Type 1 diabetes and Counter Service

[zurgswife]

I have just finished adding a note about sons new diet (carb counting)with type 1 to our sit down PS's....but wondering what others do that Carb count do at the counter service restaurants??? Is nutritional info avail at the Counter service food areas that include Carb counts???

 

[stacy6552]

My husband is diabetic. He's never asked for the nutirtional content at the counter service places.

Bring a copy of your fast food exchanges for sya burger king and go from there. if your moderate about his food, there shouldnt be a problem. Test his blood regularly, and bring a bottle of fast acting only insulin if your concerned.

 

[zurgswife]

Thanks for your advice but I'm only 50 hrs into this with out hospital support....I don't think I'm yet at the point of deciding how much fast acting insulin to give my son....

does anybody else know if they have carb counts available...?

 

[lightsaber]

Hiya Zurg, Zurgswife, and LittleZurgs--

As I PM-ed you (and e-mailed) I am diabetic, and have been for 21 years now. I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing what I'm going to have, so while I still carb-count (shouldn't all diabetics nowadays .)

I use "The Diabetes and Carbohydrate and Fat Gram Guide" (Link) extensively for my carb counting questions.

In it it shows that a single BK hamburger is 2 Carb exchanges. And that's a good start. A good rule of thumb for noodles is a single cup is about the size of a fist, and that is 2 Carb exchanges.

Do you know what the Carb to Insulin ratio is? (Mine is 1 carb exchange (15g of carbohydrates) to 3 units of insulin.

Another good rule of thumb, until you figure out how to Carb count accurately, is to use go to the lower insulin side. I know that this will increase his blood sugars slightly, but, belive my wife (zulaya) being a little bit high is better than being way too low.

Questions?

Bryan

 

[zulaya]

lightsaber's DW checking in here...

It's tough when you are new to the diabetic game. Get the book Bryan (lightsaber) says. It is a great way for you to see how much in carbs something is.

Also, if your hospital hasn't referred you to one, get in a class with a nutritionist. They can really help you see first hand what a carb is.

To answer your question, we have yet to see a carb counting list at any counter service or sit down place. But the book suggested is really a good starting point.

Definitely err on the side of being a little too high than too low. Being newly diagnosed, I am guessing he was diagnosed at a high blood sugar, so probably have yet to experience a low blood sugar episode. They can vary radically from person to person. I don't want to go into detail on the board but I will PM you (and hopefully you don't have a full box ) or you can e-mail one of us directly.

Bryan is very fortunate to be a patient at the International Diabetes Center here in MN, so we are usually very up on anything to do with Type I. If we can help at anytime, please contact either of us.

 

[DisOrBust]

WE have found the "carbohydrate addicts gram counter" on Amazon the best source. However it doesn't account for non soluble fiber. How is his diet set up? Are you eating a Certain amount of carbs/meal for his insulin dose or are you using a sliding scale for grams/ unit insulin? Either way I would go to wdwig.com look up the menus to see what available and try to get an idea of carbs he would eat. It doesn't take to long before you know carbs like the back of your hand.

On a personal note don't let this ruin your life or his. My DH was diagnosed at 16yo and still hasn't forgiven his Mom for how she handled the whole thing. It seems overwhelming but it get easier with time.

Be sure to carry the quick acting glucose tabs with you in the parks.


Good Luck!!
Sue

 

[gardendame]

Originally posted by zurgswife
Thanks for your advice but I'm only 50 hrs into this with out hospital support....I don't think I'm yet at the point of deciding how much fast acting insulin to give my son....

does anybody else know if they have carb counts available...?

I had asked about this earlier and no one seemed to know, so it is my guess that WDW does not have nutritional info to hand out. We will be bringing a carb-book with us and checking blood levels much more than their normal 5 times per day. The new regimen my kids are on requires that they have fast acting insulin every time they eat anything with carbohydrates in it. This, combined with the walking, running, and excitement, should make this an interesting trip.

How old is your son? My DD (6) was dx'd at age 14-months, and my DS (7) was dx'd at age 6. I could not do this without the support of the endocrinologist, the certified diabetic educator, and dietiticians. We see each of them every 3 months, and are constantly adjusting and re-adjusting their dosage according to their growth, activity level (swimming and t-ball in summer, combined with heat), etc.

How are you doing this without help? Who is prescribing the insulin and telling you how many carbs to give him? Contact who ever is helping you and tell them of your upcoming trip. My biggest concern for him would be having a low blood sugar due to the activity level and being so newly diagnosed that the insulin dosage may not be quite perfected yet. For the lows (dependent upon his age) I would not even bother with glucose tablets. He would have to eat at least 4 of those to count as 1 serving of carbohydrate. We carry JuicyJuice boxes with attached straws. These are great as they do not need to be kept chilled and they travel around easily in a backpack, fanny pack, etc. Also for lows, on our last trip to see the CDE, she told us that the new treatment of choice for the lows was an Airhead!! My kids love these. These also travel well.

Make sure you bring his meter with you, plenty of test strips, and a good supply of juice, airheads, etc., for the lows. The highs can be treated with more insulin, which you will be bringing anyhow.

Good luck to you and your son. Please feel free to PM me if you need anything. Dealing with diabetes in children is quite different from that of an adult or an older child. Their metabolism and growth hormones are so unpredictable. What worked well for them today may not work well for them tomorrow. It can be a rollercoaster.

