Children, Kids, Teens and Diabetes

The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes peaks at 13 to 14 years of age, but at any age it immediately requires children and adolescents to learn many complex facets of glycemic self-management.  Dr. Elliot Joslin's belief of 85 years ago, that education is not just part of the treatment of diabetes, but rather the treatment itself, still holds true.

0 comments - Oct 6, 2008 -

I'll never forget the afternoon of January 22, 2003, and the phone call that came from Derek's pediatrician. I was just leaving my classroom that day when I noticed the light on my phone lit up, alerting me to a new voicemail. My heart stopped when I listened to the message.  The doctor asked me to call him back as soon as possible.  

1 comment - Oct 6, 2008 -

Joel Shpigel's dad was considered a "large" man. He was 37 the day he had a "heart scare." "He didn't have a heart attack, but his doctor said he was headed for one," Shpigel recalls. His father decided to begin exercising. Joel, who was also overweight, decided to join him.

1 comment - Sep 29, 2008 -

Elevated cholesterol levels return to normal or near normal levels over time in four out of ten children with uncontrollable epilepsy treated with a high-fat ketogenic diet, according to results of a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study reported in the Journal of Child Neurology.

0 comments - Sep 11, 2008 -

This is a worst case scenario.
This is the untrained trying to do the unknown.
This is 20 minutes of hell.

11 comments - Sep 4, 2008 -

My husband and I have nine children. Elliott is our oldest and when he was diagnosed with type 1 at age 11 in 1996, we were blindsided. Neither my husband, nor I, nor anyone in our extended family had diabetes. Elliot had all of the classic symptoms: excessive thirst, frequent urination, uncontrollable hunger, occasional blurry vision, and (something I think a lot of parents don't recognize as a sign) bedwetting.  

7 comments - Aug 28, 2008 -

The exhibit hall at this year's Children with Diabetes conference in Orlando, Florida, from July 23 to 27, 2008, featured expensive and elaborate booths from well-known companies like LifeScan and large organizations such as the American Diabetes Association. But another kind of company also welcomed people to their booths. They were the diabetes start-ups, companies that were started more often than not because of an intimate connection to the world of diabetes. I spoke to representatives of five of these companies about their products, their mission, and their inspiration.

3 comments - Aug 28, 2008 -

Babies delivered by Caesarean section have a 20 percent higher risk than normal deliveries of developing type 1 diabetes in childhood, according to a study by a team of researchers from  Queen's University Belfast

0 comments - Aug 28, 2008 -

Before diabetes, I was a normal teenager whose greatest worry was whether I’d get an A or a B on a test. I was strong and healthy. Somehow, I took for granted all the freedoms that diabetes took away from me. Last year, at the age of fifteen, I learned that every day, even every breath, that we are given is a true gift.

2 comments - Jul 24, 2008 -

Nine out of ten regular food items aimed specifically at children have a poor nutritional content because of high levels of sugar, fat or sodium, according to a detailed study of 367 products published in the July issue of the UK-based journal, Obesity Reviews.

2 comments - Jul 17, 2008 -