Type 2 diabetes

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

Start of the new school year and I have a new student who has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He is older elementary and apparently mom does not have a grip on this. She does not require him to check his own blood glucose because "he doesn't like it." He is non-compliant with the diet, although he takes an oral med. Sugars are off the chain. Just moved here from out of state, has no local doctor. Mom nor child understands the carb counting. This child is not in any way independent with his care.

I talked with mom about resources in my area. I also broached the subject of out of control blood sugars and the possibility of needing insulin to bring him back to an acceptable level.. I will be monitoring this closely. There seems to be an almost overwhelming lack of understanding with this family.

Do any of you have resources for teaching an pre-teen about his condition? I plan to start off tomorrow with counting carbs and will progress to finger sticks next week. Hopefully, once he starts school his sugars will come down to a reasonable level.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

This is a hard one for many people. Many think its "just a sugar" problem, not understanding the effects on kidneys, eyes, and limbs. Many are unaware they could end up an amputee for example. I would help mom and child with understanding the disease process as well as the many real complications. Depending on how involved you want to be, menu planning, nutrition education and showing him how he can still have his "junk" food but in different ways maybe helpful.

[damrcngrl95]

I had a book that I kept in my class that explained diabetes on an elementary level. There is a good selection on amazon that you could look over and maybe purchase. Personally, I'm glad you are trying to educate this family. I had a friend in college that had type I that died because she refused to get up in the mornings to check her numbers and eat. This inconsistency cost her her life. Even though he has type II I would hate to see noncompliance shorten his life needlessly.