Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong autoimmune condition where your pancreas stops making insulin. There is currently no cure for type 1 diabetes, but it can be managed with medication and a healthy lifestyle.
At Banner Health, our goal is to empower you with information to maintain your health and well-being. Explore the causes, symptoms, treatment options and ways to manage your type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes, once called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune condition that affects how your body uses blood sugar (glucose), an important energy source.
When you eat, your body turns food into glucose, which cells use for energy. Your pancreas makes insulin, a hormone needed to get glucose into your cells.
In type 1 diabetes, your body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy beta cells in the pancreas, which make insulin. Without enough insulin, glucose stays in the blood and can cause serious damage to your organs.
About 5% to 10% of Americans with diabetes have type 1. This type of diabetes is one of the most common chronic (lifelong) diseases in children in the U.S. However, you can develop type 1 diabetes at any age.
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes have different causes, but both are serious and can lead to health problems if left untreated.
In type 1 diabetes, the body can’t make insulin because the immune system attacks insulin-making cells in the pancreas.
Type 2 diabetes is when the body has trouble using or properly making insulin. It usually affects older adults but is becoming more common in children. Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes.
The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually appear quickly, over a few days to months. This is because your pancreas makes less and less insulin as your immune system attacks healthy cells.
Untreated type 1 diabetes can make you ill very quickly. It can also lead to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a medical emergency.
Learn more about type 1 diabetes signs and symptoms.
It’s natural to wonder if there was something you could have done to cause type 1 diabetes. But there is nothing you can do to prevent it.
While the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is not known, we do know genetic and environmental factors might trigger the disease.
Learn more about your risk for type 1 diabetes.
If you think you have symptoms of type 1 diabetes, ask your health care provider for a blood test for diabetes. It’s important that type 1 diabetes is diagnosed as early as possible. This allows for timely treatment and management.
Learn more about testing for and managing type 1 diabetes.
Thanks to advances in medical care and technology, the outlook for type 1 diabetes has gotten much better with time. If managed with medication and a healthy lifestyle, many people with type 1 diabetes lead active lives.
While there is currently no cure, researchers are always looking for new ways to improve life for those with type 1 diabetes.
Managing type 1 diabetes is a team effort. Talk to your health care provider or contact a Banner Health specialist who can help manage your diabetes and answer questions.
Sign in to Patient Account
