Living With Diabetes
Manage Your Type 1
Once a patient is diagnosed with Type 1
diabetes his life expectancy gets reduced to a great extent. After
immediate treatment that involves remedy of diabetic ketoacidosis and
high blood glucose level, all efforts are zoomed onto prolonging
longevity. This dreaded disease also leads to several complications that
may end a patient's life such as kidney failure. Other consequences are
blindness , amputation of limbs, vascular diseases and nerve damage.
Once immediate treatment is over a life long strategy is to be
chalked out to fight against it. It involves education about symptoms
and complications, learning mode of insulin usage, proper food planning,
weight control, types of exercises and self testing of blood glucose
level.
The pancreas of a Type 1 diabetic is unable to make
insulin so, every day intake of insulin through injections or in rare
case through infusion pumps is mandatory. Injections are needed to be
given from 1 to 4 times a day, depending upon the requirement.
Next
comes the diet for which it is better to consult a dietitian.
Nutritional counseling helps greatly in maintaining a restricted diet.
Exercise
on a regular basis is an integral part of treatment. It helps greatly in
lowering down the sugar level in blood. But, precautions should be taken
while doing exercise.
Regular self testing of blood glucose level
is suggested, to remain well informed about any abnormality. It can be
done with the help of a device called glucometre.
Type 1 patients
are more likely to get foot problem as nerves and blood vessels get
damaged as a result of the disease. The problem involves foot's
inability to sense trauma or pressure. Body's immune system gets
destroyed and the patients may develop severe skin
infections.
Patient may face low
blood sugar as a result of too much insulin and excessive exercise so
something comprising of sugar must be eaten to nullify it. Its symptoms
are headache, hunger, extreme weakness, excessive sweating and
nervousness.
Problem of high ketone arises due
to substitution of fat as an energy source due to absence of glucose in
cells. Fats break down and poisonous ketone acids are formed in blood
and urine. Alarm bells are stomach pain, vomiting, dry skin and mouth,
flushed face and rapid breathing.
If blood glucose is not
properly controlled, Diabetic Neuropathy might be the outcome. After 10
to 20 years, symptoms like numbness and tingling start to appear. So, it
is essential that type 1 diabetics must live under constant monitoring
and care to pull on with their life.