I was thinking about this today, thinking about how I was pretty much left to my own devices and didn't really have to bare my soul to anyone. Somehow I made it through, but for me at least, something that was very private remained private.
Not so for our T1D kids.
At her last Clinic Day I had to sit and watch my little girl's obvious discomfort when being asked by her Endocrinologist (thankfully female) all kinds of questions that would have mortified me at the same age.
(stock photo provided by SCIENCEphoto Library)
We later had a talk about how she felt about this and she told me that she did not want to discuss ANY aspect of this part of her life with her doctor.
I felt so bad for her. It is hard enough navigating this inevitable part of growing up without having to share every detail and have every aspect monitored by your medical team!
They don't have much choice about this though. Insulin is a hormone, and fluctuations in blood glucose levels, caused by too little or too much insulin, does affect development. Consistently high BGL's can delay the onset of puberty and can result in short stature, therefore, the T1D medical team has to pay close attention to a child's development.
Wouldn't it be lovely just to let our kids be kids...
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