[shot caller]

Hi there. Just signed up but I've been thru the forums since a while. I know this great girl who's type 1. she's been type 1 since the past 7 yrs (she's 23) and it so happens that i like her a lot. from what i know, her hba1c is 6.8 and she uses novorapid 3 times and lantus 1 prior to bedtime. i've done a lot of research and i'm honestly confused coz there are opinions ranging from optimistic to downright pessimistic. this is a bit long but i was wondering if anyone could help me with the following:

1. as long as the bg is under control, what are the chances of complications developing later in life? also, since it was diagnosed @ 17, does it make a difference?
2. i read that having kids is not a problem. all it requires is more care and ensuring that the bg doesn't flucutuate out of normal ranges. i want to know if there is a chance of the child having type 1 at birth/later in life or type2 later in life. her father has type 2.
3. other than diet plus the bg testing and the medical checkups every 6 months or year, what else may come in our relationship? i know that hypos/hypers are inevitable but is there anything else i need to know.

there are other things that i need to know but i guess it will do for now. thanks.

[Stuboy]

I guess the best thing for you to know, is how to treat a hypo, or what to do in an emergancy.

You are doing the right thing researching, but remember that many informational website always give you the worst case senario.

If the BG is kepts under control then the chances of complications are reduced significantly.

Be aware than fluctuating BG's can cause mood swings (as if women didn't have enough already lol), so you need to understand that, in some people, diabetes can cause depression too... but not always. Everyone is different, so dont beleive everything you read and take it as fact, because we all react to situations, stress, food, medications, etc differently.

Are you actually with this girl? or do you just like her? Only ask because you mentioned about kids... bit early to think about that if you're not dating isn't it? lol... just curious

[GrammyByer]

Hi there! Of course there are always possible complications later in life, but with good control, these chances a fewer. I am an old timer with diabetes - 36 years. I use a pump and I would suggest this to everyone. My only situation at this time in my life is some peripheral neuropathy in my feet which is causing some bone structure deterioration. My podiatrist and I work hard at keeping this at a slow pace. I wear orthodic type inserts with a amsll brace in my sneakers. At present I do have a few stress fractures in one foot and it is in a cast for a few weeks. BUT - my eyes are fine, my kidney function is good and my cardiologist tells me that my heart iw working very well. Sooooooooo, there are many worse things than a relationship with someone who is diabetic. Linda

[LancetChick]

Originally Posted by shot caller

1. as long as the bg is under control, what are the chances of complications developing later in life? also, since it was diagnosed @ 17, does it make a difference?

I developed retinopathy and frozen shoulder with A1c's in the mid to low 6's. Since lowering my A1c to the low 5's, I've reversed those complications. My lab's range of A1c's for non-diabetics is something like 4.2 - 5.5, so even though the ADA recommends maintaining an A1c of less than 7%, it's a good idea to get it much lower than 7%, if you can do so without increasing the episodes of hypoglycemia.

[am1977]

I think it's really great that you are so interested in learning abou her condition~ I'm sure that means a lot to her.

I would suggest asking her these questions (if you are comfortable enough)... I think she would really appreciate that you care.

Good luck

[Stuboy]

but at the same time, try not to make her feel like you think she's "fragile" or "delicate" because of her diabetes... there's nothing worse than "over-caring" people... well there, is, there's ignorant people... who think you can't eat anything but salad, people who feel the need to tell you "you can't eat that" and "are you allowed to have that?"

UGH! lol

[shot caller]

thanks for the help, really appreciate it. to answer stuboy's question, marriage is on the cards so the kids issue was something i needed to know. grammy byer, ure type 1 or type 2? require some more info so please bear with me:

1. is there anything that i'd need to do to help her out (other than severe hypos) and other than the diet and bg testing, is there anything else that may come in the way of our relationship?
2. do u have to extra care when ure ill, ie more bg testing, a change in the doses of insuiln, etc. i also read that infection rates are higher and time it takes to cure the infection is longer. don't know why this happens so if anyone can shed some light on it, would be great. also, for routine operations such as appedicitis, etc does the doc need to take extra precautions?
3. i travel a lot sometimes to remote places where medical care is pretty basic. i freak out at the thought of anything happening to her when we're there. is insulin readily available at medical stores or do u need a prescription? plus, does travelling or flying mean more bg testing due to the change in time zones, food, etc and is it a problem with foreign customs carrying insulin injections, bg kits, etc ?
4. how big is the pump and how does it work ? also, is there any advantage as opposed to insulin shots? also, is it noticeable when worn?
5. what is the outlook 5-10 yrs from now in terms of insulin types, insulin delivery techniques, lifestyle, treatment of complications (i'm not from the us but inhaled insulin will be released here 6 months from now), pump types and dare i say, maybe even a cure. i know there's a lot of research to find a cure but.....
6. are there any websites that provide info that is reliable?

