Managing Type 1 Diabetes: A Young Patient’s View

Abstract

Patrick McAllister is a young adult who has just started Medical School at the University of Connecticut. Patrick developed T1D at 12 years of age and will provide us with the perspective of a youngster who was diagnosed in Middle School. In contrast, Kathryn Nagel was diagnosed with T1D as an 18-month-old and she only remembers life with T1D. Kathryn has already graduated from Medical School and she is now doing a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Yale. Her experience with diabetes is different than Patrick’s, but both young adults have important lessons for practitioners who care for youth with diabetes. Our goal in this chapter is to give you a true perspective for what your pre-teen, teen, and young adult patients with T1D might be thinking and feeling and how you can help them manage their diabetes. If nothing else, this chapter will provide you with a glimpse into what is going on inside the minds of your pre-teen, adolescent, and young adult patients with T1D.