Priyanka (8) hates to go to school as she dreads taking insulin shots herself. She is suffering from Type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes). She does not play nor relish chocolates, fearing her blood sugar would shoot up.
Rahul (22), an MBA graduate, has got a job offer from an MNC. But he’s afraid his employer might discover he has diabetes. “I want to hide the fact from my company as it might come in the way of my employment and promotion in future,’’ he reasons.
Sapna (27), a software professional, has been ‘rejected’ by prospective grooms several times now for being a diabetic.
Often, diabetics suffer more because of psychosocial and professional problems rather than the medical condition. The launch of “Type 1 Diabetes Support Group” in Bangalore on November 18 hopes to tackle this. A network of children and adults suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes will meet once a month and hold regular sessions to educate patients and families on self-care.
Crusading for quality life for diabetics are: Dr Madhuri Patil-Gole, a diabetologist, living with diabetes for 17 years, and software professional Mallika Sriguru, who is married to Sriguru, a Type 1 diabetic for over two decades.
“I learnt to keep carbohydrate count to decide my insulin dose. But not all patients, especially if they are young, can do it. Diabetes management requires a minute-to-minute balance between insulin doses, food intake, physical activity and psychological and social stresses in life,’’ said Madhuri, who has worked with one of the patient education teams of American Diabetes Association in California.
“This works as group therapy. We can reach out to patients with psychosocial problems,’’ she said.
What is Type 1 diabetes?
It is a form of diabetes mellitus, an autoimmune disease that results in the permanent destruction of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. It is lethal unless treatment with exogenous insulin via injections replaces the missing hormone.
The symptoms
Polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (increased thirst) and polyphagia (increased appetite) are the three typical symptoms of Type 1.
The treatment
It’s treated with insulin replacement therapy — usually by injection or insulin pump, dietary control, typically including carbohydrate tracking, and careful monitoring of blood glucose levels using glucose meters.
Complications
If untreated, it can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a form of diabetic coma that can be fatal.
(Names of some of the patients have been changed)
Juvenile diabetes developing in individuals of young age . To survive, the patient needs external complement of insulin. It is not infectious, nor hereditary, although genetics is thought to be a factor for diabetics. It strikes without respect to race, religion, caste or money power. For depletion of health and strength, the diabetic child becomes an easy prey to other diseases, infections and degenerative changes of vital organs. This blog is dedicated to Juvenile diabetes children.
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