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Growing Up with Type 1 Diabetes
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Taking Insulin
Your pancreas isn't making insulin. So you need to get insulin into your body some other way. You can't take insulin in a pill.* Insulin has to be taken in a shot. This may seem scary, but you CAN learn to deal with it. Your team will help you. It may be easier than you think!
Being on a Schedule
You'll most likely take two kinds of insulin. Fast-acting is for meals. Long-acting is so you always have a little insulin in you. When you take fast-acting insulin, you have to eat. You may also need snacks to keep your blood sugar steady. Your healthcare team will help you find the best schedule for you.
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Make sure to eat when it's time for a meal or snack.
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Using Needles
Nobody likes shots. But insulin shots aren't usually too bad. There are tricks to make shots hurt less and be less scary:
- You don't have to look. This is not a test to see how brave you can be!
- When it's time for a shot, don't put it off or try to get out of it. That just makes the whole thing last longer.
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Don't use alcohol to clean the place you inject. That just makes it hurt more.
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Using a Pen
An insulin pen looks like a big pen with a needle on one
end. Instead of ink, it has insulin. A pen makes it easy to measure your dose. Other people don't notice a pen,
so it's great to use when you're away from home.
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An insulin pen is easy to carry wherever you go.
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Using a Pump
An insulin infusion pump is worn all the time, day and night. It's attached to your body
by a long, thin tube. Using a pump can mean better blood sugar control. It can also mean more freedom in your daily schedule. But the pump doesn't check your blood sugar. You still have to do that yourself. And you or your parents have to push buttons on the pump to give yourself a dose at meals.
* Some people take pills for diabetes, but they have a different kind of diabetes than you do.
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You can wear a pump in a case under your clothes. Or just stick it in your pocket.
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This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care.
Only your doctor can diagnose and treat a medical problem.
©2001 The StayWell Company, 1100 Grundy Lane, San Bruno, CA 94066-3030.
www.staywell.com 800 333-3032. All rights reserved.
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