While this blog is primarily for “Atlanta things”, today is special. Today is Raise Your Voice, which is an awareness campaign for Type 1 diabetes. While the majority of people who have diabetes are Type 2, we are the chosen few, and the public is often misinformed. It is the hope that this campaign while help to teach, inspire, and share.

I was never very good with numbers, but the best way to share what Type 1 diabetes is, does, and what a Type 1 diabetic has to do every day may be best shown this way…. with numbers.

1 - Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the body stops producing insulin. Insulin is a hormone that takes glucose from the blood to the cells, where it is either stored as fat or used as energy. If there’s no insulin, the body will burn fat, releasing ketones as a byproduct. Too many ketones causes the blood to become acidic, creating a state called “ketoacidosis”. If not treated, the body… dies. Type 1 diabetics must have insulin to survive.

2 - Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which the body produces some insulin. The body may have become resistant to the insulin it produces, or there may not be enough insulin to handle the daily tasks. Type 2 diabetics may be able to take oral medications or follow a diet and exercise regimen to control their diabetes. (Of course, there is also the possibility that they may take insulin as well.)

7 - This is the number that you want an A1C to be under. This is a test (also known as HbA1C), that shows what the average blood sugar has been over the past several weeks. It’s a good indicator of how “in control” the diabetes has been. Keeping an A1C under 7% can help to prevent complications - or to keep any existing complications from getting worse.

5 to 10 - This is the percentage of Type 1 diabetics in the diabetes pool. (”Hey, pool party! Marco! Polo!”) This means that there are approximately 700,000 of us - and we’re growing in numbers.

31 - This is the number that showed on my blood glucose meter at 5am last week. This was also the first time that I have asked my husband to help me bring up my blood sugar, as I was afraid to get up off the floor to get sugar. (Yes, I woke my husband by calling to him from the kitchen. I thought I was going to pass out.)

70 to 120 - These are the numbers that your blood sugar should be between. My target that I set with my doctor is 100, but some days, I feel like I’d be happy to hit that number once during the day. If it goes too low, then you are at risk of a hypoglycemic episode - you need sugar to bring it back within range. If this number is too high, then you need to bring it down, either with an extra dose of insulin or exercise.

174 - Billion. Yes, billion. This is the number of dollars that was spent last year on diabetes care in the U.S.

778 - This was the highest recorded blood sugar that I ever had. Not, it was not at diagnosis, but during a difficult teenage episode where I just didn’t care anymore about having the disease.

1441 - This is the number of diabetics who participated in an important study called the DCCT (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial). The trial showed that the risk of complications were decreased when the Type 1 diabetic maintained their A1C as close to normal as possible. Without these 1441 people, there may not have been such a push for technology that allows us to bring our blood sugars into tighter control.

13,243 - This is the dollar amount that was quoted in 2002 as the “average medical expenditure” for a diabetic each year. For most Type 1 diabetics, the longer we have it, the more expensive it becomes to control and maintain. (This is due to increased amount of laboratory testing, procedures, equipment, medication…. you get the picture.)

30,000 - Approximately 30,000 people are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes each year.

36,500 - The number of times I have tested my blood sugar, give or take a few. This is calculating 4x/day for the last twenty five years. There have been times in my life (bad me) that I didn’t test that often, but other times when I tested 8 to 10 times per day.

Incalculable - The amount of hope that all affected with Type 1 diabetes (and that means family and friends, too!) have for a cure. There is no way to quantify this….

Learn more about Type 1 diabetes, the differences, and what people have to say about this disease by going to this page at Six Until Me, and clicking on any of the people who have raised their own voice to be heard.