desperate mom
Hi all,
I am the mother of a 29-year-old developmentally delayed daughter who
has had
Type 1 diabetes for 15 years. Ever since she became independent
enough to live
on her own, her diabetes control has gotten progressively worse and
worse.
Today, she is about 100 lbs overweight and her blood sugars are
running in the
200-300’s. I have tried threatening, bribing, bargaining and
reasoning with her.
I have tried buying her food for her (which makes her very resentful
and angry),
calling her 4-5 times a day to make sure she tests, buying her a
watch with an
alarm to remind her to test, printing our her meter readings each
week, taking
her to a nutritionist to make sure she understands how to eat right.
I’ve tried
leaving her alone about it, begging, and crying. I’ve given her books
to read,
healthy snacks to eat, I’ve gone with her to Weight Watchers and
exercise
classes. I’ve tried everything. She sees her endocrinologist
several times a year,
but after 15 years of non-compliance on her part, he seems to have
practically
given up on her. I don’t know what to do now. I wish there were
just some
place she could go and have her eating and medication moderated
’round the
clock until her weight and blood sugars were stabilized, but the only
places I’ve
ever seen like that are very short-term and very expensive. I would
love to hear
from anyone about what you’ve done or would suggest I do to help her.
I’m truly
stumped about what more I can do and am terrified of what her future
holds at
this rate. Thanks for listening.
Dee