A little restraint does wonders

[zzapp the witch]

Darwin Award by proxy.

[karma_gypsy]

Yes, if she was willing to coddle her grandson. For crying out loud, buy him a toy or sugarfree candy or something. She could have purchased him a toy for what she spent on the candy, and the toy wouldn't hurt him.

[FenigDurak]

Yes, he is very overweight. I just couldn't think of a nice way to call the kid Shamu's long lost cousin.

She did buy him a Spiderman and Hulk doll set, but since it wasn't really all that relevant...-=shrug=-

[Gawdzillers]

I've heard of Grandma spoiling you, but Christ on His Throne, that's just horrible!

[friendofjimmyk]

Oh my gosh, this is sad on so many levels. I do believe this is reportable to the nurse or someone...CPS maybe. I don't know if I would've been able to not say anything...that's just sad.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Gimme a C!
Gimme a P!
Gimme an S!

Now whaddaya do?

Call them pronto!

I can understand wanted to spoil a sick child, but buy him a toy or a comic book! Something he can enjoy from his hospital bed. That's what my parents did when I was in the hospital.

[Freemage]

I think we have a literal application of the word 'spoil' (as in, 'to ruin') here. This woman needs an extensive lecture, if needs be reinforced by Mom saying, "Ma, I love you, and so does Toby, but if you can't control yourself, then you won't be left alone with him. I want my son to live to graduate."

[Lurkergirl]

What a sad, sad situation. That Grandmother is NOT doing her grandson any favours and I am glad that you contacted the pediatric unit to let them know about all his *treats*.

I am a Type 1 diabetic and just wanted to provide some insight/clarity on diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is insulin dependent diabetes and was originally known as juvenille diabetes. The main thing that sets it apart from Type 2 is that the body destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, meaning the body does not produce any insulin. A Type 1 diabetic is ALWAYS going to need to inject insulin, if they don't they will eventually fall into a coma and die.

Until about a decade ago insulin was produced from cows or pigs, beef insulin or pork insulin, but this insulin has been discontinued. Insulin is now based on human DNA (recombinated DNA).

In Type 2 diabetes the body is still producing insulin, but it is not producing enough insulin or the insulin is not being used effectively (insulin resistance). As a result this disease can sometimes be treated through diet & exercise alone, through oral medication (such as glucophage, metformin, avandia), and if necessary through insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is more of a lifestyle related disease as opposed to Type 1, which is an autoimmune disease. Type 2s are in their 40s or above, are overweight, do little exercise and have terrible diets, which is why diet & exercise alone can produce the results necessary to control the blood sugars.

There is a disturbing new trend in diabetes though. More and more children are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Given what FenigDurak has said concerning his weight, and that he is in for physiotherapy to help him lose weight I would say it is very likely that he has Type 2 diabetes.

Someone else mentioned that Type 1 is easier to control than Type 2 is correct. Under the most recent insulin regiems being used by endocrinologists a Type 1 is able to adjust the amount of insulin they inject to account for extra snacks or treats. A Type 2 diabetic needs to pay more attention to what they eat because oral medications can only do so much to bring the sugar levels under control.

The worst thing about diabetes is it affects almost EVERY system in your body. Its the march of time and the complications that make this disease so terrible. It is the number 1 cause of blindness in people aged 20-70, a major cause of kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, amputation. Someone should sit this Grandmother down and paint her a lovely picture of the future of her grandson if she continues to undermine the child's mother and physicians concerning this disease.

I'll stop now before I put everyone to sleep. As you can tell its a subject close to my heart.

[XCashier]

Someone should sit this Grandmother down and paint her a lovely picture of the future of her grandson if she continues to undermine the child's mother and physicians concerning this disease.

I agree, but the sad fact is, some old folks just refuse to understand such things. My grandmother didn't believe what the doctors told her about her son's (my dad's) diabetes and continued to feed him sugary food. And FD did say this was an "ongoing issue with the grandmother," which tells me she is just too stubborn or too foolish to realize she is doing far more harm than good when she gives her grandson candy.

Thank you for contacting the right people, FD. Hopefully, this boy will get the care he needs.

[AFpheonix]

Oop, Lurkergirl beat me to it.

The worst problem about uncontrolled diabetes, or even mild diabetes over time is destruction of the circulatory system, which leads to all the things she already mentioned.
I hope that by mentioning to the nurses what Grandma is doing will prevent such excursions in the future. Good lord. That woman is a complete idiot.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Type 2 diabetes is more of a lifestyle related disease as opposed to Type 1, which is an autoimmune disease. Type 2s are in their 40s or above, are overweight, do little exercise and have terrible diets, which is why diet & exercise alone can produce the results necessary to control the blood sugars.

My mother is a Type 2, with a family history of diabetes (on her father's side - several of his siblings and cousins had this.) Right now, she's temporarily on insulin shots as well as the Glucofage (sp?) because her sugar still gets too high (it's been in the 200-300 range and it shouldn't be any higher than 120.)

