Type 1 is often confused with type 2, which is much more common and more of a lifestyle disease.
SAN ANTONIO — We are just over a week and a half away from Thanksgiving, with so much focus on merriment and meals. The holidays can be a trying time for those with diabetes, because you’re not only watching your waistline, but keeping an even closer eye on blood sugar too.
If you have type-2 diabetes your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or becomes resistant to it, but it is manageable with lifestyle changes.
Type 1 diabetes is genetic. And with multiple daily insulin injections required for type 1, what you put in your body requires a little more Thanksgiving thought and a little more care at Christmas.
“She is more mature than most ten year olds. She was forced to grow up quicker than she should have,” said Jackie Taylor who is talking about her 10-year-old daughter, Brianna Smith, who loves candy. She was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes when she was a very young girl.
Her mom says she’s a warrior.
“We learned that type one, you don’t have to control their food, you just have to monitor it. So if she wants a giant cinnamon roll, she can have a giant cinnamon roll.” Smith added, “It’s basically a disease. And no, it is not contagious, but it’s just a disease that tries to kill me every single day,” Taylor said.
Dr. Lurah Welch, a pediatric endocrinologist with CHRISTUS Santa Rosa told us, “It’s an autoimmune disorder, meaning people usually have a genetic predisposition to develop type one diabetes.”
The disease can be difficult for adults to manage, and even more difficult for kids. Dr. Welch added, “A lot of kiddos do struggle with it. But Brianna is doing a fantastic job.”
Smith hits her sugar target with a insulin pump on her leg, a sensor on her arm and an app on her phone.
“Depending on what her blood sugar is, her pump will decide how much insulin she gets,” Taylor said.
Mom says their family is ready for the ride of ups and downs Brianna’s blood sugar will give her over the holidays, but still wants her daughter to be a kid.
Taylor told us, “We know it’s going to be a train wreck. And we’re probably going to spend the next couple of days correcting highs.”