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Episode 39: Living With Type 1 Together
80 Plays7 days ago
In this episode of the Type 1 Club Podcast, Jacqui speaks with Himanshu, who shares his experience of living with type 1 diabetes and later supporting his son through the same diagnosis.
They discuss the realities of managing diabetes across different generations, the role of technology and how families learn to adapt, support each other and keep life moving forward.
Himanshu shares the importance of family support, managing parental anxiety and helping his son see diabetes not as a limitation but simply as part of their lifestyle.
It’s an honest and thoughtful conversation about parenting, resilience and learning to live with type 1 together.
Further Resources:
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If you'd like to share your story with our podcast listeners, please email: podcast@type1foundation.com.au
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Transcript
Introduction and Purpose
00:00:00
Speaker
The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.
00:00:19
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club. Whether you're a parent grappling with a new diagnosis, a caregiver seeking guidance, or simply someone wanting to learn more about type 1 diabetes, this podcast is for you.
00:00:32
Speaker
Together, let's dispel myths, break down barriers, and build a community of understanding and resilience.
Jackie's Introduction and Hamashu's Diagnosis Story
00:00:40
Speaker
Join us as we embark on this journey together because with knowledge, compassion and support, no one should ever feel alone in managing type 1 diabetes.
00:00:51
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club. Hello and welcome to the Type 1 Club podcast. I'm your host, Jackie Kidman. I am a Type 1 mum to Harvey who was diagnosed on the 2nd of June 2022. He was at the age of seven when he was diagnosed.
00:01:10
Speaker
I welcome a guest today called Hamashu and or named Hamashu, sorry. And he is based in Melbourne like myself, but we are doing this virtually like we do all of the episodes. Hamashu, I'd love to welcome you to the podcast. Thank you so much for your time.
00:01:28
Speaker
Thank you, Jackie, for having me So Hamashu, I would love you to start by sharing your type one experience because there's not just a child or your own experience. There's a combination there. So can you just talk to introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your what your type one world is? Sure, sure. I guess before I start, I'd like to thank you, Jackie, for providing such forum where you know people like me can come and talk about Type 1 and their journeys.
Managing Diabetes: Challenges and Adaptations
00:01:57
Speaker
I personally understand it's not easy, especially when someone else is going through their own, but then your child, your partner also get the same diagnosis and the journey just gets complicated. yeah talking about myself my diagnosis just happened by some symptoms like weight loss feeling more thirsty it was started with the type 2 but then by 2050 I guess I realized it's getting to type 1 now where I need to get some injections insulins injected but that's how it was all started kind of a nightmare starting for myself like I guess for most of the people it happens the same way um so how old were you
00:02:39
Speaker
I was probably in my 26, 27 at that age. Yeah. yeah yeah So sorry, just to cut in there. So you said it started as type two. So you were told it's type two.
00:02:52
Speaker
Yeah. and And then it progressed to type one or it was just misdiagnosed. So it was really was type one, but just. So I guess just to avoid the injections and whatnot, it was all, let's give it a try with some oral medications for time being. Okay.
00:03:07
Speaker
Yeah. And some exercise, some change of diet plan and whatnot. It worked okay for some time, but then gradually body stopped producing, I guess. And then with some more diagnosis, some tests, I probably realized it's probably type one, which I need to switch to. Yeah.
00:03:24
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. So that's how it was started. And I was working at that point of time. i was yeah working in IT, but being diagnosed, it just caused a lot of frustration, anxiety. Everything was like a still down.
00:03:37
Speaker
I wasn't sure what's happening. Just, ah yeah i yeah, with the proper medications, with proper insulin, I wasn't able to control my diabetes. And at that point of time, there was no CGMs, was not really available. So I have to do manual prickings and get my sugar checked.
00:03:56
Speaker
But one can think of a situation where I'm not at home, I'm outside my home working somewhere. having uneven meals on and off, busy in some meetings or somewhere else, not able to look at my sugar levels.
