My Diabetes Journal

When my daughter was diagnosed with diabetes at age 4, I was devastated. My first thought as a parent was that I had done something wrong and it was my fault. If you are dealing with a situation like that, the first thing that you should deal with are the feelings of guilt…it is NOT your fault. Diabetes can be caused by genetics, ingestion of poison, or something as simple as a virus.

When the diagnosis was made, we originally thought that she had the flu, as the symptoms are much the same, vomiting, lethargy, and weight loss. One thing to look for is excessive urination and excessive thirst..

My daughter was put on life flight to childrens hospital Pittsburgh and spent the better part of the next week in intensive care.

Our experience was not the most common one, and it taught us something instantly.

That Diabetes of any kind is certainly something that needs to be taken seriously.

Type 1 diabetes is less frequent in occurrence when compared to Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes typically occurs when the pancreas ceases to produce insulin due to various factors. It is usually an autoimmune response that gets triggered due to some environmental factors that causes a destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas that are essential for production of insulin.

Although Type 1 diabetes is more common in children and is sometimes referred to as Juvenile Diabetes, it can occur in adults too. Unlike Type 2 diabetes where there are some measures one can take to prevent the occurrence of symptoms and elevated blood sugar levels, there are no preventive measures that can be taken to prevent Type 1 diabetes.

As insulin is not produced in the body,  or is produced in smaller doses or on sporadic intervals, the person needs to take insulin in required doses through the day and will need close monitoring of glucose levels in the blood more frequently to prevent acute complications of elevated sugar levels like diabetic ketoacidosis which, if left unchecked, can even be fatal. They may also, if their pancreas does sometimes produce insulin, be prone to hypoglycemia to dangerous levels.

Although initially the management of Type 1 diabetes was principally aimed at maintaining the levels of insulin by supplementing it to prevent the occurrence of diabetes signs, symptoms and complications, this has now been modified to include lifestyle changes to help in better management of the condition although it has no effect on the disease per se.

Although the condition need not hamper the day to day life of the individual suffering from the condition, the patient needs to be well educated about the condition and know about diabetes signs and symptoms and steps to take proper care and effective management.

Typically, type 1 diabetics are those who suffer a greater chance of complications of the disease process such as retinopathy, stroke or heart related illnesses, due the length of time that  they have had the disease process if it is not well controlled throughout their lifetime..