1 as well, for 30 years, but I don't remember what it was like to eat out at that age. Hoping to get some kid friendly recommendations from people who have been there.

Sorry! Your post filled my heart with fear. My son almost died that first week of dx! I know that all cases are different. Just a wild reaction that I thought I was past!

 

[buffettgirl]

really, she'll be able to eat whatever she wants, wherever they go. With an app on their phone like Calorie King, or Fat Secret or Figwee, they will be able to come up with approximate carb counts (which is the info they need). Her parent's challenge is going to be that they will have no earthly idea how to judge sizes; what's a cup of pasta. what's an 'average' apple. They can use a place that they know (like McD's) for reference sizes - like look at a serving of fries and compare it to what calorie king says for a small serving of mcD's fries. Figwee (for apple only) shows portion sizes, so that's the most helpful, if they can get it.

But as for kid food, there are some things that are standard and should be easy: Chicken fingers are chicken fingers are chicken fingers (usually about 3-5g of carbs per piece) . Hot dog/hamburger rolls are the same everywhere (about 30g each). Ice cream is always ice cream (about 16 for 1/2c vanilla, 19 for 1/2c chocolate). Pasta is always pasta (42g per cup).

Their best best, I"m assuming they're already there is to just download apps and let her eat what she wants to eat, and manage carbs as best they can. Her body, prior to diagnosis, was literally starving itself because it couldn't convert glucose to energy. So she will be ravenously hungry that first week.

Avoid any "sugar free' items at all cost. they WILL give a 6 year old terrible stomach issues. And they all have carbs anyway, so shots will be needed. Plus, she'll have diarrhea. Fun times.

edit, sorry, just saw your second post. Didn't realize you also had type 1, so I didn't mean to give you unnecessary info on the working of diabetes LOL.

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

really, she'll be able to eat whatever she wants, wherever they go. With an app on their phone like Calorie King, or Fat Secret or Figwee, they will be able to come up with approximate carb counts (which is the info they need). Her parent's challenge is going to be that they will have no earthly idea how to judge sizes; what's a cup of pasta. what's an 'average' apple. They can use a place that they know (like McD's) for reference sizes - like look at a serving of fries and compare it to what calorie king says for a small serving of mcD's fries. Figwee (for apple only) shows portion sizes, so that's the most helpful, if they can get it. But as for kid food, there are some things that are standard and should be easy: Chicken fingers are chicken fingers are chicken fingers (usually about 3-5g of carbs per piece) . Hot dog/hamburger rolls are the same everywhere (about 30g each). Ice cream is always ice cream (about 16 for 1/2c vanilla, 19 for 1/2c chocolate). Pasta is always pasta (42g per cup). Their best best, I"m assuming they're already there is to just download apps and let her eat what she wants to eat, and manage carbs as best they can. Her body, prior to diagnosis, was literally starving itself because it couldn't convert glucose to energy. So she will be ravenously hungry that first week. Avoid any "sugar free' items at all cost. they WILL give a 6 year old terrible stomach issues. And they all have carbs anyway, so shots will be needed. Plus, she'll have diarrhea. Fun times.

This is exactly what I was looking for. I just texted this to them; thanks!

 

[buffettgirl]

Sorry! Your post filled my heart with fear. My son almost died that first week of dx! I know that all cases are different. Just a wild reaction that I thought I was past!

It took me like 2 hours to go to the grocery store the first time,trying to figure out how to feed a 5 year old a set number of carbs at each meal. I couldn't have managed disney 36 hours after diagnosis either. Then again, we were still in the picu 36 hours after diagnosis. Gotta love this family for giving it their all, for normal!

 

[Granny square]

It took me like 2 hours to go to the grocery store the first time,trying to figure out how to feed a 5 year old a set number of carbs at each meal. I couldn't have managed disney 36 hours after diagnosis either. Then again, we were still in the picu 36 hours after diagnosis. Gotta love this family for giving it their all, for normal!

Absolutely!!

 

[buffettgirl]

This is exactly what I was looking for. I just texted this to them; thanks!

Glad to help.

Also, do tell them to test about 3 times as much as they were told to test, and test at night. Lots at night.

I'm not sure if you still see it 30 years into it, but kids have terrible issues with delayed activity lows, 12, 18 hours later. So Ice cream is basically the perfect bedtime snack. full fat .. the fat really can help offset extra activity during the day. And, by it's nature, restaurant food is naturally fatty, so that will actually work to their benefit. But do tell them to not trust that a good bedtime number will be what they see all night. That activity will sneak up on them. In short, you can't test too much while at Disney.

And watch for 'excitement' highs. I wouldn't even begin to guess if they're doing corrections for highs at this point, other than just correcting at meals, but little kids will often spike from fun, just as much as they might go low. I don't see it as much with my 13 year old, so I'm not sure if it's something you would have mentioned to them either. So sometimes, in Disney, you have to sit on highs for a while because they do come down quickly on their own.

God love them. They're doing a good thing for their daughter, they really are, but they're going to need a vacation when they get back. LOL.

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

I think the only reason they decided to continue with the trip is because the mother is a nurse....and an amazing one at that.

 

[buffettgirl]

I think the only reason they decided to continue with the trip is because the mother is a nurse....and an amazing one at that.

she's still going to need a vacation. LOL. do wish them well. It really is the best thing they could be doing for their child. And nothing will ever be this hard for them again. They'll be able to look back and say "hey, we did disney 36 hours after dx. We can do THIS other thing too."

