T1D is one of the fastest-growing chronic health conditions in the world. See the numbers.
By the Numbers: Your Life with T1D
How many days have you lived with T1D? How many hours of sleep have you likely lost? Use our calculator to do the math, then share your numbers!
Use our calculator to add up your T1D numbers!
Living with T1D and the challenges it brings is largely unknown to most people whose lives are untouched by the disease.
Numbers don’t lie and are a great way to quickly tell your story!
Use our calculator and we will send you a sharable, illustrated data snapshot showing how daily life with T1D affects you and your family.
Your Life with T1D Calculator
Answer a few short questions to reveal your numbers. When a question has an asterisk*, an answer is required.
These figures are based on published averages and are an estimate, not a medical record.
Adding up your numbers…
These are your numbers
Every number here is a snapshot of the effort T1D takes — and a reason we keep pushing for cures.
This is what T1D adds up to
Someone shared their numbers from the By the Numbers calculator. Every number is a snapshot of the effort T1D takes.
By the Numbers
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By the Numbers: Your Life with T1D explained
Are you wondering how we got your numbers? Here's how we did it.
Days Living with Type 1 Diabetes
When you entered your date of diagnosis, we calculated the number of days you've lived with T1D.
Finger Pricks
If you picked finger prick test, we calculated that you would do approximately eight* a day after 1980 and 0 before.
If you picked continuous glucose monitor (CGM), we calculated that you would do approximately eight finger prick tests a day until the date you started on your CGM and approximately one** test a day since.
If you picked the flash glucose monitor, we calculated that you would do approximately eight finger prick tests a day until the date you started on your flash and approximately one** test a day since then.
- *It is recommended to do finger prick tests before eating three meals, two hours after each meal, before a snack/drink and at night.
- **It is sometimes recommended to do calibration finger prick tests while using a CGM or flash glucose monitor. We recognize that you may be doing fewer or more frequent testing depending on your needs.
- Acciaroli G, Vettoretti M, Facchinetti A, Sparacino G. Calibration of Minimally Invasive Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensors: State-of-The-Art and Current Perspectives. Biosensors (Basel). 2018 Mar 13;8(1):24. doi: 10.3390/bios8010024. PMID: 29534053; PMCID: PMC5872072.
Insulin Injections
We calculated that you would have done approximately one* injection a day before 1980, two** injections a day between 1980 and 1990, and seven*** injections a day from 1990 until today.
- *Before 1980, it was recommended to have one injection a day.
- **During the 1980s, it was recommended to carry out the basal/bolus regime – one injection in the morning and one during the night.
- ***It is now recommended to test and inject insulin (if needed) before three meals a day, one snack/drink, one at night, plus two corrections. We recognize that you may be testing and injecting insulin less or more frequently depending on your needs.
Hours of Lost Sleep Due to T1D
We calculated that you would lose approximately four hours of sleep a week due to T1D.
- Perfect MM. Sleep-related disorders in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: current insights. Nat Sci Sleep. 2020 Feb 11;12:101-123. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S152555. PMID: 32104119; PMCID: PMC7023878.
Time Spent Recovering from a Hypoglycemic Episode
We calculated that you would spend approximately 2 hours a week recovering from a hypo.
- Individuals with T1D may have 1-2 mild hypoglycemia episodes a week, though everyone is different. An hour of recovery time is given for each, to allow 15 minutes for glucose levels to return to normal. If you drive, it is recommended that you shouldn't drive for a further 40 minutes.
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DISCLAIMER: The content of By the Numbers: Your Life with T1D and associated design elements are intended for informational and awareness purposes and are not to be viewed as health appraisals or recommendations. Please consult your healthcare provider for any and all individual T1D management and related questions or issues. Breakthrough T1D will not share information collected via the calculator with any third party. Please see Breakthrough T1D's Privacy Policy for details.
The calculator adds up how many insulin injections you’ve likely had, how many hours of sleep you’ve likely lost because of T1D, how many blood glucose checks you’ve likely done and more—going all the way back to your date of diagnosis!
Your numbers, based on averages, show the approximate impact of the time and effort you spend managing your diabetes and will help show the world how resilient and strong people with T1D are.
The averages of your numbers will help us advocate for all people impacted by T1D and raise awareness about what it’s like to live with the disease.
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