Also known as “difficult to control” or “unstable” diabetes, brittle diabetes is the term that describes type 1 diabetes, which is extremely difficult to manage.
The term “brittle diabetes” has been debated for a long time, as anyone with type 1 diabetes knows that just one unit of insulin is too much or too little can easily lead to a quick shaking of blood sugar levels.
This can be a controversial issue. Some people simply argue that it doesn’t exist because they believe it is an outdated label for a very difficult state to manage, while others feel that being diagnosed with “bridity” is a condemnation or a shaming that you don’t stay above your diabetes.
However, the category stands, and people with diabetes are regularly diagnosed as “brittle.” So, what is brittle diabetes?
This article explains brittle diabetes, risk factors, diagnostic methods, and the best ways to manage it for smoother blood glucose levels.
What is “brittle” diabetes?
People with brittle diabetes can have roughly high blood sugar levels, shaking low and often hospitalized without explanation or logical predictability. These swings disrupt the overall quality of life negatively.
Fragmatic diabetes patients usually struggle with recognition of hypoglycemia. This means that you have experienced so many severe hypoglycemia. Their bodies no longer warn of approaching with symptoms with traditional symptomatic symptoms such as trembling, sweating, confusion, and rapid heart rate.
According to the National Institutes of Health, only a small percentage of people with type 1 diabetes experience these dramatic variations in blood sugar that can often be described as “brittle” and affect only three in 1,000 people with type 1 diabetes. Young women between the ages of 15 and 30 are most likely to be affected by brittle diabetes.
Risk factors for brittle diabetes
The most important risk factor for brittle diabetes is type 1 diabetes. Because brittle diabetes is a subset of disease. Other risk factors include anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress.
People who frequently find themselves in high-stress situations release more of the hormone cortisol, which increases insulin resistance, causes blood sugar and exacerbates blood sugar fluctuations.
Some people with type 1 diabetes may produce abnormal and inconsistent glucagon, a hormone that tells the liver to produce glucose. This can easily lead to rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels and lead to the diagnosis of brittle diabetes.
Additionally, people suffering from gastroparesis or celiac disease due to malabsorption of nutrients and carbohydrates may experience brittle diabetes as it can result in unpredictable insulin requirements.
If your diet is inconsistently digested, the timing of the insulin dose can cause sudden spikes and low blood sugar, as it is not possible to match the unpredictable digestion of the diet.
Young women with a history of eating disorders such as diabetes, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or bulimia are also at increased risk for brittle diabetes.
diagnosis
Getting a correct diagnosis of brittle diabetes can prove difficult. Brittle diabetes is often diagnosed simultaneously with mental health issues such as depression.
For example, people suffering from depression may have forgotten about the bolus beforehand for a meal (or bolus). In many cases, these conditions feed each other.
One study showed that patients with brittle diabetes have a greater hormonal response to stress and release more cortisol (which causes insulin resistance) than those without brittle diabetes.
Treatment Options
Treatment of brittle diabetes often involves treating underlying psychological or mental health issues first, controlling the level of stress (and subsequent hormonal responses).
Behavioral therapy is usually effective in treating patients with brittle diabetes and achieving health outcomes, including improvements in blood glucose levels and HBA1C outcomes.
Patients with brittle diabetes may require long hospitalizations to achieve baseline data for more successful long-term treatment protocols and controls to closely monitor food intake, insulin exercise routines, and stress responses.
Other useful ways to treat brittle diabetes are:
- Wear a continuous glucose monitor to track blood glucose trends
- Working closely with your doctor will reestablish your sensitivity to hypoglycemia
- Use an insulin pump for more accurate administration
- Reduce carbohydrates and eat more predictable
- Have a regular and consistent exercise routine
- Get a proper sleep every night
- Manage stress in healthy ways, such as yoga and meditation practice
I live well with brittle diabetes
It is rare to get an official diagnosis of brittle diabetes and is usually accompanied by underlying mental health or gastrointestinal disorders.
It is normal for people with type 1 diabetes to experience extreme fluctuations in their blood sugar levels, and it is normal for them to not officially characterize them as brittle diabetes.
Life in diabetes is complicated and the learning curve never ends. Long-term success in living with diabetes depends on constant efforts to study and learn about blood sugar and insulin needs for many of the variables in life.
However, if you feel this rare condition is present, call your doctor immediately. The first step in dealing with brittle diabetes will be working with a certified expert diabetes educator or diabetes coach to improve how you take insulin, eat, exercise, and manage the variables that most affect your blood sugar levels.
Hospitalizations are much more common in people with vulnerable diabetics, making attendance at school and work more difficult. Brittle diabetic patients are much more vulnerable to experiencing diabetes coma from a low pressure and hyperglycemia ketoacidosis (DKA).
Talking to your doctor can help you get the correct diagnosis for this condition, and they will help you plan to better manage it and address underlying mental health or digestive issues that may be contributing to such wild shaking of blood sugar levels.
Type 1 diabetes is always challenging, but with ample progressive education, you can gain more confidence and understanding of how to improve your blood sugar levels, safety, and quality of life.