 

[acebatonfan]

I am in a similar boat. I was diagnosed with T1D less than four weeks ago after being rushed to the ER for DKA. The answer you get really depends on what insulin dose the doctors placed her on.

Since she is so early in the diagnosis, she might be on a set insulin dosage with a sliding scale and told to limit carbs to 30-60g per meal, which might involve a little more math and portion control. If she is already on an insulin:carb ratio, all the family has to worry about is eating healthily and taking insulin for whatever she eats.

As a quick rule of thumb, I learned that meats and cheeses are generally very low carb, so they would work as a good snack if she is hungry before a meal and does not want to take insulin.

Please tell the family to check her glucose levels constantly. They will be walking a lot, and it can bring her down into hypoglycemia. There are a few brands of travel-size glucose tablets that fit into a purse or bag and have enough tablets in them to treat hypoglycemia for about 40-50 minutes.

From what I remember, the kids meals at Disney seem to be very similar to one another. If she doesn't mind eating three or four different meals during the vacation, it might be easier for you to carb count it.

 

[dsneygirl]

Since she is so early in the diagnosis, she might be on a set insulin dosage with a sliding scale and told to limit carbs to 30-60g per meal, which might involve a little more math and portion control. If she is already on an insulin:carb ratio, all the family has to worry about is eating healthily and taking insulin for whatever she eats.

I agree. The first little while after my son was dx every meal was very controlled 20-30g etc per meal. I would suggest lots of low carb/no carb snacks to fill her up.

We used Calorie King as a guide and our knowledge of other "fast food" type places (like McDs) for how much a chicken nugget/fries would be.

36hrs post dx my son was still in the ICU with DKA I can't imagine going on a trip. I was also on the phone 2-3x a day with our Endo team. I hope they manage ok.

 

[disneypumpkins3]

We went to Disney a couple weeks after our 7-yr-old DD was diagnosed. She was, and still is, on a sliding scale. That follows a pretty simple set of rules. If they are counting carbs then their doctor probably gave them info on finding amounts. Having Type 1 does not mean DD can't eat things, it means we have to keep track of what she eats so we can administer insulin accordingly. (Which, if you're diabetic, you know. But I have people ask me if she's "allowed" to eat things, or who wonder why she's diabetic since she's always eaten so healthy...)

We actually had more issue with high blood sugar at Disney. I've noticed that sometimes even when she's very active it will be high, then immediately after activity drop like a rock. If it were high and we'd give her insulin we'd have to give her food, too. DD is only supposed to take insulin before meals. However, while on vacation our meal schedule was off, so we had to follow a few rules - food after insulin and insulin only so many hours apart, etc. (Those are things their doctor will have gone over with them.)

Disney's counter service all have good choices for kids. Getting a rounded meal is good - protein to stretch out the sugar, carbs for energy, and fruits or veggies. (Precisely what kids are supposed to have, right? ) Even the cookie for dessert is fine for our DD - her doctor tells us just to give an extra dose of insulin beforehand, or let it go and the sliding scale takes care of it at the next meal. (We have the most awesome endocrinologist!) With kids, the doctors tend to let the sugar run higher. For example, our goal is to keep her below 200. That's not the same as for an adult.

I know it's very stressful for them right now, but hopefully they can keep calm and have a good time. I've tried to be very calm about it with our daughter - this is who she is and it's just part of our family routine now. She takes care of her own blood sugar, can dose and administer her own insulin, and loves talking about it with people. She's proud to be a diabetic!

Remind the parents not to be hard on themselves. No matter how well you take care of your diabetic child, the numbers will go up and down. Keep their supplies with them, and the process of learning how to best care for them will get easier with time.

 

[Granny square]

Our issue was the inconsistencies. Much if the time, even 1 1/2 years later carbs in have little relationship to the levels. Hoping once the teen years are over that will change. We've been told it probably will.

 

[buffettgirl]

Our issue was the inconsistencies. Much if the time, even 1 1/2 years later carbs in have little relationship to the levels. Hoping once the teen years are over that will change. We've been told it probably will.

one can hope, right? LOL. My kid eats the same freaking lunch every darn day. One day he comes home and he's 110, the next he comes home and he's 230. We're dealing with the fun of "hormone parties" at night - one night I'm up half the night dealing with highs, pumping him full of insulin that might as well be water and the next week it's lows all week. Last night started out with a "insulin as water" night but resulted in a 106 at breakfast. I wish I knew what I did.


We're 8 years into this. Somedays I think that the years from age 5-11 were just "boutique" diabetes. Everything was so easy, everything worked so nicely. It was all very tidy. Then hormones came a calling. LOL.

 

[Granny square]

We got hit at 16. Hormones suck!

 

[buffettgirl]

We got hit at 16. Hormones suck!

I think, happily, you're probably nearing the end of the craziness. Usually by 20 it seems boys settle down quite a bit. Just think, girls have added nuttiness once a month forever. We can be thankful for that, right?

We're just at the very beginning of this crap storm. He's only 13, so we've got a lot of growth, a lot of hormones ahead of us.

 

[Granny square]

I think, happily, you're probably nearing the end of the craziness. Usually by 20 it seems boys settle down quite a bit. Just think, girls have added nuttiness once a month forever. We can be thankful for that, right? We're just at the very beginning of this crap storm. He's only 13, so we've got a lot of growth, a lot of hormones ahead of us.

My best friends daughter is evidence of that. I'm glad we will step across the line relatively soon!!

13 is hard without type 1. Good wishes for the year to come