Living with Type 1 Diabetes
Living with a chronic condition not only effects the individual, but it effects the entire family. An adolescent living with a chronic health condition not only depends on their family for support, but also on support from their friends, classmates, and healthcare team (Rostami, Parsa-Yekta, Najafi Ghezeljeh, & Vanaki, 2014). Supporting an individual with a chronic disease leaves an emotional impact and can be financially straining as well. Families living with a sick child must find strategies to cope. Whether the coping strategies utilized are positive or negative, they leave a lasting effect on the entire family, as well as the child living with the condition (Woodson, Thakkar, Burbage, Kichler, & Nabors, 2015). Involvement of the parents in this situation is vital to the child’s future success in managing their illness (Landers, Friedrich, Jawad, & Miller, 2016). This paper will explore one family’s story of living with, and coping with, a child who has recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).
Type 1 Diabetes effects millions of people around the world (Michel & Montada-Atin, 2014). Most often, a person is diagnosed before their 30th birthday, with diagnosis commonly being between 11 and 13 years of age (Michel & Montada-Atin, 2014). Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas. More specifically, the breakdown of β cells in the pancreas causes the production of insulin to cease (Michel & Montada-Atin, 2014). Once the body is unable to
Ever since a young boy, I was known for my crazy eating habits. I had an abnormally large sweet tooth and stomach. There would be days I would eat a whole bag of candy and still have a taste for more sweets. I had a fairly thin physique with some muscle tone. Everybody told me that one day, I’ll become obese and regret all these “bad” decisions; I disregarded every comment and lived by the motto, “ As long as I don’t get fat, I’m fine.”
In today’s world, parents have an abundance of worries when it comes to their children. Drugs, bad grades, and pre marital sex are just some things that may plague a parent with sleepless nights. But even on the worst of those nights of worry, most parents can’t imagine that their child could face an illness. Not just a runny nose or seasonal flu, but an illness that would affect their child throughout his or her entire life. Diabetes is a disease without a cure, and one that more, and more children have to live with.
Type 1 diabetes, also referred to as Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) or Juvenile Diabetes, can be caused by a genetic disorder. It can occur at any age, but it is most often diagnosed in children, adolescents, or young adults around 20 years old or before a person is 30 years of age. Insulin is a hormone produced by special cells, called the beta cells, in the pancreas, an organ located in the area behind the stomach. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy. In type 1 diabetes, these cells produce little or no insulin. Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of going into the cells. The body is unable to
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, in which the pancreas does not produce insulin. It usually begins in childhood or adolescence. In Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that converts sugar, starches, and food into energy. Without insulin, blood glucose levels become too high, which is known as hyperglycemia. To prevent hyperglycemia, people with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to survive. Genetic and environmental factors affect the onset of Type 1 diabetes. [1] According to the American Diabetes Association, a predisposition to Type 1 diabetes is
Right when we heard those life changing words, “He has diabetes,” we knew our lives, especially Billy’s, had changed. My mom started calling my dad to meet them at DuPont and my grandparents to watch my brother, Matt, and me. When we got home, my mom started rushing around the house making sure she had enough stuff for the hospital for that night. Billy, who was eight years old, had
Type 1 diabetes, is an incurable but treatable disease which can occur at any age but is mostly found in children due to the high levels of glucose in the blood (Eckman 2011). Juvenile diabetes affects about 1 in every 400-600 children and more than 13,000 are diagnosed yearly (Couch 2008). Type 1 Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone, which helps glucose gets into your cells to provide energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth (American Diabetes Association). Previous research has suggested proper
Just finding out that someone in your family has been diagnosed with Type One Diabetes is rough. Believe me I know. There are many things you must learn and understand about it. There is a common misconception that Type One and Type Two are alike. It is extremely important that you realize that they are not the same. They do have some similarities, but overall they are very different. The main areas that are different are the ages at when you are diagnosed, how you can prevent it, your diet, and the treatment process.
The summer of 2004 is when I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, it was very shocking for my family except for me, I still didn’t completely understand what I had. All I knew was that the poking and pricking with different sized needles was painful. Eventually I began to learn what Type 1 Diabetes really was, and even though i had it, it didn’t slow me down, I focused on my academics and when it affected me I addressed and fixed the problem and went back to work. I also didn’t let it slow down my physical activities either, I would be outside every single day as kid non-stop, also in middle school I joined gymnastics as well and pursued it until the start of my junior year of high school. Diabetes affected my way of life, it made me different than everyone else and could’ve slowed me down but I didn’t let it, I still participated in different activities that everyone else did.
Type 1 diabetes is caused by the pancreas not being able to produce insulin which regulates the levels of glucose in the blood (Bennett 17). People who struggle with this condition need insulin shots several times today to ensure their blood sugar remains in a healthy range. This often times is a burden on the diabetic's daily lifestyle. If unchecked, diabetes can cause severe weight loss, overwhelming tiredness, increased thirst and hunger, and excessive urination. Scientists and doctors have been seeking for ways to help diabetic's cope with this illness. After years of researching and testing, they have begun developing a method to help alleviate the problems of diabetes. This new method, islet cell transplantation,
Type 1 diabetes is a place in the insulin-producing pancreatic β cells are gradually destroyed, and ultimately can not produce insulin autoimmune diseases. Type 1 accounts for all US diagnosis from 5% to 10% of diabetes, and is a world growing from about 3% per year. Although it is most commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents, it is not uncommon to be diagnosed later in life adults. Type 1 diabetes in adulthood may be slowly after diagnosis - the progress of diabetic called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) form, or type 1.5
Nearly 16 million people in the United States have diabetes, the disease classified as a problem with insulin. The problem could be that your body does not make insulin, does not make enough, or it simply does not know how to use it properly. Diabetes is also known as "diabetes mellitus".
Diabetes is a lifelong disease that can affect both children and adults. This disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It claims about 178,000 lives each year. Type one diabetes, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, usually occurs in people less than thirty years of age, but it also may appear at any age. Diabetes is a very serious disease with many life threatening consequences, but if it is taken care of properly, diabetics can live a normal life.
III. Type 1 diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin due to the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.The body’s immune system attacks the beta cells. Normally, the body protects the body from infection.The immune system attacks the body’s own cells in autoimmune diseases.Beta cell destruction takes several years. Type 1 diabetes occurs mostly in children and young adults. It can appear in any age. In the past,
Type 1 is characterized by the body’s inability to produce insulin. It is caused by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic beta cells, which are responsible for producing insulin. There appears to be a hereditary link in people with Type 1 diabetes. Other factors have been known to cause Type 1 diabetes such as viral infections, toxins, and other environmental factors. Type 1 diabetes is the rare form, affecting about 10% of the diabetes population. Its onset usually occurs in people less than the age of 20.
Don’t ask me how I feel, I’m not going to tell you. Talking about it makes it worse. When I explain my pain, I have to think about it. Ignore it; maybe it will go away. I dwell on my fears of what may happen. I don’t want to pass that fear on to you. You don’t see it as I do. It’s not your body; it’s not your life. I don’t tell you because I don’t want you to be afraid for me. I can deal with it. I’ll be OK. I don’t tell you because I know that my words are inadequate. I can’t express what it is, yet I do want you to know (even if you can’t exactly feel it). I want to let you in to my world. I want you to know how different my life is from yours, even though it looks much the same. I’m not scarred or crippled.