00:04:09
Speaker
I might be going low, might be going high. It was very hard to track during that time. Yeah. you just, so you start off being just doing finger pricks, no CGM, and then, but trying to just live the same kind of life in terms of when you say, you know, you're working, you couldn't really,
00:04:32
Speaker
know you didn't really know the symptoms of okay i'm i'm a little bit higher i'm a little bit low or yeah as a newbie yeah it was yeah okay yeah yeah so not necessarily feeling it yeah i guess with the cgm technology now it's like you can you get so much information it's a blessing yes yeah so yeah yeah Yeah, I'll probably later on share some of the interesting thing around the CGM though, but we will start with my what I started with and what the struggles I had during my start of diagnosis. So gradually, I guess I realized some of the symptoms that when I'm high, what kind of feeling I am actually what I'm feeling when I'm low, what
Social and Emotional Challenges
00:05:13
Speaker
I'm feeling. So I tried differentiating those symptoms and realized my body
00:05:17
Speaker
much better with time. Then I started doing some kind of brisk walks, some exercising. I got to know that if I need to do the manual prickings, I need probably to have week or two weeks of data at different time intervals. What I ate, what I didn't eat, what I had something which actually spiked my levels, what I didn't have, which actually lowered my levels. So something for understanding my own daily routines, weekly routines. That's how I started knowing about my type 1 diabetes journey. Did you write it in the little, the, it was first diagnosed. We did four months of finger pricking before the CGM. And yeah, I've still got the book like writing in, but you only really checking in every four hours, theoretically as an adult, you could probably do it a lot more, but those poor finger pads, um you know, ah you can't, you also,
00:06:06
Speaker
it's a moment in time you don't know whether you're going up or down or yeah it's yeah interesting isn't it yeah and the other thing at that time was not being open so even though I was diagnosed with diabetes my work colleagues didn't knew about it I was so shy telling in front of them or wasn't sure whether I should be telling them or not I don't want anyone to feel the pity on me having a being sympathetic or thinking that it might just get to them as well so some people might think oh this guy got diabetes what if I get the same problem, eighty like sharing the same meal or just sitting with him, things like that. There was misconceptions at times with some people.
00:06:42
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So I remember a few instances where I was in a work meeting, in a work room full of people, and I started to feeling low, right? So my was actually my sugar was actually getting low. Those moments were terrible, to be honest.
00:06:58
Speaker
And I wasn't able to communicate well. I just lived through it somehow. i I just trying to make out a time for a break. Like I probably need to go out, use the men's room, and then I probably have a quick coffee or some sweet bite, then coming back. But then at the end of day, I realized that the things that happened could have been life threatening or could have been very, very bad. So those kind of feelings, anxiety and being in like, although I was still adult, but then that mindset takes time to develop, right? Any mindset.
00:07:31
Speaker
So it took a while to understand that how I should be living my life with diabetes, what the things I need to do. do my Do I need to make my work colleagues aware of my thing? Do I need to make my friends across who lives around me? Do I need to make neighbors aware of it? The problems i am I'm having. So a lot of thought that goes in the mind.
00:07:53
Speaker
There was no artificial intelligence, no chat DVD at that point of time. It was very hard on my own understanding my life with whom I should be open, with whom I should be open, things like that. So yeah, there were times, very bad times, I should agree or admit.
00:08:09
Speaker
Then when I have to reach out to men's helpline or societal helplines in the past, so things were not pretty straightforward. but glad that these support exists.
00:08:20
Speaker
I was able to get the right support from them. At least there was someone who listened to my problem just to and give some good insight to it as well.
Family Impact: Screening and Diagnosis of Hamashu’s Son
00:08:29
Speaker
Yep. And that's how i so I accepted the fact that I have some, I didn't call it as a medical issue.
00:08:36
Speaker
Now I call it as a lifestyle, a daily thing. Like we eat food, I eat, I need insulin. So that's probably, I took it as a daily routine activity. Were you a father by this time that you were diagnosed?
00:08:48
Speaker
Yeah. So, yeah. But then i got to know there there's a test named. I'm not able to recall the name of the test, though. But then something which actually tells you that what are the chances of you getting type 1 after some time, yeah?
