Anyone experience mood swings in their type 1 diabetic children?

Kim - posted on 02/12/2013

My son who just turned 11 in January was diagnosed at 6. I immediately noticed that he had mood swings. We started off with a Pediatric Endocrinologist but changed a couple of years ago to one who treats all ages. The new doctor retired and so we started seeing another doctor. I mentioned the anger issues and he suggested that we let him see a counselor. He even said that it "used" to be a standard procedure for all newly diagnosed children with Type 1 Diabetes but they quit recommending it. We haven't had luck yet with getting him started. The Dr. said that having so many restrictions that it can definitely cause them to be angry about it. For me, until I can get him counseling, I sit down and try to remain calm and hug him and usually he changes his attitude for the better. Sometimes though with homework, stress, and the nightly routine, if he starts fighting with me, I get aggravated and it only makes it worse.... Then I remember to stop, calm down, and "talk" with him and he will usually settle down and be reasonable.

Tamra - posted on 08/05/2012

My son sees a therapist. I tell her what I'm seeing and dealing with, and she talks it out with him. They work on strategies in ways I never could. I've seen huge improvements over the last couple year.

Colleen - posted on 07/09/2012

I have a non d daughter who is 21, it gets better after puberty. My daughter knew what buttons to push and when to push them to get the biggest bang for her buck. I eventually started her in counseling with a psychologist who helped her a ton. She is now a healthy and happy wife and mother of one little boy and a baby due in Jan. Through counseling I learned how to minimize the impact of the moment the mood swings were happening. Helped my sanity.



You know your daughter best, trust your instincts. Once you know she is not struggling because of high or low BG do what mommies do best to address the behaviors. My T1D child is 5 and a boy, I have yet to address this age but I do know he is grumpier if his BG has been swinging high and low. I suggest checking the meter for signs of this.



This is seriously a difficult age and as parent s we really do deserve a gold star when we get them through this stage. Hang in there.

Tara - posted on 07/07/2012

My son is 12 diagnosed at 3. We go through the same thing everyday. It is very frustrating. There are many days I have to sit down and cry, I am a single mom of 2 and it takes a toll on you. I always check his sugars but he is usually in his normal range and I agree it's probably just puberty and having diabetes is not easy for them, it takes a toll on their lives. But I'm still wanting any advice I can get

Doris - posted on 06/17/2012

The 1st thing you need to do is to stop beating up on yourself. Raising a teenager is hard enough but adding diabeties to the mix can make things very difficult. Once you know her blood sugar is normal, handle her the way you would if she didn't have diabetes. My daugher is only 7 (diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago) but has always had awful mood swings. There have been many occasions she has been very low while other times has been high. Sometimes that's how we know to check blood sugar. If she's just being a brat, we just handle her as we would any of our other children.
Your daughter is 12 and probably staring puberty. With our without diabetes she is going to be hormonal. Hang in there .