what happens to a type 1 diabetic if they dont take insulin for 1 week?
November 16th, 2009
OK, that question keeps showing up in my log files for this site, so I’m going to answer it because it scares the hell out of me that anyone would be asking it. The answer is: If a type 1 diabetic doesn’t take his or her insulin for a week, then they will die. As a matter of fact, they will die way before the week is up. A type 1 diabetic who doesn’t take their insulin will die after just a day or three, especially if they eat more than just protein and fat. If they eat carbs, they’re going to be dead even quicker.
While you’d think that a type 1 diabetic could last awhile if they didn’t eat anything, or just ate meat and fat, that’s just not true. A type 1 diabetic, just like everyone else, needs insulin to move the sugar in the body into the cells so that your brain and muscles can work. So, even if you’re not eating anything, you still need insulin so that your cells can use the energy that your body provides from fat stores. For example; I need 60 units of insulin a day just to keep my body working, and that’s just my basil rate, I need more if I eat anything.
On the first day that the diabetic doesn’t have insulin, he or she is going to feel nauseous, sweating and have a really bad headache. The headache is from their blood getting thicker and thicker. It will get so thick that it will start popping the smaller blood vessels in the head and eyes. After their blood sugar gets over 600, they will start going into a coma, and if they don’t receive treatment quickly, they will experience brain death from lack of nutrients and oxygen, followed by clinical death. All of this can happen in a day, or just a few hours, depending on the diabetic and how brittle they are and how many carbs they had to eat.
All I can tell you is that if you’re a diabetic, make sure you keep a couple weeks worth of insulin around at all times, and ALWAYS take your blood glucose and insulin kit with you wherever you go. Something as simple as forgetting your insulin kit when having lunch with a friend, then having a flat tire on the way home and forgetting your cell phone, could kill you.
Tags: High Blood Sugar, Not Taking Insulin, Stupid Diabetic Tricks, Type 1 Diabetes
Posted in
Insulin Information |
November 28th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
My daughter (12 years old) is a type 1 diabetic and has been off of insulin and maintaining her BG levels for 34 days now. She eats a very healthy, organic diet consisting of carbs, protiens and healthy fats. No processed foods, no high fructose corn syrup, lots of nuts, veggies, fruits and lean meats…almond milk, coconut milk, dark chocolate, stevia, cinnamon, agave nectar and enzymes and cayenne for digestion. She is doing fabulous. And no, she was not misdiagnosed. The doctors had to wean her off bc she was going so low on the insulin and responded so well to the diet. Maybe this is a rare case, but we’ve blogged about it at http://www.t1ontherun.com. So far so good. Just wanted to share because everyone is different and I do want to stress that we weaned off with consent of her physicians. Best of luck to you.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
sorry, I meant to say that the blog is http://www.t1ontherun.wordpress.com.
I’ve listed our foods there and other info regarding our journey through Type 1. I hope it’s helpful and i hope they find a cure some day soon.
God bless.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Hi there, me again…I just wanted to update you on my daughter. She has now been insulin free for over 90 days. Still doing awesome. Sticking to the diet…so we’ll see how long this goes on. Just wanted to share.