00:09:02
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So this the so the the screen test, the antibody test? Yes, The screen test. Antibodies test, yeah. So I guess before COVID, I got my son tested for antibodies and it came negative. And I was like, I was happy that it came negative for him. So that means he has very low to no chances of being diagnosed with type 1.
00:09:22
Speaker
And that's what he lives his life healthy. And then COVID kicked in. So... I guess with COVID, again, it's like unknown. And I'm probably before I say, I'd say it's what I heard I'm just saying, and it's it might not a fact.
00:09:36
Speaker
But then there are few studies which probably have some kind of relation to the COVID vaccinations versus getting you a type one or some studies are around that.
00:09:47
Speaker
So after my son had COVID, he got those vaccinations as well during that COVID time period. In 2021, he probably, he was going to school, but then was showing symptoms of, again, kind of weight loss, going for frequent urinations. We thought it'd probably be all right. But then few days, we started getting calls from the schools as well. So school said the same thing. He's going to toilet more often now. He seems to have losing the weight. He's feeling very lazy in the school. He's not able to concentrate. So those are the symptoms, which is like,
00:10:22
Speaker
calls for type 1 or some kind of at least let's test for his sugar levels yeah it was like i guess in march 2021 when i decided to check his morning fasting sugar and then it was quite high how old was he yeah he was around 11 at that time time Yeah. so So you did the, so let me just jump back. You did the screen, the antibody test. Antibody test, yes. That came back negative. Yeah. And so he would have been, what, nine or something or 10 when you did that screening test? Yeah, that's yeah my name.
00:10:59
Speaker
And then a couple of years later, he showed signs. that yes yeah that he was showing symptoms of type one as well my understanding with that we've actually done a podcast with john wentworth around this those antibody tests so if anybody wants further information i encourage you to go back to listen to that episode because with that screen test it's not just a you get that result and then that's the result for the rest of your life it's within a time frame so I think if you're below a certain age, you need to redo it every couple of years or every 12 months. yeah And then once you get over to a next bracket, it then jumps to five years or something like that. I know that with my oldest son, James, he's we did his test when he was, think, 13, which he's 13 now. We only just did it last year. And then it said based on his age, he needs to redo it again in five years. Yep.
00:11:57
Speaker
ah within five five years, like closer to five years because of his age. But if he was below that, he would need to do it. I think if he was 11 or 12 or something, he would need to do it every two years. So i think that it's an interesting, um you it's interesting that you get that result and you think, oh, great, we don't have to worry. And then, yeah, you still, it still is, it's not 100% either, you know, and for whatever reason, like you said, like we had COVID, you know, we don't, the world was mad and we don't know, we were the most locked down city in the world, being in Melbourne. Was it, yeah, there could be, there's lots of,
00:12:33
Speaker
There's lots of things, isn't there, where we can, that's a whole separate kind of podcast that might be a little bit too political for for this platform. But um you just, we just, we'll never know. Because, yeah, Harvey was diagnosed just out of COVID. we We were just starting to come back to, but, um yeah, it's, so it's, that that screening stuff is,
00:12:52
Speaker
is ah is amazing that tool is there, but it's not necessarily gives you the answer for the rest of their life kind of thing. because I think it's it's still evolving, right? The tool is there, the diagnosis are there, but it doesn't guarantee you. And then I did follow back with the hospital saying that his results came negative, how he got diagnosed within just two years of the results.
00:13:11
Speaker
And then they did his antibodies test again, which came positive, so you know, and then... I was told that things can change, antibodies can change all the time. Although it gives, as what you said, there's no 100% sure shot saying that it's done and then it's good for lifelong. No, it's not like that, unfortunately. But it gives you some kind of, I could say, feeling that things will be all right, at least for some time.
00:13:35
Speaker
I know I probably can feel that the tests are getting better and better day by day. So probably within the near future, these tests will be more accurate or will probably... give you some confidence for a longer period than the shorter period. so Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So he was diagnosed, your son was
Technology and School Support
00:13:52
Speaker
diagnosed at 11, did you say? yeah yeah Yeah. And how long ago was that? Oh, 2021, did you say? Yeah. So now he's in his teens. Yeah, he's his teens.
