July 5, 2003
Behavior
Question from Troy, Texas, USA:
My 14 year old daughter, who has had type 1 diabetes for a little over five years, has never been consistent about writing her blood sugar readings down, so it has been impossible to keep up with the variance in them. She has been hospitalized with DKA [diabetic ketoacidosis] times in the past three years, yet she still won’t record her readings, and I am very worried about this.Her father and I have talked to her about the importance of doing this numerous times. Her doctors and other relatives have also stressed the importance of keeping records, but she still refuses or will do it for short periods of time. How can we make her understand how very important it is to keep records?
Answer:
Keeping accurate records is difficult for most teenagers. Rather than continuing to insist on this, I would recommend that you get a blood sugar with a memory and the ability to analyze data such as the OneTouch UltraSmart, Accu-Chek Complete or FreeStyle Tracker System. You may also wish to download software for your blood sugar meter so you and she can analyze the data on your computer. Check with your meter’s manufacturer for the readily available software for most modern meters.
MSB
