What is type 1 diabetes life expectancy? How long can a type 1 diabetic live?
People can make assumptions but they say that life expectancy is reduced by 25 years if you have Type 1 diabetes. Alarmingly, about 435 million diabetics in the world at the end of year 2030 are estimated by a research study conducted by the International Diabetes Federation and this data include both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes can usually be diagnosed at any age, but commonly occurs in infancy to the late 30s. It is also called juvenile diabetes, early onset, or insulin-dependent because children, adolescents and teenagers are the ones impaired. How do you know if your child is suffering from type 1 diabetes?
The symptoms are polyuria or excessive urination, dehydration, weight loss, blurring of vision, excessive fatigue, extreme hunger and thirst. When a person is a type 1 diabetic, it means that his pancreas produces little or no insulin at all. Insulin is required by the body to transform glucose into energy.
The causes of this disease are still unknown although scientists attribute it to the immune system attacking and destroying the pancreas that produces insulin. Because type 1 diabetic lack sufficient insulin supply, patients need to inject insulin several times daily.
Pancreatic cell damages are irreversible. But one can avoid the dangers of fatal attack if you have a healthy lifestyle changes. This will mean controlling carbohydrate intake, exercising, checking your blood glucose levels according to the normal range, and a regular insulin replacement.
It is unnecessary to worry about life expectancy of type 1 diabetes patients. The disease does not incapacitate any person from doing worthwhile activities to achieve a long and healthy life. It must not restrict you. It’s only a deficiency that can be controlled with enough self-discipline on food intake, exercise and insulin replacement therapy.
Famous People Who Have Type 1 Diabetes
There are famous people who have actually lived positively through type 1 diabetes and have succeeded in their fields. Some of them were actively involved in sports, literature, music and arts. They all want to inspire people to realize that having type 1 diabetes does not make you less of a person, that whatever deficiency you have with insulin can be enriched by your talents and abilities.
Here are some celebrities with type 1 diabetes:
- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was a type 1 diabetic since 2008.
- Nick Jonas of the Jonas brothers was 13 years old and his sugar was over 700 that he had to be hospitalized to bring it down to controlled level.
- Sharon Stone, first internationally recognized role was in thriller Basic Instinct, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in Casino was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
- Writer Anne Rice, with novels on vampire was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1998.
- Olympian swimmer Gary Hall Jr. was diagnosed with type 1 in 1999 but continued to win gold medals in swimming even after doctors told him to quit.
- Elliott Yamin, third place finish in American Idol 5th Season was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in during his teens.
Most of them had to live through insulin injections, carefully monitoring their glucose levels, and some wearing insulin pumps.
A Normal Life Expectancy Is Possible Even with Type 1 Diabetes
The bottom line is, don’t let anxiety over juvenile diabetes life expectancy bring you down. Development in medicine has made life-threatening diseases controllable and manageable. Certainly, there are ways to add more years to your life. The three important things are to watch your diet and exercise, monitor your sugar level, and take insulin injection. Positive attitude about how to overcome the disease is the key to longevity.