00:14:01
Speaker
So after he was diagnosed, did you feel like you had a good grasp on supporting him or It's a mix I hear from parents who, you know, who are type ones themselves and then they have a child. Sometimes it's, you know, you've got enough going on with your own stuff then to add another child because they can be quite different too.
00:14:24
Speaker
yeah Tell me about that experience. To be honest, very first thing that came to my mind, ah how many years it took for myself just to understand and adapt that I am my solo type one and I have to live with it for the of my life.
00:14:40
Speaker
And now I have my child who is not even a teenager now. and then so I read through the stories and thanks to the Typhoon Foundation teams and other areas where I got to know that there are like kids who are born with the type one diabetes. And I feel that how difficult it could be for the families and the child, especially to go through all this.
00:15:00
Speaker
Again, with that kind of story, with that kind of motivation, I spoke with my child, my son. Son, you don't need to worry. This is very common these days now. it's just a lifestyle, of a lifestyle, some pattern. I'm here for you, right? Let's go through it together, this journey. So things like that encouragement. I probably like to mention about, obviously, when as a parent, when I feel that...
00:15:22
Speaker
kid getting diagnosed with certain medical conditions it's always very hard and when you see your child is in the hospital with so many needles breaking in so many tests going on i couldn't stop myself i just started crying venting out loud in the hospital so that was one of the very hard moments and then i could do only little in that um i still remember that his school teacher came just to see him um i was sitting in the car i just you know cried for like 20 minutes putting my head on his shoulder saying whatever happened it's just beyond what I thought of and it's very painful I don't know how I'm gonna live it from now on and yeah but then I again it's just took it as like a what comes in probably God's feeling willingness so just live with it
00:16:11
Speaker
I did attend a few trainings like tuning with kids program, the trainings wherein I got to know how to understand your teenager child's, especially when they are going through their own difficulties and whatnot. That helped me tuning with my son, not in terms of like medical diagnosis, just in terms of understanding his needs as a teenager.
00:16:30
Speaker
Yeah, so that's how I started like tuning with him. Luckily, we have the CGMs now, which is, as I mentioned, it's a blessing, right? With CGMs and with teenagers, one thing is for sure is the technology, which they are always interested in. So that's what, when my son got to know, he got to get the phone now. He got to...
00:16:48
Speaker
Bluetooth with the CGMs. That's something excited him, although it was ah like a bit painful, but that excitement for him was good in terms of technology and knowing a bit of our trends and graphs and yeah.
00:17:01
Speaker
Yeah, for three years now to the journey, he's at the stage where he goes out on his own, takes his phone with him, knows the levels when it's more than high, what to when it's low, what to do. So he's become independent in very short a span of time compared to what I can think I've become. Yeah, so... So as a teenager, I'm curious because I'm not at that point yet with Harvey. Diagnosed, similar age, and he was 10 and your boy who was 11, but... Going into high school, so he's already, so it was he was he he in grade five when he was diagnosed?
00:17:36
Speaker
In grade five. Yeah, about that, four five. And then going into high school, I'm just reflecting back on when you said that when you were diagnosed, you can't really tell anybody.
00:17:48
Speaker
Is that a lesson that you've learned to then... get him to be a bit more open or how have yeah that's Yeah, that's actually a very good question and something I'll probably, thanks for reminding me for that. So he started going to the school, school was wasn't sure how they're going to do it. School actually asked if hospital, like Royal Children's Hospital can actually help them understand because he was the only type of student in the school, in the whole school. So with help from the hospital, school, they got to they got those trainings, how to give the injections and whatnot. It was very difficult in the very starting time period where school staff has to inject.
00:18:25
Speaker
and He was always crying or not ready. So I have to take a few days leave. I have to be in the school at the time of when he was getting his injections and whatnot. So starting phase was very difficult. And only the school staff, limited school staff was aware, right? One day my my son came back home and then he said that his friends are very helpful. They are giving him lollies in case sugar goes down and supporting him.
00:18:50
Speaker
And then I said, so you told your friends? He said, yeah, so what's the problem? So I was quite happy in an extent that he's very open and he's not taking it as like, which is I should be hiding it from my friends or colleagues or staff, school staff. So I guess that's that's like a modern word where people are taking it as like a...
00:19:10
Speaker
If things come, let me be open about it. but There's no need to hide it. yeah but But it also, it's a reflection on your language. I've noticed something that you say is that it's a lifestyle.
00:19:21
Speaker
It's a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle. So if you're constantly saying to him, this is not negative, this is just a lifestyle. And I guess if he's monkey see, monkey do, I guess. If he's seeing you having to inject and he's, yeah, my dad does it and I do it. Like it becomes second nature. And normal. Like he would... But I guess it's more when they go into that. So he's 14, 15 now.
00:19:46
Speaker
and And what's he like now as a teenager? And now he's, I'm happy to go anywhere. I'm looking for a job in McDonald's or Hungry Jack's. I'm happy to work in Subway. I'll manage my sugar levels, not an issue. They're very independent, very, and they say that they'll manage their sugar levels, but is he doing that?
00:20:08
Speaker
He knows that his levels are not only being monitored by him. So his levels I can see as well on my phone. His mom can also see. So he he knows that his levels are visible to his mom and dad. and they can see it at any point of time. And then it's for my own health as well. So before I eat something, I should probably take some insulin as well.
Parental Involvement and Anxiety Management
00:20:28
Speaker
Sometimes you do forget or as a teenager, but then I guess as a parent, I just continue to monitor eatter on the phone and just call him and just say, hey, you probably need to take some units of insulin now.
00:20:39
Speaker
Is either of you, are you both still doing manual injections or what how are you managing? So both of you do still do injections? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So pump, I spoke with him, but then it's something additional he doesn't want to carry, you know, all the time. So yeah, I myself probably not comfortable with the pump, you know, i I understand it's like a much, much better efficient technology, something better mechanism, but then Someone who is probably used to using the pen, the switching is always not easy. yeah but If it's working for you, then yeah you don't you don't need to you don't need to change that.
00:21:17
Speaker
and it is another kind of thing you have to... Like a totally new... Yeah. Living with type 1 diabetes can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to do it alone. At the type 1 hub in Geelong, you'll find connection, support and real people who truly get it.
00:21:34
Speaker
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00:21:48
Speaker
Visit us at 251 Moorable Street, Geelong. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So he still has to, 15, still has to go and someone has to do his injections, he has to to do it in front of someone or he can just do it himself?
00:22:03
Speaker
So as per hospital's recommendation, it's more than 15, you know school has to do his manual checks yeah finger up pricks if it's below than four then again it's like a prick so if in school i guess he does those finger pricks more often than at home because and we rely on the data for the cgm and obviously he's also has the option to eat anything and he's feeling low or just control his levels you know yeah Yeah, yeah. It is a little bit different, isn't it, when you're at home and how you manage it versus at school. They're like regulated by the plan. I've said that to Harvey's school. I'm like, I technically probably wouldn't do it that way, but I understand that you've, so you have to have that little bit of flexibility of, yeah, okay, we might have to do a little bit more finger pricking here. um
00:22:50
Speaker
at the so At the end of the day, it's all around, Their duty of care, but also them trying to keep your child safe. So I'm like, yeah, that's fine. And we just encourage that it's all done in the classroom. It's not done at in if Harvey's comfortable with it, try not to remove him too much from trying to try and keep it like a, like a secretive kind of thing that, we've got to come out here because we've got to do like, we just were like, he should just be able to do that.
00:23:18
Speaker
Yeah. Quietly sitting there, you know. Obviously with school, there are a lot of other events like camping, going out for camps and whatnot. But I guess at the end of this, it's more around family and the school and the doctors so as i' working as a team. yeah Sometimes I have to get the approval from the doctors and the schools also is very accommodative of having one of the parent coming to the camp with the child so child doesn't miss on those activities. So that's one the things that we've been doing from since he was diagnosed that one of the parents actually goes with him to the camp.
