Double Diabetes Dilemma

I prefer type 2 diabetes to the type 1 variety. Type 2 is preventable and even reversible. The pancreas continues to produce insulin in the type 2 diabetes state so we can make an effort to live with the little insulin we have; it is relatively easy to manage with good patient cooperation in any case.

The body’s immune system senselessly attacks the insulin producing cells of the pancreas in type 1 diabetes leaving us without any insulin at all. There is no alternative to taking insulin injections at least once a day, which is such a bother for children.

But there is another issue. Children, who are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, tend to put on weight once their insulin regimen becomes stable. This process can lead to insulin resistance in adolescence, leading eventually to the development of a type 2 diabetes state, in addition to the type 1 variety. These teenagers suffer from double diabetes, which is more difficult to manage than one or the other type alone.

The answer lies in regulating diet and exercise for children with type 1 diabetes in a manner that their weight remains under control, and so that they do not develop insulin resistance. So keep your child’s diet and weight under control and keep double diabetes at bay!

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