– It was a real shock. I had no experience with it. No one in the family had it, says Sara Emilie Tandberg. The founder and influencer has been open about the fact that his son contracted the chronic disease type 1 diabetes two years ago, which was previously called childhood diabetes. This means that the body is unable to make the substance insulin, which is the substance that lowers your blood sugar. The consequence of that is that she, and everyone else around her son, has to monitor his blood sugar – around the clock. – He can die, quite simply. If he gets low blood sugar and we can’t get it up, that’s what happens, says Tandberg. The son is part of a statistic that shows that many more children get type 1 diabetes now than in the past. From 1973 to 1982, there were an average of 150 new cases a year. In recent years, it has been between 400 and 500. No one can say for sure why it is increasing so sharply. Sara Emilie Tandberg sits with the equipment and medicines they use to control her son’s blood sugar. Thanks to this, he can live a fairly normal life. Photo: Private A full-time job Until the son was seven years old, he was a perfectly healthy and normal little boy. But then the typical symptoms started to appear. Constantly thirsty and drinking much more than usual You urinate more than usual You feel tired, lethargic and hungry You are losing weight An appointment was made with the doctor to examine what was bothering the son. – When we got the message, we didn’t understand what it meant. Those at the hospital looked at us with a bit of a “condolence feeling”, says Tandberg. Life with a son with diabetes was turned upside down for the family. – You must take over the work of an organ. It is the pancreas that stops producing insulin. So you have to be the pancreas and it’s a full-time job from morning, evening and night, she says. At school, he has his own assistant who looks after him. The difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes have in common that their blood sugar is higher than is normal. The damage the body suffers from long-term high blood sugar is the same. Diabetes type 1 strikes to a large extent randomly and there are no certain causes for the disease. Diabetes type 2 is in most cases due to obesity, little activity, unhealthy diet combined with a hereditary predisposition. Diabetes tpe 1 occurs in half of the cases in children or young adults. Type 2 diabetes most often occurs after the age of 40. But because more children are becoming overweight, more young people are now getting the disease. Type 1 diabetes must always be treated with insulin. Type 2 diabetes can in most cases be delayed or made less severe by changing lifestyle. (Source: Helsenorge.no) Listen to Sara Emilie in Dagens on news P1 Strong increase – nobody knows why It’s not just more people getting type 1 diabetes. There is a general increase in so-called autoimmune diseases. The most common are celiac disease, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. And what is even stranger – why do more people in Norway and the Nordic countries get type 1 diabetes than anywhere else in the world? – A lot of research has been done on that. And we still don’t know what causes someone to get type 1 diabetes, says researcher Torild Skrivarhaug. She is a pediatrician at Oslo University Hospital and head of the Child Diabetes Register. Although the research has not provided any clear answers as to why many more people get the disease now than before, the researchers have some theories. They think it’s about some people being more genetically vulnerable to getting the disease. At the same time, very few of those who have this genetic vulnerability actually become ill. – So we think there is something in the environment that is a kind of triggering factor. One of the hypotheses is whether it could be banal viral infections, which most of us get, but which in some cases, trigger something more, says Skrivarhaug. She emphasizes that this has not been proven, but if one day it turns out to be true, then researchers can start developing vaccines. – It’s something everyone hopes for, she says. Doctor Torild Skrivarhaug is a doctor and has been researching diabetes for 24 years. She probably still thinks it will take many years before there is a cure for type 1 diabetes. Photo: Moment Studio Encountering prejudice At the start there was a lot to learn and get to grips with for Sara Emilia Tandberg and the rest around her. To stabilize blood sugar, one must learn to inject the right amount of insulin. It can be a complicated thing because blood sugar levels depend on so much. The goal is always the same: to get the disease under control so that the children have as normal a upbringing as possible. – It still remains that many people call this diabetes. It’s something you shouldn’t say anymore because it has nothing to do with sugar in that sense, says Tandberg. She faces a lot of ignorance when it comes to the disease. Some believe that the parents are to blame for children getting type 1 diabetes. – Many believe that this is because the children have eaten the wrong food. That they have had too much candy, sugar and Grandiosa. There is a lot of prejudice. It’s almost like some people think we’ve done a bad job as parents, says Tandberg. Secretary General of the Diabetes Association, Britt Inger Skaanes, gets upset when she hears about the prejudice Tandberg faces. – It is simply completely wrong, ignorant and outrageous, she says. – Unfortunately, there is still a lot to be done when it comes to knowledge about diabetes in society, both type 1 and type 2, Skaanes continues. Secretary General of the Diabetes Association, Britt Inger Skaanes, is concerned that more people are getting type 1 diabetes, that it is increasing most in the Nordic countries, without an explanation being found. Photo: Erik M. Sundt Make the best of it At home with Tandberg’s family, they have lived with the disease for two years now. In that time, they have learned to regulate their son’s blood sugar. – It is demanding and it goes beyond work and everything. I still have my heart in my throat constantly, says Tandberg. At the same time, they have received technical aids that help them to keep an eye on their blood sugar. And the son plays football, is active and goes on mountain trips like other children. – I have become a sickly good pancreas! I am very proud of that, says Tandberg. Published 04.10.2024, at 09.35 Updated 04.10.2024, at 12.14
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More people get childhood diabetes in Norway – Sara Emilie Tandberg experiences many prejudices as a mother – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
