Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce (Type 1) or properly signs of diabetes include losing weight without trying, weakness and fatigue, …
The Walsh County Record - North Dakota039;s Largest Weekly Newspaper
Dealing with diabetes
Category : Front Page Published by Chrislarson on 2008/10/23
By Mike Alan Steinfeldt GRAFTON mdash; Diabetes doesnrsquo;t happen to healthy active people It happens to those who are sedentary or overweight, or have a strong family history of the disease Grafton high school sophomore Devin Schaan found out differently this fall It was while getting ready for the fall volleyball season that Devin noticed something different She felt fine, other than she didnrsquo;t have quite as much energy as she used to Sometimes it was even an effort to move her feet Her parents, Darcy and Vince Schaan noticed a difference too Devinrsquo;s appetite had grown, yet she was losing weight A pair of blue jeans they had bought for her just a month before which fit perfectly at the time, sagged on her Devin was also thirsty all the time and had to go to the bathroom with much more frequency, even waking in the night ldquo;At first I didnrsquo;t think anything was wrong because I had volleyball practice and I figured Irsquo;d be hungry and thirsty,rdquo; Devin said ldquo;It was weird, because I would have
something to drink and 10 minutes later I would have to go to the bathroom I would drink some more and every 15 minutes I would have to go againrdquo; Devin told her mom and dad about her symptoms ldquo;Vince and I looked at one another and said, lsquo;that sounds like diabetes,rsquo;rdquo; Darcy said ldquo;But we didnrsquo;t have any family history of that, so we thought that probably wasnrsquo;t itrdquo; The symptoms didnrsquo;t abate and Devinrsquo;s parents finally decided it was time to go to the doctor for a quick and simple blood test What the Schaanrsquo;s found out after getting a blood test in Grafton was that their daughter had diabetes They were instructed to take her to a specialist in Grand Forks ldquo;We took her in on a Saturday and they hospitalized her and she came home that Sunday evening,rdquo; Darcy said Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce Type 1 or properly use insulin type 2 Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life In Devinrsquo;s case, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes According to the American Diabetes Association ADA the cause of diabetes continues to be a
mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles In Devinrsquo;s case, one theory is that she may have had a virus when she was young that attacked the cells in her pancreas The pancreas is where the body naturally creates insulin Over time, her pancreas didnrsquo;t keep up with the insulin production ldquo;Her doctor said Devinrsquo;s pancreas is probably working at five to 10 percent of what it should be,rdquo; Darcy said Dealing with it In the wake of the diagnosis Devin, her parents and her doctors are in the process of working to regulate her blood sugar level so she knows how much insulin she needs to take daily
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The blood sugar level canrsquo;t be too low which means her body has too much insulin shock or too high which means there is too much sugar in the blood Devin needs to check her blood sugar every two hours which means pricking her finger and checking it with a glucometer She also needs to take several insulin shots a day ldquo;Itrsquo;s a pain in the butt,rdquo; Devin said ldquo;But therersquo;s really not much I can do about itrdquo; She said she has
bruises where she needs to inject herself and her finger tips are sore from the blood testing Another ldquo;annoyingrdquo; aspect of the disease is that Devin needs to record everything she eats to track the amount of carbohydrates her body takes in ldquo;For each week, shersquo;s supposed to write down all of the carbohydrates or ldquo;carbsrdquo; she eats, because thatrsquo;s what she adjusts the insulin for,rdquo; Darcy said For example, one slice of bread counts for one ldquo;carb unitrdquo; For each carb ldquo;unitrdquo; taken in, Devin needs to take two units of insulin For example, if she decided to eat a banana, she would have to take four units of insulin According to her doctor, Devin needs to eat approximately four or five carb units per meal and around 15 per day ldquo;I used to like to graze and eat whenever I wanted,rdquo; Devin said ldquo;So itrsquo;s been tough for merdquo; She said sometimes that a banana or other snack isnrsquo;t quite as attractive when she knows shersquo;ll have to take a shot to compensate for it Devin said all of her teachers and friends have been very supportive and look out for her, making sure shersquo;s eating right and feeling OK
ldquo;Irsquo;ll be eating gummi worms and my friends will say, lsquo;no you canrsquo;t eat that yoursquo;ll die,rsquo;rdquo; She joked Vince said hersquo;s proud of the way Devin has handled her diagnosis ldquo;Sometimes life just hits you in the gut and you have to bounce back and deal with it Irsquo;m proud of the way Devin has handled it Shersquo;s been a real trooper,rdquo; he said ldquo;You try and protect your kids from everything you can environmentally, but you find out there are some things you just canrsquo;t protect them from and thatrsquo;s frustratingrdquo; Darcy said itrsquo;s a comfort to know that therersquo;s something that can be done ldquo;You know, this isnrsquo;t cancer or something more serious, we know whatrsquo;s wrong, we can treat it, letrsquo;s look on the positive siderdquo; ADA information According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 236 million children and adults in the United States, or 78 of the population, who have diabetes While an estimated 179 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 57 million people or nearly one quarter are unaware that they have the disease In addition to unquenchable thirst and the frequently
needing to visit the bathroom, other warning signs of diabetes include losing weight without trying, weakness and fatigue, tingling or numbness in your hands, legs or feet, known as neuropathy, blurred vision, frequent infections and bruises and scars that wonrsquo;t heal The ADA recommends if you have one or more of these symptoms, you should see your doctor right away For more information on Diabetes, you can check out the ADArsquo;s website at wwwdiabetesorg
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Source:hscj.ufl.edu
