Picking back up. Dd could tell when she was low immediately. She had symptoms such as shaking, blurry vision, headache, even though her BG(blood glucose) was only in the 60's. Now her symptoms are less intense, which I understand is normal. Her symptoms for high BG are less definite, often being just an unwell feeling. Dd tests her BG on average of 6 times a day, more if she is low or high. She is on Lantus and Humalog shots. We count carbs for each meal. We've settled into a pattern for most meals; for example, she usually has about 50g for breakfast, 60g for each of lunch and dinner. Her BG is most stable when she eats high fiber, balanced and healthy food. Surprize! At first we gave the shots AFTER she ate so we would know exactly how much to give. But you get better control if you give the shot BEFORE. We waited until we were pretty comfortable with knowing how much she usually ate before switching to giving the shot after the meal. There are plenty of times, though, when her ideal meals just don't happen because we are eating out, having a holiday meal, etc. Then we deal with less than ideal BG. Our experience has been that it is not possible to ALWAYS have BG within target limits. The biggest reason is that there are so many factors that affect BG- stress, growth hormone, activity level, illness, menstrual cycle all in addition to how many carbs are consumed. In addition, we were told "a carb is a carb is a carb" which clearly is not not the case for dd. But carbs are the only thing that you use to calculate Humalog, with adjustments for exercise. Especially at first, it can be very frustrating to measure your food servings, give just the right amount of Humalog, and then still end up with high or low BG. It happens. Don't take it as personal failure because it's not. The longer you do this, and the more observant you are, the more you will recognize patterns that you can adapt to. Dd reminded me about something else. She had a voracious appetite when she came home from the hospital because she had lost 15 pounds before she was diagnosed. She quickly regained about 5 or 6 pounds (she was a bit on the heavy side) then her appetite returned to normal. Also, she entered into the honeymoon phase within a week of being home, so her insulin needs were constantly being lowered, to the point that if she ate just right, she needed no insulin whatsoever. The honeymoon period lasted 6 months for dd. I am a one-track person, so at first, I needed to be able to devote as much attention as necessary to dd and learning about diabetes. I put aside much of what was distracting me and read, read, read. It was a good month before I could pick back up with the rest of my life. But of course, YMMV. Diabetes is a BIG deal, just as having a baby is a BIG deal. As time goes on, it becomes second nature to check BG, count carbs, give injections. But until then, give yourself permission to take enough time to adjust, read, talk, reach out, whatever it takes. You CAN do this, just ask for the help you need. If your dd is interested, she might like to correspond with my dd, 11. Just PM us. Lawana

I just have a couple of minutes before I take my diabetic dd to horseback riding camp. It was extremely scary to let my dd go anywhere without me for the first several weeks. Because we homeschooled, we could put off that seperation for a while. I had a good friend that was very interested in learning about diabetes so she could have dd visit with her dd- that was our first separation. DD does not always have her insulin with her- if we're going someplace for a few hours that doesn't involve a meal, we leave the insulin at home. That said, there have been a very few times we went out without insulin and ended up wishing we had it if our plans changed. Sorry I have to run, I'll type more later. And generally, no, you can't just grab an apple and eat it without at least checking blood sugar. Maybe half an apple would be okay. My dd's biggset worry was that she wouldn't be able to eat mashed potatoes, which of course, she can. Lawana

How long was she in the hospital? How much education did you receive? What are the follow up plans with the endocrinologist? Not trying to be nosy, but it may help to just talk the whole thing out. PM if you would prefer. Lawana

About the Lantus: in the hospital the Lantus is generally administered cold- from the refrigerator. Room temperature Lantus is a little easier on the kiddo. You do not need to keep it in the fridge at home. Dd still has times when the shots hurt, even 2 years later. (Probably when a nerve is hit.) Is your dd doing her own shots? For some reason, when my dd gives herself the shot, even when it hurts, it's a little easier to deal with than when someone is doing it TO her. My best to you and your dd. Please ask for the help you need. Lawana

My heart goes out to you and your dd. We went through this 2 years ago when dd was 9. How old is your dd? In a nutshell, our experience was something like this. It consumed us at first. For about a month, it seemed like I thought of nothing else. Getting into any kind of a routine took about that long. It was very scary to have her life in our hands. Something was always changing- insulin ratios, attitudes. We were tired from getting up at 2 am to check blood sugar. But after a while it started to get easier- kind of like getting the hang of your first newborn. Even though there were times I just cried, Dd was a trouper. She never complained about the finger sticks or the shots. I would never have believed that I was capable of giving a shot, but I was. It took time to acquire confidence that we could, in fact, handle this. And you can too, because you love your dd, you are her mother, and you will do whatever it takes. It will likely seem totally overwhelming at first, but don't be afaid to ask for the help you need. It does get easier, but it is an ongoing commitment. Your family is in my prayers. Remember, you will get through this. Lawana

Ah shucks, it was nothin'. I'm so sew glad it worked for you. You really made my day! And chocolate gladly accepted! Lawana

About the bobbin: I looked at the bobbin diagram for the Singer 9410- the bobbin should be turning counterclockwise as you pull the bobbin thread with the bobbin in place. That's what I meant when I taked about bobbin direction. I thought of something else that might help. Holding the tails of both top and bobbin threads as you start to sew might keep the rat's nests from starting in the first place. You might be doing that already. Lawana

Ahhhhh. Thanks. I've found out most of my stuff through trial and error, reading, and bits of advice over the years. And my MIL calls me down to fix her machine whenever it gets messed up, and so far, it's always been one of the things I mentioned. Lawana

Machines can be sew frustrating. Here are several things to do which might work. -Clean out the bobbin area, making sure there are no bits of thread left in there. -Put in a new needle. Make sure the flat side of the top part of the needle is facing the rear of the machine. -Wind a new bobbin from a different spool of thread. Reread your manual to make absolutely sure which direction the thread should be unwinding from the bobbin and install. -If you can identify the tension discs and they are accessible, use a folded, well worn dollar bill (it will have a very small amount of oil on it) and slide it between the discs. -Put the tension back to the standard or usual setting. -Rethread the top thread with different thread. If you do all the above and it is still messing up, there may be something wrong with your machine. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out. Lawana