What Causes It??

I don't believe that many people even know the symptoms or cause of Type 1 Diabetes. So this week's blog will hopefully answer some common questions.

When you look up the term Diabetes mellitus (type 1 diabetes) which is referred to as diabetes the most common definition is:

“is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced.”

This definition is referring to all forms of diabetes. But to sum it up, diabetes is a type of autoimmune disease or you could say that type 1 diabetes is where the cells of the pancreas produce little to no insulin.

Insulin is the hormone that allows glucose (sugar) to enter the body cells. This is what creates a high blood sugar since the glucose can't enter the body cells, it remains in the bloodstream. If the glucose remains in the bloodstream, it will not be used as energy, but will create the symptom of hunger.

Diagram provided by the internet

Some common symptoms include:

• Frequent urination
• Unusual thirst
• Hunger
• Dramatic weight loss
• Weakness
• Extreme fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Irritability
• And some nausea and vomiting

This form of diabetes is commonly diagnosed before the age of 40 and statistics say that age 14 is when the disease is most commonly appears.

When I was diagnosed, (I was five years old) apparently, I was ill before I was admitted to the hospital. After my honeymoon stage of diabetes (the time period in which your pancreas is still working but only on random attempts to produce insulin before it eventually dies) which lasted 9 months, around the time of my seven year anniversary of my disease did scientist discover that the Coxsakieivirus could have been the bug that sent my world into a spin.

According to the MedicineNet.com definition of Coxsackievirus explains that:

“Coxsackievirus: A family of enteroviruses first found in the town Coxsackie south of Albany, New York. The Coxsackieviruses are separable into two groups: A and B. Type A viruses cause herpangina (sores in the throat) and hand, foot and mouth disease. Type B viruses cause epidemic pleurodynia Both types A and B viruses can cause meningitis, myocarditis, and pericarditis, and acute onset juvenile diabetes.”

My mom informed me that she had my blood send to be tested for this virus, however, they could not isolate the virus since I was diagnosed seven years prior.

I hope that this has been helpful to those who do not understand the disease and those who are questioning whether or not they are affected by diabetes. Til next time, stay sweet!