non compliant teenager with type1

[roo3]

what is the best advice from those teenagers or parents that you can give me in regards to the fact that my son who is 16 rarely checks his blood sugar and he is very athletic. I talk to him and explain the many issues and concerns here including death. he tunes me out.

[mom2all3]

I wish I could give you the magic words but as I am caring for my 26 year old son with severe nerve damage with pain and going through laser surgeries to save his eyesight, I can only hope your son has his wake up call sooner than later.  There is a certain amount of maturity needed to come to terms with what living with diabetes means and what teenager/young adult wants to think about long term consequences?  After being hospitalized for a week (and not checking blood sugars for months!) my son told me that he got tired of not seeing the "perfect number" on his monitor and just gave up.  And let's face it, the whole "control" thing is very ambiguous.  They can try so hard and still have high readings due to stress, illness, etc.  Every try to stay on a diet and have the scale go up instead of down?  Very frustrating!  I will suggest a book I am reading right now to help me understand the emotional side of type 1 diabetes "Diabetes Burnout-What to Do When You Can't Take It Anymore"- haven't read the whole thing yet but seems very informative and sheds bright light on the burnout that is inevitable.  One more thing--make sure your son has health insurance no matter what age.  His "enlightment" is most likely to come when he is a young adult and not under your direct care amd the financial implications are huge with lots of added stress.  Be encouraging but remember most teenagers think they will live forever even those with diabetes.  Get a doctor he can talk to and take him regularly, keep his supplies visible, make sure there is good food for him to eat at home and work on your own feelings and acceptance of inevitable health problems.  Diabetes is your son's disease but it shared by the whole family.  Hang in there!

[pyrkagia_rah8]

Sounds really familiar - I was really resentful about having diabetes when I was a teenager and never checked my blood sugars either. I hope his a1c is fine - if its not then talking to him calmly isnt really going to do anything. he might realize the danger if he goes too low during exercising but one thing that helps is having some sort of reward system until he is able to get into an appropriate routine. after that regularity is established of his own accord, it becomes something like taking vitamins - not really that bothersome, but necessary for survival. the resentment fades off after a while.

another thing you might try is to get him involved in some diabetes activities around the area - maybe there are some camps or support groups. these are great experiences, they allow teenagers to realize that there are so many other kids who have the same problem, and watching everyone test blood sugars, take shots/boluses in 'communion' is really an enlightening experience. it makes kids feel much more accepted, and when they get back home and to the real world again, their diabetes is much less difficult to endure.