Yeah, I feel like a failure as a parent now. Went for a check-up today and her A1C was 8.6. Up from 7.4 last time. I had a feeling it was going to be up, but I didn't think it would be up that much. We have now adjusted I/C and basal rates. I am nervous about the basal rates because she is so sensitive to those. Have I said lately how much I hate diabetes. AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First of all, DO NOT feel like a failure! The A1C shows us what is going on so that we can make the necessary adjustments. Diabetes, especially with children, is a work in progress. Please don't beat yourself up over this. :cwds:
Like BG readings, A1Cs are numbers which we use to help us understand and improve our D management techniques. So what is there to be learned from the number - what is it telling you?
UGH! That stinks. I am glad you were able to get the rates adjusted, hopefully you will start seeing those numbers drop pretty quickly. Hugs your way!
It is just info. Use it. We were in the same boat 2 endo appts ago. Next visit was an improvement. I know it is hard to get past feeling like it is our fault...but we need to! The kids need us as an example not to get too hung up on the numbers.
I personally wouldn't beat myself up over this number. when I go in I usually have anumber in my head depending on how hard things have been. We are in the teenage years, that number in my head is usually anything under 9. If it comes in to a higher number I don't let my child see my disappointment.i don't think its ever been over 8.6 btw. but if its less than 8,all beats are off,Ive been known to give a acceptance speech in waiting room. This number will only make the less than 8 numbers sweeter
It's hard not to take the A1c personally. I still do, and we're well into the 4.5yrs now. But, like others have said, it's info to work with. Are you testing overnight, when after a meal are you testing? This can give you very useful info. Good luck and hang in there.:cwds:
Like everyone else said, don't beat your self up over it and just use it as info to help get the numbers down. Our march a1c for Anne was atrocious (like 10.1) and all the endo did was come in and say "well, shes growing and i guess we need to make more changes". I LOVE our endo, and she had grown over an inch and 3 lbs in a little more than a month! So we did some major tweaking and at our appointment last week her a1c was back down where it should be for her age. D is a work in progress. You are doing a great job.
Is very normal to feel responsible for high #s or high A1Cs. I think as parents we feel that we should be able to fix everything and control everything. Ive learned after almost 7 years with this disease is that there is only so much we can control with the tools we have. I try to think of the A1C as yet another tool for us to use in managing type 1. Hopefully you have a good endo and CDE who wont look at that # and give you the tsk tsk tsk and than the firm talking to. We had an endo like that for the first several years and it was awful Im so thankful that we changed to another one in that practice who makes us feel like we are doing a pretty good job and doesnt become obsessed with one A1C or a couple #s out of range
Are you logging everything? A high a1c should never really be a surprise. You have the numbers there in front of you when you're logging daily and you can see what's happening. This is not a judgement - we've all had these things sneak up on us but I think most of us are guilty of calling it a surprise when no one really should. That said, this is a tool. This is why we get a1c's done every 3 months. It helps us realize when things are not happening the way they should be happening. It's your opportunity to start over and start fresh. Good luck!!
Just remember this quote from our wonderful endo "I will still love you even if his A1c goes higher than this" LOL I think he was trying to prepare us for puberty A1c's. (J has been in the 6's the past 3? visits.)
Probably that Diabetes is very hard to control, even with the most involved loving parent taking care of the child I hope it also tells her: that she can't control when her daughter gets sick, she's having a growth spurt, she's stressed, her body is fighting something, she has a cold, a site went bad, and many other things happening inside her body that she can't see. Please don't beat yourself up, beat diabetes up.
I've had an A1c go up a lot more than I thought, and for a while I thought maybe it was wrong. If it really was that much of a surprise, maybe you can get one of those home kits and run it again. Like Frizzy said, if you have the numbers in front of you, you can see what's going on. I tend not to start logging unless we get something "out of the blue" like this, and then it's back to the paper and pen. The way I have my log set up, it's a lot easier to see what's going on day to day. You've already made changes, so that's a start.
Yes! We had an A1c go up a full point.. I knew it was going to be a bit higher than the last time, but I didn't expect it to be as high as it was.. I did one of the home A1c tests and it came back where I thought it should be... sometimes the tests CAN be wrong.
A1cs are worthless unless you learn from them. The best thing you can do right now is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and figure out what you are going to change. It sounds like you've already done some of that, so you're on the right track! Small changes make big differences. Things like prebolusing, checking at night, and doing basal testing can make all the difference in the world. Good luck!