 

[lightsaber]

I would definitely agree with having something available to couteract low blood sugars with you at all times (not just while at WDW!). I use Juice boxes. They actually make a plastic cover for the square ones (I got mine at either Walmart or Target) that keeps them from being crushed in a bag/pocket.

As far as the Carbohydrates goes, every time I go from now on, I'm going to keep track of what I eat and what I think/thought the carbs were and how close I was so that others can benifit from my experience. I'm gonna post it here and put it on a web page, and while I know it won't be as popular as Delswife's saga, it will definitely help thos with the big "D" that are going to DW.

Love ya! Mean it!

 

[zurgswife]

Thanks for your advice but I'm only 50 hrs into this with out hospital support

What I ment by this statement was that the hospital was making all of the decisions of adjusting his insulin and we are on a very strict regiment and don't have the knowledge about adding insulin to his regiment. We are currently on a set dosage...

CHOP has given us a wonderful support network....sorry for the miss understanding...

 

[zurgswife]

lightsaberThanks for the link to the guide. We are on a very set insulin schedule currently but it sounds like from the posts here that that will change.. I haven't learned anything about carb-insulin ratio.

ZulayaCHOP has given us a class with a nutritionalist and we have a followup scheduled in the end of Nov. I do understand carbs..so at least that is a help. Thanks for your offer of support

DisorBustI will trry to located the Carb addicit carb counter. My son is currently on a strict regiment...he eats between 60-75 carbs BLD and 15-30 for all 3 snacks...and he gets insulin 3 times a day. Overall it hasn't seemed too bad...I really don't feel overwhelmed....I just like to plan ahead...and it seems figure carbs in the parks will take a little more work..

Gardendame My son is 10 and was diagonsised last Tuesday. We have a team of drs., nurse practioners, nutrionists, social workers, therapist assigned to us by CHOP....we have a follow up meeting on Nov 26 and between now and then we have a check in with the nurse practioner and a home visit scheduled on Thurs.

How are you doing this without help?

See above post for clarificaiton...

Thank you for all your advice...

ALL OF YOU....

 

[PigletsPal]

Welcome to the world of being a Diabetic MOM, my middle son was dx. when he was 8 on 12/23 needless to say Christmas was not very MERRY that year, but we made up for it by going to WDW for Christmas the following year.
For low's what works for us is life savors they are small enough to keep in his pocket or a fanny pack. In fact each of his teachers has one just in case he bottoms out at school.
The chef's at all the rest. are very helpful by coming out to see what your child can eat, so I'm sure if you told him what his carb. count for that meal is he will be able to help you out.
Also don't be surprised if he has alot more HIGH'S than LOW'S. If you can make a copy of sign's and symptons to take with you since this all so new to you. I would also try to make note of the loc. of all the first aide stations in case you need to go there and there isn't a CM around to dirrect you.

GOOD LUCK and let us know how your trip was when you go.

 

[BCV23]

Originally posted by zurgswife
I have just finished adding a note about sons new diet (carb counting)with type 1 to our sit down PS's....but wondering what others do that Carb count do at the counter service restaurants??? Is nutritional info avail at the Counter service food areas that include Carb counts???

Sorry I can't help about carbs at counterservice but I have a question for you! When you asked that a note be added to your PSs about counting carbs, did the CM indicate that you will be able to get that info at the restaurants? If so, I'll certainly call too! My son was recently switched from R and NOH insulin to Humalog and Lantus so instead of eyeballing portions and counting all exchanges, we're counting carbs too. On our trip this summer to WDW I did find it hard to guesstimate some servings. I know bread, roll, fruit counts etc. but those huge steak fries were a particular challenge ....and he loves them.

I've always preferred carrying the small cans of juice. They never leak and don't need refrigeration either. He likes pineapple or pineapple/ orange best. The oj tastes a little tinny I think. I also carry a piece of fruit or two to the parks.

Carb/insulin ratio just means how many carbs Connor eats for each unit of insulin he takes. Our son's ratio varies according to how active he is. By your birthday trip you'll be a pro at this although I will say WDW presents a challenge because of all the walking.

Sounds like you're doing well and starting to feel in control. Connor will do just fine...and so will you!

 

[gardendame]

[QUOTEGardendame My son is 10 and was diagonsised last Tuesday. We have a team of drs., nurse practioners, nutrionists, social workers, therapist assigned to us by CHOP....we have a follow up meeting on Nov 26 and between now and then we have a check in with the nurse practioner and a home visit scheduled on Thurs. [/B][/QUOTE]

There seem to be a lot of us "D" parents on this board! A horrible club to be in, but nice to know I am not alone.
Here is an idea - ask one of your healthcare people if they know of another family in their care who has done a lot of traveling. By law, they cannot give you someone's name and number, but you can ask them to give YOUR number to that family and ask them to give you a call. You would not believe how much information I have gained just by talking/venting/questioning another parent. Also, discuss your son's symptoms with him. If he has a low (before the trip of course), treat his low, then after he feels better, ask him to verbalize how he felt. Ask him to try to warn someone at the early onset of symptoms so that he can be treated BUT keep in mind that during a low he may not be thinking clearly and may not realize there is a problem.
My family isn't going to WDW until 10/2004, so please PLEASE pass on any advise you can after you return from your trip.

ALL OF YOU HERE ARE GIVING GREAT ADVISE! It's almost like a family

 

[zurgswife]

Thanks for the advice Gardendame