<<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