Diabetes Type 1 Support Group

Here she would go through an education program on what it means to be a diabetic, injecting herself, learning about counting carbohydrates and food, etc. It is a lot at the start because it becomes like a system overload of information which is extremely scary. When I was first diagnosed they seemed to focus mainly on what could go wrong ie all the complications that come with being a diabetic. Hopefully this has changed over time.

Best way to support her is to learn everything you can about her new diet etc and to just be there for her. She is lucky to have such a caring friend like you.

i think its really nice you are doing this for your friend.when i was diagnosed it was really helpfull with all the help i got from my family.
it will get eaiser.

Hi

As presleymarie says, it is good that you are learning about this. I am not sure what you already know so I will start from the beginning. Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the pancreas stops functioning. The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin which regulates the blood sugar. Therefore, when you have type 1 diabetes you need to inject insulin and regulate your own blood sugar. This is different to type 2 diabetes which is in the news a lot due to the link with obesity. Type 1 has nothing to do with obesity.

So as a type 1 diabetic, your friend will need to inject insulin. The number of times this is done each day varies. She may use a pen, or she may use a pump. If she uses a pen, the usual system is 4 injections per day. One of these is long acting insulin which keeps blood sugars steady. The other 3 are taken before meals and are short acting insulin which deals with the carbohydrates in the food she eats. If she uses a pump, she would only take fast acting insulin but this would be infused slowly, in very small amounts, to keep her sugars steady. Thats the way I understand it anyway, I don't use a pump, any pump users feel free to correct me.

In order to know what her blood sugar is, your friend will need to check it. Traditionally, this is done by pricking the finger with a lancing device and putting a drop of blood onto a special test strip and using a machine to get the result. Then your friend can act on the result or make a note of it to see patterns so she can adjust her insulin, food and exercise.

Those are the basic things she needs to do. She will also need to see specialists regularly. These may include doctors, nurses, eye and foot specialists and other medical people.

In many ways, a lot of things will change. But in some ways, not much will. Type 1s nowadays can eat and do what we like really. There is no special diet. The only restrictions are some countries do not allow us to do certain jobs eg drive lorries or join the army, and I think in the Uk at least we cannot donate blood. But providing we look after ourselves we can live perfectly normal lives.

thanks guys, that was really helpfull :)