life expectancy with type 1 diabetes

I have been a diabetic for 19 years now, and I turn 20 this month. The most important thing for you and your son to do is to get control of his insulin doses and make a healthy eating and exercise plan. Diabetes is very manageable, but it takes dedication. Make sure you have a good overseeing physician like an endocrinologist or a pediatric diabetes specialist. Your son should also be having his Hemoglobin A1c tested every 3-6 months. This is a test that can tell you how high his risk of complications is. It is measured in numbers ( a 6.0-7.0 is ideal). I ran approximately 9.5 when I was your son's age, but since then I am about 7.2, it gets easier once your teen years come to an end mostly because of the unpredictable eating habits and haywire hormones. The most important piece of advice I can give is this: make sure you stay on top of your son's blood glucose level testings. He needs to be doing at least 3-5 a day. You will hit some rough spots, but for nearly twenty years I have not experienced any complications, not even a seizure from a low blood glucose. You and your son can definitely handle challenge. Best of luck.

Hi All

I have been Diabetic with Type 1 now for over 17 years. I can remember sitting around playing computer games for most of my pre diabetic days. Incredibly lazy, bored with life... Then when I found out my condition I seemed to have like a new energy source. Booom  :-D , started surfing and bodyboaridng, started to get more involved with sports. I still think the discovery was one of the best things that has happened to me. Also if you can imagine having the condition for many years and not knowing - the long term side affects could have been worse still.

Sitting at around 32 Years of age now. Still Strong happy and healthy. Had eye scans, kidney and everything else - which is all perfect. :) My a1c results are still sitting out of range - been trying to get this in range with the help of doctors for quite sometime. +9 o.O

I can attribute one of the most important factors which has already been mentioned to Regular exercise. I have been surfing and bodyboarding whenever the opportunity presented itself to me for the last 17 years too. I've ridden the biggest and heaviest waves around the whole world. At one stage I thought that my life was just on a downward spiral because of my condition, also being worried about blindness, kidney failure, possible amputations etc... the list is endless.

I often thought it would actually wouldn't be that bad if I just died riding big waves, and what I loved doing rather then suffering the complications of my condition. So I threw myself into whatever hectic and heavy situation was available. I'm still here, had the best experiences of my life. Almost drowned 5 times, had close calls with Shark attacks in Mozambique, Transkei and Jeffreys Bay, travelled to over 20 different countries around the world, really lived life to the full.

 I look around and many of my friends have passed away from accidents, cancer, heart attacks @ 35 years of age (non diabetic related) - fit and healthy individuals. Current world stats indicate more people dying of Heart attacks due to bad eating conditions and their lifestyles than anything else. We are all not immortal, and yes maybe if you are diabetic your life expectancy might be lower you will have complications but you know what so will everyone else.
The fact is our condition should force you into having a better lifestyle, eating right and being more active then you were before.

There are rumours of a cure for Type 1 with Stem Research in the medical field expected in the next 5-10 years. So keep good control and hopefully there are options for us in the next few years.

Make the most of your life, take the cards and lemons you've been dealt and go and win a hand or make some lemonade it is really all up to you.
in most situations there are way more people that are worse off that you!!!
Rockon

I have had type I diabetes since I was 10 - am now 49 and healthy & happy.  Don't let fear take over.  Diabetes can be managed by just approaching it as a lifestyle (people are vegetarians, kosher, vegan - you are diabetic).  If your numbers get high, and they do & will be, then you get them back in line.  But you can't live in fear of getting sick or disabled.  When I was first diagnosed my parents were told my life expectancy was 40 and having children was out of the question.  I have two great kids, a great marriage, and a happy life.  I think diabetes forces you to take things in moderation --- no all-nighters in college, no burning candles from both sides at work, but that is actually a better lifestyle than most people lead.  I think it is up to you to put your health first, because you are in charge of you - no one else can really do it for you as an adult, but once you have your head wrapped around that, you're fine.  Will you get complications?  Maybe.  I have ongoing gum issues, and the worse part about that is that insurance companies refuse to view that as a medical issue - so A LOT is out of pocket.  But I am grateful that so much progress has been made in diabetes care (for those who come from test tube urine-testing days, and not having your insulin with you but in the fridge all day, you know what I mean).  It could be so much worse.  I do think that it helped me a great deal to ease into living on my own (roommates that were studying medicine!!) and a wonderful partner who didn't have any preconceived notions about what being diabetes meant.  I wish I could say 'relax' - but that's one thing we're not able to do, because we're forced to think about our last meal, our next meal, our shots, our last bg reading, so you have to be on it all the time yes, but don't let that distract you from what else life offers.  

