Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
lifechanging A diagnosis
Navigating life with Type 1 diabetes
BY RANDY RICE SPECIAL TO NORTHWEST ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that occurs when a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, the hormone that controls blood-sugar levels. T1D develops when the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells are mistakenly destroyed by the body’s immune system. The cause of this attack is still being researched, however scientists believe the cause may have genetic and environmental components. Before the 1920’s when Insulin was first isolated for injection, a diagnosis pretty much meant you were fated to live a very short life.
Presently, however, there is still nothing anyone can do to prevent T1D and there is no known cure. While the more common form of diabetes, Type 2, makes up 95% of the diagnosed cases, T1D comes in second at around 5% and usually emerges early in life. The discovery can be a heartbreaking moment for a parent and terrifying for the child as well. Someone who knows all too well about this disease is Dr. Chris Combs, DDS of Bella Vista, who was not only diagnosed himself at the age of 12 but who has two children, Sydney and Jack Walker, who were diagnosed at the ages of 15 and 2 respectively. We sat down with Dr. Combs and asked him to share his experience as both someone diagnosed with the disease at a young age and a parent of two T1D children.
Tell us about your experience as a child discovering and living with the diagnosis of T1D.
“I’ve had T1D for 43 years, I was diagnosed at age 12. At that time there were no test strips or meters, insulin pumps or pens or fast acting insulin like Humalog. So this was 1976 and they put me in the hospital for two weeks. I was scared and my parents were scared because the doctors really didn’t know that much about the disease. I had never heard of it and I really thought I was a goner. The treatment, too, was pretty primitive compared to today. At that time they basically had a strip you would urinate on that would determine if you had sugar in your urine or not, and that was it. It could be a range of 150 to 800 but you didn’t know. So it was difficult to determine what kind of condition you were in. Also when I was a kid there were only two kinds of insulin. First you had a slow, long acting one that you would take in the morning and at night. But it was very unpredictable. One day the long acting shot worked well and the next not so much. So you’re a kid and a teenager trying to plan and live your life – it was pretty problematic. They other kind of insulin was a faster acting one you might take before eating but, again, it was nothing like Humalog that we have available today.”
How was it different for your children when they were diagnosed?
“In contrast to me, when my son was diagnosed he was just in the hospital overnight and my daughter, we didn’t even take her in. We tested her at home and got her on insulin right away and made an appointment with the doctor and went from there. Also today we have really fast acting insulin that starts working within about 10 minutes. We also have available what they call insulin POPs to help regulate your insulin throughout the day. Because you are in a constant need to manage your insulin due to weather and stress and other factors. But it is still a very scary thing for a parent and for their kids. I feel so fortunate to have the disease myself because I know exactly what my kids are going through and I am uniquely positioned to help them get through it.”
What are the warning signs for parents to watch out for?
“One of the big signs is thatyour child is really thirsty and they urinate more than a normal child would. They might be getting up in the night and urinating multiple times. You also want to look for weight loss and a child might be lethargic. There also is a fruity odor to their breath. Those are the signs and a parent should call their doctor and go in and get tested if they see these signs.”
And what advice do you have about living with the T1D?
“Well, the first thing is to accept that this isn’t going away. There will be discouraging times and times you feel good but you just need to keep working at it, learn all you can and keep monitoring your blood sugar. Help your kids learn and you’ll be surprised, the kids really pick it up really fast. We have apps for our phones that we use to monitor our blood sugar and that has made a huge difference. But you need to remember you are still just managing your disease, there is no cure. But you can do it. I’ve lived a long, happy and active life with the disease and your child can too.”