Diabetes and adolescents

Most teenagers who are diabetic have Type 1 diabetes, but worldwide, doctors are alarmed by the increase of Type 2 diabetes amongst younger and younger people.
Adolescence is a difficult age – children’s bodies undergo massive hormonal changes and they experience mood swings and often problems with identity – all quite understandable in this difficult phase of transition.Throw in diabetes, and things could become very difficult indeed for everyone concerned.
“Fitting in with your peer group is very important during puberty,” says Professor Professor Francois Bonnici, Head of the Endocrine-Diabetes Unit, “and being diabetic sets a child apart from peers to an extent. They cannot always take part in the same activities, go to all-night parties, and experiment with all sorts of things like other teenagers do.”
“Furthermore, the hormonal surge happening in their bodies plays havoc with their insulin levels – an adolescent boy could need three times the normal dosage of insulin in order to regulate his blood sugar levels. In a non-diabetic boy, his pancreas will produce three times as much insulin as usual, but in a diabetic teenager this increased demand can wreak havoc with insulin and glucose control.

Diabetic adolescents difficult to treat?

There is a general perception that diabetic adolescents are difficult to treat, because they do not always stick to their medication. But this is by no means always so.”
“One must primarily see a diabetic adolescent as an adolescent first and then a diabetic. There are many sacrifices diabetic children have to make and this is the age at which they start questioning which ones are worth it.”
“The tricky thing is that this is also the age at which many parents have to start standing back and letting their child assume responsibility for their glucose testing and regular insulin injections.”
“It is important that parents and doctors do not put too much stress on perfection. Alienating a child for not sticking to the exact regimen is unwise. Diabetes is a difficult disease to cope with, all the more so if you have the added vagaries of adolescence. Parents and doctors should not call a child ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on their medication history. One should rather speak of diabetes that is ‘well-controlled’ or ‘not-so-well-controlled.”