A new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) can spark a range of reactions, including anger, sadness, and guilt. Whatever your feelings, they are normal, and you are not alone.
Whether you have T1D yourself, or are the parent or loved one of a person with type 1 diabetes, it takes time to adapt to the day-to-day demands of the disease. But treatment options are improving all the time, and type 1 diabetes will not prevent you or your loved one from living a full and active life. With medical and emotional support, people with T1D and their families learn to cope with, and even thrive in spite of, the demands that the disease imposes.
Until there is a cure, we want to provide information that will help you cope with the burdens T1D imposes, take advantage of help that is available right now, and keep you and your loved ones as strong and healthy as possible.
A few JDRF volunteers and staff recently got together to participate in diabetes blogger Kim’s “You Can Do This” Project
Bag of Hope
JDRF’s Bag of Hope program is a free resource which provides information and support to families with children who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (within the last 3 months). The Bag of Hope is filled with relevant diabetes education materials, some intended to communicate directly with the child and some geared toward the adult caregiver(s), including (but not limited to): Rufus, the Bear with Diabetes, Rufus Comes Home book, A First Book for Understanding Diabetes, other reference books, a DVD, and an Accu-Chek® Aviva Compact Blood Meter.
The Bag of Hope may be obtained through your local JDRF chapter. Find the location nearest you. Although we are unable to provide Bags of Hope to those who have had type 1 diabetes longer than three months (no exceptions), JDRF chapters can still provide valuable support and resources for you and your family through our dedicated and compassionate volunteers and staff.
Newly Diagnosed Adult T1D Toolkit
A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is somewhat like starting a journey on a new and unfamiliar road. Consider this guide your road map as you go through the various life stages with type 1.
Download This Toolkit
T1D Information
Get information about type 1 diabetes daily care and treatment, coping with emotional demands, and helping delay the onset of complications.
Control and Management
The key to T1D control is a careful balance between food, exercise, and insulin. It’s a juggling act to keep blood glucose levels within the target range. Therefore, people with T1D should stick to scheduled blood sugar checks, insulin injections or boluses, and snack times. Even small departures from your diabetes care plan can cause blood glucose levels to rise or fall.
Hope for the Future
If you are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D), or a parent or loved one of a new patient, you are primarily concerned with learning about and coping with the condition, mastering the basic day-to-day needs, and reaching out for resources and support systems. This “newly diagnosed” section of our site has been designed to help you in those efforts.
We know you are also concerned about the future care and cure of diabetes. You may have already become aware of and encouraged by research going on throughout the world that has made tremendous strides in important areas like encapsulated islets, continuous glucose monitoring, beta cell regeneration, and more.
The mission of our organization is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. We invite you to visit the Research section of this site to learn more about the many areas in which scientific progress in achieving our mission–a world without diabetes–has advanced steadily over the years.
Since our founding in 1970, JDRF has provided more than $1.6 billion to type 1 diabetes research worldwide. We invite you to make a donation or volunteer today.