Type 1 diabetes, also referred to as Juvenile Diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that usually occurs in children and young adults but can occur at any age. It is often genetically inherited. Someone with type 1 diabetes did nothing wrong to get this disease and can do nothing to help it go away or cure it. There is no way they could have avoided it, just like other autoimmune diseases. There is also no cure for Type 1 diabetes. Insulin is the only option for this type. Unlike type 1, people with type 2 diabetes do have some control. This type of the disease can be controlled by many things including diet, exercise, oral medication, and sometimes insulin. Very often, people with type 2 can "cure themselves" simply by controlling their diet and losing weight. Once they do this the disease "goes away" and does not cause to much trouble for the person.
As I have stated, the only treatment for type 1 is insulin. There are also many different types of insulin that doctors use depending on how the patient responds to treatment. There are rapid-acting insulin, long-acting insulin and intermediate options. They can be administered in many different forms including syringe, insulin pens, and the insulin pump. The pump is what my husband uses to administer his insulin. The pump is a device about the size of a cell phone worn on the outside of his body. A tube connects the reservoir of insulin to a catheter that's inserted under the skin of his abdomen. Along with a glucose meter used to test your blood sugar levels from a finger stick, there is also a fairly new option available to diabetics for glucose monitoring. It is the Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system. Vince's pump is the only pump on the market that combines this technology along with the actual pump. Continuous glucose monitors attach to the body using a catheter just under the skin that checks blood glucose level every few minutes. CGM isn't yet considered as accurate as standard blood sugar monitoring, so it's not considered a replacement method for keeping track of blood sugar, but an additional measure for security. It is helpful for people who develop hypoglycemia unawareness. This can happen when you have been diabetic for a very long time.
Here is some more helpful information:
Low Blood Sugar Symptoms
Sweating
Shakiness
Hunger
Weakness
Anxiety
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Pale skin
Rapid or irregular heart rate
Fatigue
Headaches
Blurred vision
Irritability
Later signs and symptoms of low blood sugar, which can sometimes be mistaken for alcohol intoxication in teens and adults include:
Lethargy
Confusion
Behavior changes, sometimes dramatic
Poor coordination
Convulsions
High Blood Sugar Symptoms:
Frequent urination
Increased thirst
Blurred vision
Fatigue
Nausea
Irritability
Hunger
Difficulty concentrating
