Type 1 Diabetes 101

I thought I'd give a short primer on diabetes since I'm asked what a normal blood sugar reading is every now and then. My friend, Gwen, lent me a text book on endocrinology to read more about diabetes. If you want to ever borrow it you'll need 2 people to lift it...

Chase has Type 1 diabetes (a.k.a. juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent). This is an autoimmune disorder where his white blood cells, for reasons unknown, attacked and destroyed the insulin producing (beta) cells around his pancreas. The body uses insulin to convert sugar to energy and without it, the sugar builds up in the body. This was our first clue to his problem - he was drinking huge amounts of fluids before his diagnosis to rid his body of the excess sugar.

Chase has had blood sugar readings of over 500 and as low as 33. Normal glucose (blood sugar) values after fasting for a non-diabetic is 70 to 110 mg/dL. One to two hours after meals, normal blood glucose values should be less than 120 mg/dL. The low blood sugars (insulin reactions or diabetic shock) are what we are most concerned about as they can lead to a coma.

We still do not know what "triggered" his diabetes. We've read theories such as the rubella virus, a lack of vitamin D, or vaccinations. My grandma Irene use to think it was caused by too much sugar. If that was true, she'd have given my sister, brother & me diabetes 10 time over!

Lastly, this is a disease that he will have until there is a cure (insert prayer here). It is not something he will outgrow. They are making amazing progress in the treatment of this disease such as an artificial pancreas. Pancreas transplants are also an option but the anti-rejection drugs that he'd have to take would be worse than the disease. If things in the transplant field ever change, I know that Gary, my mom and I would be elbowing each other to be the first in line to give him our own.

That's it! If you made it though all of this and understood any portion of it you get an A!

Now, on to happier things to talk about. Check out the shirt I found for "him" at JCPenney. I had to convince him that it was a cool shirt even though it didn't have Spiderman on it. I played a little "Back in Black" for him and I think that sealed the deal! Hey, it has a great beat. I know, I know...