Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes (CFRD) is a unique type of diabetes. It is not the same as diabetes in people without CF. The diagnosis and treatment is not exactly the same. CFRD is extremely common in people with CF especially as they get older. CFRD is found in 35 percent of adults aged 20 to 29 and 43 percent for those over 30 years old.

Common symptoms, such as increased thirst and increased urination, are caused by high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). Other symptoms of CFRD are excessive fatigue, weight loss and unexplained decline in lung function.

Insulin is currently the only medication that has proven effective for treatment for CFRD. Insulin can only be given by injection. Insulin allows sugars provided by the carbohydrates that you eat to be passed from your blood stream to the body’s cells where it is used for energy.

Insulin also allows the cells of the body to take up proteins from the food we eat. Proteins help build muscle tissue. If there is not enough insulin in the body, muscle is lost. Loss of muscle can affect your breathing. Insulin allows fat in our diet to be stored in the body as body fat. Without enough insulin, fat stores are used up and weight loss occurs.

Maintaining blood glucose levels at a normal level with the help of insulin may help you gain weight, feel better and have more energy.

CFRD is not type 1 diabetes and it is not type 2 diabetes. It is a type all its own. I wrote a post about the differences here.