What is Type 1? Thanks for asking.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system kills the pancreatic beta cells and the body stops producing insulin. Pretty simple. Except the pancreas and that insulin are not that simple.
Insulin is the hormone that allows the body to turn food into energy. People with T1D must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump to stay alive.
But it's not just about food. Anything that creates a hormone reaction within your body, will affect your blood sugar. Things that seem trivial to a non-T1 can seem impossible for us.
For instance large groups of new people can cause my blood sugar to drop quickly. However, if I'm standing on a stage in front of that group saying something, adrenaline can cause it to spike up.
These hormones exist in your body too of course, but with a working pancreas your body is able to regulate the insulin-liver glycogen balance to make sure your blood sugar doesn't leave a normal range. My body doesn't do that, I have to monitor and regulate things FOR my body.
The moral of the story is, your pancreas is pretty important. It produces insulin, but also works with other organs to regulate systems within your body.
My pancreas is LAME, and dead, and most days I curse it. But I'd sure give anything to have it back.