Once your child’s diabetes has been stabilized and your initial education about diabetes is complete, the major challenge is to maintain your child’s health and well-being, both now and into the future.
You will need to visit and consult with the diabetes team regularly, to be updated and to prepare your family for new periods in your child’s growth and development. These visits will also help motivate your family and encourage you to be careful in diabetes management. Most of the time, families are able to avoid, or at least deal with, crises before they get out of hand. There are planned educational and support sessions to smooth the transition from one stage of development to the next.
In particular, the regular follow-up helps pave the way for the teen to transfer to an adult care diabetes team toward the end of adolescence.
Health care follow-up
Ongoing follow-up is essential. Clinical practice guidelines published by both the Canadian Diabetes Association and the American Diabetes Association suggest a minimum of 3 or 4 visits per year (every 3 or 4 months). More visits are suggested in the first year of diabetes and for those who need extra support to achieve and maintain good blood sugar control.
Reasons for regular follow-up include:
- health in general and diabetes in particular
- growth and development
- attitudes and behaviours, including school attendance
- lifestyle issues, e.g. current activities––sleeping in, smoking, alcohol use
- current and anticipated challenges in living with and coping with diabetes management
- updating and/or clarifying goals and expectations
- solving problems with various members of the team
- support and reassurance
- ongoing education––for parents, children, and teens to learn new skills, concepts, and management measures, and to review important principles and practices
- ensuring that diabetes-related complications are being watched for, when appropriate
- finding out what is new in research
- having the opportunity to participate in relevant research