Diabetes Program

Success Story of a Children's Hospital

Miranda

Miranda was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes two years ago & it has forever changed the Speirs' family.

Caring For Your Child, and Your Child’s Diabetes

The key to a successful life with diabetes is to balance management with a healthy lifestyle. We’re here to help your child learn how to manage Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, and how to reduce the risk of associated complications. We provide:

Diagnostic evaluation
Acute treatment
Long-term management
Follow-up care

What is Diabetes?

Your child may be referred to us because their doctor is concerned about signs or symptoms of diabetes, or your child may have an acute illness associated with diabetes. There are different types
of diabetes:

Type 1: the body is no longer able to produce insulin
Type 2: the body is resistant to the insulin that it is producing

This leads to an increase in the amount of glucose (or sugar) in the bloodstream, which leads to an increase in urination and fluid intake. This may also lead to weight loss. Laboratory evaluation is necessary to make the diagnosis.

Diabetes Treatment

There currently is no cure for diabetes, but proper management is important.

Treatment for Type 1 diabetes includes:

Monitoring blood sugar
Meal planning
Insulin dosing
Regular physical activity
Routine health care

Treatment for Type 2 diabetes includes:

Weight loss
An appropriate exercise program
Improved nutrition
Medication
Blood sugar monitoring

Treatment of diabetes is an ongoing process of education and management for not only your child, but your family, your child’s caregivers and school personnel.

Diabetes Testing

Routine blood sugar checks are fundamental to good diabetes control. The blood sugar checks provide the necessary information about how well the insulin, medication, or other therapies are working.

The goal of treatment is to maintain the blood sugar within an optimal range. A laboratory blood test called Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c or A1c) obtained every three months provides an average of the blood sugar level for the previous three months. This result gives a measure of how well the blood sugar is controlled. The A1c may also show how well the diabetes treatment plan has been working.

Insulin Pen

An insulin pen is a device for administering insulin. The insulin pen is easy to carry and use compared with the insulin vial and syringe. The pen has an insulin cartridge, along with a dial to measure the dosage of insulin needed. Disposable pen needles are used to inject the insulin under the skin.

Insulin Pump

An insulin pump is a delivery device that provides flexibility in dosing insulin. The pump allows for different amounts of insulin to be administered at different times of the day or night depending on the patient’s lifestyle needs.

Insulin pumps deliver rapid- or short-acting insulin 24 hours a day through a small plastic placed under the skin. Insulin doses are separated into:

Basal rates as a 24-hour continuous infusion
Bolus doses to cover carbohydrates in meals or snacks
Correction or supplemental doses for high blood sugar

Continuous Glucose Monitoring System

The continuous glucose monitoring system is a sensor that detects the level of sugar at very close time intervals, even up to minute-to-minute intervals. A small plastic tube is placed under the skin and is attached to a sensor that detects the sugar in the tissue. This allows for the patient, family and care team to monitor the trend in sugar. This may help to provide tighter blood sugar control.