Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes

Treatment

There is no cure for diabetes!!

Treatment for Type 1 diabetes involves juggling insulin intake, diet, and exercise to control blood sugar and prevent symptoms and complications.

LEARN THESE SKILLS

Basic diabetes management skills will help prevent the need for emergency care. These skills include:

• How to recognize and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
• What to eat and when
• How to take insulin
  
• How to test and record blood sugars
• How to test urine for ketones (type 1 diabetes only)
• How to adjust insulin or food intake when changing exercise and eating habits
• How to handle sick days
• Where to buy diabetes supplies and how to store them

After you learn the basics of diabetes care, learn how the disease can cause long-term health problems and the best ways to prevent these problems. People with diabetes need to review and update their knowledge, because new research and improved ways to treat diabetes are constantly being developed.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes Symptoms

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Diabetes often goes undiagnosed because many of its symptoms seem so harmless. Recent studies indicate that the early detection of diabetes symptoms and treatment can decrease the chance of developing the complications of diabetes.

Some diabetes symptoms include

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Unusual weight loss
• Increased fatigue
• Irritability
• Blurry vision

Patients with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of the symptoms above, please make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible and don't ignore the symptoms.

Check It Out

Since diabetes effects our entire family, I've posted "Ethan's Story; 10 years ago today" on our family blog. Please visit The Spore Family Blog to read how diabetes first touched our lives.

Day 3-Diabetes Myths

MYTHS ABOUT TYPE 1 DIABETES

Myth #1 You can catch diabetes from someone else.
Fact: No. Although we don’t know exactly why some people develop diabetes, we know diabetes is not contagious. It can’t be caught like a cold or flu.

Myth #2 People with diabetes can't eat sweets or chocolate.
Fact: If eaten as part of a healthy meal plan, or combined with exercise, sweets and desserts can be eaten by people with diabetes. There are no more “off limits” to people with diabetes, than they are to people without diabetes.

Myth #3 Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.
Fact: No. Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar. Diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors. However, being overweight does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Myth #4 I'll know if I have diabetes because I'll feel sick.
Fact: One third of the 21 million people with diabetes don't know they have it. Uncontrolled diabetes damages blood vessels and other parts of your body.

Myth #5 Diabetes can be cured by a diet.
Fact: This is another huge misconception. No diet can cure diabetes. For that matter, diabetes cannot even be controlled with a diet. The most a diet can do is to keep the blood sugar level in a healthy state.

There are many misconceptions about diabetes. Education is ONE of the key elements in diabetes management. Our two boys did not ask for this disease! They didn't eat too many cookies or drink too much kool-aide to develop diabetes. A "miracle" diet, special herb or pill cannot cure them from diabetes. And you will not "catch" diabetes if they sneeze, cough, breathe, or bleed on you! Take time out today and learn something you didn't know about diabetes and comment back to us.

Day 2 What is Diabetes?

What is diabetes?
Let’s start with the body. Your body is made up of many parts. Each part works with the others to keep you healthy. Sometimes one part of your body may not work as well as it should. When this happens, you might not feel well. Do you know what part of your body makes INSULIN, to digest food? Your PANCREAS! When your pancreas stops making insulin, you have diabetes.

A healthy PANCREAS makes insulin, a hormone which helps the body break down and use sugar turning it into energy. Everyone needs energy to live, otherwise we'd be like a bump on a log, right? Sugar in the blood comes from the food and drink we eat. A person with type 1 diabetes doesn't produce any insulin. Without insulin, the sugar builds up in the blood, causing high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia. Blood sugar levels that are too high and untreated for long periods of time can lead to ketoacidosis, a very serious condition. Very high blood sugars for an extended period of time can eventually lead to coma and even death. Now, the difference between you and my two boys, is that your healthy pancreas keeps a "perfect balance" between how much food you eat and how much insulin it puts out. The boys' pancreases have to have help. How do you think we help their pancreas? The only treatment to replace the missing insulin and help, is by injection. Caleb, our youngest, is currently taking four shots/day at breakfast, lunch, supper, and bedtime. Sometimes he has to take five shots a day. Since being diagnosed on May 31, 2005, Caleb has endured AT LEAST 5,000 shots! Anyone ready to trade places with him? Ethan, our middle son, was diagnosed 11/04/1998. He took shots for several years before he got an insulin pump. We will learn more about pumping in a future post! Right now, it's important to remember that: INSULIN IS NOT A CURE! Think of it as a band-aid covering a great big ouchy!

