Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms

Could this finally be the cure?

2008-03-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

Read this story of a diabetic woman in Australia. She signed up for an experimental treatment where islet cells from a donor pancreas were injected into her liver.

She used to have daily hypoglycemic attacks but now only needs a tiny dose of insulin each day. After her second treatment she hopes to be insulin-free.

Unfortunately, the treatment requires immuno-suppressant drugs. And few pancreases become available each year. But researchers are trying to work around this. Let's hope they succeed:

One technique surrounds the cells with a membrane, making them invisible to the body's immune system and negating the need for immuno-suppressant drugs. Other researchers were looking for new sources of islet cells, either by "reprogramming" similar cells from elsewhere in the body such as the gut, or even taking cells from the pancreas of a pig.

Embryonic stem cells could also be useful. Last month, scientists in the US managed for the first time to turn stem cells into insulin producers that responded to blood glucose levels.

50 Secrets of the Longest Living People with Diabetes

2008-01-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Below is my Amazon review of 50 Secrets of the Longest Living People with Diabetes:

As the mother of two young daughters with type 1 diabetes, I've read a lot of websites and books with highly technical medical information about diabetes.

It was refreshing to sit down and read a book full of stories. When is the last time you read a book about diabetes that was actually hard to put down? This is a book like that.

One can't help but be encouraged by stories like those of the two brothers, ages 87 and 91, who have had diabetes since early childhood. Both have avoided major complications even though they lived most of their lives in the "dark ages" (pre-glucometers). The 87-year-old brother often rides his bike 20 miles at a time. The book is full of stories like these.

Interspersed between the stories of these inspiring diabetic people are the 50 secrets. I'll list ten of them here:

1. Live first and be diabetic second.
2. Control your problems before they control you.
3. Consider being a grazer.
4. Always carry a toothbrush.
5. Erase your mistakes with exercise.
6. Love (and hate) your pump.
7. Involve your family and friends.
8. Have kids if you want to.
9. Understand possible diabetes complications.
10. Respect the power of diabetes.

The 50 secrets aren't earth-shaking but there is commentary from these diabetics on all of the secrets and it is motivating and encouraging. The advice is very, very practical.

The authors don't shy away from the grim statistics: "Just by having diabetes, you already have twice the risk of dying young as someone who is diabetes-free." Some of the 50 people in the book share stories about scary hypoglycemic episodes while driving. The authors make it clear that facing the reality of possible complications is much better than denial.

There is some information about type 2 diabetes in the book too. Overall, the book is easy to read and I think every teen and twentysomething with diabetes should read it. Parents of diabetics should read it too. It will wake you up a little and also encourage you.

Humalog vs. Novolog: A Rant Against Big Pharma

2007-11-21T14:22:00.001-08:00

I've written before about insulin edema. Since then we've learned that my daughter's edema was caused by the Humalog insulin. Her edema went away after switching her to Novolog. She went back on Humalog for a few days and the edema returned immediately.

Our pharmacist explained that the amino acid configuration in these two rapid acting insulins is different and in rare cases some patients experience edema on Humalog.

Our insurance company prefers Humalog because they get rebates from Lilly when a patient purchases Humalog. The first time I purchased Novolog I had to pay an expensive 50 percent co-pay.

Her doctor filed a prior-authorization form, the pharmacist made phone calls on our behalf to the insurance company, and I made several phone calls too. It was very aggravating. Why can't the insurance company assume that the doctor prescribed the insulin for a very good reason and honor that with the regular co-pay?

Because they make less money on the insulin that is the most helpful to my daughter. Money is more important than the patient's best interest, it seems.

The insurance company has approved the Novolog for six months, after which the doctor will have to fill out yet another form.

I've noticed that several people have visited this blog by typing "insulin edema" into google. If your child has edema, try Novolog. And good luck dealing with the insurance company.

Alzheimer's: Type 3 Diabetes?

2007-10-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Some scientists at Northwestern University recently discovered that the memory problems associated with Alzheimer's disease are due to an insulin shortage.

