November is Diabetes Awareness Month. The Children's Diabetes Foundation, which is the fundraising arm for the Barbara Davis Center in Denver, plans several awareness activities.
Type 1 diabetes is often confused with Type 2 diabetes, but they are two different diseases. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system kills the cells that make insulin. The body is left with no way to process sugar. The treatment is for people with Type 1 diabetes to give themselves shots of insulin to regulate the sugar in their blood.
"It's a lot. I wear a continuous glucose monitor on my arm, that's 24/7. I have another device...my insulin pump on my stomach. I have to monitor my blood sugars to make sure they don't go to high or too low. If it starts going to low, it can be really dangerous leading to seizures, even death," said Sydney Lundgren, Community Outreach Manager at the Children's Diabetes Foundation.
Type 2 diabetes is when the body still produces insulin, but not enough or efficiently enough to process the sugar in the blood. Type 2 diabetics have a host of treatments they can try before insulin injection is necessary, for example they can limit sugar intake, increase exercise, or take one of several medications.
"It's a common misconception that Type 1 diabetes can only be diagnosed in children. Really, you can get it at any age. The symptoms you should be looking out for are weight loss, extreme thirst, frequent urination. In kids, you might see that as bed wetting," said Lundgren during First at Four on CBS News Colorado.
As part of National Diabetes Awareness Month, the Children's Diabetes Foundation is encouraging Type 1 diabetics to post on social media about their experience with the hashtag, #InMyType1Era. The goal is to create community and foster inspiration among those who manage the disease every day.
"We're really just trying to bring the community together to recognize that this is a really hard disease to live with, but we're all here for each other," Lundgren explained.
The Children's Diabetes Foundation will partner with the Avalanche to raise awareness at their game on November 15th. A portion of the ticket sales will get donated to patients living with Type 1 diabetes.
November 14, 2024 is World Diabetes Day, and several Denver buildings will be lit up in blue to honor the day. Blue is the universal color for diabetes. Buildings that have participated in the past include the City & County of Denver, DaVita Headquarters, Ball Arena, The Confluence building, and the Ferris Wheel at Elitch Gardens.