In January, 2006 while vacationing in Mexico, Ryan mentioned that he was thirsty even after he had something to drink. Since my dad had had type 1 diabetes I knew in the back of my mind that this is a symptom…but I rationalized that we were in a hot climate and had travelled by airplane so Ryan may be dehydrated. I encouraged him to drink more.
Bill wondered out loud if Ryan had lost weight. Again I rationalized that he was a skinny kid anyway and that he wore baggy clothes so it was hard to tell.
The third sign that was impossible to ignore was on our flight home Ryan had to use the bathroom three times on a short flight. I pointed this out to Bill. Before Ryan went back to school, Bill had him leave a urine sample which he took to the veterinary hospital. He diagnosed him and then contacted Ryan’s pediatrician who ordered blood tests.
With a blood glucose level over 600, we were instructed to take Ryan to the hospital where he would spend two nights. We spent those days learning the things we needed to know in order for Ryan to be healthy.
Type one diabetes is an extremely complicated and varied disease. It is nothing like your father’s or aunt’s or grandparents’ type two diabetes. We have learned that keeping Ryan’s blood glucose levels in normal range (80-150) requires frequent blood sugar checks, adjustments, tweaking, recalculations and lots of guessing. And even then, it is virtually impossible to keep him in range all the time. Not only that, but this is the experience of every other person with type one diabetes.
There are so many factors that affect blood sugar. Ryan counts his carbohydrates and calculates how much insulin to give himself based on a frequently changing formula. He does not restrict his carbs. He does not need to. He can eat just about anything everybody else eats although he avoids regular soda and pancake syrup. Pizza and Mexican food can be tricky too. He even has eaten most of his Halloween candy. Well, whatever I didn’t eat first.
Other factors that affect blood sugar include stress, illness, exercise, adrenaline, hormones. Things that are next to impossible to account for. That is why most type one diabetics rely on frequent blood sugar checks and adjustments to their insulin dosages.
In spite of Ryan’s diligence he is often out of range. Low blood sugar arises when he gets too much insulin. This can be caused by not eating enough carbs, exercise or mystery causes. Low blood sugar is potentially life threatening and scary. Ryan gets sweaty, shaky, and can’t think straight. Luckily he feels his lows and is able to treat them with glucose. He can’t concentrate when low.
High blood sugars come about when Ryan doesn’t get enough insulin. This can be caused by insulin not absorbing well, miscalculating carbs or exercise, adrenaline or other things. Ryan needs insulin. If his blood sugar is really high (300 or up) he gets agitated, angry, can’t concentrate. Frequent high blood glucose levels can cause long term health complications.
Lots of people have misconceptions about the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Or they’re just confused about diabetes. Ryan did nothing to cause his diabetes. I did nothing to cause his diabetes. Ryan cannot control his diabetes with diet and exercise. Insulin is not a cure. Ryan cannot use “mind over matter” when he is high or low. He needs to treat his disease appropriately and wait until his blood sugar is in range. He will not grow out of this.
Thank you for reading about Ryan. On World Diabetes Day, I’m sure most people know someone with some form of Diabetes. Today I will be remembering my Dad who died from complications from type 1 diabetes. I will also be hoping for a cure for Ryan and everyone else who has diabetes.