00:23:49
Speaker
So still in year eight, year nine, yeah going on camp? Yeah, especially the daytime, it's all right. Only thing about during the nighttime when he's sleeping, what if something goes wrong? So that's when they need actually one of the parents. so Again, I guess it's all different. so yeah Yeah, that's interesting because, yeah, I'm the same. Harvey's in primary school. i'm I've been on the two camps and then there was a discussion. Harvey's got another grade five child that is type one as well. So we've had a discussion around trying to...
00:24:22
Speaker
not go on camp obviously depends on where it is because if it is a bit of a distance I probably wouldn't sleep anyway so I might as well just go on camp but yeah is it just go for the night time and then let him let them manage it yeah yeah themselves through the day and then we just go at night yeah we're still trying to work that out um but I do know that at in high school for the high school that we plan to send harvey i do know that there is um they have sent there is a type one child that my son knows and uh he went to camp for a week without an adult without without a parent there and the school supported them to manage that so i guess there's you know depending the whether the school's comfortable or and capable and you feel that or the it's completely individualized i think isn't it and if you want to be
00:25:13
Speaker
or even close by or whatever i think that there's no right or wrong way around yeah around that my case i think school staff i mean school staff who is trained in all in the diabetes management she was not available during the night time that's why one of the parents was asked to just come and you know be with the child for at least for that night and then Yeah, I think to a degree they have to employ almost like another staff member for night. So um it's whether the school's able to do that or... Yeah, yeah. So all of his friends know. um
00:25:46
Speaker
Yeah, now he's all of his friends knows. Wherever he goes, he don't mind checking his levels or probably taking the injection. So he's probably getting used to being open now. Yeah, that's so good. That's so good. And I think that is a testament to you with As much as we have that guilt as like ah as as a parent around my child has his diagnosis, there's like there's a lot of grieving and guilt and all that around around how they've got it and why they've got it and that sort of stuff. But...
00:26:18
Speaker
I guess you flipped it to you've also got type one. So you've got this skill set that you can then support your child. And and as a family, um we just make it, this is just our lifestyle.
00:26:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Which I think is, yeah, it's a real testament to you because I think that you can all this is my diagnosis and that's their diagnosis and I can't take on like it's, but it's almost like it's our diagnosis together um as a real team, which is not always possible. I'm not saying that's the, but I get that there are stresses in families and stuff like that, but sometimes you can work it in um like that. And I do often say to people who like when you're newly diagnosed, it is tough. It's,
00:27:03
Speaker
It's tough. it's it There's but well lots of other words I could throw in there as well. but um But, Harvey, we're coming up to four years and it's just we're just wearre in a rhythm, you know, like there might be some really shit days but there's also we just we don't know any different anymore. Do you know what i mean? it always comes with us. We always it's just always there. But it's not like this it's not like a burden.
00:27:32
Speaker
anymore it's just oh i'm going to start using what you say like it's just our lifestyle that's right yeah and then there are counseling services which are definitely helpful so tuning with kids program i mentioned that what i i' anxious of so i mean i have anxiety that what if something goes wrong what if he's at school what happens if he's outside and this goes wrong and So obviously I was given some pointers saying that that's your thinking, but can't you try taking it that it's my anxiety, i have to go through it. So that's the wordings I learned in those kind of sessions, which actually helped me go through that anxiety, take it as part of me, and that just feels like normal. So it's no point worrying too much, but instead actioning it, giving the confidence that everything is all right, we are getting support, CGM is there, your data is there, we are here. So
00:28:19
Speaker
Yeah, i just, I think, bit of a support, ensuring that support is there. Absolutely. I'm a big sort of believer in that getting that external support if you can't manage that stuff on your own. if Because I think that when I saw a psychologist, she did a little thing because i I had a lot of anxiety around that with Harvey as well. Just the middle of the night worrying, you know, like the you know the worrying all day, you know, you just, it's not healthy. And I think that there are elements there in parenthood that you just worry anyway, regardless of whether they're type one or not. But around, she was a saying, it's the, our, we come from the the hunter gatherer, the saber tooth tiger. It's meant to be that fight or flight kind of thing, but you shouldn't be in that the whole time, you
Integrating Diabetes into Family Life
00:29:07
Speaker
know. So when there was something and I'd be like, oh gosh, like it could be just something really minor that I could just see his levels of jumping or they're dropping really quick or whatever. And then they would say, it's okay. It's just the, it's just the wind blowing that breeze. It's actually not the tiger. It's just, you know, things like that, that you're like, yeah. So I used to remember saying to myself, it's just the breeze.