The brain makes its own insulin. Insulin helps the brain make and store memories. The brains of Alzheimer patients have an abundance of toxic proteins (ADDLs) that block the insulin receptors in the brain.

"Alzheimer's disease is a complication of diabetes, not a unique form of the disease," says Dr. Sue Kirkman, vice president of clinical affairs for the American Diabetes Association. "Nevertheless," she says, "this is primarily a semantic argument."

Omega 3 Might Help Prevent Type 1 Diabetes

2007-10-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

This was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, so there's probably some validity to it.

Researcher Jill Norris studied 1770 children who were at high risk for developing type 1 diabetes (because of genetic testing or because they had a close relatives with diabetes).

From 1994-2006 she took surveys about their dietary intake and tested their blood for islet cell antibodies every year.

The researchers discovered that the at-risk children who ate a lot of foods rich in omega-3 were 55 percent less likely to have pancreatic islet autoimmunity.

"This is the first study to show this," Norris said. "This is all omega-3 fatty acids, not just the kind that are found in fish. It is certainly not time to make any recommendations until we can see this in other populations," but added that it is a very promising result.

I guess it's time to bring on the fish, flaxseed oil, walnuts and soybeans and see if I can get my non-diabetic daughters to get more Omega-3 in their diet. And try not to feel guilty that my diabetic daughters didn't get more.

50 Secrets of the Longest Living People With Diabetes

2007-09-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a book I will read when it is released next month: 50 Secrets of the Longest Living People with Diabetes.

According to Diabetes Health, one of the trailblazing diabetics featured in the book is James William Quander, an African-American man who had juvenile diabetes for 80 years. When he was diagnosed in 1924, at age five, he wasn't expected to live more than a few years, even though insulin arrived on the scene in 1921. There weren't many specialists available to treat diabetic patients but his parents found an African-American doctor that was able to treat him.

In addition to the segregation he faced as an African-American he had to deal with the fears of his peers that diabetes was contagious. Only beginning in the 1970's did he feel comfortable coming out of the "diabetic closet" and letting outsiders know he had diabetes.

"He always maintained the hope that diabetes would be cured in his lifetime. In his later years, when it was apparent that a cure was unlikely for him, he put his energy into managing his blood sugars and teaching others to do the same."

Insulin Edema

2007-09-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here's one of those little known juvenile diabetes symptoms: insulin edema.

In rare cases a patient will develop edema after starting to take insulin. Puffy feet, swollen legs and bloating in the abdomen can occur. This is due to insulin's ability to retain sodium and water. Hair loss is a symptom too.

My daughter was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago and developed edema almost immediately. She still has it and started using an over the counter diuretic a couple of days ago.

From what her endo says as well as the information I read at Ask The Diabetes Team this resolves on its own and a diuretic can help speed the process. Switching insulin brands can help too.

I really hope it resolves on its own. Dealing with a new diagnosis of diabetes is enough to deal with without adding this (shoes that no longer fit, etc.) to it.

Hahahahahahaha

2007-09-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

A hilarious insulin pump story from LOL Diabetes.

Hoping for a Genetic Mutation

2007-09-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

A year ago a Chicago Tribune science reporter, who was dying of lung cancer at the time, wrote an amazing article.

He wrote a profile of a six-year-old girl with Type 1 diabetes. Scientists at the University of Chicago discovered that she has a genetic defect that is actually a good defect: the pancreas still has fuctioning islet cells but the genetic defect blocks the release of the insulin. This is called monogenic diabetes and medication can override this defect and the patient can wean themselves off insulin.

As a result of reading this story hundreds of parents contacted the University of Chicago to inquire about testing. Thirteen children tested positive for this defect. It is estimated that 400-2000 people with type 1 diabetes have this defect but don't know it yet. The University of Chicago released a study about monogenic diabetes on September 10.

Peter Gorner wrote the Chicago Tribune article that brought this to the attention of the public. Alissa Cameron is one of the mothers who read this article and later discovered that her twin three-year-olds have this mutation.

