On Facebook last week, one of the top stories that was trending was, “Dog Saves the Life of Boy With Type 1 Diabetes.” The story discussed was about a 7-year-old boy, Luke, living with type 1 diabetes. His blood sugar dropped low while he was sleeping, to 57mg/dl. He didn't wake up in response to the low, and neither did his parents. How were they supposed to know that his blood sugar was falling? Luckily, their diabetic alert dog named Jedi is trained to detect high and low blood sugars. So, Jedi kept bringing a bringsel to the parents, until they woke up. That is the signal that Luke’s blood sugar is low. They were able to give him some fast acting sugar before his blood sugar fell too low, into a dangerous range. Every person living with type 1 diabetes deserves the type of security, that Jedi provides for Luke.
People living with type 1 diabetes must monitor their blood sugar carefully, 24/7, in order to avoid high (hyperglycemia) and low (hypoglycemia) blood sugar. While high blood sugar can cause complications later in life, low blood sugar is where danger is immediate. Hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar drops below 70mg/dl. This is when patients usually begin to experience symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, lightheadedness, shakiness, excessive hunger and/or excessive sweating. The lower one’s blood sugar goes, the more severe these symptoms get. When blood sugar falls below 40mg/dl, patients enter a state of severe hypoglycemia, which is a life-threatening situation. At this point, if not treated immediately with fast acting carbohydrate, they may experience a seizure or coma.
While a person is sleeping, they may not detect right away that their blood sugar is low, because their body is much less alert in a state of slumber. Some people even have hypoglycemia unawareness, so they can't feel their lows. Unfortunately, there is something associated with type 1 diabetes called “dead in bed syndrome,” where people pass away from an untreated hypoglycemic attack in the middle of the night. However, I believe that with the use of things like a constant glucose monitor or a diabetic alert dog, “dead in bed syndrome” no longer has to exist. The main obstacle in providing this extra security net for people with type 1 diabetes is the extreme cost.
A diabetic alert dog can detect both high and low blood sugar, and will alert its owner if this occurs. They have a 98 percent success rate in detecting this, and provide not only a huge help to the person living with type 1 diabetes, but it also gives them a furry companion. Unfortunately, they usually cost around upwards of $10,000 just to purchase the dog and get it trained to sense hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.
A constant glucose monitor (CGM) retrieves one’s blood sugar every 5 minutes, and sends the data to a receiver that displays a 24-hour graph of blood sugars. The receiver alarms if the patient’s blood sugar is too high or too low. Unfortunately this system is extremely expensive, at $1,198 for a starter kit with a transmitter and receiver. Then $87.25 each week for a new sensor that must be inserted every seven days. Most insurance companies do not cover any of it because they claim that it's not necessary. I 100 percent disagree.
The continuous glucose monitor has saved my life. Plain and simple. My blood sugar usually drops a lot at night after exercise, so I always make sure to turn my CGM volume up to high after a hard workout or a sports game. Last year after my lacrosse game, I woke up only because I heard a buzzing noise from my CGM. I didn’t feel like I had any low symptoms, but since my CGM said I was low, I decided to check my blood sugar. The meter read 24mg/dl. I had never been that low in my life and I immediately had to use my emergency gel and eat a lot of carbohydrates. It was a very scary experience. If it wasn't for my CGM waking me up, I don’t want to think what would've happened to me that night.
Therefore, I think that it's a right and necessity for all people living with type 1 diabetes to have a constant glucose monitor or a diabetic alert dog. Prices should be adjusted to make it affordable for everyone. The profit of the company shouldn't be put ahead of people’s health. The CGM or dog would provide both the patient and their loved one an extra set of eyes, to help them manage a complicated, and somewhat unpredictable, disease. In fact, it might even save their life.
