The Positive and Negative Psychological Effects of Type 1 Diabetes on Children

The main focus of Thriveabetes and it’s reason for being is that we, people with type 1 diabetes, felt the psychological effects of living with type 1 diabetes just weren’t being talked about anywhere. This is why I was so excited when I saw that a project called "The Positive and Negative Psychological Effects of Type 1 Diabetes on Children" at this year’s BT Young Scientist Exhibition. I was so thrilled I heard that they came first in their category: Social & Behavioural Sciences 1st place Junior group. The teenagers in question are Sarah Healy and Miriam Murphy and they attend Cork Scoil Mhuiregan Smál, Blarney, Co. Cork. I’m thrilled to let you all know that Sarah and Miriam are bringing their project to our Thriveabetes Exhibition.

Here is a guest post written by 13 year old Sarah.

The positive and negative Psychological effects of Type 1 Diabetes on children.

By Sarah Healy

My name is Sarah, I am 13 year years old, and living with type 1 diabetes for the past 3 years. In November 2014 at the age of 9, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It changed my life forever. I got great support from the diabetes team and my family. I started out on insulin injections but now I'm on an insulin pump which has been a very positive impact on my life. Having type 1 diabetes has been an emotional rollercoaster.

I experienced many daily challenges and stresses and found that there was no psychological support available on the diabetes team to help me deal with these challenges. After talking to other type 1 diabetic friends, I realized many more had the same diabetes stress and challenges without any support.

As a result I decided to take the opportunity of the BT Young Scientist Exhibition and it was my incentive and the reason behind this project. As a result of my experience, I felt there was a need to investigate the positive and negative psychological effects of type 1 diabetes on children, and to research the need and services available for psychological support.

I also wanted to highlight the need for support services and the lack of services available. Also to see if we could come up with a solution to these problems. I also wanted to create awareness of type 1 diabetes.

About the project

We wanted to examine the psychological challenges of living with type 1 diabetes in the 8 to 15 year age group in Ireland. We decided to do this by:

• Investigating the positive aspects of living with type 1 Diabetes
• Identifying the negative aspects of living with type 1 Diabetes
• Exploring the need for psychological support services for children with type 1 Diabetes
• And to ascertain the current available psychological supports for children with type 1 Diabetes in Ireland
• We also wanted to develop a novel technological strategy to improve psychological support for children with type 1 Diabetes

I can’t wait to hear more about the girls project and to meet both Sarah and Miriam. Here are some of the diabetes themed projects participating in The BT Young Scientist Exhibition this year:

Presentation College Cork Can full fat milk help control diabetes?

Louth St Vincent’s Secondary School A comparative study into the reported advantages and disadvantages of Insulin pumps.

Tipperary Presentation Secondary School Comparing CSII (Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion) with MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) in Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Wexford Creagh College Dia-beating Hypos

REGISTER HERE

Thriveabetes” is a one-day conference for people living with type 1 diabetes, or for people who care about someone with type 1 diabetes.

It takes place on Saturday, February 24th in The Red Cow Hotel.

*** Advanced registration is required. Find out more HERE.

Insulin for Life Collection at Thriveabetes

The Insulin for Life Collection at Thriveabetes 2016 was a huge success and I'm pleased to announce that Sarah MacCann and her family have volunteered to collect unused diabetes supplies at the Thriveabetes for Insulin for Life/IDDT (InDependent Diabetes Trust) again this year. Have you changed prescriptions lately and now have medication such as a brand of insulin that you no longer use?

Or have you change glucose meters recently and now have a lifetime supply of lancets you’ll never use?

Here is a guest post from Sarah about the work of Insulin for Life and information on what you can bring.

Bring your spare diabetes supplies to Thriveabetes for Insulin for Life

We were blown away by the amount of supplies donated at the last Thriveabetes conference. Five full boxes of unwanted supplies were saved from the bin and sent to Insulin for Life to be used by people who really need them.

The discovery of insulin in 1922 was hailed as a miracle. But did you know that while it is estimated that around 50% of people around the world in need of insulin struggle to access or afford it, or that insulin is one of the most commonly discarded drugs in the developed world? Every year, tens of thousands of vials end up in landfill or incinerators and 75% of this discarded insulin is still in-date.

Having access to insulin should be a right not a privilege.

There are many things we can do to make the lives of all people living with type 1 diabetes better, as the amazing Elizabeth Rowley of T1 International will talk about when she gives the opening speech at Thriveabetes 2018.

Insulin for Life collection Details

If you have any of the following spare supplies, please bring them along to Thriveabetes:

Items donated MUST BE:

- Unopened, in-date insulin vials and penfills with at least 3 months until expiry date - Unused insulin pens - Unopened packs of syringes & pen needles - Unused lancets and unopened lancing devices - Unopened in-date glucose test strips - Unused blood glucose monitors

After the conference, your donated supplies will be sent to the IDDT, Insulin for Life’s local partner in the UK, who will send them on to projects supporting children and young people with type 1 diabetes in Africa.

Please make sure that everything is unused and in-date.

If you have used that glucose monitor or lancing device only once, please don’t bring it as we won't be able to send it on for someone else to use (and we will have to pay to dispose of it).

Thanks so much. Sarah MacCann

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More information on how to help:

The following organisations are all working to make insulin and diabetes supplies available to all those in need of them worldwide:

• T1International
• Insulin for Life
• InDependent Diabetes Trust IDDT
• IDF's Life for a Child
• Sunrise Foundation
• The Pendsey Trust

You can send your unwanted supplies directly to the IDDT all year round, at:

Insulin for Life InDependent Diabetes Trust PO Box 294 Northampton NN1 4XS U.K.

REGISTER HERE

Thriveabetes” is a one-day conference for people living with type 1 diabetes, or for people who care about someone with type 1 diabetes.

It takes place on Saturday, February 24th in The Red Cow Hotel.

*** Advanced registration is required. Find out more or Register HERE.

Joe Solo Returns to Thriveabetes 2018

Joe Solo returns to Thriveabetes 2018 for a third year. And for those of you who may not already be familiar with Joe - you are in for a treat! Joe Solowiejczyk, or Joe Solo, has been living with type 1 diabetes for over 50 years. He grew up in New York but now lives in California. He is a registered nurse, diabetes educator and family therapist and works extensively with both patients and professionals on the Family-Approach to Diabetes Management.

His ebook “A Type 1 Guide to the Universe” introduces a new way to learn to thrive with diabetes. It is the first book to integrate the psychological and emotional aspects of dealing with diabetes into the core of its approach.

You always get more than you expect from Joe and when I asked him to write a blog post for Thriveabetes I was blown away.

Joe Solo's Thriveabetes Experience

If you feel yourself needing some new information on how to manage it, if you feel like you’re dragging a bit, weary from the ups and the downs of it all, then you definitely need to come to Thriveabetes 2018 – guaranteed healing, fellowship and fun!

It was nearly 4 years ago when I met Gráinne at the Friends for Life Conference held by Children with Diabetes in the UK. At that time, she shared with me her dream and Christine’s dream and Rebecca’s dream about creating something like that for Ireland.

She asked me if I would be willing to present at that conference if it were to ever come to be. Of course I said “YES” – how could I not to Grainne/ Her enthusiasm, courage, determination and heart made me want to “get on any train” that she was on! Of course I would do it.

Well, the first Thriveabetes Conference happened and it was fantastic!!! Parents, older children and adults with their partners with T1 came – it was a sellout! And it was freakin’ FANTASTIC!!! I’ve been to many diabetes conferences in my life BUT this one was one of THE best for me. The energy created by Grainne, Christine and Rebecca together with the energy that the participants brought with them made the gathering something magical and mystical!

People were hungry for information, which the promotion for the conference promised there would be plenty of – speakers from all over Ireland, from Diabetes Ireland and 2 presenters from the States – Kevin McMahon and myself. Kevin spoke about technology and about the diabetes industry. Consultants from Ireland presented on the most current standards of diabetes care available in Ireland today. Reps from the medical device companies were there showing of their newest and brightest diabetes gadgets!

Everyone at the conference had diabetes or lived with someone that had it – we were like a gathering of Fellow Pilgrims.

There were presentations on coping with the daily challenges of living with this stupid disease (I’m very happy to be alive BUT I do hate it, on parenting on dealing with the emotional and psychological aspects of it. Besides being comprehensive IT WAS EMOTIONAL in the best possible way imaginable. Everyone at the conference had diabetes or lived with someone that had it – we were like a gathering of Fellow Pilgrims. Listening to others stories made each of us make more sense out of our own stories, like putting things into perspective and most importantly, realizing that each of us was really not alone. People were laughing and crying at the same time.

It was like there was a magical understanding amongst all the participants – even though we might not have personally known everyone there – we did feel, or at least I did, like I “knew” what each and every other person goes through – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And that made me feel better about having diabetes for 56 years. It totally relieved me of the exhaustion.

The most wonderful part for me was just that – the group understanding, the acknowledgement received from being with a group of Fellow Pilgrims for all the stinking hard work we put into managing our diabetes day in/day out – it was the feeling of not being alone. My “colleagues” provided me with new inspiration and energy, I left feeling like I could do it for another year – my batteries were fully recharged!

If you’re looking for a magical diabetes experience, if you feel yourself needing some new information on how to manage it, if you feel like you’re dragging a bit, weary from the ups and the downs of it all, then you definitely need to come to Thriveabetes 2018 – guaranteed healing, fellowship and fun!

It felt so good to laugh at such serious things with so many walking the same path! You owe it to yourself to check it out. And if you come and you really don’t get something deep out of it I personally will refund the cost of the conference to you!!!! I’m that sure that you’ll love it.

Joe Solowiejczyk, A Mile In My Shoes Consulting joe@amileinmyshoes.com

You can also find Joe on Facebook.

Thank you Joe for your words of inspiration. Joe's is presenting four workshops at Thriveabetes 2018:

• Adults - “Diabetes Burnout”
• Parents - Parenting & Diabetes: You can do it without pulling your hair out!
• Teens - How to be a Juvenile Diabetes Delinquent; Driving your Parent Nuts in the Most efficient way.
• 9 to 12 years - The Truth about How much Diabetes Sucks!

Thriveabetes” is a one-day conference for people living with type 1 diabetes, or for people who care about someone with type 1 diabetes.

It takes place on Saturday, February 24th in The Red Cow Hotel.

*** Advanced registration is required. Find out more or Register HERE.