Just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? You're not alone, and you can do this.

Type 1 diabetes means your body no longer makes enough insulin, so insulin becomes part of every day. That's a lot to take in. The good news is that insulin, glucose sensors, pumps and automated insulin delivery have made life with type 1 diabetes safer and more flexible than ever. Here you'll find clear, friendly guides for you and your family, one step at a time.

Updated October 3, 2026

In an emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

Start here

Your first 30 days: a checklist

  • Save the phone number of your diabetes team, including the after-hours line, and share it with your family.
  • Learn how to take your insulin, where to inject, and how to store it.
  • Learn the signs of low blood sugar, and keep fast-acting sugar with you everywhere.
  • Ask for glucagon, and show your family and friends how to use it.
  • Ask about a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and whether it's covered.
  • Get blood ketone strips, and learn when to check ketones and what the numbers mean.
  • Make a sick-day plan with your team, and never stop your long-acting insulin.
  • Start learning to count carbohydrates with your diabetes educator or dietitian.
  • Wear medical ID, and tell your team if you feel low, worried or overwhelmed.
  • Your first weeks after a diabetes diagnosis: A calm, step-by-step guide to the first weeks after you learn you have diabetes: understanding your results, checking your blood sugar, medicines, food, activity and support. (6 min read)

Understand type 1 diabetes

Why the body stops making insulin, how type 1 is diagnosed, and what daily care looks like.

  • Understanding type 1 diabetes: What type 1 diabetes is, why it happens, how it's diagnosed, what daily care looks like, and what it means for your family, in plain words. (6 min read)

Insulin, technology and monitoring

Long-acting and mealtime insulin, pens and injection sites, glucose sensors, pumps and automated insulin delivery.

  • Insulin and technology for type 1 diabetes: How basal and mealtime insulin work, using insulin pens, injection sites and storage, and how glucose sensors (CGM), insulin pumps and automated insulin delivery can make daily life easier. (7 min read)
  • Your diabetes care team and checkups: Who's on your diabetes team, and the regular checks that protect your heart, kidneys, eyes and feet: A1C, kidney tests, eye exams, foot exams, blood pressure, cholesterol and vaccines. (6 min read)

Staying safe

How to treat low blood sugar, what to do when you're sick, and how to check ketones and prevent DKA.

  • DKA: what to know: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious but preventable emergency. Learn what causes it, the warning signs, how to check ketones, what the numbers mean, and when to call 9-1-1. (6 min read)
  • Low blood sugar: what to do: How to spot and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) with the rule of 15, when to use glucagon and call 9-1-1, and how to stay safe while driving. (6 min read)
  • Sick-day rules: managing diabetes when you're unwell: What to do with diabetes when you have the flu, a stomach bug or another illness: keep drinking, keep checking, keep taking insulin, ask about pausing certain medicines (SADMANS), and check ketones. (6 min read)

Living well

Food and carb counting, activity, protecting your body, your feelings, and driving, work and travel.

  • Eating well with diabetes: There's no single diabetes diet. Learn the plate method, how carbohydrates affect blood sugar, smart drink swaps and simple, flexible ways to eat well with diabetes. (6 min read)
  • Moving more with diabetes: How activity helps your blood sugar, heart and mood, how much to aim for, and how to stay safe from lows when you exercise with diabetes. (6 min read)
  • Diabetes and your feelings: Diabetes distress, burnout, worry and low mood are common and treatable. Learn the signs, simple ways to cope, how family can help and where to get support, including 9-8-8. (6 min read)
  • Driving, work and travel with diabetes: Practical tips for staying safe on the road, knowing your rights at work, and travelling with insulin, pumps and other diabetes supplies. (6 min read)

When to get help

Call 9-1-1 now

  • Severe low blood sugar: the person is passed out, having a seizure, or too confused to swallow safely. Never put food or drink in their mouth. Give glucagon if it's available and you've been shown how
  • Signs of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA): throwing up, stomach pain, fruity-smelling breath, deep or fast breathing, or feeling very sleepy or confused
  • Blood ketones of 3.0 mmol/L or higher, or any high ketones and you can't keep fluids down
  • Chest pain, pressure or discomfort, or signs of a stroke such as face drooping, arm weakness or trouble speaking

Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number. Don't drive yourself.