"It would take all day to describe the difference in our lives," she said. ""I'm just ever so thankful we saw that article."

You can probably guess what I'll be discussing with my daughters' endo at their next appointment.

Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms: What a Difference Ten Years Makes

2007-09-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

My 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes three weeks ago. She was ten years older than her sister was when she was diagnosed with diabetes at age four.

Oh what a difference ten years makes.

My four-year-old needed help with every bit of diabetes management and was too young to notice low blood sugars coming upon her. And come upon her they did, like a Mack truck. It was a near constant worry any time we were away from the house. And even in the house, like the time she had seizures, and the few times she literally bounced of the walls and ran around like a maniac and I could barely restrain her to keep her from charging outside. Because she has had diabetes for so long she is still overly reliant upon me to remind her to check her blood sugar.

By contrast, my newly diagnosed 14-year-old has checked her own blood sugars and administered her own shots from the very beginning. She can immediately tell if her blood sugar is too low or too high. She even takes it upon herself to monitor her sister's diabetes management and exhorts her to remember to do blood sugar tests on her own without reminders from me. She started whispering her blood sugar numbers to me when she was too high, so her big sister wouldn't hear and rag on her.

Therefore I was interested when I read about the Diabetes Prevention Trial, which ran from 1993-2003. Children with a diabetic family member and who tested positive for islet cell antibodies were given daily doses of either oral or injected insulin to see if that would delay the onset of juvenile diabetes symptoms.

It turns out it didn't work. Alas. If there isn't a cure for juvenile diabetes I hope, at least, they find a way to delay the onset. The later the better.

Could Lettuce Cure Type 1 Diabetes?

2007-09-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. This will probably rank right up there with pumpkin extract as a possibility for curing juvenile diabetes. In other words: not very likely in the extreme.

But sometimes one must indulge in a little hope.

Researchers at the University of Florida injected lettuce with the gene for human insulin. They fed the powdered lettuce to diabetic mice and within eight weeks the mice were producing normal amounts of insulin.

Insulin has to be injected because the stomach acids would destroy it if administered orally. When insulin is coated in plant cells it is protected from the stomach acids.

The tablets only cost pennies to produce (what will Big Pharma think of that?).

Trials on humans will begin in two years. If this works, the pills could prevent someone with the genetic makeup for juvenile diabetes from getting the disease. It could also help cure people who already have diabetes.

Aaaarrggh

2007-09-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

What a rotten deal. A seven-year-old boy is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and his private school medically suspends him.

The news story is here.

Diabetic Alert Dogs

2007-09-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of dogs. For one thing, most of us around here are allergic to them. Plus they require attention and exercise and food and with four daughters to look after a dog just isn't appealing.

Some people with juvenile diabetes have hypoglycemia unawareness. This means they don't feel low blood sugars coming upon them. This can be very dangerous, obviously.

If one of my diabetic daughters had hypoglycemic unawareness I'd change my tune about dogs in a flash. The dogs aren't cheap - it's my understanding that the dog's training costs $23,000 and the buyer has to cover $6000 of that.

Here are a few sources of diabetic alert dogs:

Dogs4diabetics
Heaven Scent Paws
All Purpose Canines

A man in a diabetes forum said he has an owner-trained alert dog and if he ignores the dog when the dog is warning him about a low blood sugar the dog goes to his wife and alerts her.

If one of my daughters lives alone someday I'd surely want them to own an alert dog.
___________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Her daughters enjoy reading and laughing at the Pink Panther illustrations in this book: Understanding Diabetes by Dr. H. Peter Chase

Whiskey, Cream, Oranges and Bread: The Diabetes Management Regime in 1897

2007-08-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

In 1897 Dr. Elliott Joslin treated his first diabetic patient, a 15-year-old boy who was tired and constantly thirsty.

