Trying to TT a diabetic toddler

[KimB]

Hi all

I'm having so much trouble with DD3. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in Feb of '10 so was only 15 months old. This year we have tried so hard to get her to go to the toilet and have mostly succeeded but she still has quite a few accidents. I'm not sure she knows the feeling of when she has to go. Has any other mum of a diabetic toddler found it harder to TT than usual or is it just my girl being stubborn

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Just asked Mum, and she said my sister wet the bed til she was about 8 yrs, obviously due to the diabetes. Lots of plastic sheets in our house! They used to say her 'foot-walkers weren't connected to her piddle-pipe' She had to go to the toilet so often that it was difficult to control herself. Mum says it wasn't that she didn't know she needed to go, but at night it just wouldn't wake her up. I suppose the frequency meant that if she was waking up every time, she wouldn't be sleeping very well.

She also used to have more difficulty when her blood sugars were high, because she was drinking more. How are your DD's sugar levels? Are you testing for ketones as well? The ketones will show if she's been too high for too long. It's difficult trying to get the levels right when they're little, because they're not always aware of what's going on, WHY they're feeling bad, so they're not able to communicate it to you

Mum says she would use the training pants now if she was going through it again. My sister grew out of it, and so will your DD - it'll just take longer than other kids, because it's a bit more difficult

[KimB]

Thanks so much Keike. Love your mums quote by the way We have been trying to keep her bsl's level and with the pump it is making it easier but she still doesn't seem to realise that she has wee'd on the floor until we tell her. Most of the time she is great and will run to the toilet but there are just some days......

Oh well will keep reminding her during the day and buying the pullups for night and outings.

It is my mum made a comment about how late she is TT and that my kids are usually all done by her age, if not lots sooner, that got me thinking about it. I will also ask her specialist when we have the next appointment.

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Yeah, it does take diabetic kids longer to get it. Something I thought of, that Mum couldn't confirm for me, was that maybe she's embarrassed to speak up sometimes when she needs to go, because she realises she's goes more than the other kids? I don't know, just a theory. Something my sister said though, was that when she wet the bed, she was definitely not laying there and knowing what she was doing - she'd wake up in the morning and be wet, so it wasn't a deliberate thing then, and I doubt your daughter is doing it deliberately

Ooh, I don't know anything about the pump, my sister does injections. Is it a preset amount, or does it take readings and inject what's necessary?

[KimB]

Keike my DD is only 2 so I'm sure she is still getting the hang of TT. Might just have to persevere for longer with her.

She got the pump in March and depending on what rate they are on and different things the settings on the pump are done. She no longer takes the long lasting insulin as the pump gives her small doses through out the day of the fast acting. Sorry I'm probably not making much sense atm. It makes it easier to control her diabetes and she doesn't have all the needles as a cannula is inserted and can stay there for 3 days (not the medical cannula in the hand but a small metal needle that goes in the tummy fat or the hip fat) She does have to do more finger *****s though.

Maybe your sister could look into getting one. They are very expensive atm but they are also means tested and you are eligible of a rebate of up to 80%. We actually have to buy 2 of them but the 2nd one we get at full rebate so it will only cost about $1600.