Type 1 Trends

I had an interview with Dr. Joel Steelman, an endocrinologist,  at Cook children’s hospital earlier this week, and we talked a lot about the endocrine system and the special things he has seen with his patients and the trends that he also sees on an everyday basis. We also talked about precautions that the hospital takes in order to ensure mental health stability.  Endocrinologists study a lot of hormonal issues, diabetes, bone loss etc. D. Steel man and I focused on the diabetic aspect and how hormonal issues affect the nerves in the brain. However, Dr. Steelman is a pediatric endocrinologist, so he works with children and teenagers. 

Dr. Steelman talks to a lot of patients and he has noticed that usually stress correlates with higher blood sugars because most children, especially teens, don’t get enough time to properly abide by routines they set in place. This will lead to an increase in their cholesterol and their A1C levels. This could further lead to brain and nerve damage. Dr. Steelman said that it is best to take time to check the blood sugar at least three to four times a day, or everytime you eat. It is also important to set the basal insulin properly. Basal insulin and bolus insulin are two types when dealing with insulin pods instead of needles. One type of insulin pod is the Omnipod. This machine sticks to the skin and pokes a needle to allow insulin flow. Basal is the continuous flow of the insulin. For example, it can give you 1 unit of insulin every hour or any amount that you set it to. However, Bolus is where you take any amount at any time of the day, like whenever you eat. These both help with maintaining homeostasis of the blood sugar.  Dr. Steelman also talked about the way that newly diagnosed children tend to have higher blood sugars since they are adjusting to the new routine of taking insulin and the lifestyle. However, he has also seen the opposite side of the spectrum, where the parents take the right precautions to ensure the right set of blood sugar numbers. 

Dr. Steelman and I have also talked about the mental health of the patients. I noticed that they place a paper with a series of questions that ask about depression, lack of sleep, suicidal thoughts, eating habits, and feelings of happiness. We talked about how these questions may allow the doctors to see how the lifestyles of the diabetic are affecting them. This gives a sense to the child about the reality of their lifestyle and how they are truly feeling. Having distributed eating habits and sleeping habits can be a sign of stress or depression that can really make an impact on the patient’s health itself. This is why I wanted to focus on and place videos on mental health in my channel for my final product, so that the newly diagnosed diabetic is able to feel acknowledged and find ways to help with their mental health.