Since it’s Ramadan and fasting is taken seriously, let’s talk about groups of people who shouldn’t really fast (but they can) during this holy month. I will be discussing patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. First, let me summarize what type 1 diabetes is.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks the cells in the pancreas responsible for making insulin, so these people will have to rely on insulin forever.

Normally, it isn’t really hard adjusting insulin levels on patients with type 1 diabetes but even on normal days will risk low blood sugar, which is also called hypoglycemia. It could be very dangerous. Fasting is a risk factor for hypoglycemia. But let’s speak facts first.

A study was done focusing on patients with type 1 diabetes and prolonged fasting and it showed that a lot of insulin adjustments were made and glucose monitoring was more than ever. 65% of diabetic people were able to fast but what about the rest?

The results of this study showed that a high number of diabetic patients had to stop fasting due to either really low blood sugar levels or high blood sugar levels, which are both fairly dangerous. Hypoglycemia can lead to a comatose state.

On the other hand, a good number of diabetic patients were able to fast. Let’s focus on the 35% who weren’t able to fast due to complications. 35% is a relatively large number. Out of every 100 persons, 35 couldn’t fast. We need to put ourselves in their shoes.

In conclusion, لا حرج على المريض, so please stop judging type 2 diabetics. You don’t wanna know what’s it like not eating for hours with suboptimal insulin doses. The symptoms can be life threatening. I’m not coming from religion’s perspective. I’m just being a doctor here.

So if you know anyone with type 1 diabetes, please send them this thread and reassure them that they don’t have to fast if they physically can’t. And again, I’m not speaking about haram or halal, but I’m sure about the saying "و لبدنك عليك حق". Thank you.