[JediSkipdogg]

Originally Posted by shot caller

1. is there anything that i'd need to do to help her out (other than severe hypos) and other than the diet and bg testing, is there anything else that may come in the way of our relationship?

One thing, don't push her at all. At least in my case that drives me totally insane. By that I mean don't make her dinner one night and make it totally healthy. Don't change her eating habits or do something that you think she should do but she really doesn't. And if she forgets to test before a meal, don't bug her till she tests. Basically, stuff like that.

Originally Posted by shot caller

2. do u have to extra care when ure ill, ie more bg testing, a change in the doses of insuiln, etc. i also read that infection rates are higher and time it takes to cure the infection is longer. don't know why this happens so if anyone can shed some light on it, would be great. also, for routine operations such as appedicitis, etc does the doc need to take extra precautions?

When a diabetic is sick alot is out of wack. Then you add medications and those generally don't help as they can make the diabetes part more out of wack at times. I'm not saying she shouldn't take medications, just that when one is sick, everything changes, and it's impossible to say which way they will change.

And with infections, it all depends on how well she is under control. If the control is perfect at that time, the infection will heal faster and smoother. If she's not under great control at the time a permanent scar may be left. I have one on my hand from an operation 10 years ago when my control wasn't so great.

With general surgery, that the surgeon will know about and advice how to handle. For some surgeries they want no drugs in the body or no food, so that messes up the norm but you have to handle it at that time.

Originally Posted by shot caller

3. i travel a lot sometimes to remote places where medical care is pretty basic. i freak out at the thought of anything happening to her when we're there. is insulin readily available at medical stores or do u need a prescription? plus, does travelling or flying mean more bg testing due to the change in time zones, food, etc and is it a problem with foreign customs carrying insulin injections, bg kits, etc ?

For pork based insulins (pretty much pre-year 2000, although still made) you don't need a prescription. For synthetic insulins (Lantus, Novolog, Humalog, etc.) you need a prescription.

In regards to time zones there will be slightly more testing depending upon how many zones one changes. For example, if one flies 12 hours into the past and is on Lantus (which is a 24 hour insulin) then there is going to be a period of overlap for the Lantus unless they take it the same time in their original time zone.

Originally Posted by shot caller

4. how big is the pump and how does it work ? also, is there any advantage as opposed to insulin shots? also, is it noticeable when worn?

The pump is about the size of a cell phone, maybe slightly bigger than some new phones out there. It is connected 24/7 through an infusion set put into the skin every 3 days.

The main advantage is the user is totally in control of their insulin needs. With Lantus one can't change how much they need by the hour of the day. With an insulin pump, I can go all day without eating and my pump can change the amount of insulin by the 30 minutes. Much more customizable. Also, the other main advantage is that I can give a bolus (similar to a shot) of insulin whenever I need it. Say I want to have a fancy dinner but am not sure about dessert. On shots, one would give one shot for dinner then a second for dessert if they didn't give dessert in the first shot. On the pump, it's just pushing a few more buttons, but not needing to "insert" a needle at all.

I wear mine on my hip and most think it's a fancy pager. It's noticable, but not like it stands out and says "hey, I'm diabetic."

Originally Posted by shot caller

5. what is the outlook 5-10 yrs from now in terms of insulin types, insulin delivery techniques, lifestyle, treatment of complications (i'm not from the us but inhaled insulin will be released here 6 months from now), pump types and dare i say, maybe even a cure. i know there's a lot of research to find a cure but.....

I've had diabetes for 24 years now. I am 100% complication free so far and I have only used a pump for 4 years. So 20 years I was on 2 shots a day (a very very old and now bad treatment method.) In terms of where we will be in 5-10 years I don't think anyone can answer that. If you asked 10 years ago if people would be wearing insulin pumps I think the general answer would be no. If you asked 5 years ago would people today be able to wear a CGMS and get glucose readings every 5 minutes I think they'd say no then as well.