And it's difficult to try to keep her away from what she shouldn't have, even more so when we're not quite sure what it is she can have and what she can't. Dietitians don't help - we went to one last December, but all he wanted to do for 90 minutes was lecture her and tell her she was fat (oh really? I never would have guessed she was overweight) I've been trying lately to keep candy and other junk away, but there's the situation with the soft drinks (she simply refuses to drink diet - and as you know, regular Dr. Pepper is loaded w/sugars.)

So I'm having to limit how much of it she drinks at any one time, as well as keep more fruit and juices in the house.

Too bad the grandmother in the OP isn't trying harder with the grandchild to say "no." She'll regret that one day when her grandchild gets worse or loses the battle.

[Becks]

(she simply refuses to drink diet - and as you know, regular Dr. Pepper is loaded w/sugars.)

Not to sound like the commercail, but Diet Dr. Pepper DOES taste remarkably like regular DP. Seriously. I'd consider drinking it more often, but Pepsi has such a hold on my heart...

[Kara]

I'd consider drinking it more often, but Pepsi has such a hold on my heart...

Oooh! Sorry for the threadjack, but have you seen the new Pepsi "Summer Mix?" I saw it at the store yesterday and had to try it. It's got a tropical flavor to it. It kind of reminds me think of Hawaiian Punch, if you mixed it with Pepsi.

[Red Briggs]

OMG. OMG. OMG. I cannot believe that.

If grandma becomes a problem like with that kid, I have no problem alienating my or my wife's mother for the health of my child. Simple. Grandma was totally being counter productive. She is killing that child. And that makes me sad.

I have a cousin he's 13 years old and the kid has always been, to be a little mean, a porker. His particular branch has always had health problems. My uncle, who is "stocky" worked as a mechanic and got lots of exercise through his job. He was big, but solid. My aunt, she well, yea. My cousins one is a video game fanatic and does nothing but that with a good.... bulk.... of his time. His younger brother is in the military now, and built very much like his dad. The youngest, grew up with the gamer as his role model and well, the kid wheezed just playing gameboy.

It's sad, but unfortunately, family is to blame for all these kids being over weight. Big fat over weight kids make me wanna cry, and their parents make me angry. Especially when genetics is used as an excuse. There are skinny people with fat kids.

Ever see the movie heavyweights? Awesome movie by the way.

The problem is so many good things are bad for you. I'm guilty of sitting in front of the boob tube and eating a whole bag of chips and some chocolate bars and 2 cans of coke. But I exercise. These fat kids probably don't even walk anywhere. People need to realize that childhood obesity is a serious problem and can lead to many serious problems later in life. I'm not a parent, but I can understand how parents can feel. i would like my future rug rats grow up happy and healthy. If that means making the little bastards walk to school, so be it. I'll get child tracker thank you.

My advice, walk everywhere. Drive in the winter, but only if it is more than 5 blocks. And get a job in retail. That keeps the weight off. If you doubt my weight loss plan of getting a job in retail, ask Spiffy McMoron, he'll tell ya.

So keep fit and have fun. LOL body break LOL

For now, I'll shut up.

[Lurkergirl]

DGoddess, I have no idea how to quote, but I am replying to some of the things you mentioned in your post.

First, get rid of any fruit juices as they can be as bad as non-diet sodas. They are great if you are having a hypoglycemic (or low blood sugar) reaction as they will raise your sugars very quickly.

I would suggest a couple of books to help give you a better idea on how to help your mother manager her diabetes. A very comphrehensive and easy to read book is Diabetes for Dummies, by Alan L. Rubin, M.D. It has a very detailed section on the different oral medications used to treat Type 2 diabetes and even includes a section of recipes.

This one is going to be more difficult to get, and I am hoping that they have an equivalent in the States, or if you want to PM me with your address I can mail you the extra copy I have. It's the Good Health Eating Guide Resource, by the Canadian Diabetes Association. It is based on an older system that was used to create diets for patients to follow based on a system of exchanges. The good thing about it though, is that it helps you to understand portions and what their carbohydrate content is. Making it easier to choose foods that you should eat.

I would hope that the dietician at least pointed out that it is the carbs you've got to watch out for. Carbohydrates are processed into glucose, it is this glucose that feeds every cell in our body. Insulin is the key. It is what allows the glucose to move out of our blood stream and into our cells. So the truly cruel thing is when our blood sugars are high, our bodies aren't getting the fuel they need to work, so it results in feelings of hunger. When I was diagnosed my body was soo starving of the glucose it needed that what I craved most was apple juice. I was drinking 2 litres of it a day. My cells needed the glucose, but without any insulin it was unable to get any benefit from the juice at all.

The insulin your mother is taking, has the doctor given her a set of parameters that would help her to increase the dosage when her sugars are especially high? What type of insulin is she on currently? Honestly, feel free to ask me anything, I'm quite open when it comes to diabetes.

I guess this ends the thread hijack. Sorry if I'm butting in where I shouldn't be.