Insulin Is Not the Enemy (Diabetes Awareness Month)

Insulin is not the enemy.  When Aaron was first diagnosed, this was a concept that was slow to sink in.  I'd plan low-carb this and low-carb that in an attempt to keep the units of insulin we injected to a minimum.  "Let's not overdo it on the insulin," I'd think.  But I knew something about my planning was askew when we'd be faced with denying Aaron something like an apple because it would bump up the insulin dose.  Apples are healthy snacks; insulin allows diabetics to eat healthy snacks.  You don't skip the apple to avoid taking insulin.  

Despite what some might think, it actually isn't the goal of type 1 diabetics to strive for the lowest possible doses of insulin each day.  All bodies need insulin to facilitate the absorption of glucose for energy.  Insulin is not the enemy.   I learned that quickly, and now it's a concept that I've found we are called to communicate to those unfamiliar with managing diabetes.

I recall a day this past summer when we decided to surprise the kids with ice cream sundaes in the evening.  A guest who had joined us for dinner was alarmed and said worriedly of Aaron's dessert, "I bet that sundae is the last thing he needs..."  I asked what our guest meant.  "Well, you'll  have to give him an awful lot of medicine after he eats it, right?"  Well, no.  We'll give him insulin and yes, that's right, the dose will be a bit higher than usual because of the sundae.   But I'm giving the same sundae to my other children and they're getting insulin for it too!  Theirs just comes from within - their properly functioning pancreases took care of the sugars that were in that sundae.  Aaron eats the same dessert and also gets insulin.  I give it to him.

Insulin is not a medication to cure or even manage an illness.   It's not a quick fix for a dietary mishap; receiving insulin doesn't signify that a kid just "messed up" on what he ate and now it needs to be fixed.  It's a misconception to think that a diabetic is being healthier if he limits the amount of insulin he needs to take. It's a hormone that facilitates the body's use of glucose; my body needs it as does yours and Aaron's (it's just a lot more obvious and invasive when Aaron "gets" it.)  Don't panic that a diabetic's insulin dose is high.  Without insulin it the body starves.  Without it, life ceases.  

So I say it again: insulin is not the enemy. 

This idea becomes a little easier to embrace when the food in question isn't an ice cream sundae.  What if we were talking about bananas, milk, and oatmeal.  I'm certain that no one would argue that these aren't full of nutrition and goodness.  Nearly every morning Aaron has a banana, two cups of plain oatmeal (not flavored), and two cups of milk.  Bananas and oatmeal are carbohydrate-heavy foods.  Would you limit these healthy foods just because they were going to require more insulin than the ice cream sundae?  (Did you know that a banana has about the same carbohydrates as 1/2 cup of ice cream?  And that a diabetic would take the same amount of insulin for each?  To diabetics, it doesn't matter where a carb comes from - ice cream or fruit - it must be covered by insulin in the same way.)  When Aaron eats that breakfast chock full of vitamins, minerals, potassium, fiber, and all that other nutrition and goodness, he gets 8 units of insulin.  That's a lot.  But it's not a problem. We don't typical limit healthy foods to force his carb count under a certain level.  

Eating the healthy breakfast and receiving a large bolus of insulin to cover the carbohydrates contained therein illustrates the idea that more insulin doesn't indicate there was a problem with what was consumed.  In fact, it indicates that that food will be properly converted into the energy a healthy kid needs to continue doing healthy kid things - like playing basketball, climbing trees, and racing his bike down the block at breakneck speed.  

Kids don't need medicine to do those things.  They need insulin.  Because it's not the enemy, it's the savior.  

*   *   *   *   *   * 

Have any questions you'd like answered here during Diabetes Awareness Month?  Shoot me an email or mention it in the comments here and I'll get on it :)

If you are interested in reading more about Aaron's story, check out the Caring for Our Child With Type 1 Diabetes page.  

*   *   *   *   *   *

tiny disclaimer:  I'm not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one on this blog.

Also, in this post, when I say things like, "don't panic if a diabetic's insulin dose is high," it's obviously referring to an otherwise healthy kid whose condition in under careful management by his parents and doctors.  Obviously :)