Diabetes

I am Not a medical person; I Am a woman who has lived
with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes mellitus for 50 years.

During those years, I went through countless experiences and
accumulated a wealth of information.   Also I've had contact with
many other diabetics from whom I learned many valuable lessons.

It is my hope that I can be of some help to other people as
they read about my experiences; I would also like to assist in
educating non-diabetics that may live and work with us.

Do keep in mind as you read that, as we diabetics like to say,
your mileage may vary. That is, we are all different and the
things that work for me may not work for you.
However diabetics do have much in common.

Anything you read here or elsewhere should not be a substitute
for medical care by a qualified doctor and other medical personnel.

Whenever a person eats, digestion turns the food into a form of
sugar (glucose) that is the main fuel for all cells. Insulin is a
hormone produced by the pancreas that moves the food
from the blood to the cells and enables the cells to use the fuel
efficiently.   When glucose builds up in the blood instead of
going into cells, this results in serious problems.

The body must have insulin to function. Without it the cells cannot
function because they have no fuel (energy). If high blood glucose
continues, it causes damage to any and all parts of the body.

In the most common form of diabetes, type 2, the body is insulin
resistant or does not produce enough insulin. This may occur as a
part of the normal aging process. Type 2 diabetics can often
control their disease by a combination of oral medication, diet,
and exercise, but many also require artificial insulin.

Type 1 (or juvenile) diabetes is an autoimmune disease usually
occurring in children and young adults; a person may be
genetically predisposed to develop it. In type 1 the body does
not produce any insulin.

It is believed that this happens when something in the immune
system malfunctions during an infection or illness, particularly with
repeated episodes.   The immune system produces antibodies to
fight the invading sickness, but also mistakenly attacks the
insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, destroying them.

Type 1 diabetics must always take artificial insulin by injections
or by insulin pumps.   If a person does not have insulin,
they will die a slow agonizing death.

There are also other types of diabetes such as gestational and
pre-diabetes as well as sub-groups of the two main types one and
two. The remainder of my diabetes discussion will deal primarily
with type 1 since I am more familiar with it.

In recent years we have learned so much that has greatly
increased the quality of our sometimes debilitating disease.
In the following pages I will share some of this knowledge
with you and hope to dispel some of the myths and
misconceptions held by much of the general public.

I will also share with you some of my experiences as a
type one diabetic.

Links to Cool Sites:

Insulin-Pumpers.Org

Diabetes Support and
Information, especially
about insulin pumps
Site also contains a
number of other
good links.

The American Diabetes
Association

Making our lives better
through information,
resources, and legislation.

This article on the Joslin
website talks about the
myth that diabetics must be
on a "diabetes diet" and
must avoid sweets.

http://www.joslin.harvard.edu/e
ducation/library/nodiet2.shtml

This government site gives
some good resources for
diabetics such as insurance
and financial help info:

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/i
ntro/index.htm

Links

Home Page

Links to Pages in This Section:

Diabetes and Me
by Sybil Vaughn

A General Discussion