Lance is recovering well from his first experience with blood, pain, medication and an invasive procedure.
He has had seven injections of insulin today, as his blood sugar is everywhere between the middle of the “normal” range, to 18mmol/L. This is only because he is required to have a diet of soft food only, which basically consists of jelly. mashed potatoes, yogurt, custard and smoothies-all High GI foods with plenty of carbs. At 2 am will be his 15th fingerprick in 18 hours.
He is taking a liquid antibiotic four times a day to give him a headstart with the healing process, and to fight off the threat of infection, which is a great worry as far as Diabetes is concerned. He has been very brave today and rejected pain relief, opting to tough it out instead.
He has begun iodine rinses, they taste absolutely putrid, but he is happy to swish and swirl it around his mouth, with the knowledge that it is going to help heal and get him back to real food quickly.
There was still some post-operative blood-stained drool on his pillow this morning, but the blood clots have formed very well.
Overall, he has had a positive experience from what so many people all over the world fear and dread-teeth extraction.
Even though the worst is over, a lot of care and attention is required at this point to assure that everything is progressing as it should. Diabetes often interferes with this process.
In this photo (1of 2,) are the remnants of Lance’s teeth, that were rotting, aesthetically displeasing to look at, and certainly painful-directly caused by Diabetes-related gum infections and absesses over the past 5 years.
These were the teeth that suffered nerve damage, causing the ends to turn black. The blood drenched gauze beside them were a few of many that were used to apply pressure to halt the bleeding.
In this photo (2 of 2,) is the assortment of medications that have been required to ensure that Lance’s Diabetes does not interfere with the healing process, or that infection does not interfere with blood sugar levels. Hyperglycaemia is notorious for causing any injury or post-operative wound to heal slowly, and also heartily invites infection.
Lance will now have to have 3 monthly dental checks to ensure that there are no further gum problems, or issues with tany other of his teeth. Fortunately, he has a second chance, as his adult teeth ( he has 6) are all in perfect condtion. 
Diabetes can cause devastation to many parts of the body. After his 5 year checkup, I consider myself lucky that there was nothing more urgent that needed immediate attention.
If my son was not fortunate enough to be in the situation where he had the best care possible and the problem addressed immediately, he would have had no choice but to be placed on the Queensland Health Oral Health Waiting List; currently, it takes two years for a child to get an appointment. ALL children, but especially those with medical conditions such as Type 1 Diabetes, need to have 2 dental checks a year, to avoid problems with their teeth in the future. Our Health Department needs to step in and take control of a problem that concerns all children, even those WITHOUT Diabetes. It is appalling what can happen to baby teeth that are neglected. The worst scenario in this particular situation is that Lance could have developed an absess on one of the extracted teeth, which easily could have turned into fatal blood poisoning.
Insulin is not a cure.
Bernard Farrell said,
24 January, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
Mercy that’s a lot of medicine and suffering for your poor son.
I do hope he’s back to full health before long.
Daena said,
24 January, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
I’m so happy to read that Lance pulled out of it! I hope he’s doing better now.
I had to be on a soft diet too, when I first pulled out of the ICU after diagnosis and all they fed me was rice porridge, which I hate! Gosh, all that medicine. Give Lance a couple of extra hugs from me. 
xoxo.