diabetes and smoking crack

[gmarley]

my daughter has been diaignosed with IDDM for abut 3 years. She recently told me that she is taking up the habit of smoking crack. I know that this is not good for her but would like to know how and if it affects her diabetes?

[JDRF-Team-wak]

I am not a physician, but a mom of a type one diabetic. Like the others have said, the drug use can be cover up and a reach for help for underlying problems.  
Crack can cause heart problems along with a host of other problems, that are similar to the complications of poor control diabetes. As we know that is one of the complications that diabetics can have when they are not in good control.  
Crack is also known for taking your appetite away, so your daughter might not be eating properly, which also will affect her diabetes.  If she is on shots and not eating she could have lows and not be aware that they are happening.    
I would try to talk to her and get her help as it can and will affect her health more than she realizes.  I do know that it will not be easy, but your love and support will help her through the tough road.
I hope that things go well. Good luck and check back and let us now how it goes

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

GMarley,
My heart aches for you as you try to help your daughter face the pains that drive her to illicit drugs.  From my view (as a step-parent and an adult, not a physician), such drug use is a *symptom* of underlying problems.  Once drug use begins, however, it must be stopped and the individual must be clean & sober for the individual, family, psychologists, counselors, and psychiatrists to be able to reach the underlying issues.  I've been there with my step-daughter and some months & years were bleak & terrifying for us.

Truth is, crack users either stop using it or they die because of the power of the addiction and the frightening environs & people they must deal with to feed their habit.  What we learned from our experience with our child is that she became a fabulous manipulator and liar.  She was very convincing and so we didn't know -- for too long -- just what she'd been doing.  In the context of a teen who also has diabetes, it's safe to assume that when she's using, she's not able to or interested to manage her blood sugar.  If she takes shots, you can be sure that her druggie pals will become instant best friends because they can get access to clean syringes from her.  She's a pawn, just as those folks were.

You've probably seen these informative sites, but here's a couple references for you.  Please use all your resources to stop her drug use.  Involve the police as needed and be aware that our kids will steal from us to support their toxic alliances and their addictions.  
www.streetdrugs.org/crack.htm
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/crack/

our kids **need** (and deep inside they WANT) our involvement.  Don't ever give up on her.  She's already given up on herself and you will feel like a broken record.  My child experienced rape, head-injury due to a car accident, physical abuse, mental abuse, hunger and who-knows-what-else she hasn't been able to tell us.  What pulled her thru the fog of addiction was the tough but ever-present love & pleading and boundaries from her parents.

Ultimately, we discovered her underlying cause:  she is bipolar and was self-medicating thru drug use.  She still works with a psychiatrist, but she's returned to graduate from high school and has started community college.  I share this to help you see that the present situation you're in is, in fact, very dangerous.  The future doesn't have to be, however.

[JDRF-Team-BL]

i don't envy you your task of getting her off the drug habit. But drugs and diabetes don't mix. i have bipolar disorder and that is disruptive enough. When i go through periods of severe depression, i know my diabetes care isn't what it should be and i have to work to get so i care enough to get back to the normal routine i follow when not dealing with severe emotions. i hope you can convince her that drugs cause more disruption than the diabetes care she may be rebelling against.
wishing you the best in your endeavor, bret