Dr. Joslin prescribed the usual "strict diabetic diet" of the day: 500 c.c. of cream, two oranges, 15 grams of bread and a little whiskey. The boy stopped the diet in the summer of 1900 and indulged in carbs. He died that year of "acid intoxication" - a more succinct way of describing it than the "ketoacidosis" term we use today.

From 1898 - 1956 Dr. Joslin kept meticulous records of the thousands of juvenile diabetes patients he treated. Insulin arrived when he was in the middle of his career so he was on the scene when diabetes was transformed from an acute to a chronic condition. He exchanged letters with many of his patients and copies of these letters are in the files too. These records are available in the Joslin Diabetes Center in Massachusetts.

I'm reading about all of this in the book Bittersweet: Diabetes, Insulin, and the Transformation of Illness. It's minds-on reading but I'm determined to work my way through it because I'm fascinated to learn more about the history of diabetes management. My oldest diabetic daughter has made it clear, however, that she does not want to see the photos of the emaciated diabetic children from the pre-insulin era that are in the book...

The coolest insulin pump ever

2007-08-29T08:49:00.001-07:00

The folks at Adaptive Path spent nine weeks designing a new insulin pump. It might be several years before something like this is available but it gives us something to look forward to, at least.

Back to School With Juvenile Diabetes

2007-08-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

I admit I have no experience with this; my daughters do not attend a public school.

Therefore I was surprised when I read about the school nurse shortage in California and how it impacts diabetic students.

"I want to keep my job, but I want my daughter to be alive when I get off work," said a mother in the Palm Springs District, who was told she'd have to come to school to do her daughter's injections because of the nursing shortage. In this district there are three nurses for the 24,000 students.

The American Diabetes Association reached a settlement with the California Department of Education this month. The ADA wanted to reinforce the law that says diabetics must have access to assistance with injections and glucometers while in school.

The school nurses are nervous about training non-medical volunteers to administer injections for fear of losing their licenses. So the settlement might not stand.

__________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin and recommend this book: Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--and Their Caregivers, Third Edition

If an insulin pump can survive NHL hockey games it can survive anything

2007-08-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

Type 1.5 Diabetes

2007-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

There's a third type of diabetes: Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA). It's also sometimes called diabetes type 1.5. Who knew? I didn't, until today.

About 20 percent of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes actually have Type 1.5.

Type 1.5 occurs in adulthood - usually after age 35 - and has a slower onset, which is how it differs from Type 1. A type 1.5 diabetic can slide by with meds and diet changes for about six years until becoming insulin-dependent. People with type 1.5 are often slim or at a normal weight and are not insulin resistant, unlike typical Type 2 patients.

Funding for Juvenile Diabetes Research Continues For Another Year

2007-08-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

But only for another year.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation asked congress to extend funding for five more years. The Special Diabetes Program (SDP) has received $150 million per year and JDRF was also hoping that could increase to $200 million per year, for five years.

On August 1 congress voted to give the SDP $150 million a year for one more year.

It's interesting to note that 194 of the 204 nay votes were Republicans. 220 of the 225 yay votes were Democrats. My congresswoman is Tammy Baldwin and she voted yay, of course.

Now, the SDP was packaged with the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act of 2007. I'm not familiar with all the elements of this act and it's entirely possible there was something in there that irked the Republicans, something completely unrelated to juvenile diabetes. I realize that their votes against the act were not specifically votes against juvenile diabetes research.

But I sure as heck am going to start paying more attention to this. And you can be sure that I'll be asking my daughters' pediatric endo how we can apply to go to the Children's Congress next summer, when JDRF makes yet another appeal for continued funding.
___________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her teen daughter highly recommend this book about diabetes for older children (and adults): Understanding Diabetes by Dr. H. Peter Chase

Could Adult Stem Cells Permanently Eliminate Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms?

2007-08-23T07:32:00.001-07:00

Last year a 58-year-old woman had four heart attacks. The right side of her heart was functioning at less than 50 percent and she couldn't walk more than 20 feet without assistance. She needed a new heart but there were 100,000 people on the waiting list.

