Diabetes on the Rise Part 6 Living with Type I Diabetes
With Type II Diabetes steadily rising, all too often Type I gets `swept under the rug` and dismissed as being a childhood disease. According to the American Diabetes Association, a total of 25.8 million children and adults in the U.S. alone (8.3% of the population) have Diabetes. About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has Type I Diabetes, and although Type I Diabetes is USUALLY diagnosed in children or young adults, there are cases of it appearing later in life in people over the age of 25. In Part 2 of this series we explained that the pancreas in Type I diabetics is unable to produce insulin at all. When it comes to presenting Type I Diabetes, most cases present with Diabetic ketoacidosis or DKA. DKA occurs as a result of a severe insulin deficiency. DKA features three major symptoms: hyperglycemia, meaning excessively high blood sugar levels; hyperketonemia, meaning an overproduction of ketones by the body; and acidosis, meaning that the blood has become too acidic. Some symptoms of Type I Diabetes to look for, especially in a child, since DKA is the leading cause of death in childhood diabetes, are:
- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination
- Fatigue and lethargy
- Nausea
- Fruity odor to breath
With Type I Diabetes, because it is not as focused on in the world we live in as Type II is; we forget that many adults, teens and children face daily challenges managing this disease while on the go. Type I Diabetes changes everything, from the way you travel and prepare for an emergency situation to how you attend school or go to work. Our awareness and managing options for Type I Diabetes have definitely improved and progressed, including the advent of faster and smaller blood glucose monitors, insulin injection pens, insulin pumps, newer insulin types (i.e. fast-acting or steady release), better medications to prevent complications and most recently continuous glucose monitors. As a result of the last 40 years of study and new methods of treatment, research shows that mortality rates among Type I Diabetics have greatly improved.
When diagnosed, Diabetes can upheave yours and your family`s lives, and though it seems overwhelming there is help available. Your endocrinologist, your primary care physician, along with family members and friends, can create a supportive web until you (re)educate yourself to live with Type I Diabetes. There is also an amazing support team at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, that offer tips on education, frequently asked questions and a Life with Diabetes E-Newsletter. You can visit them on the web at: www.jdrf.org