hello,

thank you for your information. My son was diagnosed yesterday with type 1 at the age of 8. I'm a firefighter and go to calls all the time for diabetes and I'm really scared and the ignorant comments on here have not helped.

I'm hoping you could maybe write my son Liam a letter of encouragement, letting him know of your success and great life. I've always been an athlete and my son has been like my mini me. I coach his lacrosse, hockey and soccer and he wants to be like dad.

Your story is inspiring.

I'm spending 10hrs a day for the next 3 days in hospital in a "diabetes camp" learning and I want my son to blow the diabetes stories away.

Regards,



Jeff

Hi I'm 13 years old and have had type 1 diabetes for almost 1 year now and so am only just at the end if the honeymoon period. But unforttumatly I've been diagnosed with Glandular fever which means my blood level has been sky high :( I do horse ride and that helps but I'm worries that this high blood sugar stage could damage my body and cause long term affects but this has given me dome reasurence that I will be okay if I recover well. Thank you

There is some evidence, found recently, that some people have genetic disposition to not suffer the consequences. At a minimum, everyone responds differently. I posted before... I'm the guy who jumped out of an airplane. At 55, after 43 years with diabetes, I still bike, ski, play adult ice hockey, hike, work 10 hour days, and have a wife and 2 daughters who don't know me any other way. I think my daughters think of me more for my wacky humor than for being defined by diabetes...



My standard way to treat it is to beat it into submission. :). By that, I mean I exercise for an hour or more ~5 times a week. I'm actually not a jock, but now at 55, I am stronger and healthier than 90% of my peers... and I watch my food, but am by no means anal about it. I now take my insulin in front of all my friends and in restaurants - its very easy to bend over, pinch a bit of skin on your side, inject, and act naturally. This is much less intrusive than, say, breast feeding - and, in fact, it is life affirming, as far as I'm concerned.



The bottom line is that you have one life. You really shouldn't waste it worrying about everything that can happen. You can, and should, do as much as you can to control the disease... but you own your body and your life, not the disease.



None of us is getting out of this life alive, but I'm going to enjoy what I have here.

I sound like the woman above - I was diagnosed at age 10 - that was 39 years ago. I didn't expect to live to 40. But I have lived a very happy, active and constructive life with type I diabetes - in many ways, it makes you healthier than the average person, because you are monitoring what you eat as well as your health. I have two beautiful sons, ages 10 & 12 who are each healthy. I have a wonderful husband who has always been an admirer of my ability to manage my health. You need a good endocrinologist, a good nurse educator, and what I have really come to rely on lately is an APP called rapidcalc that helps you track what you've eaten and dosed - so that you're prepared the next time you want to eat. After close to 40 years, I maintain a good A1C of 7 - with some signs of neuropathy, and the memory thing. Not bad -- Your son is lucky, he will surely benefit from stem cell research - I'm hoping to in my lifetime. You'll have a few bumps along the way - but being smart is really the key to it all. I have never had a severe high or low, have never been hospitalized due to diabetes, and care more about staying healthy than the majority of people I know. Be happy : )

the woman above is a man (me). :)

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I'd like to thank every single person that has posted on this topic. I see the last posted was months ago. But,

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 3 years ago when I was 12, I am now 15. I went to google and google'd my life expectancy, and this popped up. I took a look and read all of these responses, and I am relieved and quite scared still to say the least. As of late, I have not been keeping very good track of my blood counts, (I'm Canadian, and we use a different scale. My regular level is around 15.0, and your "supposed" to be around 4-7. Anywere under 4 is considered a low.) I was just wondering, if anyone is still around, if there is a way to combat this memory loss, as almost everyone has said it. And as I said, I honestly have had around a year of mistreatment, and after reading this today I will be sure to stay on top of it, but I am wondering will there be any of these long term consequences because of this recent mis-treatment?