Researchers agreed to include her in a study in which she would receive surgery not approved by the FDA. In October surgeons removed bone marrow from her left hip. They removed the stem cells from the bone marrow and, four hours later, injected the cells into her heart.

The result? Within two months she was back to work "and could sing an entire song at church." Four months later a CT scan showed her heart was normal again. The surgery only cost $600. Pretty amazing and a heck of a lot cheaper than a heart transplant, which costs anywhere from $50,000 - $300,000.

Obviously I'm interested to know if adult stem cells would work in the pancreas of a diabetic. So far, according to research by Professor Douglas Melton and his team, it appears that adult stem cells cannot produce insulin-producing cells. Only embryonic stem cells have been proven to produce insulin-producing cells.

The problem with cell transplants and cell therapy so far is the need for immunosuppressant drugs, because a diabetic's immune system is wired to attack the new cells the same way it attacked the original islet cells. And the side effects of these drugs are worse than diabetes itself.

According to the National Institute of Health, "A potential advantage of embryonic cells is that, in theory, they could be engineered to express the appropriate genes that would allow them to escape or reduce detection by the immune system."

And, "Embryonic stem cells show the greatest promise for generating cell lines that will be free of contaminants and that can self renew. However, most researchers agree that until a therapeutically useful source of human islet cells is developed, all avenues of research should be exhaustively investigated, including both adult and embryonic sources of tissue."

More and more research. All we can do is wait, wait, wait, I guess.
__________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin and recommend this book: Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--and Their Caregivers, Third Edition

The Diabetes Dachshund

2007-08-21T19:41:00.001-07:00

My daughters think this is cool. They are now inspired to make their own juvenile diabetes YouTube video.

A New Known Enemy That Helps Cause Juvenile Diabetes: KIAA0350

2007-08-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

Genetics is not my forte and I had to read this article several times to understand it. But I have to watch my daughters struggle with their juvenile diabetes symptoms every day so I'm forcing myself to learn this stuff. Here goes:

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and McGill University in Montreal said in a report on Sunday that there's a defective gene that wrecks havoc on the body's immune cells and increases the risk of type 1 diabetes.

This gene has a name: KIAA0350. It resides at chromosone 16.

Dear KIAA0350,

Why did you mess up my daughters' immune systems and make them vulnerable to juvenile diabetes? Didn't you have anything better to do?

I know you don't act alone. I know there are four other genes that are responsible too. But in this case, more is not merrier. I bet those other genes would be weaker if you weren't around.

I looked on Google images to see if I could find a photo of you but I was unsuccessful. You're small, you're elusive but oh how powerful you are.

Soon, I hope, doctors will be able to screen babies to see if you are there. And I hope researchers will soon find a way to strip you of all your power. For now, I hope you will stay far away from my two non-diabetic daughters' 16th chromosones. I can't see you but I'm kicking you to the curb anyway.
___________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her teen daughter highly recommend this book about diabetes for older children (and adults): Understanding Diabetes by Dr. H. Peter Chase

A Glimmer of Hope for a Juvenile Diabetes Cure?

2007-08-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

As a mom of two diabetic kids, I've learned to not get too excited when I hear reports of, say, pumpkin extract as a possible juvenile diabetes cure.

Today I admit I allowed myself to indulge in a mere edge of hope as I read about the 12 people in Britain who have recently received islet cell transplants.

The transplant was unsuccessful with three of the patients but the 75 percent success rate is encouraging. Most of the patients have gone a year without insulin injections.

Professor Stephanie Amiel is one of the islet cell researchers and says: "The ultimate goal would be that we could treat diabetes with cell therapy rather than with insulin so people who have type 1 wouldn't have to take injections and worry about long-term medical risks. Islet cell transplantation could ultimately replace insulin in the next 10-15 years,' says Amiel."

That sounds a lot more promising than pumpkin extract. Let's hope the funding for islet cell transplantation continues.
___________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her daughters highly recommend this "pink panther" book about diabetes for young children and adults alike: A First Book for Understanding Diabetes by H. Peter Chase, M.D.

