boyfriends sister almost died

[veritymoon]

She was sent home from school unwell yesterday and was vomiting every 20mins or so, they took her to the doc who diagnosed a throat infection and sent her away with antibiotics. she got worse and worse and when she got up she was staggering and looked very pale they too her to A+E which took less than 10mins and by the time she got there she was unconsious and grey. the doc at the hosp took one look at her and she was in a diabetic coma and mins from death.

shes only 11 and had now been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and is going to need daily injections.

are there any diabetics out there who can give me some advise on how if effects there life i have a good understanding of diabetes as im a veterinary nurse and im gonna have a look on the internet and brush up my knowledge but just wanted a few peoples personal experiances and how they cope .

she does not mind people giving her the injections but is not keen to try yet which i dont blame her its been a big thing for her to take in any comments would be great. thanks

[Redbel]

Hi veritymoon, can I start by saying I'm so sorry for your boyfriends sister, I hope she is feeling better soon.

My b/f mum is diabetic and she was nearly in a diabetic coma at Christmas, she had been drinking, as you do at Christmas and didn't notice until she got home and laid on the setee that her sugar levels had dropped, my b/f's dad had gone to bed and only for her grandaughters b/f who noticed that she was acting funny that they realised that she was going in a coma, they knew what to do, a drink of milk and a biscuit and within minutes she was o.k., but any longer....well it doesn't bear thinking about.... My b/f's mum told me about this and she said she experiences a tingling in her lips when she knows her sugar levels are dropping. She is on insulin injections which she does herself, I think they taught her at the hospital using an orange. I have seen her do it a number of times and a blink of an eye and it's done.

I hope this helps verity..... but there will be loads of helpful people on here with more information than me, I just wanted to give you my b/f's mums experience.

Give my love to your boyfriends sister xx

[Bob A Job]

'Diagnosed her with a throat infection and sent her away with antibiotics'!!!!

I would report this GP immediatly. Before someone does die from their malpractice.

[WendyS]

I'm afraid I can't offer any practice advice as I'm not diabetic. However, to avoid a future incident I wonder if your boyfriend's sister would wear one of these Medic Alert bracelets which says she's diabetic. It may save valuable minutes if she has another attack amongst strangers and somebody needs to check her out.

[mimififi]

You can also use insulin pumps that mean you don't have to inject everyday, I have an adult friend who uses one. However, I don't know if they are suitable for children or how much they cost?

In my experience as a teacher, the biggest issue I saw with diabetic teenage kids was that once they were on medication they were fine. However, I did see one or two kids in different schools really battle with the 'feeling different' part of the condition. Having to watch what you eat and at what time can be tricky in a peer group setting. Two kids I remember did have to have emergency hospital treatment as after being on the meds for a while, they then began to believe that it wasn't really a problem and that they could control their diabetes if they wanted to; they didn't need all this timetabled eating thing, they'd eat whatever they wanted and if they missed their injection, well they'd just take it when they got home. Needless to say how they ended up, one boy was found going into a coma in the loo and the other collapsed in my lesson -very scary- the first boy had been diagnosed as a toddler, the second as a teen.

However, I think that the counselling kids have available to them is very good these days, but my advice would be to really encourage her to take advantage of the counselling and be open and honest about what she is feeling. ( I have to say, none of the diabetic girls I taught ever had any problems, it could be a guy thing!)

I hope she feels better soon, and I'm so glad that things worked out.

[Jules001]

Having worked in a school where there were diabetic children (it is getting more common now for children to become diabetic), some children found that it was too long a gap between eating breakfast and lunch so used to have a banana at break time. She may need to be careful about PE etc and making sure that she has had enough to eat before exercising as I believe that can make sugar levels drop. My mum is diabetic and injects twice daily into her stomach

[veritymoon]

thanks for all your comments we have boughr her a sos locket which says she is an insulin dependant diabetic on it and has emergency contact details inside.

shes enjoying the whole being special at the moment untill that wears off and even injected herslef today shes gonna be off school for next week as her levels are so up and down but once shes stable then she will be back in school and shes allowed to take food into class and eat if she feels the need to which she thinks is great!

[October]

Can I suggest that her family join Diabetes UK - the charity for people with diabetes (both types 1 or 2).

www.diabetes.org.uk

They produce a marvellous magazine, called "Balance" every 2 months and it has a wealth of information in it, (latest research, news, new products, recipes, experiences, contact details, chat room, travel, myths and truths, health, technical stuff explained, interviews and more). They have a telephone Careline for support and information.

They also run a network of voluntary groups all over the country who get involved in fundraising, kids' holidays and campaigning.

[veritymoon]

thanks october ive checked out the site and printed info off its a really good site and going to pass it on th the family.