Adolescence can be a bumpy time for kids. They need to deal with physical changes, social lifestyle changes, and surges in hormones. For kids with type 1 diabetes, these changes have an added impact: having to manage their condition differently. Again, these changes play another role: diabetes affects adolescence.
So parents may need to make some extra effort, but this can help keep their child healthy during this phase.
The effect of puberty on diabetes
Puberty begins with the release of sex hormones – estrogen in girls and testosterone (androgen) in boys – that increase a child’s blood sugar levels. Stress hormones such as cortisol also spike in the teenage years.
These chemicals can change the cells in your child’s body so they don’t use insulin as much as they used to, which is called insulin tolerance. In fact, when puberty is reached, the effectiveness of insulin decreases by 30% to 50%. All of these hormones are produced most at night, which means that children have the highest blood glucose levels in the morning.
At the same time, the child is growing, developing, and growing muscle, which means he needs to eat more. In short, these changes mean that more insulin is needed during adolescence.
The exception is that girls have menstrual periods, which may require more or less insulin than non-menstrual periods. Blood glucose may rise in the first few days of menstruation and then fall in the first few days of menstruation. It is important to check blood glucose levels regularly and to observe the effect of menstruation on blood glucose. Over time, patterns can be looked for and treatment regimens can be adjusted to prevent high or low blood glucose during the menstrual period.
Effects of diabetes on adolescence
Diabetes causes some children to start puberty later. This can happen if the diabetes is not controlled and the child is not getting enough insulin. Boys with the disease may not grow as fast or gain as much weight as their peers. A girl with the disease may have her first period later than a normal girl and may have an irregular menstrual cycle.
Some scientists believe that good diabetes management can help children reach puberty normally.
How can you help your child?
The changes of puberty and the management of diabetes can be hard for children to cope with, so children need help.
Blood sugar and insulin requirements change during adolescence, so children need to have their blood sugar tested and tracked regularly so that they can help their doctors find the appropriate trends and figure out the best insulin regimen. It is important to find the right pattern because growth hormones make it difficult for cells to use insulin.
The problem is that adolescents are also dealing with changes in their social lives, mood swings, and more independence. This can mean that managing diabetes is lower on their list of things to do. Help them stay on the right track:
- Involve your child in diabetes management as early as possible. The more you understand how insulin works, how things change, and why it’s important to control blood sugar, the better your child will be able to handle these situations on their own.
- Explain to your child that it’s important for him or her to take care of their health. If your child’s blood sugar is too high or too low, he or she may not be able to do the things he or she wants to do.
- Make sure your daughter understands the importance of sharing her blood glucose records. This will help her family and doctors manage her diabetes more easily during her period.
Contact your child’s doctor immediately if there are any sudden, unexplained changes in her blood sugar. It’s time for everyone to sit down and make a new diabetes plan.