00:29:30
Speaker
There is no tiger. No, like it sounds silly, but changing that mindset because you can't, We're no good to our kids if we can't manage our own anxieties around it. And there is sometimes when I do see that Harvey's just snacked so much and then hasn't dosed and you're like, and then I lose my mind and then I think, you know what, he's learning too. And he's and you you go, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can't control yes everything. And I think that particularly when you get that five-minute reading on everything, and that almost can also be...
00:30:07
Speaker
sometimes quite stressful on your body of of watching that those numbers you must have that on both for you like watching your own but then trying to keep your stress levels down so that you don't spike and then like things will drop or however it works exactly yeah and then sometimes reflecting back as a child or as a teenager what we used to do or what i used to do you know so it's they're doing the probably the same thing eating munching whatever they feel like And that's how childhood would be. Yeah.
00:30:36
Speaker
And that's around where it's very important, I think, because our language that we use as well, because we know that in type one children will have a lot of fear around eating or what they're eating. There can be eating disorders that can then come into the mix. And, you know, it's really important of how we say you can't eat that or don't eat now or like, it's quite, quite a tricky way to to, manage your own language around that as well. I find because and again yeah, like, and as well also remembering that they're, they're a child first um and a type one diabetic.
00:31:14
Speaker
second or like, and so that's something that I've started to do into the practice is I never talked to Harvey about his levels straight after school. I just, unless he wants to say i had two hypos or I think whatever, unless he wants to tell me initially, but we spend that hour just talking generally.
00:31:32
Speaker
Yeah, beyond learning. Yeah. And then I then might say, oh, what happened here? Or like I might be very much trying to keep it that, yeah, he's a child. and We need to focus on school, after school, that sort of stuff, not necessarily just about the type one stuff.
00:31:50
Speaker
Because that's the data that you have. You don't have any other information about them what's happening at their school day other than this line of dots. Exactly. is interesting, isn't it? It is. It is. Sometimes it's so it's all also important to get the feedback. I think in my case, my son's school teacher, always provides the feedback. And then he probably relates his, he was not able to concentrate in the class today because his sugar levels was too high or too low. So they are also understanding his patterns. So...
00:32:16
Speaker
So it's, but then it's not easy, to be honest, even if some will, if I'm working and then my levels are not in the right state, so probably I would not be able to focus or do the right, yeah, in the same amount of time.
00:32:30
Speaker
And he's a child, yeah. So if I think that perspective, he's sitting in the classroom, his levels are low or levels are high and there's studies going on or he's in the exam, it can be difficult. Yeah, so that. Absolutely. It's probably also in the back of his mind of like you were, you're probably the same if you're in a work meeting, whatever. Is my alarm going to go off or like, they don't want that.
00:32:50
Speaker
yeah Yeah, which is, I would imagine that's quite stressful. We've all kind of gotten stressfulious been in a situation where they're like, turn your mobiles off and then you hear someone's phone ringing and you're like, oh, is that ridiculous? You know, but this could be that it's it's actually ah ah like an alert for, you know. But as a teenager, I guess sometimes he tries to do us the same thing, like putting his ah alarms off. So even if it's going high, there's no alarm.
00:33:15
Speaker
But yeah, it's, yeah, he's trying he's trying to modify it slightly. it sounds like you're doing a great job. It can't be, I can't imagine it being easy where you're having to manage your own stuff as well as his stuff, then also just raising a family anyway on very on top of that. But it sounds like you have a good team and you're good at supporting each other. It's a team, for you rightly said. It's a team. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Before we wrap up, is there anything else that you wanted to share about about you or your son? What's your son's name? Sorry. We've gone this whole podcast without asking what his name is. was thinking Eku. Yeah. Eku.
