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It’s summer for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and with the new season comes the usual increase in temperature. Add climate change and the continuing rise in temperature on our planet into the mix, and it creates some very concerning risks for people with diabetes and other chronic conditions. These risks are even more concerning for more vulnerable populations with diabetes, such as children, elderly, and people without access to cooler temperate environments. Heat Exposure and Hospitalization for People with Diabetes Given that this is something that we will not be able to avoid in the near future, […]

After the amazing experience everyone heard about Children with Diabetes’ (CWD) events at the Advanced Technologies and Therapeutics in Diabetes (ATTD) conference in Barcelona, many people in the diabetes professional world were asking about what events CWD was hosting at the ADA’s 82nd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, Louisiana. Most people think of Friends for Life (FFL) when they hear Children with Diabetes or CWD, but there are many other things that the organization does to help people and families affected by type 1 diabetes. Collaborations CWD collaborates with a number of health care professionals, diabetes advocates, diabetes industry groups, […]

Autoimmunity Screening for Kids Study (ASK) is based at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Aurora, Colorado. ASK is a general population screening effort to identify children who are likely to get type 1 diabetes (T1D) or who may have undiagnosed celiac disease (CD). T1D and CD are the most common autoimmune diseases in childhood. The main goal of the ASK program is to identify children with T1D before they are sick with life-threatening diabetic-ketoacidosis, according to Dr. Kimber Simmons, MD, MS, and Cristy Geno, PhD, MPH, of the ASK Program. In the first general population-based study of […]

When you have a device that monitors your glucose levels as a person with type 1 diabetes, you are likely quite familiar with alerts and alarms. At diabetes events, like Friends for Life conferences, or diabetes camps, you will hear an assortment of alarms from pumps, CGMs, smart phones, etc. It can even be fun to try and pick out what beep came from what device. Less enjoyable are the alarms that we get about our own glucose levels. The feeling that we get when we get a high alert after eating something we know we probably underestimated the carb […]

Ketones can be like kryptonite for people with type 1 diabetes, and the symptoms of ketone build up are often what lead to the diagnosis of T1D. People are increasingly being diagnosed in what’s known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which can be life-threatening. Understanding what ketones are, how to measure ketone levels, and what to do when you have ketones is critical to managing T1D. What are Ketones? Ketones are a biproduct of the body burning fat for energy, and for people without diabetes, this is not a problem because their body will level out the ketones. Ketones commonly occur […]

Mental Health Awareness Month is here again and, with it, a reminder of how important maintaining mental wellness is for all of us. Our mental health affects our physical health, our relationships, and our quality of life.1 It also has a huge impact on diabetes management – and people with diabetes who have depression or diabetes distress are at an increased risk for having elevated HbA1c levels.2-3 What is the Relationship Between Diabetes and Depression? Studies have shown that for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D), the risk for experiencing depression is three times that of people without diabetes.4 For […]

Although the advent of insulin has saved countless lives throughout the past 100 years, it’s not exactly a cure for diabetes. Diabetes still requires a lot of energy, knowledge, and perseverance to manage. Insulin must be taken at the optimal time before a meal, in the right location on the body, and the insulin itself must be stored properly to function. When you add other layers of difficulty such as insulin resistance, it makes diabetes management even more challenging. I often find myself saying to others with diabetes that I only want high blood sugars for good reasons – such […]

Life is full of stress, whether it’s the excitement of an upcoming event or the stress over a deadline at work or school. Understanding the effects of stress on the body for people with diabetes can make navigating the added issues that stress causes a little easier. We’ll explain some key insights about stress as it relates to diabetes, and some tips on how to cope with life’s many stressors. Stress and the Human Body When your mind or body feels stress, a hormonal response gets triggered and it signals to the liver that the body needs energy.1 It does […]

As many of us are already painfully aware, diabetes affects everything in the body. But there are some areas that it affects more often than others, and for that reason we monitor a variety of things to make sure everything is working up to par. For people with diabetes, some of the biggest risks for complications include cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, retinopathy, and neuropathy.1 If you have diabetes or love someone with diabetes, none of this is news to you. And this article is not meant to increase your stress! We want to provide you with the knowledge that you […]