Q- Type 1 diabetes information for parents.
Ans- If you're like most parents who have just been told your child or teen has type 1 diabetes,
it is a complete shock. Only about 10 percent of the time do we find a family history of type 1
diabetes. There is more to learn about what causes, prevents and cures type 1 diabetes.
In the meantime, we must all work together to help your child live a long and healthy life.
And yes, that is a realistic goal. Research studies show that people with type 1 diabetes
who aim to keep their blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible can significantly
lower the chances of life-threatening complications related to diabetes.
What goes wrong ?
The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes was made because your child's level of glucose (sugar)
in the blood was above normal. This indicates that the metabolic system of checks and
balances in the body is not working. Insulin is not being produced. Insulin is essential to
escort the glucose from the foods we eat into cells of the body where it is critically needed
to function properly. As a result, glucose builds up in the bloodstream.
Your child may still be producing some insulin at this point, but in type 1 diabetes the
pancreas loses all ability to produce insulin. The islet cells in the pancreas that produce
insulin are gradually all destroyed, a process that we cannot at this point stop. Injections of insulin
or an insulin
pump are then needed to survive.
Why not an insulin pill ?
Insulin can't be given orally because it is a protein and would be digested instead of getting to
the blood stream where it is needed. Just about all of the commercially available insulin
now are genetically engineered as human insulin. Insulin comes in a variety of preparations that
differ according to how fast it takes effect, when that effect is the greatest, and how long it
continues to work in the body.
Living with diabetes.
What seems overwhelming now will eventually become routine. One of the first hurdles to
get over is that to help your child, you must prick him or her with a needle. This will get easier for
all involved. There are new devices as well as some in development that make blood
glucose testing and insulin injections less painful, easier and more precise.
To live successfully with diabetes essentially means to learn how to be a pancreas.
You have to learn how to monitor blood glucose levels and adjust the levels of insulin
needed accordingly. To do this,you must consider several factors :
- Blood glucose levels, measured several times a day.
- The timing and content of meals eaten (specifically, considering type and amount of
- carbohydrates in the foods).
- The amount of physical activity, which requires more glucose and thus more insulin.
- And then based on need, getting doses of insulin through multiple injections or an insulin
- pump into the body multiple times a day.
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