My 12 year old son, who has had type�1 diabetes since he was six, is very active, but his counts vary so much up and down. Is this common for his age? He has an excellent doctor, but my son does not live with me so I don’t have a lot of contact with his doctor.

I am sure that you will see from many similar questions posted on the site that variability in blood sugars is the norm for children your son’s age. The crunch is his overall control as indicated by his hemoglobin A1c result. It is common for this to deteriorate somewhat around puberty so hard work and attention to detail is important so that the drift is manageable.

KJR

[Editor’s comment: I would suggest that discuss your concerns with whomever your son lives with. While this is indeed a common problem during puberty, there could be many reasons for the fluctuations. If this problem only occurs when your staying with you, it may be that the stress of this situation is the culprit. Please understand that this is not at all unusual in children who travel back and forth between homes. Your son’s primary caretakers and diabetes team are really the only ones who can sort this out, but you also need open lines of communication with them to understand what’s going on and how it should be dealt with.

SS]