Type 1 Diabetes is an auto-immune disease, meaning that the immune system attacks healthy tissue within the body by mistake. Scientists don't know exactly why this happens, but they do know that Type 1 Diabetes isn't caused by eating too much sugar. People with Type 1 Diabetes, including myself, did nothing wrong and couldn't have done anything to prevent it from happening.
When a person has T1D, their Pancreas stops producing insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is made in the Pancreas. It is used to spread sugars, after ingested through foods/drinks, throughout the body so that it can be used for energy. When a person without diabetes eats a snack, their body naturally produces insulin. This insulin is automatically dispersed to do its job and send sugar through the blood equally to all parts of the body. This way, there is almost always the right amount of sugar in a person's blood. On the other hand, when a person with Type 1 eats, they must manually give themselves insulin so that their blood sugar levels are kept in check. This can be done through injections or an insulin pump.
It is so important to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, but it's not as easy as it sounds. If your blood sugar goes too high, it means you aren't getting enough insulin, and there is too much sugar in your blood. The effects are different for everyone, but I find it hard to focus, get thirsty, extremely irritable, and overall pretty lousy when my blood sugar is high. I am not a pleasure to be around when this happens, and any of my close friends or family can tell you that. High blood sugar can have serious long term effects on the body. If your blood sugar is too low, it means that you are getting too much insulin. When this happens, I feel loopy and lightheaded. Low blood sugar can lead to passing out, coma and even death.
