Type 1 diabetes treatment is a little like visiting a gas station. Remember the good old days, when gas stations had attendants in spiffy uniforms who cheerfully pumped fuel into your car? Today, you usually have to fill your own tank.

In a similar way, you can think fondly on the days when your pancreas used to pump out the insulin your body needed. Now your type 1 diabetes has turned your body into a self-service station. Since your pancreas no longer makes insulin, you are responsible for keeping your blood levels topped off with this important hormone. While a great deal of your treatment will revolve around picking the right form of insulin, choosing the right method to inject the insulin for you, and carefully monitoring your blood sugar, there are many other equally important aspects of treating type 1 diabetes. 

Insulin therapy is only just a part of a proper type 1 diabetes treatment plan.
Insulin therapy is only part of a proper type 1 diabetes treatment plan.

Just like type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise and key components to controlling your blood sugar and staying healthy. Unfortunately, type 1 diabetes patients have also contend with concerns like hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. On this page, you will find articles that cover all aspects of type 1 diabetes treatment, including:

How to Manage Diabetes Treatment
As a patient with diabetes, it is important for you take an active role in your treatment plan. Not only will it make you feel like your participating in the process, it will also ensure that you create a plan that fits your lifestyle. Learn how to manage your diabetes care in this article, and find some worksheets you can download to help you get organized.

Insulin
As we mentioned above, insulin is an integral part of type 1 diabetes treatment. On this page, you will learn about the various types of insulin, the different ways to inject insulin, and how to safely inject insulin.

Organ Transplants
In many cases, organ transplants are a last resort. But for some patients, a new pancreas can be just the thing to get your blood sugar back on track. Of course, importing a new organ into your body can be very risky. In this article, you will learn all the pros and cons of organ transplants.

Blood Sugar
With type 1 diabetes -- and all forms of diabetes -- blood sugar is the key. Of course, your blood sugar will fluctuate, but it is the patient's responsibility to maintain as tight control over their glucose levels as is humanly possible. On this page, you will learn how to measure blood sugar, which machines measure blood sugar, and how to accurately test your blood sugar.

Diabetic Diet
It's fairly easy to connect the dots -- treating diabetes means controlling blood sugar and blood sugar is greatly affected by the food you eat. Here you will learn which foods are safe for a type 1 diabetes patient to eat and in what quantities.

Diabetes and Exercise
While it might be hard to work up the enthusiasm to hit the gym while you're worried about your blood sugar and your next insulin injection, exercise is yet another key element to controlling type 1 diabetes. On this page, we will show you how to safely create an exercise program that will fit into your treatment plan.

Living With Diabetes
Some patients with type 1 diabetes might lose site of the fact that a treatment program is not designed to merely control blood sugar, it is supposed to give the patient a higher quality of life. On this page, you will find articles that will help you live life to the fullest while concentrating on your diabetes treatment.

Alternative Treatments
There are a number of natural methods to regulate blood sugar levels that have been used for decades to treat diabetes. On this page, you will learn about some herbal and home remedies for type 1 diabetes.

Children and Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile diabetes because it afflicts so many people under the age of 20. That's why it's so important to know how to help a child adhere to diabetes treatment program. On this page, you will learn some practical tips for helping a child cope with many rigors of insulin injections and frequent blood tests.

For more information on diabetes in general, try the following links:
  • To learn more about diabetes in general, including diagnosis, causes, symptoms, and treatment, visit our main Diabetes page.
  • Our main Type 1 Diabetes page will tell you more about this form of diabetes, commonly called, "juvenile diabetes."
  • To find out more about type 2 diabetes, which has reached the level of national health epidemic, go to our main Type 2 Diabetes page.

 

Suggestions for a Diabetic Diet
One of the most important aspects of treating and controlling diabetes is monitoring the food you take into your body. However, there may be more wiggle room than you think. To learn more about proper nutrition and diabetes, try the following links:
  • Our main Diabetic Diet page will show you which food groups are diabetes-friendly and which ones you should avoid.  
  • Visit our Diabetic Recipes page to find simple, delicious meals you can make that won't send our blood sugar into a tailspin.  

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.