Long-Term Effects

Hi again.  For those of you who have read through the site and thought, “this is horrible but it could be worse”.  If I’ve some how made type I seem like it’s just counting carbs, giving shots and testing BG with the off chance of a seizure that’s fixed by a sip of soda...  I’ve failed.  See, I’ve spoken to a few of you and I can tell from some of the responses I get that the true weight of Arden’s disease may not be reaching everyone with the same intensity. 

Let me try to boil this down even further... 

Straight away the following is true of Arden’s life.  “On average, the current life expectancy of a child with type 1 diabetes is shortened by 7-10 years”.

I watch and record every speck of food and liquid that Arden consumes. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that will never stop.  After I’m done she will be saddled with this chore for the rest of her already shortened life if a cure isn’t found.  If we mis-count or she exercises too little, too much, has a stressful day, her period or any number of the countless variables we’ve discussed, her BG may go too low.  If that happens she has a seizure.  And if no one is around to stop it she will eventually die for the want of a glass of juice.

The is the other side of the equation...

If Arden gets too little insulin...  She is at serious risk for,  Heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, constant pain and/or weakness, loss of feeling and loss of vision to mention just a few.  Even if I control Arden’s diabetes perfectly... these horrible things still could happen.  Just by being diabetic Arden has a 20 to 30 percent chance of loosing a significant portion of her vision by the time she is 22 years old.  See complete facts at the end.

If you go back to the beginning of this blog you’ll see a statement similar to this: I spend my every moment trying desperately not to give Arden too much or too little insulin.  I watch her every move and try to anticipate her hunger, activity and moods.  If I do a good job she won’t have a seizure today.  If I do a less then good job her elevated blood sugar makes her irritable, achy and sluggish, ruining her day.  If I do a poor job she’ll go blind, lose a limb, have a stroke and struggle with life long illnesses on top of the diabetes that will further cripple her life.  She may even die before me.  

Type I or juvenile diabetes can strike anyone until they are 30 years old.  13,000 children every year in the U.S. are diagnosed with type I, that’s 35 kids a day.  Of them 90 percent do not have a relative with diabetes.  It can happen to anyone...

A year ago I had dreams.  There were things I wanted to do.  Places I wanted to see and experience I’d yet to behold.  Today, I just don’t want Arden to go blind.  Please try to imagine that and then donate to the JDRF in any way you can.  Thank you for listening, Scott 

Facts:

Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease, a range of blood vessel system diseases that includes both stroke and heart attack, is the major cause of death in people with diabetes. The two most common types of cardiovascular disease are coronary heart disease, caused by fatty deposits in the arteries that feed the heart, and hypertension, or high blood pressure. Research shows that people with diabetes are more likely to have high cholesterol and hypertension, both of which cause damage to the cells lining the artery walls. Researchers think high blood glucose contributes to both of these conditions. 

Nephropathy
Diabetic kidney disease, also known as diabetic nephropathy, is one of the most common and most devastating complications of diabetes. It is a slow deterioration of the kidneys and kidney function which, in severe cases, can eventually result in kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease, or ESRD. About one third of people with type 1 diabetes develop nephropathy.

Neuropathy
Neuropathy, or nerve damage, affects more than 60 percent of people with type 1 diabetes.  The impact of nerve damage can range from slight inconvenience to major disability and even death. Diabetic neuropathy leads to loss of feeling and sometimes pain and weakness in the feet, legs, hands, and arms, and is the most common cause of  amputations not caused by accident in the United States. In one type of neuropathy, known as autonomic neuropathy, high glucose levels injure the autonomic nervous system, which controls bodily functions such as breathing, circulation, urination, sexual function, temperature regulation, and digestion. Autonomic neuropathy may result in various types of digestive problems, diarrhea, erectile dysfunction, a rapid heartbeat, and low blood pressure. 

Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common and serious eye-related complication of diabetes. It is a progressive disease that destroys small blood vessels in the retina, eventually causing vision problems. In its most advanced form (known as "proliferative retinopathy") it can cause blindness. Nearly all people with type 1 diabetes show some symptoms of diabetic retinopathy, usually after about 20 years of living with diabetes; approximately 20 to 30 percent of them develop the advanced form.

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Anonymous

Hi Scott-This is a great write-up on the side effects of diabetes-it's good to see that you're trying to educate people, as you know this is far more than just "keeping within the normal BG range", as many think it is.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - 07:40 AM

JDRF Walk: Oshkosh, WI

Arden’s Uncle Brian and his girlfriend Liz participated in a JDRF walk to cure diabetes today.  Brian and Liz wanted to help Arden raise money for a cure but they live half way across the country.  So they did some investigating and found a JDRF walk near them.

Brian went person to person at his place of employment and found 46 wonderful people to donate in Arden’s name.

