Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin. Insulin is an important hormone that helps your body to control the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood.
Roughly 10 per cent of people living with diabetes have type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 1 diabetes generally develops in childhood or adolescence, but can also develop in adulthood. People with type 1 need to inject insulin or use an insulin pump to ensure their bodies have the right amount of insulin.
How 2 Type 1
Do you live with type 1 diabetes? Do you care for someone who does? Whether you've been recently diagnosed or living with the disease for years, How 2 Type 1 is for you. This video, developed in partnership with the Diabetes Leadership Foundation, aims to provide support, knowledge, expert advice, and actionable steps to help you and others in the type 1 diabetes community thrive!
00:03
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, or if you’ve had it for a while
00:08
and want to step up your management, or if someone you care about has Type 1 diabetes
00:12
-- a friend, or family, or a friend who’s become family -- then this series is for you.
00:16
This series is for me, too.
00:18
I'm Conrad Pow.
00:19
I'm a Senior Project Manager at Diabetes Action Canada.
00:23
My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was four years old, so -- as you
00:25
might imagine -- there has been a lot of worry, and learning, and work.
00:27
These videos would've helped my family a lot.
00:33
Type 1 diabetes is a condition where your immune system attacks your pancreatic cells,
00:38
so they can't make the insulin needed to regulate your blood sugar automatically.
00:43
It can feel like your body has betrayed you, which it kind of has.
00:46
And that can feel isolating, defeating, and like you're broken.
00:50
But the thing about humans is: we're incredibly resilient.
00:54
Things break all the time, like when you drop your cell phone in the toilet.
00:59
There's that moment of panic, or sadness, or rage, like, "ugh, my phone is dead and
01:04
I have to find a way to let everyone know, but that's embarrassing, and also somehow
01:07
I have to find the time and money to buy a new one!?"
01:09
All those feelings can seem overwhelming in the moment.
01:12
And, in a similar way, living with Type 1 diabetes may have overwhelming moments or
01:18
days or weeks.
01:20
That's normal.
01:21
But, like I said, humans are resilient.
01:25
Managing Type 1 means gathering tools to help your body, practicing skills, and getting
01:30
better at dealing with the hard stuff that comes your way.
01:33
Type 1 diabetes doesn’t need to hold anyone back from living a full and healthy life.
01:40
In this bite-sized video series, we’ll help you solve the most common problems related
01:44
to diabetes, and learn how diabetes, insulin, food, and activity all work together.
01:50
We'll also share guidelines to help you customize your treatment to different situations and
01:56
live the life you want -- whether that involves running marathons, reading on the couch with
02:01
your dog, or becoming a locally famous foodie.
02:05
We're not here to judge your dreams.
02:06
We're here to encourage them, and help you reduce any unwelcome diabetes-related surprises.
02:12
This series will also help you set and reach your own goals by understanding exactly how
02:13
your body works with diabetes.
02:14
Remember, though: the goal isn’t perfection.
02:15
One small change each week or each month can make a huge difference in your life.
02:16
Most importantly, there are so many other people with Type 1 who are somewhere along
02:17
their journeys.
02:18
That's where all this information comes from: collective scientific study, collective mistakes,
02:19
and collective hope of making it easier for current and future Type 1s to deal with this
02:20
major life shift.
02:21
Now, let’s go.
Understanding type 1 diabetes
Symptoms, treatment, and complications from type 1 diabetes may vary from person to person. The following information will help you learn more about this disease and provide you with helpful tools, assessments and resources.
Understand the potential complications and how to prevent or delay their onset.
We need a strategy now
Although people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes have different journeys, including whether or not they experience symptoms, there is one issue that unites all people living with the disease. Canada has no strategy to address one of the most significant health-care crisis of our time.
With no dedicated support or action to tackle the diabetes epidemic, it means that, every 24 hours:
more than 20 Canadians die of diabetes-related complications
480 more Canadians are diagnosed with this devastating disease
14 Canadians have a lower limb amputation
our health care system spends $75 million treating diabetes
Diabetes 360° and Canadians with Type 1 Diabetes
Canada lacks a proper strategy for addressing and preventing diabetes. The Diabetes 360° Strategy plans to change that.