National Diabetes Awareness Month-November

October was Breast Cancer Awareness month on Lil' Bit This...Lil' Bit That. I shared the story of my new friend, Tisha, a 35 year old single mother fighting breast cancer. Please continue to check back for updates on Tisha and her fight against breast cancer. In the mean time, please continue promoting awareness of this deadly disease which takes millions of lives every year.

Beginning today, November 1st, my Lil' Bit This...Lil' Bit That...Blog will continue to raise awareness, but for a different life-threatening and deadly disease known as Diabetes. November is, National Diabetes Awareness Month. I could NOT let this go unnoticed as diabetes affects our family 365/24/7 x 2. That's right. Diabetes is an ongoing, without a break disease which TWO of our three children have been diagnosed with. Many, if not most, of my November posts will be dedicated to raising awareness, educating the uneducated, fund-raising, and honoring those close to me who are effected by diabetes. I think you will quickly understand my passion for promoting this disease and why it's so close to my heart.

DIABETES STATISTICS

1. There are two MAJOR types of diabetes; Type 1 & Type 2.
2. 7.8% of the 23.6 million people in the United States have diabetes.
3. More men (11.2%) then women (10.2%) are diagnosed with diabetes over the age of 20.
4. A total of 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people 20 years or older in 2007.
5. 186,300 CHILDREN, 19 and younger, have diabetes, either Type 1 or Type 2.
6. The risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people without
7. Diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2006.
8. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20 to 74 years.
9. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
10. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates two to four times higher than adults without diabetes.
11. 60-70% of people with diabetes have mild-severe forms of nervous system damage.
12. More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes.
13. Estimated diabetes costs in the U.S. in 2007 was $174 BILLION!

If you didn't take time to read the statistics above, at least glance back through the bold faced words....approximately 18 million people currently have diabetes with 1.6 million NEW cases being diagnosed in 2007 alone. Blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and nervous system damage are just a few complications of diabetes along with a shorter life expectancy. And if that weren't enough, yearly medical expenses of people with diabetes are 2.3 times higher than those without the disease.

Diabetes has become an EPIDEMIC, plain and simple! The CDC's (Center for Disease Control) official definition of an epidemic is: "The occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people over a particular period of time." Webster defines an epidemic as, "extremely prevalent; widespread." The high and rapidly increasing prevalence of the disease demands this description. What is your thought on this? Please take my poll on the right and comment below with your thoughts.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: In the next 24 hours, 2,700 some people will be diagnosed with diabetes.

Set The World On Fire

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you."
1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)

Tisha is not afraid, because she believes in
GOD & the power of PRAYER!
"Lord, WITH you, there is NOTHING I cannot do!"
What an amazing woman. Words don't explain how deeply blessed I feel to have found Tisha. Her abounding faith and selfless love for God have been an ongoing inspiration to me since our introduction. I can only pray that if I were to live through cancer or another life-changing event, I would be strong enough to inspire and encourage others as she has me.

Tisha, thank you! Your will to live and serve God, unconditionally, is a testimony to be shared with all! I truly feel that, God puts people in our lives to do his work and you are doing just that! Because of your faith, my own faith has bloomed and I feel a renewed joy for life. As Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I will never forget how you helped me feel inspired, encouraged, and hopeful again. You are God-sent, an angel of a woman, which I am honored to call, "friend."

SET THE WORLD ON FIRE

I wanna set the world on fire
Until it`s burning bright for You
It`s everything that I desire
Can I be the one You use?

I, I am small but
You, You are big enough
I, I am weak but
You, You are strong enough to
Take my dreams
Come and give them wings
Lord with You
There`s nothing I can not do
Nothing I cannot do

I wanna feed the hungry children
And reach across the farthest land
And tell the broken there is healing
And mercy in the Father`s hands

My hands my feet
My everything
My life, my love
Lord, use me

I wanna set the world on fire
I wanna set the world on fire, yeah

I`m gonna set the world on fire
Set the world on fire