Continuing care

At diagnosis and in the weeks and months following your child’s diagnosis, members of the diabetes care team, (see pages six and seven), will give you and your child more detailed information on how to manage their diabetes. This should include:

·        Information and advice on how and where to inject, injecting devices, and how to dispose of needles and finger pricking lancets.

·        How and when to test for glucose and ketones, what the results of these tests mean, and when to seek advice.

·        Information about how insulin, food, exercise, stress and excitement interact, and how they affect blood glucose levels.

·        A discussion about hypoglycaemia (hypos) with clear information about its causes, symptoms and treatment. This should include the use of Glucagon and/or Hypostop. You should be given information on convulsions (fits) which can occasionally be caused by hypos, and how to deal with them.

·        An explanation of what is called the ‘honeymoon’ phase – the time shortly after diagnosis when your child may need less insulin.

·        An explanation that your child may find it hard to adjust to early day to day life with diabetes.

·        You should be given a telephone number to call for 24-hour advice from members of the diabetes care team or the paediatric ward.

Once your child’s diabetes is reasonably controlled

After a time, you will become more confident in managing your child’s diabetes. However, the diabetes care team should always be available when and if you need them. They will maintain contact to continue their education programme and to support you. Don’t hesitate to ask for more help or information.

You can now expect the following:

·        You and your child should see a paediatric diabetes specialist nurse, consultant and dietitian frequently in the weeks and months after diagnosis. Once you feel more confident in managing your child’s diabetes, you will need to visit the clinic at least three or four times a year as part of your child’s regular diabetes care.

·        At these visits, your child’s general health will be checked and their blood glucose levels will be reviewed by looking at your home records, and by some extra tests of long-term blood glucose control.

·        You should have a chance to get further education about diabetes, and discuss any other concerns you may have about diet, insulin, hypos or any other aspect of living with diabetes.

·        As your child gets older there will be opportunities to discuss how s/he is coping with diabetes and life in general.