New forum - parents whose kids are in college

[Jeff]

This forum is for parents who have kids with type 1 who are in college -- or perhaps even older. We're no longer worried about school nurses and sleepovers -- we're worried about kids living on their own, the pressures of dorm or apartment living, insurance, jobs, etc.

Here's a place to discuss our issues.

My daughter Marissa, now 20, will begin her third year of nursing school in a couple weeks (her school starts late). She lives on campus with two roommates. While my wife and I do worry about her diabetes care, she has done exceptionally well: A1c's in the very low 6s (6.1 last). She checks very frequently (more than 10 times per day) and almost every night.

[OSUMom]

Awww... sweet!!

Thanks Jeff! I have tears in my eyes. I feel like I belong. :cwds:

[susanH]

thanks for the college place!!

:cwds:

[4Kasper]

Hi,
I am new to this board, my daughter, Anna was diagnosed Type 1 on Jan. 30, 2007. She just turned 17 at end of August and will be starting her senior year at high school. I was interested in your post as your daughter is in college for nursing. Anna is planning on attending college for nursing also.
I am interested in if you have every heard of any concerns over her choice of degree. I was at Anna's volleyball game a couple of nights ago and one a mother of one of her teammates questioned me if Anna has re-thought her major yet? I was floored by this---as I never even thought and still don't that diabetes would be an issue, she check's religiously and is going on a minimed pump in October? Why would this nurse say this to me and has your daughter's counselors at her college ever brought this issue up? Thank you,
Denise

[Margaret O]

Thank you so much for this new forum. I reached out to Laurie (Thank you so much for your kind words) and now I am happy to see that there will be a place for those of us that still worry, but aren't with our kids everyday any more.

Our son, Pat, was 13 when he was diagnosed. He was never the most organized kid to begin with and 13 was just a very difficult age to try to instill organization.

Now fast forward to last week. We were getting ready to pack the car for college and my nerves were fried. I am sure his were too, but the worry of his being on his own and managing by himself was crazy. He didn't really appreciate the need for any lists of what he was taking and where it was. (He's an 18 year old boy...who needs lists?!?!?) When all was packed I put the plastic bin with all of the diabetes "stuff" in it in the front seat of the car, with a big yellow sticky to remember the Insulin (still in the fridge).

The next morning my DH two DD's and DS get in the car. Everything ready to go... did you forget anything?...nope, You sure?...Yes!...oh, the insulin (arrggg!) Thank goodness for Post It Notes! At least we weren't half way down to NY before he remembered!

We get to the campus and he was amazingly ready to get out and begin college life...He was as excited as one can be. He is a very self confident young man and has such a love for life's adventures.

Moving into the dorm however, was a tad stressful... did I say tad?... it was one of those events that I would rather not repeat. I finally said to him to check his b/s because he was so short with us; it was 104... a meter commercial moment... he was just normal stressed like all of us. When it came to say goodbye, it was really tough. I packed extra tissues and used every one:(

I have to have faith that he will be fine and I know he really needs to learn how to take care of himself, but I am not convinced yet. I guess this is where they really do become "responsible adults". He has called once and his b/s was 124; not bad for a Saturday morning! We told him he didn't have to call us every day and now its driving me crazy.

I would love to hear from others as they, and their kids, handle this huge transition.

Thank you again for this special forum!

Margaret O

[OSUMom]

Hi Susan, Denise and Margaret! :cwds:

Margaret, I loved text messaging that first year. I felt like I could communicate lots with my son and maybe for him it was less invasive - no one needed to know mom was calling. We went with the unlimited text messaging plan. Worked out great for us.

[Ellen]

We use IM to stay in touch...I'm just happy to see his screen name on my buddy list. I resist the urge to IM everytime I see him...but try to find some news article to discuss just to chat. I breathe a big sigh of relief when I see he's signed on. He's really happy at school which is a great thing.

[PattyR]

I, too am so thankful for this forum - a place to belong. My daughter was diagnosed 2 weeks before Thanksgiving her Sophomore year at college three and 1/2 hours away. The hardest thing I ever did was to drive away that Sunday after a 3 day hospital stay. The only thing keeping me going was knowing that she would be home soon for Thanksgiving holidays. So much to learn and process, etc. She's very focused and detail-oriented and of course had to take full responsibility for her own care from the start. Look foward to getting to know more parents like myself.

[Mary Jayne]

I am also new to posting to this forum. I live in Alberta, Canada. My son with D is 19 and lives with my other son (21) while they both attend college. I also have a daughter (15) who still lives at home. My sons live about 3 hours away from us. And ..... I miss my boys!:(

Mary Jayne - mom to Devin, dx at 13, pumping at 15, now 19
(mom to Blaine, 21 and Ainsley, 15, too!)

[Tarheel84]

My son was just diagnosed in June. He is a Jr. and is currently on 10 units of Lantus at bedtime...no fast acting yet. (they caught this VERY early). The Dr. indicated that we really don't have to worry so much about Lows right now but I was wondering if most college kids/young adults wear any type of Medical ID.