Living With Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms: Being the Captain of Your Body

2007-08-19T16:59:00.001-07:00

When my daughter was diagnosed with diabetes last week, I thought about what the leader of the Team Type 1 bicycle team said recently: "We are essentially the C.E.O.'s of our own bodies and we don't get a break from them."

I watch Star Trek Voyager episodes on DVDs from Netflix with my four daughters. We all admire Captain Kathryn Janeway and the actress Kate Mulgrew and never cease to be impressed by how the crew members regularly risk their lives to help each other. During my daughter's fateful Diagnosis Day I said to her, "you are the captain of your own body now."

Star Trek captains keep abreast of the current technology and are not intimidated by it. They have full responsibility for their ship. They also have to depend on others and can't go it alone.

This captain analogy applies well to the diabetic life. You need to keep current on the latest pump and glucometer technology. You must take full responsibility for your body each day by providing for its insulin needs. And sometimes, during low blood sugar episodes or other difficult situations, you have to depend on others to help you.

Unlike many other diseases, you can have control just like a Captain and greatly minimize the impact of juvenile diabetes symptoms on your life.
___________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin and highly recommend Star Trek Voyager DVDs from Netflix.

Diagnosis Stories

2007-08-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a story written by the father of a 16-year-old son who was recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. It's long but interesting.

At the bottom of the article is a list of celebrities with diabetes. Anne Rice prayed for death after her diagnosis because she was afraid that diabetes management would be too much for her. "In fact, she writes, 'the demands are next to nothing. Eat well and inject yourself with a needle so fine it causes no pain whatsoever..." Halle Berry collapsed while on the set and was in a diabetic coma for seven days. Olympic rower Steve Redgrave thought his rowing days were over after his diagnosis but he won his fifth gold medal three years later.
__________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin and recommend this book: Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--and Their Caregivers, Third Edition

Diabetes is not an excuse

2007-08-19T13:11:00.001-07:00

Kellie Kuehne's LPGA career began with such promise in 1996. She had a $1.5 million a year shoe contract. She was fully convinced she'd win five tournaments her rookie year because her teen years had been full of nothing but success.

Eleven years later she has won one tournament and has missed 10 of 15 cuts this year.

Kuehne has had type 1 diabetes since she was ten years old, which is yet another obstacle she must face every day. Yet she insists that "diabetes is not an excuse."

She uses a pump and watches her blood sugar very carefully but even with such careful management she has her fair share of low blood sugars on the golf course. ""My hands go numb. My lips feel real tingly. I start slurring my speech. You basically seem like you're drunk," she said. "(But) the golf tournament's not going to stop because my blood sugar's low."

Even though she has faced constant struggle in her career "I wouldn't change a thing about (my career) because personally, the things I've been through, it's made me such a more well-rounded person," she said.
__________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her teen daughter highly recommend this book about diabetes for older children (and adults): Understanding Diabetes by Dr. H. Peter Chase

Vitamin B1 Deficiency

2007-08-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Diabetics have a pronounced deficiency of vitamin B1 and this might be at the root of vascular problems and kidney damage, according to British researchers.

I'm making a mental note to buy some B-Complex.
____________________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her daughters highly recommend this "pink panther" book about diabetes for young children and adults alike: A First Book for Understanding Diabetes by H. Peter Chase, M.D.

Retinopathy: One of the Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms

2007-08-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Diabetic retinopathy is the number one cause of blindness in adults, says Mayo Clinic. This is definitely one of the most serious of the juvenile diabetes symptoms.

Here are some signs of retinopathy:

• “Spider webs” or “cobwebs” in your field of vision.
• Dark streaks or film that blocks vision.
• Vision loss or blurred vision.
• Poor night vision.
• Difficulty adjusting to dim lighting.

