For Parents of Type 1 Diabetic Children (Juvenile Diabetes)

I wanted to create a blog post that could try and help parents with type 1 diabetic children, or also known as juvenile diabetes. It’s one thing to hear of other adults with T1D, but I feel so much worse every time I hear of a new child becoming diagnosed with the disease.

My Heart Goes Out to Parents of T1D Children

I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to try and raise a child with T1D. Being a parent and watching your child’s blood sugars swing from high’s to low’s has to be a taxing endeavor. The constant birthday parties with ice cream, pizza and soda, not to mention the school lunches filled with processed food. I feel so bad because these children don’t even have a chance try and manage the disease naturally.

The Myth:  I Give a Sense of False Hope for Juvenile Diabetics

A lot of parents with T1D children actually become angry when they read my blog or hear about what I’m doing. They think that I’m representing some false hope that their children could be removed from medication with a change in diet and lifestyle.

However, I know that there are just as many parents of T1D children out there constantly searching for ways to ease their child’s suffering and help their kids enjoy life without constantly worrying about blood sugars and needles.

Reality

Unfortunately, a majority of doctors won’t point you in the natural direction because there is too much liability. They tell you your child has stopped producing insulin and they require insulin injections to live. In some cases, this is probably true, but in other cases, I’m highly confident that the child is still producing some insulin, just like me.

I’m not going to pretend that I’m a doctor, but I am a diagnosed T1D that’s been off meds for over 2.5 years with a most recent A1c reading of 5.5 (non-diabetic reading).

I’ll be the first to admit that managing T1D without medication is much more difficult for children compared to people like me that are diagnosed later in life. I can make my own decisions and see the results. However, in order for children to live medication free, the entire family must buy in to the diet in order for it to work.

Based on my research, I do believe that an individual is hit harder with T1D when diagnosed at a earlier age relative to a later in life diagnosis like me. However, there are families out there raising medication free T1D children.

My Objective

My goal with this blog is to provide hope and insight to parents that are interested in helping their child manage T1D naturally, or at least drastically reduce the amount of shots / insulin that their kids need to take.

Resources for T1D Children Off Insulin

Below are links to articles or sites that represent success stories of T1D children that are living medication free. Some of these articles are dated and do not exactly preach what I follow, but they are real instances of parents removing their children from insulin or young adults doing the same. I put a brief description of the article afterwards as well.

Link #1 – Sergei Boutenko

There is a guy named Sergei Boutenko who was one of the 1st individuals that I researched that has been living for years without meds as a T1D. Researching his story provides a wealth of knowledge for those seeking to manage T1D naturally, especially for parents of T1D children, as his family raised him medication free for his entire childhood. (Link)

Link #2 – Two T1D Brothers Living Medication Free

Article about two brothers with T1D that have been medication free since 2008.  (Link)

Link #3 – 1/3 of T1Ds produce Insulin for Decades

Interesting article that says about 1/3 of T1Ds can have residual insulin production for nearly 4 decades. (Link)

Link #4 – 9 Year Old Boy Removed from Insulin

Article about a young boy using a Paleo diet to remove himself from insulin (Link)

Link #5 – Child Weened Off Insulin

Good article talking about a child that was weened off insulin (Link)

Link #6 – 20 Year Old T1D Living Medication Free

This link is about a girl in her 20s that was able to ween herself off of insulin and remained medication free for over 2.5 years, although she did have to get back on insulin. (Link)

Link #7 – 13 Year Old Girl Weened Off Insulin

Article about a mother who removed her 13 year daughter from insulin. (Link)

Conclusion

My goal of this blog was to try and provide hope and insight to parents of T1D children that it is absolutely possible to manage your child’s disease medication free.

These articles prove that T1D children all over the world are having success living medication free through various methods. Worth noting is that I probably only put 30 minutes into googling to find these articles, so a determined parent could probably find much better info than this.

Personally, I believe a mostly raw plant-based diet is the only way for true longevity in living medication free as a T1D, however, these articles prove that there is more than 1 approach to helping your child.

I realize this may seem very difficult for parents, but adopting a new lifestyle will help not only your child but also the rest of your family. I always preach that my family has been much healthier ever since I became diagnosed with T1D, and I still adamantly stand by this notion.