Also I would be interested where everyone is in school. My son is at Appalachian State (Boone , NC). (The team that beat Michigan..woohoo)

I think this is a great forum and I expect to learn alot from you guys.

Linda

[OSUMom]

Glad you made it, Linda!!! Yea beat Michigan!!! :) tee hee hee

My son was not so wild about the metal id bracelets. He does like the jelly bracelets - always had worn Lance Armstrong's Live Strong one before diagnosis - so I got him to wear this one. The adult size is kinda small just as a warning - my son has a small wrist even though he is 6' 4". Also, the white lettering wears off after awhile so I buy lots of these, but my son will wear them which is the most important thing. http://www.fiddledeeids.com/catalog.php?item=99&catid=boys&ret=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiddledeeids.com%2Fcatalog.ph p%3Fpage%3D1%26category%3Dboys

Welcome!!!!!!!!!!! :cwds:

[Ellen]

Re medical alert - my son wears a silver bracelet. We purchased it from a local silversmith who uses a computerized engraving machine and had information including a phone number, type 1 diabetes, insulin pump etc. engraved on the back. He wears it almost 24/7 unless he's participating in karate. He's worn one since he was a toddler.

[Hollyb]

Hi,
I am interested in if you have every heard of any concerns over her choice of degree. I was at Anna's volleyball game a couple of nights ago and one a mother of one of her teammates questioned me if Anna has re-thought her major yet? I was floored by this---as I never even thought and still don't that diabetes would be an issue, she check's religiously and is going on a minimed pump in October? Why would this nurse say this to me and has your daughter's counselors at her college ever brought this issue up? Thank you,
Denise

I'm kinda lurking on this board - Aaron is only in grade 10, but his older brother is starting university this year and his oldest brother just graduated from a community college.

PLEASE encourage your daughter to persevere with her nursing dreams -- we need nurses who understand diabetes! I think one of the reasons the emergency room staff seemed so "with it" when Aaron was diagnosed is that one of the emerg nurses has diabetes and is on a pump (and she brought Aaron's one faint smile that mornings, when they discovered his BG of 37 and she commented, "No wonder you're so wiped. High sugars make you feel like CRAP!").

One of my colleagues comes from a family where the dad (now 70ish) and both sibs were diabetic (can you imagine?). His dad responded to the experience by becoming an endocrinologist. Surely if a diabetic could get through med school and practice medicine with the treatment available 40 years ago, nursing should be a non-issue today!

On the medic alert bracelet: My son wears the sports version, but he velcros it to his belt loop (where I guess a medic would see it if s/he investigated the pump at all?) as it gets sweaty and bugs him on his wrist.

[SamsMom]

Laurie--don't you up and leave me now! Hey, can moms with high school teens post here? Sam will be 16 soon--does that count? :)

[lilwitte]

I just wanted to say something reguarding nursing school. I have had diabetes for 9 years and I am a first year nursing student. All of my advisors here at Villanova University think that it is a wonderful idea that I decided to become a nurse.
Also about a week ago, I had the flu and was in the hospital and my nurse there was Type 1 with a pump, and she had no problems. I think that having diabetes and becomming a nurse just makes you a better nurse because you are able to relate with the patients a little better and on a more personal note.
Right now I am also taking EMT classes and have joined my school's EMS service. This jsut shows that diabetes cannot hold you back in the career choices that you choose for yourself.

~Liz

[keeper]

My name is C.C. and I have an 18 y.o. son dx'd 9 years ago. He is a high school senior with plans to play college athletics. That is fortunate for us because most of the time he will be around trainers, doctors, coaches and teammates who are aware of his diabetes. His school is about 12 hours from where we live now, but we'll be moving somewhere else sometime before he leaves for college. When & where we'll be moving is still unknown. LOL - it sounds like the witness protection program but my husband is just between jobs!

Amongst our greatest concerns is that he'll suffer an overnight low and not wake up to treat it. That's always been in the back of our minds but was brought to the forefront when a friend of his died that way a couple of weeks ago. His roommates were aware of his diabetes, but found him too late to help him.

Here's what I'm wondering....how have you handled the situation with their roommates? How much do you tell them? How much is fair to expect of them? In our case he won't know his roommate(s) before they move in.

Thanks,

CC

[OSUMom]

That's always been in the back of our minds but was brought to the forefront when a friend of his died that way a couple of weeks ago. His roommates were aware of his diabetes, but found him too late to help him.

Hi C.C.!! :cwds:

I'm so sorry about your son's friend. This is my worst nightmare. My son beginning freshman year has known his roommates, and we have talked about glucagon. This year though he is in a room by himself :( though in a house with 7 others. I am impressed with how some of his roommates have learned about my son's condition.

To not know the new roommates I'm not sure .... anyone else how did you handle this?

[momto2]

Hi. My daughter was diagnosed in May, just before her 20th birthday, and just after then end of her sophomore year in college. She goes to school 7+ hours away from home.

She's done a fabulous job learning to manager. Within 2 months of her diagnosis she was on a study abroad trip for a month in South America and did well while gone (other than breaking her leg skiing!). Her doctor was very excited by her A1C number (though I forget what the count was) when she returned and before she headed off for her Junior Year.

