Dawn of a New Way for Diabetes Management

Last night, Heath and I attended a diabetes pump support meeting at Rex Hospital (followed by a fun sushi dinner in downtown Raleigh). The meeting was a very informative session with a diabetes educator presenting and leading the meeting. We learned a lot of new things like the effects of exercise on blood sugar and how to better manage this with the pump, setting up different profiles on the pump like weekends and weekdays, using diluted insulin for little ones and the benefits, the effects of foods high in fat like ice cream, the effects of hormones on blood sugar, transient highs vs. more serious highs, etc.

Bottom line is that you can get much more precise insulin dosing and management with a pump as well as getting rid of all the needles. The biggest benefit besides better blood sugar management is enabling Chance to snack or drink milk when he wants to and getting off this strict routine we are on. One parent whose daughter was diagnosed at 11 months and is now 9 years old said - "you will feel normal again. The pump enables you to return to a normal routine." A person who was 4 when he was diagnosed came up to me after the meeting and said, "I was 4 when I got this and I am 50 now. I am still alive, I have healthy kidneys, can see well and healty feet and I didn't have all the modern management methods that you have today. You can live a healthy life with diabetes."

They also talked about advancements in research and how in 5 to 10 years the management will change dramatically and there will possibly be a cure. Here are a few links to some new and exciting research:

Feb 2, 2010: JDRF Funded Research Advances Potential For Regeneration As A Possible Cure For Type 1 Diabetes http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=90837DB8-1321-C844-132E9B0745D4A9D3&page_version_id=9088E311-1321-C844-132E3E538E764B13

Jan 13, 2010: JDRF Forms Partnership with Animas to Develop First-Generation Artificial Pancreas Managing Type 1 Diabetes http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=2458B97B-1279-CFD5-A70D0580F67A16A9

Over the next few weeks, we'll be doing our due dilligence, taking pump classes, wearing them ourselves to see how they feel and making a pump selection decision for Chance that we believe will suit him the best.

What has transpired inside me over the last two weeks is a great feeling of excitement! When Chance was first diagnosed, I couldn't help thinking how awful this is and asked myself: why him?, why us?, how did this happen?, will our lives ever be normal again?....  Now, I am feeling passionate, dedicated, optimisitc and most importantly like we are part of a very exciting time in diabetes research. This fuels my passion about doing more to help make the much needed diabetes advancement. Heath and I have started working with JDFR to help make a difference. Instead of feeling doom and gloom, I am truly excited for Chance and the advancements we will see in his lifetime, hopefully before he is a teenager.

For both Chance and the diabetes community, this is a dawn of a new way and the dawn of a new day for diabetes management.