Call your diabetes team now

  • Blood ketones of 0.6 mmol/L or more that aren't coming down with your sick-day plan, or 1.5 mmol/L or more (call right away)
  • Blood sugar above 14 mmol/L (about 250 mg/dL) that isn't coming down after a correction dose, or that stays high for several hours
  • An illness that stops you eating or drinking normally, or throwing up or diarrhea
  • A low that needed someone else's help, even if you're fine now, or lows that keep happening
  • You've stopped feeling the warning signs of low blood sugar
  • Problems with your pump, sensor or insulin supply that you can't fix
  • A foot sore, blister or wound that isn't healing, or a red, warm, swollen foot
  • Low mood, worry or feeling burned out by diabetes for more than two weeks

Follow your sick-day plan and call your diabetes team or after-hours line now. Don't wait for your next appointment.

If you or someone with type 1 diabetes has any of the signs in the first list, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number right away. Tell the call taker the person has type 1 diabetes. If someone is passed out or can't swallow, turn them on their side and give glucagon if you've been trained. DKA can develop within hours, especially if insulin has been missed or a pump has stopped working. For the second list, follow your sick-day plan and call your diabetes team or after-hours line now. When in doubt, call.

Questions to ask your team

A printable list of questions to bring to your next appointment.

Go deeper

Written for clinicians and students. More technical material from Hibbert Medical, for readers who want more detail.

Podcast summaries

Lectures

Seminars

Clinical cases

Common questions

What is type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition. The immune system, which normally fights germs, attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin (beta cells). Without enough insulin, sugar can't get into your cells and builds up in your blood. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day. It can start at any age, in children or adults.

Did I cause my type 1 diabetes?

No. Nothing you ate or did caused type 1 diabetes, and it couldn't have been prevented. Researchers think it's caused by a mix of genes and things in the environment, such as some viruses, that trigger the immune system. It is not caused by eating sugar or by weight.

Will I always need insulin?

Yes. With type 1 diabetes, your body can no longer make enough insulin, so you'll need to take insulin for life. Some people have a 'honeymoon' period soon after diagnosis, when the pancreas still makes some insulin and less is needed for a while. Researchers are working on new treatments, including ways to protect or replace beta cells.

What is DKA?

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious condition that happens when the body doesn't have enough insulin. It starts burning fat for fuel, which makes acids called ketones build up in the blood. Signs include thirst, peeing a lot, throwing up, stomach pain, fruity breath, deep breathing and confusion. DKA is an emergency, but it can usually be prevented by never stopping insulin, checking ketones when sick or when blood sugar is high, and following your sick-day plan.

Can I still play sports, travel and have children?

Yes. People with type 1 diabetes do all of these things, including professional athletes. It takes some planning, such as adjusting insulin and snacks for exercise, packing extra supplies when you travel, and getting blood sugar into target before pregnancy. Your diabetes team can help you make a plan for each.

Sources for this page

  1. Diabetes Canada: Type 1 diabetes
  2. Diabetes Canada: Type 1 adult toolkit
  3. Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines: Chapter 12, Glycemic management in adults with type 1 diabetes
  4. Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines: Chapter 15, Hyperglycemic emergencies in adults
  5. NICE: Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management (NG17)
  6. American Diabetes Association. 6. Glycemic goals, hypoglycemia, and hyperglycemic crises: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026
  7. NIDDK: Type 1 diabetes
  8. NHS: Type 1 diabetes
  9. NHS: Diabetic ketoacidosis
  10. Breakthrough T1D: Ketones and diabetic ketoacidosis
  11. Breakthrough T1D Canada

Back to Diabetes: checking your blood sugar, low blood sugar, sick days, food, activity and support, for any kind of diabetes

General information, not medical advice. It does not replace your own care team. If you think you or someone else is having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 (Canada and the US).

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