There is some evidence, found recently, that some people have genetic disposition to not suffer the consequences. At a minimum, everyone responds differently. I posted before... I'm the guy who jumped out of an airplane. At 55, after 43 years with diabetes, I still bike, ski, play adult ice hockey, hike, work 10 hour days, and have a wife and 2 daughters who don't know me any other way. I think my daughters think of me more for my wacky humor than for being defined by diabetes...

My standard way to treat it is to beat it into submission. :). By that, I mean I exercise for an hour or more ~5 times a week. I'm actually not a jock, but now at 55, I am stronger and healthier than 90% of my peers... and I watch my food, but am by no means anal about it. I now take my insulin in front of all my friends and in restaurants - its very easy to bend over, pinch a bit of skin on your side, inject, and act naturally. This is much less intrusive than, say, breast feeding - and, in fact, it is life affirming, as far as I'm concerned.

The bottom line is that you have one life. You really shouldn't waste it worrying about everything that can happen. You can, and should, do as much as you can to control the disease... but you own your body and your life, not the disease.

None of us is getting out of this life alive, but I'm going to enjoy what I have here.

its very reasuring to have all these responses:) I too have had very high blood sugars recently (I also have the same scale) and my blood sugars, as well, have been about 15mmol on average. I have even been over 32 before! the best thing to do is exercise, i felt better after just 2 days of horseriding; trust me it feels good! i'm on a no sugar diet and still my levels are sky high. Life is too short to be fretting about everything but it is essiental to not be completly careless:)

The memory loss thing is related to LOW blood sugars - I have found that when you make adjustments to keep your bs within a healthy range, and not too low - you don't have as much of an issue with memory loss. I also find that during hormonal periods (teenage, post-partum, and even pre menopause (and yes, I have gotten through all these stages as a diabetic with no repercussions) -- you are bound to get wacky bs levels that are very hard to control - think about it, you have hormonal surges, and there is very little you can do to keep you bs in check....so recognize that and eliminate the stress..

Your welcome ; D

what nonsence!! I am Doctor with Type 1 Diabetes since 9 yrs of age- most likely bcoz of repeated rubella- if u think of it -MMR could possibly have prevented it!!

     Reading all these comments and postings makes me appreciate the confusions and fear and misguided beliefs all we diabetics must live with.  I have had IT for 51+ years with many of the expected complications.  I have avoided the kidney and eye problems thus far and am certainly more careful now about letting my blood sugar get too high.  My wife of 42 years worries that I try to keep it too low.  I generally take a unit or two more than the carbohydrate count would indicate, then check my sugar level just before going to bed.  If the BS count  is too low (under 100) I have enough juice (apple, grape, cranberry) to raise it enough to get me through 8 hours.  I also recommend, for those who can, having an animal (many dogs can, even some cats) who are sensitive to the diabetic's condition.  We have a black lab who will act very restless, even waking my wife,  when my sugar falls dangerously low.  He (the lab) is the penultimate partner I would part with.  My wife has saved  my butt for longer than the dog, so she comes first.  My advice to all who suffer is to live like there will be no tomorrow but to act responsibly in regards to your health.  Check your sugars, watch your A1Cs, quit smoking, if you do (I did for 45 years), and do what you have fun doing.  Find a good knowledgeable MD and follow his/her advice.  Remember, none of us will survive life.  We are all mortal - the only plan is to put off the final accounting for as long as is possible.  I am old enough now to know that everyone misremembers or forgets much of the past.  Don't worry about what you have forgotten.  It obviously was not worth remembering.  Remember only those who have passed for as long as you can!        

Can you please tell me how you control sugar levels my son is 25 has type 1 now for 2 yrs everyday sugar over 200 and higher cant find a doctor that will tell us anything then just deal with it....I know there has to be more .....any thing will help..if you have any suggestions ty

My grandma is 86 and has had diabetes her whole life