The Truth About Type 1 Diabetes

Children and young adults do get diagnosed with it most often, and the disease used to be called juvenile diabetes. But it can happen at any age, and once you’re diagnosed, you’ll need to manage the condition for the rest of your life. Symptoms can include increased thirst, extreme hunger, peeing a lot, fatigue, and weight loss. A blood test will tell you if you have it.

The condition has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. It's a disease that happens when the immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. That’s a hormone you need to get energy from food. Without insulin, your blood sugar levels become higher than normal, and that causes health problems. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin for the rest of their lives.

Over time, type 1 diabetes can cause other problems in your body. It can affect your heart, eyes, nerves, and kidneys. You should see an eye doctor to make sure your eyes are healthy. You may need to get checked sooner than 5 years after you're diagnosed depending on your age, any vision problems you have, or if you wear glasses or contacts. A child with type 1 probably won't need screening checkups until puberty, though.

Carbs give you energy and affect your blood sugar levels. Proteins and fat have little or no effect. For most people, 40% to 60% of the day’s calories should come from carbs. A dietitian can help you figure out how many you should have at each meal and snack. To best control your blood sugar, eat the same amount of carbs for each meal, from day to day. That means you eat the same amount of carbs for breakfast every day. Keep your daily lunch carbs the same, too.

What you drink affects your weight, but it also affects your blood sugar. Choose drinks that have few or no calories. Water is best -- if you want a little extra flavor, squeeze lime or lemon juice into it. Coffee, an occasional diet soda, unsweetened tea, low-fat or skim milk, or 100% fruit juice with no added sugar are all OK. Stay away from regular soda, fruit punch, and other drinks that have lots of sugar.

Your body stops making insulin when you have this disease. Without insulin, your body can’t use sugar. You can inherit a tendency to get type 1. But experts don't know its exact cause or how to prevent it.

These pumps are small computerized devices that deliver insulin to control rises in blood sugar. It’s the closest thing to the body’s normal release of the hormone. The pump delivers doses through a small plastic tube called a catheter, which you insert through your skin and tape into place. You’ll still need to keep close tabs on your blood sugar (glucose) levels and add more insulin for each meal or snack. Some newer pumps can work with devices that continually monitor your levels and let you know if you’re low or high. If you don't use a pump, you’ll need insulin shots.

When you're pregnant, your placenta -- the organ that nourishes the fetus -- makes hormones that help your baby grow. For women with type 1, those hormones also do something else: they can change the way your body reacts to insulin. So you’ll probably need less insulin in the first trimester, and more later, especially during the last 3 months. You may also need to change your eating plan to keep your blood sugar levels where they need to be.

An occasional drink is probably OK, but be careful with mixed drinks. They tend to have a lot of carbs. Check your levels before, during, and after you drink. If your blood sugar is too low or extremely high, you can look like you're drunk even if you haven't had a drop. If you do enjoy a little alcohol, have it with food and water to stay hydrated. It is best to check with your doctor first to see if drinking is safe for you.

Your body burns fat for energy when there isn’t enough insulin to help it use sugar for fuel. That causes chemicals called ketones to form in your blood and spill into your urine, and they can make you very sick. Check for ketones if you’ve been ill, if you're pregnant, or if your blood sugar level is higher than 240 mg/dL. You can buy the tests at the pharmacy. Some blood sugar monitors also check for ketones. If you have ketones, call your doctor, make sure you're getting enough insulin, and drink plenty of water to wash them out. If you use an insulin pump, check it to make sure it's working properly.

Working out is good for your heart and can help you manage your diabetes.Take precautions, though. Test your blood sugar levels before you exercise. If they're low, have a snack with 15 grams of carbohydrates, wait 15 minutes, and check it again. Keep a fast-acting glucose snack with you in case your blood sugar drops. Milk is a good option after your workout -- it has carbs and protein. If your blood sugar is high before exercise, check for ketones. Avoid vigorous exercise if there are ketones and follow your diabetes treatment plan.

Look for changes in eating habits, extreme exercise, and concern about body image and weight.Some people with type 1 who get eating disorders don’t give themselves as much insulin as they need. This is called diabulimia, and it can cause serious health problems.