00:33:56
Speaker
Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. He's a cheerful child. So I guess, and especially I'm glad and I'm surprised that how well he has adapted with the new technology, with managing his diabetes. Yeah. knowing the levels at his age, I would not be able to for sure. But then I guess the new gen kids are more smarter than me. Yeah. Yeah, which is a blessing. So, yeah, I think. Yeah, blessing and a curse, isn't it? that Some of that stuff. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. i
00:34:27
Speaker
like to wrap up the podcast by asking one last question. So I would like to know, what is your go-to hypotreatment for both you and your son? Hypotreatment?
00:34:38
Speaker
e yep um i guess we'll so every night we sleep with having some drink bottle juice bottles next to us yeah something goes night we don't want to you know get up goes to the kitchen or open the fridge that the drink the either pepsi coke bottles are next to us yeah it was little bit of it not but we know that too much of it probably is the levels too high but then a little bit of it um in the midst of night and it's very common. We just drink it and just get it to the normal. At school or other places outside when my son goes, obviously we prefer to have glucose tablets instead of those sugary drinks because those drinks are not good anyways. But glucose tablets, they got a recommendation like having two tablets and then wait for 15 minutes
00:35:24
Speaker
then watch your levels goes normal then you're okay to again start walking or doing your duties but then um there's no recommendation around how much of drink juices or what you're gonna get but no and it's quite tricky like you're seeing with those with the um energy kind of um it's quite tricky to say that someone would just have like you know a third yeah that's what so glucose tablet is our like go-to option if there's a case of hypo but yeah that's for both of you um for Mostly for my son, to be honest. Oh, yeah.
00:35:56
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. For me, I'm a coffee drinker or drink, put a sugar in the coffee. Ah, Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's, yeah. Okay. How many coffees a day do you have?
00:36:08
Speaker
Three. That's not thought you were going to say kind of eight or something. Three is okay. I was at five, but now getting it. you're cutting back. Yeah. Very good. Very good.
00:36:20
Speaker
and It's just something there that just popped into my head. sure So at night, is your son treating his own hypos or do you still have to get up I guess because in this if it's a daily, like a weekdays, routines, he's getting up early, going to the school, doing things, probably going for a swimming class, he gets exhausted, right? So if he's in sleep, he's in a deep sleep. So his sugar level is going low.
00:36:45
Speaker
He's probably, unfortunately, he's not waking up at that point of time. It's a one of the parents that has to eat nothing think, get his alarms, listen the alarms, and get up or treat the hypos or treat the highs. so Yeah. Yeah. here Yeah, I don't know when that transition, because Harvey, he wouldn't even know that. yeah and He doesn't even remember most of the time when I get him up to give him some juice or whatever. But, um yeah, I think it is that transition. Yeah, I'm curious to know. Like, how do you?
00:37:17
Speaker
It's much better than before. Again, before it was very hard. Yeah. again just for cgms and alarms yeah with with the cgms as well if it's getting low and then i have to wake him up asking for a drink he would be crying or shouting or screaming and not ready to wake up at the middle of the night but now i think he understands that i need to get treated so it's getting better and i see that the next few months he should be probably able to do those treatments on his own.
00:37:46
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. i don't know how i don't know how we start to introduce that, um but but good luck. Yeah, that's how we... Knowing teenage boys, I've got one myself. They love their sleep, don't they?
00:38:02
Speaker
That's a whole, there's a whole fight. So yeah, yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, Hamashi, I'm really, I'm very grateful for your time and for for everything that you shared with us on this podcast. I I'm yeah, I'm definitely going to take some of the language that you use around that. It's a, that it's our family. Like this is our lifestyle. It's not not a disease. It's not ah like an illness. It's, ah you know, this is just our lifestyle. And i I really love that positivity that you have around that. And I think, I hope that everyone else that listens to this podcast will also get a lot of information and a lot of good insight into that. So thank you so much for your time. And thanks to you, Jackie. Yeah, people like you and with having Typhan Foundation in place. I think it's really helpful for people like us just to be connected, knowing what's happening, listen to other people's stories. So thank you.
00:38:55
Speaker
Thank you so
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Speaker
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00:39:07
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:39:36
Speaker
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