Hello!
My son just got diagnosed 2 weeks ago. He’s handling it very well and we do pretty well adjusting overall.
However, my daughter has a birthday coming up in 2 weeks. I’m wondering how to handle the cake situation. For one, she wants an ice cream cake - should i bring a food scale to weigh his piece?
The other option would be a cupcake cake, which should be easier to manage.
Also - Easter is coming up! I feel good about every day food and snacks, but these special events coming up really stress me out.
Any pointers would be appreciated!
There is a big learning curve for newly diagnosed diabetic (I’m one of them as well). Trial and error is a great way to understand how different foods and carb amounts impact your son. If I double my carbs for a meal I’ve learned that increasing my insulin by 50% works for me (note that his may be different). However, I found that for me if I double carbs at a meal from foods that are high in fiber, then I don’t need to increase my insulin at all. Recommend writing down the number of carbs and food he eats at these events along with his BG and insulin numbers so next time you have more data about what to do that works for him. I’ve found those logs to be very helpful for me so there are less errors next time.
@Dagmar123Welcome Dagmar to the JDRF TypeOneNation Community Forum! We are happy to see youhere, and encourage you to visit often and ask as many questions as you wish.
When speaking with newly diagnosed people, I strongly suggest that they try to live an active and full life, not to hold back “just because I have diabetes”, and live a normal - whatever “normal” might be - life. I was diagnosed in my teen years in the mid 1950s and I’ve fully participated in family, school and work activities since then as the 4th born of our parents 8 children. My mother baked awesome cakes and each birthday cake and ice cream were served - true, my slice of cake was skinny and ice cream scoop was small. Portion size is the important thing to consider. Please let him experience life, you didn’t mention his age, and try not to put him on the top-shelf under a glass dome as if he is a special, delicate doll.
That said, and enough of my preaching, TypeOneDiabetes is a condition that MUST be managed effectively - it cannot be fully “controlled”. Keys to effective management are observation, eating a well-balanced diet with good nutrition - this includes eating “enough” carbohydrate, knowing when and how much insulin to inject/infuse and, remaining as active as practical. The insulin management portion is the most difficult to manage - I’m still learning because my body needs continue to evolve - “close observation”. For the wonderful birthday cake you are envisioning for your daughter, your son may need a LITTLE additional insulin - unless he has been running up and down the soccer pitch for 90 minutes shortly before eating the cake - more observation; yes, we must be aware of what we have been doing during the past couple of hours and also have an idea of what we will be doing - awareness!
You have many wonderful tools at hand to help you monitor; use the blood glucose meter [BGM] to help learn how various foods affect HIS blood/body glucose level [BGL] and also how his activity level may cause variances in BGL. Use BGL number as guideposts for knowledge and adjustment, and try not to just follow numbers. When in hospital at my diagnosis, it took two days to get a blood sugar number, and I only had a BS number a couple of times a year; the digital glucose meter was invented 30 years following my diagnosis and then wasn’t very accurate.
Easter candies will be difficult, yet there are some marshmallow candies that are relatively low in carbohydrate. Be very careful giving him “no sugar” candy as some artificial sweeteners can highly affect BGL.
Cookies candy cakes and ice cream give me a major spike. I am middle aged and diagnosed less than a year. I have learned to be happy with a “sliver” of cake, 1 candy or small scoop of ice cream. No sugar added helps lessen the spike, but still very small quantities. I’d start experimenting with baby steps and adjusting insulin and see what works.
I don’t know his age. My heart aches for young people going through this.
Sending good wishes.
Hi Dagmar @Dagmar123. I would serve the ice cream cake and let your son have Easter Candy. Normalcy at this age is vital to his mental health. When I left the hospital after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, the last words the nurse said to me were, “Go and live your life.” That said, sugary foods elevate the blood sugar faster than other carbs, so I would make sure to give the insulin 5-8 minutes ahead of time. The only way you and your son will know how to handle common celebratory foods, is trial and error. Scary, but true. Best wishes for you all.
Ice cream cake is the best. I don’t blame him. I always eat ice cream cake.