I'm worried her honeymoon phase is ending, and she is really struggling right now with her levels, juggling school work, and the stresses of trying to eat right along with taking her insulin. She has been having dreams recently regarding low blood sugar and passing out, which she has (thankfully) never done. She does not wish to wear a medic alert type bracelet because "it would just be a constant reminder".

It's hard offering support from so far away. There are no support groups in her area - it would be a 40 minute drive from her university to the nearest one - although she does drive that far to volunteer for their Juvenile Diabetes chapter in the next city.

Would love advice and encouragement from others - especially those who have had to help one cope who got diagnosed so late.

[keeper]

momto2,

While I'm sorry you all have to deal with this stupid disease, I am thrilled to hear it hasn't stopped her from living her life to the fullest. I don't know how I'd have handled the thought of my son leaving the continent though --with or without diabetes! I know she's 20, but moms are still moms right?:)

As her honeymoon phase comes to an end, she might become discouraged if her numbers become a little wacky for a while. Tell her not to worry, she'll get the hang of it. It took us a little while to realize that even with the most diligent care they can still have ups & downs. Especially if they're highly active. (My son is a 4 sport athlete...each sport requires different management.)

I'd like to address the "dreams" she's having. Ironically, just the other day a T1 adult I know told me, "I had the weirdest dream the other night that I was low." In her dream she was trying to ignore it and keep sleeping but eventually she actually woke up with real symptoms.

Ask your diabetic educator, but I suggest she try to test herself as soon as she wakes up from these dreams just to see if they are really lows. If that isn't something she thinks she can do, perhaps she could set her alarm for 3:30 a.m. for a few nights in a row to see if there's a pattern there. Maybe they are "just dreams" but if it were my son, I'd tell him not to ignore them without further investigation.

Obviously, learning to recognize her own individual symptoms is very important. I know my son's symptoms aren't always "text book" examples.

Do any other parents have any suggestions?

CC

PS - OSUMom -- thanks for your response to my message earlier, I look forward to getting to know all of you!

[siren]

Our CDE was also a T1 diabetic as was another CDE in this high profile medical practice. Its been great! Also when our son had to go in to get all his widom teeth removed I was more confidant because I was told one of the nurses was a T! on a pump and familiar with the CGMS our son wore. Another nurse had a daughter with T1 on a pump and she was usually called upon to help with these patients. So I was totally okay with his being sedated and cared for, even if it was just a minor thing.

As far as college ours is now a sophmore . His freshman roommate was great, as is his current roommate. We let our son decide how many people to tell and agreed on two- three plus the disability office. He doesn't tell his teachers unless he has a problem. For the dorm staff I printed an info sheet from this web site and gave it to two people with a brief statement and details about our sons habits. But our son was aware of this and agreed to it before hand. As for what his roommates were told we were confident our son would inform them in a better way than we could. And he did. Its been a year now and we are into the second year so far its all been good. But that doesn't stop the nervous thoughts. So far he wakes up to lows as he does feel them. His A1C's have been good. Last one was 6.1 but during freshman year they were 7.3 or less. We had frank talks about drinking and he frankly told us about the three shots of rum he had one night. Hasn't happened again, I asked him if he were ready to turn his D and insulin over to his roommate or friends there and his eyes got big. He doesn't even like me doing that, even right after his wisdom teeth and sedation as well as the Vicodin for pain he resisted giving away control of that. We feel fortunate in that he is a kid who can and does learn from discussions about this stuff. He watched the other freshman get wasted and make fools of themselves, not to mention calling the paramedics and that was enough. He is hoping to go study abroad next year. So we are working towards greater situational problem solving ands resourcefulness on his part so we can send him. You just can't say no to a son who has done well and taken good care of his D.

[kevin@diabetech.net]

I have a few young adult friends w t1 who opted for an IDDM tattoo! I'm personally not a big fan of a tattoo for myself or others but I think this is a great idea for a person w type 1. Unlike a bracelet, it can never be forgotten and it's critical that emergency teams understand an insulin dependence for an unconscious person.

[Ellen]

I'm glad my son wears a bracelet:D.

[OSUMom]

I spoke with 2 paramedics yesterday while they took my father-in-law by stretcher to the cardiologist. I told them about the gummy "live strong" kind of bracelet my son wears, but that he does wear an insulin pump. Their thought was the gummy bracelet might not be scene if it's involved with other gummy bracelets - exactly my thought - unless it's the only one and the white letters stand out so strong which they actually kind of do.

But, bottom line is they're first taking vitals. They also said they'd see his insulin pump before that bracelet. Now we live in Cincinnati (editing...wait a minute these were paramedics in Dayton) so maybe they're pretty familiar with insulin pumps? I have no idea. Of course Dean's in Columbus. ;)

Certainly you want the official metal medic alert bracelet as top choice. I guess I'm posting that these 2 paramedics said they'd see the pump - but this most certainly would not be the case across the board, and this is not a recommended form of identification!