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February 27, 2001

Behavior

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Question from Plantation, Florida, USA:

I need to do something about my 14 year old son who has diabetes and is really finding a big problem with it. He hates being sick all the time. I believe a lot of it is emotional.

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Your son should not be “sick all the time”, if his diabetes is in control. It appears to me that he is having a great deal of difficulty coping, for reasons only a mental health professional, who understands both teens and diabetes, can help sort out. It is important you seek help from such a person as soon as possible. If he is not being followed by a pediatric diabetes team, he needs to be.

There are many good diabetes teams in Florida that can work with your son to develop a treatment plan to fit his lifestyle, and they will either have a mental health professional as part of team or be able to refer you to one. If you need help finding an appropriate program for your son, contact the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

SS