Inhaled insulin isn't all that it's talked up to be. The problem currently is the dosing is not as accurate as shots and nothing compared to a pump. Although there are about a handful of companies working on new inhaled insulins with more precise dosing. Another problem is there is no knowledge of what long term complications there are to the teeth (one is inhaling a powder that will brush across the teeth possibly damaging the enamel) and no idea what complications if any to the lungs from inhaling all the time. The last major problem with inhaled insulin is if one thinks giving a shot in public or using a pump is obvious, then wait till they pull a decice the size of a 20oz pop bottle out and start inhaling from that. Can we say bong and marijuana?

Originally Posted by shot caller

6. are there any websites that provide info that is reliable?

Yup, right here. It depends on what info you want. The problem is depending on where you go is how reliable the info is. Also, sometimes sites give ONLY their opinion. At least on this site you will find many different opinions and different ideas to try. We will also tell you the good and bad of different treatment methods where most places only say the good.

Welcome to the site and maybe you can get your partner to join.

[LancetChick]

Originally Posted by shot caller

are there any websites that provide info that is reliable?

Websites: 1. http://community.diabetes.org/n/pfx/...tesz&nav=index

2. Diabetes and Insulin Pump Therapy for adults and children with diabetes (this is for people who pump, or who are interested in doing so. You have to sign up to read the messages, but there are some good links available if you don't)

3. Using Insulin by John Walsh is an excellent book which does a good job of taking the mystery out of insulin management.

[ProudNanaof5]

Welcome to DF, shot caller... It would be great if you get your girl to join us, too. It's great you are trying to help her...

[BriOnH]

Let her worry about these things. I hope no girl I date/dated ever had these types of thoughts about me. I'd probably dump her if she did.

[shot caller]

brionh, since we might marry, it is my job to worry about these things. i believe that a good relationship works if each partner can support the other. i'm not saying that diabetes is a major issue but it is certainly one that needs to be addressed.

thanks for all the info. few more questions while u guys are at it:

1. her morning fasting is 80-110 and it's between 110-140 2 hrs after lunch. is this within normal ranges? she takes abt. 4-6 units of novorapid for breakfast, lunch and dinner and 10 units of lantus at night.
2. is there a degree of the severity of the condition, ie some people cannot control their sugar levels whereas others can or is it more or less the same across the board? it may sound dumb but it's not easy to get info on the net that is straight and simple
3. i read a posting on the ada forum about a guy who might go blind because he can't control his bg level. i'm assuming that her bg level is stable from the info i've git (her ha1bc is 6.8) but is there a chance of this going the other way anytime in the future, ie she struggles to maintain her bg levels. if so, what could be the reasons?

plus, if anyone could shed some light on whether type 1 is genetic or not, ie whether kids could develop type 1, it would be great

[It Ain't Over]

Originally Posted by BriOnH

Let her worry about these things. I hope no girl I date/dated ever had these types of thoughts about me. I'd probably dump her if she did.

I don' t know BriOnH, I mean I understand that we all do not want someone running our lives, it is hard enough as it is without that.
But when I married 27 years back my wife knew of course that I was a type 1 diabetic, what I did not realize was just how uniformed she was back then.
I recall waking one morning all disoriented with very low bg. She panicked because she had never seen that. For me it was no big deal. She kept trying to talk me into taking a shot of regular. Thank God I had enough of my wits to refuse that offer.
I started to educate her after that, she went from naive to almost over the top. Still after all the years she does not get some of the stuff we would take for granted.

[Angelique]

I think it is great you are trying to get educated on her disease. One thing to remember is that a diabetic...or at least I can say being diabetic I don't like anyone telling me what I need to be doing to take care of myself, I know what I need to do. I think you should be educated in the event something should happen to her like a low bg or high bg. Never ask what her blood sugar is...I hated to be asked. I don't mind sharing but I hated for others to ask...except maybe my mom. When I first started dating my dh he would ask me all kinds of things about my disease and I told him all about it. He never asked me about my sugars or pestered me about taking medicine. The only time he stepped in was when I was low and he had to help me drink juice or eat something but that was b/c I was so out of it. He hasn't had to do much for me, I'm self sufficient as I'm sure your gf is, sounds like she takes great care of herself. Understand that having a diabetic wife...if you marry can get expensive for supplies and you have to check into insurance coverage. With my dh he looks at jobs as to what type of coverage they offer and if it's not good then he passes up the job. I told him before we got married that it was not going to be easy being married to a diabetic but that never scared him off. There may complications but one never knows this, just as you may come down with a disease in your lifetime. Take each day as it comes and that's the most you can do.

[shot caller]

thanks for the info. how much does insulin, bg testing kits, etc cost anyway? i don't have any insurance so... it's gonna come out of my pockets