Annual eye exams are a must. There are laser treatments and medicines available to treat retinopathy.
____________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her daughters highly recommend this "pink panther" book about diabetes for young children and adults alike: A First Book for Understanding Diabetes by H. Peter Chase, M.D.

Go Team Type 1

2007-08-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Team Type 1 is a group of nine bikers who have juvenile diabetes. The last two years they have won the 3000 mile Race Across America. They do this to raise money for diabetes research and to prove that people with diabetes can live healthy lives.

You have to admire their commitment. Team founder Phil Southerland checks his blood sugar 18-25 times a day and says, " We are essentially the C.E.O.'s of our own bodies and we don't get a break from them."

All the bikers use pumps and wireless glucometers and have custom-made bikes. There are two women on the team and I was sure to point this out to my daughters. They think this team is very cool and so do I.
__________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her teen daughter highly recommend this book about diabetes for teens: In Control: A Guide for Teens With Diabetes

Part 2 of Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms: Not Always What You Expect

2007-08-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

For six months my daughter had the following symptoms, none of which seemed like juvenile diabetes symptoms:

Joint pain.
Muscle weakness and pain.
Eye pain.
Swollen ankles for a week right before her diagnosis.
Stomach pain that was pronounced when she would eat wheat or corn.

I have celiac disease and my husband has rheumatoid arthritis. My daughter went on a gluten-free diet shortly after the onset of these symptoms and noticed great improvement. She had an IgA blood test for celiac but it was negative.

Along the way she also had her thyroid tested and a CBC test to see if she was anemic. All tests were negative. Her CBC was normal.

I now understand her symptoms in retrospect. The food was causing her blood sugar to spike. Her muscles and joints were weak because of high blood sugars. Being on a gluten-free diet helped her limp along but eventually she ran out of islet cells and entered a ketoacidosis state.

I didn't think to ask for a blood sugar test and none of the doctors requested that she be tested, even though her sister has diabetes. It seemed like her symptoms were pointing in the direction of rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. She developed swollen ankles a couple of weeks ago so I took her to a pediactric rheumatologist last Wednesday (August 15).

The doctor ordered more than a dozen lab tests and called me later in the day to say she had diabetes. Her blood sugar was over 400 and she was in a ketoacidosis state and needed to go to the hospital immediately.

I was beyond shocked. My 11-year-old daughter has had diabetes for seven years and does not have these same symptoms when she has a high blood sugar. I'm quickly learning how juvenile diabetes symptoms can be different for each person.

For instance, one of the doctors in the hospital told her that other diabetic children developed swollen ankles during the recent heat wave. Heat and high blood sugars can cause swollen ankles. Yet my other daughter has never had swollen ankles. There will be no end to what I learn about juvenile diabetes as I watch my daughters journey through life with this disease.

Bottom line: if your child has health problems of any kind, even if they seem totally unrelated to diabetes, and your child also has a diabetic sibling, test their blood sugar.
____________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her daughters highly recommend this "pink panther" book about diabetes for young children and adults alike: A First Book for Understanding Diabetes by H. Peter Chase, M.D.

Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms: Not Always What You Expect

2007-08-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I knew all about juvenile diabetes symptoms. After all, I have been the mother of a diabetic child for seven years. I had always assumed that if one of my other three children came down with diabetes I'd notice immediately.

These are the classic symptoms:

Excessive thirst.
Frequent urination.
Increased appetite.
Weight loss.

When my 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with diabetes at age 4 it was very straight-forward. She was constantly drinking water, constantly going to the bathroom.

My 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with diabetes on August 15 after six months of health problems that, for all the world, did not appear to be diabetes symptoms.

More on that later. It's been a long journey. I'll be making regular posts about juvenile diabetes symptoms, diabetes research and what it's like being the parent of two diabetic children. Stay tuned.

____________________________________________________________________
Anita Ashland is the parent of four daughters and two of them have type 1 diabetes. They live in Wisconsin. Anita and her teen daughter highly recommend this book about diabetes for older children (and adults): Understanding Diabetes by Dr. H. Peter Chase