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Summary
Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. With type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and gums and teeth.
Type 1 diabetes happens most often in children and young adults but can appear at any age. Symptoms may include:
- Being very thirsty
- Urinating often
- Feeling very hungry or tired
- Losing weight without trying
- Having sores that heal slowly
- Having dry, itchy skin
- Losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet
- Having blurry eyesight
A blood test can show if you have diabetes. If you do, you will need to take insulin for the rest of your life. A blood test called the A1C can check to see how well you are managing your diabetes.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Diagnosis and Tests
- A1C: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Blood Glucose Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes Tests and Diagnosis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
- Glucose in Urine Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Ketones in Blood (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Ketones in Urine (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- Diabetes Medicines: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Islet Cell Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Pancreas Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Living With
- Changing Your Habits for Better Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
- Managing Diabetes (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
- Understanding Type 1 Diabetes (American Diabetes Association)
- Your Diabetes Care Team (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Related Issues
- Diabetes and Celiac Disease (Gluten Intolerance Group)
- Eating Disorders and Diabetes (National Eating Disorders Association)
- Speak Up -- Diabetes: Five Ways to Be Active in Your Care at the Hospital (Joint Commission) - PDF
- Symptoms and Causes of Diabetes (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
Genetics
- Genetics of Diabetes (American Diabetes Association)
- Type 1 diabetes: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Statistics and Research
- Diabetes in America, 3rd Edition (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- National Diabetes Statistics Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Use of a decision support tool and quick start onboarding tool...
- Article: Promoting Resilience in Stress Management for Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes:...
- Article: Teplizumab induces persistent changes in the antigen-specific repertoire in individuals at...
- Diabetes Type 1 -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- American Diabetes Association
- National Eating Disorders Association
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- NIDDK Information Clearinghouses and Health Information Center (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Search Diabetes Educator Directory (Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists)
Children
- Helping Your Young Athlete with Type 1 Diabetes (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- A1C test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes - when you are sick (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes and exercise (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes tests and checkups (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetic ketoacidosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Giving an insulin injection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Low blood sugar - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Type 1 diabetes (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish