It can be hard to know where to start following a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. You may be asking: What is type 1 diabetes? How can I live well with diabetes?

Here, we give you practical tips on how to manage type 1 diabetes for optimal health.

What is type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes has no known cause or cure. It means your pancreas is no longer producing the insulin needed by your body.

Insulin is vital to converting glucose into energy. Because insulin acts to reduce the amount of glucose in the blood, people with type 1 diabetes must replace insulin in the body to maintain blood glucose using injections or an insulin pump.

How to manage type 1 diabetes

There are simple steps you can take to manage your type 1 diabetes.

Monitoring your blood glucose levels

You may measure your blood glucose levels (BGLs) regularly, up to six-eight times every day, in line with your GP’s advice. Monitoring your BGLs is important to make sure they’re as close as possible to your target range.

Your BGL target range may vary depending on your personal circumstances. Your GP, Endocrinologist or Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE) can give the best advice for the range of BGLs that’s safe for you.

Keeping your BGLs in the optimum range requires a careful balance between what you eat, your physical activity and medication. Well-controlled BGLs can help prevent both short- and long-term complications.

If your BGLs are too high, it can result in hyperglycaemia or Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) . If too low, it can result in hypoglycaemia. These can be difficult conditions to experience, so it’s important to know how to respond appropriately.

If experiencing Diabetes Ketoacidosis you may need to call emergency services if you have large ketones and not feeling well. Please follow any instructions that your diabetes health care team have given to you.

Read more about hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and ketoacidosis.

How to check your BGLs

Your CDE will teach you how and when to check your BGLs . This is done on a blood glucose monitor or a flash glucose/continuous glucose monitoring device.

Injecting with insulin

With type 1 diabetes, insulin replacement is required. Lifelong injections can be needed up to six times every day. With advice from your endocrinologist or CDE, you can also wear an insulin pump to deliver a suitably timed and measured dose of insulin into your body.

Find out more about insulin and insulin pumps and how you can administer your injections with confidence. Please see a CDE to assist with your injection technique if required.

Living well with Type 1

Having a healthy diet and being active is an important part of managing diabetes because it will help manage your BGLs. Learn more about eating well with diabetes.

Get active

Physical activity provides multiple benefits for diabetes management. Check out the benefits of exercise for effective diabetes management.

Minimise the risk of complications

If not well managed, diabetes can lead to serious complications that affect many parts of your body. This can happen with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Early diagnosis and management can help prevent diabetes-related complications.

Knowing how to look after yourself is an important first step. Find out how to minimise and prevent the risk of complications.

We also have information for kids and teens living with diabetes.

More information

There are many resources available to help you manage your diabetes care. These resources are easy to access, free and available now.

• Your annual cycle of care
• Blood glucose monitoring
• Healthy diet for diabetes
• Type 1 diabetes and me (NDSS)

Check out our diabetes resources or find a diabetes program or event.