hello I am new here

[singha]

On Friday I took my children to their Dr. for a yearly physical and ended up in the childrens hospital for 4 days. My 14 year old daughter had a blood sugar level of 340.....I had no idea what that meant. She has now been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and she is so scared and although I don't let her know so am I. I have 3 other children so I am trying to keep life as normmal as possible for them while I learn about what my daughter is going through. I used to think that diabetes was for overweight people but I guess alot of us have that misconception. My daughter is tall and thin and noone in my family had diabetes. She plays every sport and dances.....it is just strange how things happen I guess. Well some insight on what everyone else thinks would help right now . Thank you in advance

[singha]

Thank you very much you have been very helpful.

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

I can sense your panic, and I understand perfectly. But take heart, for your daughter is going to be fine. Life is going to change, but once both of you are over the initial shock, you will learn how to manage those blood sugar levels and she can have a very normal life. The only difference is that she will have to add some new steps to her routine for daily life, those steps being to test her glucose levels and adjust insulin doses accordingly a number of times throughout the day. I am speaking to you from personal experience, for I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at age 12. I am now a successful professional (graphic artist) with two healthy grown kids and a healthy grandson, a happy marriage, and perfectly good health (no complications), after 37 years as a type 1 diabetic. Life is grand, and the routine becomes just habit after all of these years. Nowadays it is not that hard to keep good glucose numbers, and my health is probably better than many of my peers, for we type 1 diabetics tend to have healthy lifestyles forced upon us.

I know that your daughter is scared right now -- I was, too, when first diagnosed. I remember getting hysterical the first time I had to give myself a shot. But now none of this fazes me. Support her, and learn with her (for the mom is usually the cook in the family), and do try to keep her life as normal as possible. Kids at this age want to blend in with their peers, and the most traumatic thing about this diagnosis to HER is that she will feel 'different' and will certainly want to be treated normally by you and by her peers. So don't make a big deal over her dietary needs, and be subtle when you ask her questions about how she is doing with her testing and eating in public. Do encourage her to read as much as possible about this disease, for knowledge is her best ally.

To help educate you, let me give you a little run-down to help you understand what she has. Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes have only one thing in common: both cause elevated glucose levels. Normal levels are said to be between 70-126 (some doctors give slightly different values from one another as the normal goal). The type 2 diabetic usually IS overweight, and I believe I have read that 90 percent of all diabetic people are this type. In this type, the body produces insulin, but insulin-resistant fat cells make it hard for the body to use that insulin. We type 1 folks have a very different cause for our malady. Read on for explanation...

I have read that many doctors now think that type 1 (also sometimes called autoimmune diabetes because its cause is an autoimmune disorder) results from 2 damaged genes. And I have also read (dunno whether this is true or not) that many type 1 folks inherit one gene from each parent, and that this is why it doesn't seem to run in families unless siblings get it. In addition to having the two gene problems, the person has to come into contact with a virus that triggers the immune system to act. The immune system is over-eager because of our genetic problem, and so while killing off the virus, it goes ahead and attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas also, mistaking them for virus as well. Some type 1 diabetic people also end up having thyroid malfunctions or adrenal gland problems because those glands are also attacked and destroyed.

So the type 1 diabetic person cannot control his glucose levels with diet or oral medications (the oral meds stimulate the pancreas to work harder or help the body use the insulin better), because we have ceased producing insulin at all. Therefore, we must inject insulin in order to live normal lives. And since our diets vary from meal to meal and our lives also vary in activity, we need to test those glucose levels often so we can add insulin when our sugars go high or add carbohydrates when there is too much insulin and our sugars go low.

That's it in a nutshell. I have a suggestion for you. If you and your daughter would like to be paired one-on-one with an experienced type 1 diabetic or a mom of one, please go to the website for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), found on:
http://www.jdrf.org/

Click on the link on the left side of the page for Online Diabetes Support Team ODST). Fill out the form that appears and submit it to the ODST staff and they will have someone contact you. You will then be matched up with someone who will e-mail with you and answer your questions as they come up. We have young adult volunteers also who may be able to communicate with your daughter via e-mail if you ask for this kind of communication to help support her.

Again, she is going to be FINE. The family just needs to get through the initial learning phase and make some alterations perhaps in dietary habits to help make her meal carbs regular enough for her, but she will be able to live a very normal life. I played USTA tennis, and I was even a white water raft guide as an adult for a few years. My kids are healthy, and my life is full and rich. Hers will be, too. I do so wish both of you the very best.