MY FIANCE IS A DIABETIC TYPE 1 PATIENT

[chandresh]

HI THIS IS CHANDRESH FROM INDIA. WHAT REALY WANT TO ASK IS WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS INVOLVED MARRYING A TYPE 1 PATIENT. ONE THING I HAVE DECIDED IS NOT HAVE CHILD SINCE IT WILL BE PAINFUL FOR HER AND ALSO THE CHILD WILL CARRY DIABETES. WHAT ARE THE CHANGES THAT I HAVE TO MAKE IN MY LIFESTYLE.

[Zoelula]

What kind of insulin regimen are you on? Do you take a bolus (fast-acting insulin) shot before your meal? Do you just have a set dose you take? This is not the best way to do it and obviously you are spiking too high. The best way to determine dose is by figuring out your Insulin:Carb ratio so you are taking the right amount of insulin for the amount of carbs you are eating. Measure your blood sugar after two hours and if it is regularly over 140 you know you need to adjust the ratio. It also helps to lower your carb intake because then it is easier to bolus for it and control the results. If you are going too low in between meals, it is possible your basal (long acting) insulin is too high, although " near 70"  is actually fine.

[san92]

after the food my sugar level is increasing above 200 after 1.5 hrs and decreases below 140 and near to 70 .why these are happening plz answer me?

[saramah]

hi ...i wanna marry a diabetic boy who is 25 ...i like him  so much ...but i wanna know what problems i may deal with if i marry him ...i m a student and i m working on some scientifical researches ...so i dont have enough time to care him...he is a scientist in physics and i love him... but i dont know if marring him is correct or not ...and i dont how long i can live with him ...plz help me and e_mail me....
      tanks

[devimama]

My husband and I have been married for nearly two years now, and although he had a bit of a learning curve, he's done beautifully! Each thing I did (checking my blood sugar, calculating carbs, changing my infusion sets) he had *tons* of questions that I was always happy to answer! Since my diabeties is well controlled, my endocrinologist said that my pregnancy shouldn't be any more of a problem than a "non-diabetic"....you two will do beautifully!

[JDRF Team SGG]

Most type 1 diabetics do NOT have diabetic children. Most children of diabetic women are very healthy. I have been diabetic since age 12 (35 years now), and am a mother of two children, who are both healthy and happy young adults now in their 20's. So don't necessarily give up on the idea of children. The main issue is how well her diabetes is under control. If she is well-controlled, having children is no more difficult for her than for other young women.

[JDRF-Team-ES]

Dear Chandresh,
Your letter really touched me.  I have been a Type I Diabetic for 40 years and when I was younger, I would worry about hwo would want to marry someone with Diabetes.  I remember vividly the day I went to a new doctor for my diabetes.  I was in my early 20's. One of the first things he did was pull out a photo album of all the healthy children who had been born to Type I diabetic mothers.  I was oo young to thinlk about kidss then, but my feeling of hope and joy really made me understand how worried I had been without even realizing it.  This doctor gave me hope and I will be forever grateful to him for that.  He said to me that when  I became involved in a serious relationship, that I should bring that person in to meet him and talk about exactly what you are asking, "What does it really mean to live with a Type I diabetic?"  

This encounter took place about 30 years ago.  There have been so many advances in the treament and monitoring of diabetes since that time. Of course, no one can tell you how marrying someone with diabetes will impact your life.  So much depends on how your fiance manages her diabetes and how her health currently is. Ruling out children should certainly not be an automatic decision simply because she has diabetes.  Yes, there are some serious complications to diabetes, but not everyone gets them.  Many of the complications that were devastating 30 years ago, can now be treated. A visit to your wife's doctor will help you understand the impact diabetes has had on her life and the potential risks for her particular situation.

I have been very happily married for almost 21 years and have a beautiful, healthy almost 17 year old daughter.  Even though i have had my eyes lasered for diabetic retinopathy, I see better than most of my friends and I had virtually no complications in my pregnancy.  I work full time and have never missed a day of work because of diabetes.  If you were toask my husband what the impact of my diabetes has been on his life, he would say that.. he eats better than he would otherwise have and that occasionally I might ask him to bring me something fro a low blood sugar attack.  That is not to say that he doesn't worry, but so far any worries that both of us have had have gone unfounded. I have been extremely lucky and I know that this is not the same for some diabetics, but I personally know many women for whom the same is true.  I guess this is a long way of saying, don't write off any possibilty in your life because of diabetes until you know more about your fiance's medical status.

In the meantime, your interest and support are the most important things you can give her...and you are clearly already doing that.  May you have long, healthy and wonderful life together.