Imagine that you have to tell your 4 years old child, that he can’t eat sweets or even his birthday cake. Also imagine, if he had to take 3 or 4 injections every day for the rest of his life. This disease is called type 1 Diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes previously called insulin dependent diabetes, affects children and younger adults. Unlike type 2 diabetes, the pancreas in type 1, does not produce any insulin and is not very common, it is found in only 5% of all the diabetics.
So, what are the symptoms? One of my patients, was 29 years old. He was complaining of being tired and losing weight despite eating well. On the other hand, most patients with type 2, are overweight or obese. Another patient was complaining of frequent urination and feeling thirsty drinking a lot of water.
Other times, patients might see an eye doctor because they have blurry vision.
To confirm the diagnosis of diabetes, a simple blood test can show the fasting blood glucose is 126 mg or above
One of the rare complications in type 1, is called diabetic coma or ketoacidosis. It happens, when glucose and ketone get build up in the blood due to the lack of insulin. this might cause a serious coma, if it is not treated urgently in the hospital. An important early sign for this complication is the presence of bad fruity smell in the breath.
The cause of type 1 diabetes is not known. Genetic factors might play a small role. But Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 is considered an autoimmune disease, which means that the immune system attacks the pancreas and destroy it, so it will not be able to produce any insulin.
To differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, we should do a blood test called GAD antibodies. Normally, it is high in type 1. once the diagnosis is confirmed the treatment is only by insulin injections.
For the treatment, usually we use a fast acting insulin before each meal and a long-acting insulin at bedtime. So, patients need to check their glucose test several times a day in order to establish the correct amount of insulin needed to control diabetes.
A Recent discovery is a machine called continuous glucose monitoring. It is like a patch you can place it, on your upper arm, and has a sensor inserted under the skin. This machine can automatically track your blood glucose level and send the results, to your mobile.
Another option for treatment is to use an insulin pump which can be carried on your belt. It is connected to a small needle inserted under the skin. The pump can be pre-programmed to deliver continuous insulin to your body, so you don’t have to inject yourself several times every day.
Another new approach for the treatment is to transplant part of a healthy pancreas from a dead donor. This surgery might help to cure type 1 diabetes forever.
Finally, the complications of type 1 diabetes are the same as type 2 and I talked about it, in a previous video.
video shot and edited by: Fadi Helbaoui
