<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Pam wrote:   a couple mothers of 8 year olds were commenting that their
daughter's sugars swing up to 400-500 quite frequently. <snip>

>>>>>That is clearly dangerous.  I don't see that as being at all acceptable.
500 readings are hard on the retina & kidneys.  Something like this might
happen under extreme circumstances....  but if 400 & 500 are "frequent" they
need to go back to the drawing board with their doctors & reassess the diet &
the insulin therapy.  Because kids are growing & their hormones changing,
(insulin is a hormone- effected by the others) they may need more frequent
insulin adjusting.

This makes me think what am  complaining about? I know everyone's body
is different and Brittany still is in the "honeymoon" stage, but please
give me some thoughts on your
experiences. By the way her endocrinologist thinks her sugars are just
fine and I know they look at them on the overall long-term
average.<snip>

>>>>>> The most common tool to use as a gauge of "how are we doing" is the A1c.
If you request copies of the labwork, you will know what this is. Or
just ask your Doc... Staying in the 7 & under range is considered to be
the safety zone (to avoid complications).

Also some physicians/hospitals now have a machine that registers an A1c
via a fingerstick (otherwise it is a full blood draw). I would think
that would be especially nice for a child to avoid the draw  & choose a
fingerstick instead-( considering this should be done at least
quarterly? not sure how often for kids). Our local clinic just bought
one & I tried it end of January- the machine hums, chugs & churns &
gives a readout in 6 minutes. She will probably have to alternate some
with full on draws, as they get more detailed labwork info from them.


Read more about the A1c @ this site:

http://www.lilly.com/diabetes/ref_manual/h1ac.html


>>>>>>>>Also, ask your pediatric endo what he feels are the target ranges to
stay within....  it may be more generous for children, because of the long
term risk of repeated lows.  Blood glucose goals for kids are less strict.
The target range might be 100 or 200.

What does bother me from time to time is that some days she does swing
from 80 to 287 for no apparent reason. <snip>

>>>>>>End of honeymoon phase? Are you using Humalog to bring down the spike?

Good control norm for kids w/ type 1 is likely to be very individual- if
a child can recognize & respond to an oncoming low. As the child grows,
will continue to need adjusting.

Also check out the ADA's selection of books- they have some specifically
for caregivers of diabetic children. Call 800-232-6733 for a free
catalog of their books.

~ Fran