Not a sweet life: Little researched, type 1 diabetes needs attention

Experts and patients’ parents highlight unavailability and high cost of insulin in the market.

ISLAMABAD:

Obaidur Rehman Abbasi did not know what to say when Moeed, his ten-year-old diabetic son, asked, “How can you say my life is like any other child’s when mama gives me four [insulin] shots a day?”

It is not only a dilemma for parents whose children are suffering from diabetes mellitus type 1 (type 1 diabetes), a disease prevalent among children, but for health experts as well, because the primary causes of the disease are still unknown, making its prevention and control very difficult.

For Moeed’s parents, there is an everyday struggle to gently take away his ice cream bowl or any other food that is rich in carbohydrates, things that children of his age consume without a second thought.

“ It was hard for me and my wife...we could not find a specialist, as very few doctors deal with type 1 diabetes in Pakistan,” Abbasi told The Express Tribune. He also said the doctors tested his son for all sorts of diseases at birth except diabetes.

“He suffered from dizziness, weight loss, excessive thirst and hunger, and he wets his bed while sleeping as he cannot control his bladder, which is very embarrassing,” his father pointed out, adding that it was not easy for Moeed in school either, especially before the school staff was aware of his ailment.

Abbasi complained about the limited availability and high cost of insulin in the market, and also stressed on the need to create awareness about type 1 diabetes among teachers, doctors and the general public.

Assistant Professor Dr Gulbin Shahid, who is also a child diabetes specialist at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), said there are currently no statistics available on children suffering from diabetes in Pakistan. However, according to a special clinic set up at Pims five years ago, 150 type 1 patients have been registered so far.

“Pakistan currently lacks dieticians who can prepare a food plan that includes the appropriate amount of carbohydrates, as well as the intake time for children suffering from the disease. Apart from this, a specially trained nurse to look after such children during their treatment should also be available,” she added.

Dr Shahid also expressed concern over the unavailability and high prices of insulin, which a lot of parents cannot afford. She said the developed world is using advanced technologies to treat the disease, but Pakistan is currently lacks these.

She stressed on the importance of creating awareness about the disease as some parents usually take their children to quacks or spiritual healers, and misdiagnosis can result in death.

Even though the disease’s symptoms have not been disclosed, various studies show that it is classified as an autoimmune disease caused by the failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, she explained.

“A controlled diet can be the best possible treatment for this,” she said.

Shifa International Hospital Senior Endocrinologist Dr Usama Ishtiaq said being diabetic can be shocking for both a parent and a child. He said that there are approximately 7 million diabetic patients in Pakistan, out of which five per cent suffer from type 1 diabetes.

He also said that late diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in children can lead to many complications, and often results in death.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2011.