Even though Brian and Liz collected all of their donations ($410) prior to the walk... they walked anyway.  They told me that, “it was amazing how something as simple as a stroll through the park made them feel so good”.  Wanting desperately to help a loved one in need and not having the power to, can leave you feeling very hopeless.  Just being part of the walk is empowering, even if only in spirit.  It’s a feeling that is hard to explain and even more difficult to imagine.  You should give it a try...

If you sign up today you can still generate donations.  I promise you that the feeling you’ll get from this kind of philanthropy is elating.  It renews your hope in humanity and can rekindle your youthful spirit and recharge the “I can change the world” feeling that can diminish as we age.

Just follow the link at the top of the page to sign up and walk with us.  As I’ve said before if you’re unable to attend the walk you can still sign up and gather donations.  If you don’t live in our area you can just go to the JDRF’s website and find a walk near you, the way Brian and Liz did. 

Thank you for supporting ardens day and hopefully we’ll see you on the 28th!

More pictures from the Wisconsin Walk can be found here...

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Paul

Let's hope that the funds generated from events like this can end all the ailments that our children have. Public involvement is just as important as awareness. We are glad to help in both aspects.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - 08:01 AM

Getting the Word Out

We want to thank Cole’s School for allowing us to send flyers home with the students.  

If you would like to help us get the word out by distributing flyers please contact us and we’ll get the flyers to you right away.  They can be hung on a community bulletin board, at your place of business or in your place of worship... really anywhere you think may be beneficial.

If you want to print the flyers yourself just click on the image below.  The file is meant to be printed at a half page size so two images will fit on a 8.5 x 11 piece o paper.

JUST ADDED:  I’ve also added a ‘Arden’s Team’ page to the site to make it easy for you to support one or all of our walkers.  That link is at the top of each page. 

ALSO:  These flyers (below) will be available on the counter at our pediatrician’s office starting tomorrow.  Many thanks to Adam for making that possible!  They are the same flyers that will be going home with over 900 students from Cole’s school later this week!

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Anonymous

Your story touched our hearts. Good Luck!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - 08:05 AM

Anonymous

Our family wishes yours the best of luck with your fundraising efforts!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - 08:06 AM

Anonymous

dear arden or as people lha la
I'll see you tonight.
WERE YOUR HALLWEEN COSTUME
love rhianna

Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 02:28 PM

en-doh-kruh-nol-uh-jee

Today was Arden’s quarterly Endocrinologist appointment...  For this entry I’m trying something a bit different.  Go to this link to see video from today’s doctor visit... I recorded the blog entry over the video. 

You can see a few pictures from today over at the ‘Scrapbook’, the link is at the top of this page.

The Difference a Drop Makes

I wrote in the past that “a drop too much and Arden could have a seizure”.  It wasn’t until I said that to a friend and saw on their face that it wasn’t registering that I realized that “a drop” isn’t an adequate description.  Like most things in life, you need to see it for yourself.

Let me introduce you to the players.  To create perspective I placed a dime, a penny, a matchstick and that green thing is a regulation size cupcake jimmy.  I then added red to the insulin in the needle so you could see the drop.

First take a look at the penny, see the liquid to the right of Abe?  That is a half of a unit of Novolog.    If Arden’s BG was 300 and I gave her a half of Novolog I couldn't be sure that she’d be safe from being low in three hours.  That’s how much of an effect a half has.  Take a look...

So that was a half of a unit.  You may remember that I gave Arden one unit the day she went low (seen in the video).  That day I was addressing a high BG and anticipating lunch.  Lunch came 10 minutes later then I anticipated and that began the race to get Arden to take in carbohydrates before the insulin took her low enough to cause a seizure.  

Most days I don’t get such drastic lows but lows do occur almost daily.  When they do happen they are still important to address.  How fast I need to do something depends on a great many factors.  The one constant is that the difference between 110 and 79 is a drop.  The difference between 205 and 190 is a drop.  The difference between me sleeping and sitting up half the night... between a low and a good BG... the difference between high and good... every three hours is... well you get the idea.  Here’s the “drop”... 

That red at the end of the syringe is “a drop” of insulin.  Some times Arden is too high in the evening to go to bed but not high enough to need a measurable amount of insulin.  I do my best to approximate “a drop” in the syringe but I can never be sure how much I’ve injected because the smallest measurement indicated on the syringe is half.  

I always write about what happens when Arden gets too much insulin.  One day soon I’ll tell you what happens when she gets too little. 

Here is the part where I ask you to please donate as much as you can to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Just click on this link, fill out a tiny bit of information and select an amount that you are comfortable giving.  You can use a credit card so there is no need to write a check or make a phone call.  In the event that you are uncomfortable making a donation online please contact me and I’ll explain the other options.