Just a little Info to Help Spread Awareness and Understanding of Type 1 Diabetes
I was Diagnosed from a coma on February 26th, 2010.
One of these days I may tell that crazy story here on blogger.
But for today - Here's a little Quick Info on Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes is not the "Diabetes" that most people hear or read about almost every day in the news.
Type 1 Diabetes, also known as Juvenile Diabetes, effects less than 1% of the population.
Though it generally strikes in children and young adults, it can be triggered at any age.
Type 1 Diabetes is Not Preventable and There is No Cure.
A person with Type 1 Diabetes has to inject insulin into their body or they will die.
Type 1 Diabetes is an Autoimmune Disease wherein the body mistakenly thinks that the cells in the pancreas that make insulin are bad and the body destroys them.
The cells called Islets cannot be re made in the body once they have been destroyed.
Type 1 Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar or by living an unhealthy lifestyle.
A person with Type 1 Diabetes can eat whatever foods they choose, but the right amount of insulin needs to be taken with the food so the carbs can be processed by the body.
Since a person with Type 1 Diabetes does not make insulin, it must be injected throughout the day.
Insulin can either be taken by injections or fed into the body through a little pump.
The body needs insulin to carry the glucose from foods to cells to be used to energy.
Without insulin a person with Type 1 Diabetes will become sick very quickly.
A person with Type 1 Diabetes has to count the carbs in all of the food eaten each and every day because the correct insulin has to be taken with meals and snacks so the body can process the carbs in the food.
A person with Type 1 Diabetes also has to consider that activities or stressful events might come into their day when considering how much insulin is needed for each day.
If a person with Type 1 diabetes has a more active day than was planned at the time of their shot, their body will have more insulin than their body needs and their blood sugar will suddenly drop or "Crash".
Crashing is very dangerous because it comes on quickly and the person must very quickly eat sugar to bring their blood sugar back up. A person who is experiencing a "Crash" can suddenly become disoriented and pass out or even drop into a coma or have a seizure.
Diabetic Keto-acidosis or DKA is also a risk for a person with Type 1 Diabetes, It is the sickness that is caused by not having enough insulin in the body, but I will talk about that another day. This is the condition that caused me to go into a coma.
Daily life since my body decided it was a good idea to kill the little insulin making guys in my pancreas... is well to say the least - a lot different. And some days it is sort of a challenge, but I am blessed that for the most part, thanks to insulin - I am able to live a pretty normal life.
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