Diabetes in the Valley: Area families hit hard by condition – Sunbury Daily Item

LEWISBURG Pamela Dixon of Shamokin Dam recently celebrated her 39th birthday. Christy Kerstetter of McAlisterville will turn 39 years old this July.

Both women are married and are raising boys.

Both women are also diabetic. Dixon is a Type 1, and Kerstetter is a Type 2.

So whats the difference and how does it impact each womans life?

Karen Dohl, PA-C, Diabetes Center of Evangelical, West Branch Medical Center explained the difference.

A Type 1 scenario is an autoimmune disease or a situation where the body is attacking itself.

They develop antibodies that kill off an area of the pancreas and the patient needs insulin to sustain life, Dohl said, adding that it is not curable.

A Type 2 diabetic has a high blood sugar level because the pancreas can not keep up with the body. This can be due to being overweight or other health issues and is often genetic.

Some patients no longer produce insulin on their own, Dohl said. When that happens, the Type 2 patient becomes what is known as Type 2 insulin dependent.

Dohl said sometimes patients get confused and think that if they need insulin they must be a Type 1.

All Type 1 diabetics need insulin on a regular basis to survive, but only some Type 2 patients reach this point.

Many Type 1 patients are diagnosed around the age of puberty.

Dr. John Kennedy specializes in Diabetes and Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and is employed within the Geisinger Health System in Danville.

He explained that at puberty a relative lack of insulin becomes absolute in these patients. He said that Type 1 can be diagnosed at any age, as early as toddlerhood; though this age group makes up one percent of Type 1 diagnosis. This is the subject of a study currently taking place at Geisinger that involves board certified pediatric endocrinologists.

Dixon was 11 years old when she pre-diagnosed herself while reading The Babysitters Club series. It was a book about the character Stacey and her diagnosis of diabetes that made Dixon think her own situation was similar.

Dixon had the same symptoms as the character in the book: excessive thirst and urination and constant fatigue.

A trip to the hospital with her mother revealed her suspicions were true.

Renee Hughes, RN, BSN, CDE, Diabetes Educator, Diabetes Center of Evangelical, West Branch Medical Center revealed the Four Cardinal Symptoms of a diabetic, includimg the frequent urination, excessive thirst fatigue and also blurred vision.

A blood test confirms the diagnosis. A blood sugar level of 126 or higher is considered diabetic. An A1C test tells the patient the average level of blood sugar over three months. Diabetic, Hughes said, is an A1C of 6.5 or higher.

Kerstetter was diagnosed in 2008 with Type 2 diabetes. The 30-year-olds main complaint at the time was intense fatigue. Upon visiting her family doctor, a blood test was taken and revealed she was Type 2 diabetic, a condition that has occurred in her fathers side of the family.

She was given pills to take not insulin and continued on that pattern for six years.

Hughes said pills that help reduce blood sugar levels are the typical first step for new Type 2 diagnosis. If the pills do not seem to help over time, injections may be prescribed. A type 2 diabetic taking injections is not necessarily taking insulin. Some injections aid in controlling the blood sugar by helping your pancreas produce the insulin naturally.

Kerstetter said this is the medication route she is currently subscribed to. In 2014 after a hospital stay for some complications with her kidneys, her new family doctor began an active look at her numbers on a regular basis to find the medication that worked best for her.

Kerstetter still takes two pills at higher doses than when she was diagnosed as well as the once-per-week injection of Tanzeum after unsuccessful results with other injections.

Dixon, meanwhile, has learned her lesson on how important it is to take her insulin regularly.

As a teenager, she said, she was not overly thrilled to be seen carrying a syringe and vile.

She said by her early 20s, after she got married, she was more compliant to take her medication because the pen form of insulin was available.

Very rarely do we have patients choose to use insulin shots, Kennedy said, It now all about the insulin pens.

Another option is an insulin pump, which Dixon said she has not used.

A catheter is placed under the skin and the pump, a small device, can be carried under a waistband and is programmed to give the correct amount of insulin required. The insulin can be adjusted as needed by pressing buttons.

However, it was the implementation of the Dexcom, Dixon said, that has changed her life. The Dexcom CGM or Continuous Glucose Monitor includes a sensor that is attached discretely to the body and then displays the glucose levels to a monitor that can be checked over 200 times a day. It can also be used in collaboration with the pump.

There is also a share option for patients to have their levels displayed on a spouses cell phone or for parents of children who need insulin.

Since Type 2 is the only preventable form of diabetes, Dohl said the key is to keep your weight under control and think about your lifestyle. She also said most patients do not consider diabetes. They often visit the doctor because they may have fainted or have blurred vision and go home with a diabetic diagnosis.

As many as 8.1 million Americans have diabetes and dont know it, Hughes said.

When symptoms arise, see your doctor and get bloodwork, they said.

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Diabetes in the Valley: Area families hit hard by condition - Sunbury Daily Item