Wit and Wisdom for Kids with Diabetes (for Teens)

Remember the time when you were a little kid and you couldn't find the bubble bath so you used shampoo instead. A whole bottle of shampoo. Or the summer day when you insisted on wearing your favorite red wool sweater out to play soccer with your friends. And you got so hot you threw up. Or the time you thought it would be fun to take your hamster out on the front porch to play. And the neighbor's cat mistook it for his lunch.

Over the years you've made a lot of choices and as a result learned a lot of lessons. Some of them were pretty painful. But learning how to make good choices has allowed you to gain independence from your parents and other adults. Which is pretty important at this time in your life.

Think of all the things you now do independently. Bathe. Dress. Shave. Catch the bus. Study. Work. Drive. Manage your diabetes. Choose your friends. Choose a movie. Choose a hair style. And even choose to change your mind.

Once in awhile, you might try to stretch that independence even further. Even if the adults in your life won't tell you about it, they tried some crazy things when they were teens. Most everyone does. And most all the time it turns out to be no big deal.

But it can be a big deal if it's your diabetes you mess around with. Or decide not to mess with it at all. Independence with diabetes is measured by how well you take care of yourself. By how well you follow your health care plan by balancing food,
exercise, and insulin. And by making very careful informed decisions before you try new things. Things like smoking,
drinking, driving, and sex.

Talk About Bad Timing

Right in the middle of yelling "I can take care of myself!", your body starts making changes which are out of your control. Growth spurts. A voice that manages three octaves in one sentence. Menstrual periods. And emotions that swing like a wild carnival ride. All caused by hormones.

Besides bringing about serious body changes, hormones-- such as the growth hormone, estrogen, and testosterone--can really mess with insulin and your blood sugar control. How? Well, in a couple of ways. First of all, in puberty your body has a lot of
growth hormone in you. This growth hormone affects your body’s reaction to insulin—causing insulin resistance and making it harder for your body to use. So, maybe you used to take 30 units a day when you were 10, and now you’re 14 and you need 60. Not surprising.

The other thing you’ve got going on right now is related to the increased levels of estrogen and testosterone in your body. These higher levels can cause a serious rollercoaster effect on your blood sugar. You may see some really crazy ups and downs. So, even though you work hard to balance your meals and snacks with exercise and insulin, there will be times when your body goes off and does its own thing, leaving you hanging. And that causes all kinds of frustration for you and the adults who help you with your diabetes .

This is the time to lighten up. Don't be too hard on yourself if you end up with high blood sugar readings several times a week. It could be caused by raging hormones. Keep doing all the things you know that work best to control your diabetes because there's no controlling the hormones. Record your blood sugar levels and check in with your health care team frequently to talk about changes you might try.

Healthy Eating

Eating a healthy diet and staying active are important parts of managing diabetes. But what about teens who take diet and exercise too far? Or who manipulate their insulin in efforts to lose weight? Restricting what you eat, binging, purging, or manipulating your insulin dose can all have very serious effects on your health.

Does any of this sound familiar? Let’s take a closer look:

Anorexia Nervosa is a condition where a person severely limits caloric intake, eating far less than the body requires. Often, this is combined with extreme levels of exercise in efforts to burn off perceived fat. People with anorexia see themselves as fat, even though their body weight may be normal or below normal (even WAY below normal), and others tell them they look too thin.

In Bulimia Nervosa, a person binges—eating a huge amount of food in one sitting-- and then purges, usually by inducing vomiting or using diuretics or laxatives to get rid of the extra calories consumed during the binge. Both of these are serious eating disorders that have serious risks for all teens, especially teens with diabetes.

People with anorexia or bulimia are more likely to have trouble with all areas of diabetes control— from giving insulin shots and checking blood sugar to following a meal plan and eating healthy foods.

And then there is insulin manipulation. A lot of teens, especially girls, think it’s the best thing since summer vacation. They
reduce the amount of insulin they take, or skip doses entirely, in efforts to get that ultra-thin bod. The basic overview is that they’re keeping their blood sugar levels way high, processing less food, and eliminating a lot of extra sugar (calories) from their blood stream in their urine. (Remember all that weight you lost right before you were diagnosed? Remember how terrible you felt? This is the same thing.) Do we even need to tell you what this does to your blood sugar? Yeah, we know, “thin is in,” but  playingaround like this with your insulin can land you in the hospital. Or worse.