T1D, What is Happening to Me?

If you are anything like me, you can appreciate my severe need to know what is wrong whenever I get sick. I want to know what is happening to me and why. I think this sentiment holds true even more so for children who are so sweet and innocent and just want to know when they are going to feel better. It has been a confusing journey for my son who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of two. He better copes with the disease at present, but it took a long time for him to comprehend what was actually happening to him. His dad and I have used this diagram, mostly the pictures, to aid us in explaining the disease to our son and how and why it was affecting him.  

Type 1 Diabetes is an illness of the pancreas, an organ located in the abdomen. Its role is to convert the food we eat into fuel for the body's cells. It helps in both digestion and the regulation of blood sugar through insulin production. When the pancreas is not functioning properly, insulin production is slowed and therefore insulin in the blood vessels is decreased. Since insulin balances the glucose or blood sugar levels in the body, decreased insulin means more glucose. Unregulated, this can lead to keto-acidosis, which is the build up of acid in the blood. This can cause death.

Glucose Meter

Though death is inevitable, it is natural that humans attempt to prolong it for as long as possible. My son is only eleven. The more he understands the need to regulate insulin in his body, done mostly through diet and checking his blood sugar levels with lancets and test strips on a glucose meter, the better chance we have of keeping him alive and well. This is at the top of our list of priorities on a daily basis and should be for anyone who suffers with T1D. 

  

It's Good to have a Glucose Buddy

With social media, phone applications and online services provided for a host of things, from dog walking to step counting, I decided to research the best apps geared towards people living with type 1 diabetes. The list is overflowing with very helpful apps for anyone who is interested. As a mother of an eleven-year-old with type 1 diabetes, the app that I thought would benefit our lives most at this time was the Glucose Buddy Diabetes Helper.

The Glucose Buddy Diabetes Helper is a free iPhone application that helps parents to log their child’s blood sugar numbers, insulin dosages, carbohydrate intake and daily activities. Additionally, it allows individuals to sync the logs to Glucosebuddy.com where data history can be viewed for free.

Of course, I went to the Glucosebuddy.com website and to my delight, found that it was user friendly and appropriate. There are logs and calculators that allow the user to just input the numbers and then it is all calculated and stored. This sure beats pen and paper documentation. There are also charts for understanding, customization of personal trends for better individualized control over blood sugar levels, and there are exercise, diet and medication tabs that aid people in those areas, as well. This app allows for group forums to take place, where many people ask questions, share information and recipes, and act as a supportive community to each other. Most impressive is this media item’s ability to design personalized meal plans based on an individual’s 90 glucose history. This will take a load off my mind as I try to figure out the best foods to serve my son each day. The only negative to this app is the fact that it is designed solely for the iPhone.

I certainly hope this has been helpful. Please feel free to comment about your own T1D highs or lows and if you use any online apps that help you to monitor or control it.  Thanks for reading!

Should We Fast from Fast Food?

It’s fast, it’s cheap and it tastes good. Oh the convenience of fast food. But, I do not call it convenient when my young children are adamantly screaming that they want Burger King, Wendy’s or McDonald's when I pick them up from school. I also do not think it is convenient when you or your loved one is diagnosed with high blood pressure or a carotid artery. The term convenient becomes confusing when we do a cost-benefit analysis and compare today’s short cuts to tomorrow’s consequences.     

With a growing segment of Americans who are obese, riddled with heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes, it is my opinion that fast food restaurants should not be allowed to advertise on television. People know they need to eat and have the right to choose what kinds of food they want to put into their bodies. With fast food companies advertising unhealthy food that is high in sodium and trans fatty acid, the American public is bombarded with images and messages that this should be their diet of choice. The issue becomes larger and more devastating when these advertisements are directed towards youth, with fun toys, cartoon characters, low prices, appealing colors and easily identifiable images.

Of course this argument can be made about many things that are advertised in the media: toys, clothing, medicine, just to name a few, but I think a red flag should go up when the product in question is literally killing people. Eating is a daily ritual and food is how we accomplish it. Fast food, however, increases the risk of eczema, asthma and stuffy nose in children. Youths consuming fast food consume more calories than those who eat at home. Childhood obesity, which is linked to many chronic illnesses, including type 1 diabetes, continues to increase in the United States. We have to do something about this. In my opinion, negative advertisements that affect the food choice in America should be banned from all media sources. In the meantime, people should understand the nutritional values of fast food items and avoid buying those that harm our health.

It is a constant battle for me to feed myself and my family, especially my son who was diagnosed with diabetes, healthy and nutritional meals at an affordable price. I do not need or appreciate the battle made more difficult by the barrage of advertisements shouting at us to buy value meals, dollar menu items or 4 for $4 deals that are riddled with sodium, hydrogenated oil, and calories that we do not want or need in our systems.