January 23, 2002
Daily Care
Question from Vancouver Island, Canada:
I found out this week that my husband, my 10 year old daughter and my eight year old son all have MODY, but I did not receive much information from the hospital. I have been looking on the Internet for more, and It seems like there is not much information on it. Can you explain what it is? What causes it? Will my children pass it on to their children? Is it okay to have an A1c of 8.5% and not be taking any form of insulin? What recommendations do you have to control this?
Answer:
Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young is merely one genetic type of diabetes that we understand better genetically than others. Treatment is the same as all other types of diabetes: work to normalize the glucose levels as much as possible. If you go to other parts of this web site you can get other teaching manuals. Also, the American Diabetes Association has a vast array of books available for you to purchase. The Canadian Diabetes Association web site also will have many resources. Read as much as you can and educate not only yourself but also your family members so that you know what options you have.
It isn’t okay to leave a hemoglobin A1c level high. This level is associated with increased future risk of all kinds of sugar related complications. If you need more information, you should call up your diabetes care team and schedule an appointment. They can tell you lots more, give you information about medications that may be used and also how you should be monitoring these family members, how often blood glucose levels should be checked, BP readings, lipid levels etc.
SB
[Editor’s comment: I would suggest that you contact the CDA to locate the closest diabetes center and ask your family physician for a referral. As Dr Brink has said, this type [and every type!] of diabetes does require a treatment plan. You need to work with an experienced diabetes team (consisting of a diabetologist, a nurse, a dietitian, and a mental health specialist) to develop individualized regimens for each family member, and to provide necessary education to implement it.
SS]