Ice cream has quite a bit of fat, so it may not raise blood very fast, but it can cause high blood sugar for up to 4 hours. If his blood sugar is a little high, please follow the doctor’s instructions for using insulin, but it is just as important to remember - he is not going to break if his blood sugar is a little high. I always recommend buying the book “Think Like a Pancreas” it is the fundamentals for dealing with Type 1 and has a wealth of information. good luck!
Don’t hold back from cake. Cake is important and delicious, and has a fair amount of complex carbs. You don’t have to bring a scale. Just cut a thin slice, make your best guess, and see how it goes. If he’s a little high for a while, it’ll be okay. He’ll get back on track, and you’ll learn from it and guess better the next time.
It’ll help if the cake is part of the main meal. A full stomach will let it digest a little more gradually. It’ll also help if the party involves a fair amount of activity that will burn off some of the excess sugar. But even if not, you can handle a bit of cake.
Candy, though? Candy is pure sugar. It’ll spike his BG, and it’s hard to compensate for it. He can have a piece or two, if you’re careful and thoughtful about it. But that may leave him feeling more deprived than if you just said no.
Fortunately, there is a solution! It’s a very important one that made a huge difference for me after being diagnosed at 12, and for years to come. Sugar-free candy!
Russel Stover, Whitman’s, Hershey’s, Reese’s, Jelly Belly, and others all make really good sugar-free chocolates and other candies. Swiss Miss even makes sugar-free hot-cocoa with marshmallows. Nestle’s makes sugar-free Quick. If your local grocery store or pharmacy doesn’t carry them, you can find them online. You do still have to be careful with some of them. Some may still affect BG, while others may have a laxative effect if he has too much. But you should have no problem filling an Easter basket for him, even if the jelly beans are the only egg-shaped ones.
Welcome!! I also was concerned about my daughters first ice cream cake a year ago. She did great we waited the correct amount of time before eating, she had a full belly of other food. The cake it had serving size so I followed as it said and I knew since we were on shots I could give more insulin to correct if needed 2 hrs later. As for the Easter candy I would use it for lows which seemed to happen alot at first because of the honeymoon stage. Keep up the good work!
You’ve got lots of suggestions to help you through the coming events, and you will learn through trial and error how best to cover those sweet treats. I used to eat a regular size candy bar when I had a sweet tooth, but eventually discovered I got plenty of satisfaction from just a couple of the little bite-size ones instead. And i usually ask for a small slice of cake - not because of diabetes but because some slices are so generous I simply can’t eat the whole thing.
This is going to sound odd, but what I’m saying is he should be able to enjoy treats just like anyone else, but not feel he has to have more than he wants in order to prove he can.
Today I watched the 4th season (2024) of Blown Away - a glass-blowing competition series (Netflix). The challenge in one of the episodes was to make candy out of glass, and in describing the piece she had in mind one of the contestants said her design was going to include a syringe because (wait for it!) she had recently been diagnosed with Type1 diabetes. Unfortunately she also said “I love candy but I can’t eat it or it will kill me.” Of course I can’t speak for her as an individual but I can’t help thinking she mis-conveyed what we can do given the tools at our disposal now.
I am a 21 year old Type I Diabetic who has had diabetes my whole life being diagnosed at 17 months old. I. can definitely say that these types of food will spike your blood sugar however, growing up my parents never held me back on what I could and could not eat. Being a kid, having type one diabetes can be really isolating. Having to wait a bit before eating so the insulin can work effectively, not being able to eat what everyone else is eating, and having to be mindful of your blood sugar levels at all times. This being said, allowing your child to eat the cake and candy is vital! I think giving the dose of insulin ahead of time as well as giving maybe a higher dose than usual and monitoring his blood sugar level after eating the cake is the best way to go about the situation. I think that different foods definitely affect different people in unique ways so, like other people in the forum have said, monitoring how the cake affects his blood sugar will help when wanting to eat higher carbohydrate, more sugary foods in the future!
@mwasmund7Welcome Madeline to the JDRF TypeOneNation Community Forum!
I agree with you with your thoughts about eating. Managing insulin and activity so er can so we can eat a “normal” human healthy diet healthy and nutritious, and more importantly enjoyable. Meals as a an enjoyable social event rather than a torcher chamber - especially for children.