{"id":9367,"date":"2010-08-19T07:57:28","date_gmt":"2010-08-19T11:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367"},"modified":"2016-01-03T06:23:26","modified_gmt":"2016-01-03T11:23:26","slug":"genetic-testing-to-predict-diabetes-yes-or-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367","title":{"rendered":"Genetic Testing To Predict Diabetes: Yes or No?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Just a few months ago, shortly after I began to introduce solid foods to my baby Adam\u2019s diet, I noticed a fruity smell on his breath. Almost any mother in such a situation would have said to herself, \u201cI\u2019ve just fed my son banana-and-apple mush, therefore, he smells fruity.\u201d My reaction, however, was different. I leaned in close to Adam\u2019s face, sniffing at his breath the way I sometimes sniffed at his rear to check for a dirty diaper. He grabbed my cheeks and put his mouth on my nose as though I were inviting him to nurse from my nostrils. If I hadn\u2019t been panicking at that moment, I would have smiled.<\/p>\n

I was panicking because, as a type 1 diabetic who is married to a type 1 diabetic, I am very much aware that fruity-smelling breath can be a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition that occurs when there is no insulin in the body. Fruity-smelling breath can, of course, also be a sign of having eaten fruit.<\/p>\n

Since we\u2019re both diabetics, my husband Mike and I are hyperaware of symptoms of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes, which include unquenchable thirst, frequent urination, weight loss and blurred vision. And so, when once in a while one of our three sons is thirsty, makes an extra trip to the bathroom or looks a little thin, we become stricken with fear. On one occasion, I waited for the children to fall asleep and then whispered to Mike, \u201cDid you notice that Guy asked for a second glass of water?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hot day,\u201d Mike said. \u201cHe ran around outside for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Then next time, it was Mike who worried after Tom came home from school and announced that he couldn\u2019t stop peeing all day. In child-speak, that probably meant he had to use the bathroom twice. For us, it meant grab the glucometer and check his blood sugar.<\/p>\n

Glucometers, blood-sugar test strips and insulin pens litter our house. My sons probably know more about type 1 diabetes and the paraphernalia that goes with it, than most health care professionals. Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, is not only a chronic illness, it\u2019s an illness that necessitates constant attention \u2013 not unlike a newborn. A healthy person\u2019s pancreas pumps out insulin \u2013 the hormone that converts glucose into energy \u2014 in perfect doses, according to food intake. A type 1 diabetic whose pancreas produces little to no insulin, has to guess how much synthetic insulin to inject each time she eats. Not taking enough insulin means high blood sugar \u2013 which has long-term devastating effects. Taking too much insulin causes hypoglycemia, which can lead to unconsciousness and even death. So every bite of food is counted, insulin is dosed, blood glucose measured. My sons watch as Mike and I do this.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you do anything besides diabetes?\u201d Tom has asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d I\u2019ll insist with obviously false cheer. Nothing escapes Tom\u2019s notice. He is aware of our constant calculations, and he is old enough to understand that even though diabetes is undetectable from the outside, something on the inside is very wrong with his parents. He asks questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs your blood sugar O.K.?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sweetie,\u201d I say. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you remember to take your insulin?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Mike says. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I going to get diabetes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d is my answer. Though I\u2019m small and my voice isn\u2019t strong, I try to make my \u201cno\u201d sound authoritative, not a \u201cno\u201d that sounds like I\u2019m hiding the truth. Not a \u201cno\u201d that suggests insecurity. I want it to be a \u201cno\u201d that erases the question from his mind completely. I would like to erase it from my mind, too.<\/p>\n

There are blood tests that can predict whether a person will develop type 1 diabetes, but there is no proven way to prevent the disease. Even without any testing, I know my sons are at greater than normal risk for getting diabetes since statistics indicate relatives of people with type\u00a01 have a 10 to 15 times greater risk for developing the disease than people with no family history.<\/p>\n

Mike and I often ask each other if we should screen our sons for diabetes. Sometimes it seems like the right thing to do. Other times it doesn\u2019t. While I write this today, I\u2019m leaning against it. I can make my own predictions about my sons, not about whether they will be diabetics, but about who they will be as adults in the world. I know their likes and dislikes. I know they may grow up to be mathematicians, but not basketball stars. In the emotional realm, I know deeply and intimately who my sons are as a whole. To test them for diabetes \u2014 to know the components of their blood \u2014 would be to know them microscopically. It would place cold scientific data between a mother and her sons that, because of its imprecision, would neither alleviate my fears nor confirm them.<\/p>\n

Though I may not test my sons, I will continue to monitor them. When I feed them, I\u2019ll check their plates to see what they\u2019ve eaten. I will notice when they go to the bathroom and when they drink. I\u2019ll do it all with my basic senses, as far the eye can see and as far as the nose can smell.<\/p>\n

Originally posted in Motherlode<\/a> on NYTimes.com<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fruity-smelling breath can be a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis. It can, of course, also be a sign of having eaten fruit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1430],"tags":[20],"yoast_head":"\nType 1 Diabetes and Genetic Testing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We\u2019re both diabetics so my husband and I are aware of symptoms of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes, which include thirst, urination, weight loss and blurred vision\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Apple\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367\",\"name\":\"Type 1 Diabetes and Genetic Testing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/MotherBaby.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-19T11:57:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-03T11:23:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1f33fe649de04a31a493d746b6e72607\"},\"description\":\"We\u2019re both diabetics so my husband and I are aware of symptoms of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes, which include thirst, urination, weight loss and blurred vision\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/MotherBaby.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/MotherBaby.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":344},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=9367#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Genetic Testing To Predict Diabetes: Yes or No?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1f33fe649de04a31a493d746b6e72607\",\"name\":\"Jessica Apple\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c10409e04c60ee9e1a01fbe9c4a704b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c10409e04c60ee9e1a01fbe9c4a704b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessica Apple\"},\"description\":\"Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. 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