What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Diabetes Mellitus [mel-i-tuh s, muh-lahy-]: Also known as type 1 diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which an individual’s pancreas stops producing insulin, resulting in dependence on externally injected insulin.
Who is at risk to developing T1D?
Of the 29 million Americans with diabetes, over 3 million have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This form is most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults under the age of 25. However, this disease can affect people of all ages.
Is Type 1 Diabetes based on genetics?
Hearing who is at risk for developing T1D might cause you to wonder if you or a family member is at risk. Unlike other autoimmune diseases, diabetes is not inherited in a simple form. In other words, some people have a genetic marker for the disease, but it takes an environmental cause to trigger it.
According to www.diabetes.org certain factors will lead to developing T1D. Most often people with the disease had an inherit risk factor from both parents, but research is being developed to find what triggers will cause the disease to “surface”. Click here to learn more about these factors.
How many forms of Diabetes are there?
There are 3 different forms of diabetes, Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational. Please see the links below to learn more about the differences.
Is there a cure for T1D?
There is currently not a cure for T1D, but it can be managed through external insulin injections. Correctly managing your blood sugar is the key to living a long, healthy and complication-free life. Proper management includes healthy eating, daily (about 6-8 times) finger pricks to test the levels of sugar in your blood stream and injections of insulin through the use of syringes or an insulin pump. To learn more about managing your diabetes click here and to hear my take on injections vs. insulin pump click here.
What are the warning signs of T1D?
After diagnosis, people often ask themselves, “why didn’t I see this coming?” or “what could I have done differently?” It’s important to know that the diagnosis of T1D is unavoidable and you cannot do anything to reverse it (crossing our fingers for a cure!). What can be done is early detection. Without previous knowledge of the disease, it can be hard to spot the warning signs of the onset so I’ve included a few warning signs below.
• Unquenchable thirst
• Frequent urination
• Rapid weight loss
• Blurry Vision
• Lethargic
• Sugar in the urine
• Fruity odor on the beach
• Mood swings (highly irritable)
What is life like with T1D?
It’s a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year job. I compare my life with T1D to, trying to hit a moving target. Working to keep blood sugar within a certain range, while trying live a “normal” life is challenging, but not impossible. With the support from family and friends and a clear plan, you can rule your life and not let your diabetes rule you.