What is Type 1 Diabetes?

For people who don’t have any experience with Type 1 Diabetes, here is everything you need to know.

Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that effects your pancrease‘s ability to produce insulin. When you eat, the carbohydrates from your food, breaks down into glucose (what your body uses for energy), which then goes into your bloodstream. Insulin is a hormone produced by your body that is supposed to regulate the amount of glucose in your blood stream and allows glucose to be used by your body cells as energy. However, when you can’t produce insulin, the glucose remains in your blood stream which overtime can negatively effect your organs and bodily functions.

When glucose builds up in your blood, it results in a condition called high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. This is when your glucose levels are above 140 mg/dL.The immediate consequences of high blood sugar include: fatigue, headaches, blurry vision, thirst, excessive urinating, weight loss. Long term effects of high blood sugar include: blindness, wounds that won’t hurt, loss of hair, kidney failure, lack of menstruation, erectile dysfunction, etc.

The difference between Type 1 and Type 2 (the most common types of diabetes), is that in Type 2 patients, the pancreases still produces some amount of insulin whereas Type 1 patients produce none at all. Typically, Type 2 patients are older and Type 1 patients can be as young as a new born. Since Type 2 patients still can produce insulin, they require less severe medication. Some people can get away with taking oral insulin medication to help regulate their blood sugar, others need to regularly inject insulin. For Type 1 patients, the only option is to take regular injections.