Kacey came down with another cold. Stuffy nose. Cough. Sore throat. Sneezing. Just the miserable sicky junk. As I approached the pharmacy, I felt my throat tighten. I hate going there! HATE IT! I told the pharmacist her symptoms and he nicely walked from behind the counter, over to the OTC meds and handed me a bottle of Triaminic. Ummmm...usually I wouldn't second guess them but I asked him if she should be taking it since she's 154 pounds now. He looked at me in shock "Oh! Well I guess we need something stronger, huh?" ...."Well...DUH!" So he slid down to the adult OTC meds and handed me a box of Tylenol Cold. "This should do the trick!" I looked at him and again I questioned.... "This has acetaminophen in it, right?" ...."Yes mam! That will help her feel better." At this point I felt like I could vomit. "Well sir, you see, she's a type 1 diabetic and she is on a continual glucose monitor and she can't take anything with acetaminophen in it because it messes up her readings on it." And with a puzzled look he said "Acetaminophen shouldn't have anything to do with the readings on her blood sugar meter."
***insert banging my head against the wall***
"Sir, it's a continual glucose monitor in her arm, not her blood sugar meter." ...."Oh! Ummm...ok!" You could tell her had no clue what the hell I was talking about. So I asked him what I could give her that would help her get better that didn't have any Tylenol in it. He walked back and forth and picked up a few things and put them back and then turned to me and said "Maybe you should call her doctor and see what they recommend." GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! How in the world do these pharmacists get their license? Ugh! By this point, Kacey just felt so rotten that I needed to get her something that would help her even if it meant Dexcom going wonky. So I grabbed the box of Tylenol Cold and checked out up front. I gave her a dose and about 3 hours later we see "???". Yep I knew it was gonna happen. It came time for her next dose and she still had "???" And we made the decision to take the Dexcom site out since it was time for a new sensor anyway. This was last Wednesday....Thursday....Friday.....Saturday.....Sunday....Monday....Tuesday....and today is Wednesday! ONE WEEK with NO DEXCOM! How did we ever manage...ugh! Anyway, last night Kacey said something to me that really struck me wrong. She said "Mom, please don't get mad if I tell you something." ***sigh*** "I've kind of liked not having Dexcom on for a week." (I gulped!) "I have to wear 4 things on my body....Dexcom, my pump, Dexcom site and my pump site...and I liked only having 2 things." She caught me so off guard but once I sat and thought about it. It's HER body but I'm the selfish one that wants her wearing Dexcom all the time. Don't get me wrong, she loves it so she knows what her arrow is all the time but since she was home for Christmas break, she liked having the break from it. Who am I to tell her she has to wear it all the time? Who am I to make her wear 4 things instead of 2? It's her body so she should be able to choose, right?
So I sat down with her and we had a long talk. I agreed with her that sometimes she just needs a break. She can't take a pump break unless she goes back to shots but if she ever wants another Dexcom break then all she needs to do is tell me and as long as she doesn't have anything busy going on then we can take that break. She smiled and said "Mommy, thats why I love you so much! You let me make my own diabetes choices." ***sigh*** I tried to hold back tears and sometimes its difficult to let them make their own decisions but when it comes to "optional" things, she should be allowed to choose what is right for her!"
How much freedom do you give your child to help make diabetes decisions? Have they ever asked for Decom breaks? If you are on Dexcom, do you ever get burnt out and want a Dexcom break?
By the way...sorry for being a little MIA for December. It was a BUSY month! I have lots to share and now that the new year is here, the girls are back to school after being out for 2 weeks and I can get back to writing some more. I have so much to update....lots of good things happening in the West house! :) Happy New Year 2012!
5 comments:
We've been on a dex break for almost a month now and truthfully, we're loving it. Elise didn't want to wear it anymore, and that combined with the itchiness it causes her, I agreed. Keep in mind we just started pumping and I was so scared to not have that steam of data at my fingertips! But we adjusted, and now the only time we miss it is on pump change days.
I let her make the decision because it's HER body. And a CGM is not 100% needed. The funny thing is, just the other day she told me she wanted to start wearing it again. This was almost a week ago and we still haven't put it on.
I have been taking a Dexter break too. I find myself almost a slave to its every dot! It has been a nice break. It's sometimes hard to have all that knowledge.
It is NOT great for sick days, especially when Tylenol is needed.
Hopefully things work out for guys. taking a break from things can really help :D
Take care and Happy New Year!
Life is all about choices and options!
I loved that you guys talked about it and that you allowed her to make her diabetes choice, thus giving diabetes options!!!
So glad you are back! Natalie is only 6, but we feel like she should have as much say in diabetes decisions as possible. She has the rest of her life to live with it. That's why we are still on shots. I know it will take some pushing anyway when we start on the pump, but for now, we aren't going to push it with her. I remember our CDE (you know who!) telling us that we should let her have some control even at her young age. Even just letting her pick which finger to prick or where to do the shot gives her a little bit of feeling some control (since she has lost so much). I think you did great by talking it over with her and letting her decide.
I have heard that about the tylenol with cgm, but I wonder why??!
Hi Jill, I just wanted to stop by and say I've enjoyed reading your blog and included your button on my Stick Me Designs website! Have a wonderful week!
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