A Day with Type 1 Diabetes
By: Morgan Cabral and Malayka Janjua
What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 Diabetes is a disease in which your pancreas does not make Insulin. Insulin is what keeps sugar levels in your body even so you can be healthy! Having too much sugar in your body can hurt you because you have higher chances of getting diseases like heart disease and kidney disease because blood does not get to your organs. When you have too little sugar in your body, you can begin to feel dizzy and tired, and you could even pass out! So it is important to make sure you have enough sugar in your body!
Signs and Symptoms:
- Very thirsty
- Go to the bathroom a lot
- Very hungry
- Losing weight
- Vision is blurry
How to Care for Type 1 Diabetes
2. Check your blood sugar many times throughout the day. It is recommended to check it right before you eat so you have an idea of what would be best for you to eat!
3. Exercise! Go outside and play basketball with a friend or take your dog for a walk! Exercising will help you keep those blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible!
4. Maybe get an insulin pump! They can read your sugar levels to give you the right amount of insulin you need!
5. Try to keep your blood sugar levels are close to normal as possible! Ages 6-12 should have levels of about 90-180 before they eat and 100-180 before bedtime. Ages 13-19 should have 90-130 before they eat and 90-150 before bedtime. If your levels are below these, then your blood sugar is low, if your levels are higher than these, then your blood sugar is high.
What will Life be like?
Who can I get help from?
- Endocrinologist- these are doctors who can help mainly due to the fact that they are trained to help with diseases like diabetes! They know how to help make diabetics better because they are trained to provide cures for problems with hormones, like insulin! If you have any problems or start to feel bad, schedule an appointment with one right away!
- Ophthalmologist- if you start to have problems with your eyes, such as loosing your vision, go see an ophthalmologist. These are eye doctors that are specially trained for eye care and can help determine what caused your eye problems and how to fix them!
- Psychologist- if you notice you start to feel upset or get down in the dumps, schedule an appointment with a psychologist. A psychologist is like your counselor at school, they will listen to how you feel and give you advice on how to feel better! Plus it is always good to talk to someone, especially someone who wants to help you and knows how to help!
Citations:
Dowshen, S. (2013, June 01). When Blood Sugar Is Too High. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/teen/diabetes_center/basics/high_blood_sugar.html
Dowshen, S. (2013, June 01). When Blood Sugar Is Too Low. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/teen/diabetes_center/treatment/blood_sugar_low.html#
Normal Blood Sugar Levels Chart for Kids and Teens. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes-guide/normal-blood-sugar-levels-chart-kids-teens