The Newlyn 10-year-old had been getting quite emotional, was drinking more water and had a significant change in toilet habits.

Her paternal grandmother had been living with type one diabetes for almost 40 years but, with diabetes affecting everyone in different ways, the family was still surprised Lorelai also had the auto-immune disease.

Diabetes Victoria is campaigning for greater awareness of what it calls an invisible condition, making clear diabetes does not discriminate, leading into National Diabetes Week which starts on Sunday.

The campaign comes with more than 70 per cent of Australians mistakenly believing diabetes could be cause by digesting too much sugar, according to a Diabetes Victoria awareness survey.

Lorelai said it was frustrating when people thought you only had diabetes if you were overweight – which was more a risk factor for developing type two diabetes.

While Lorelai can no longer eat Mars Bars (they send her blood sugar levels too high) she can pretty much still eat the same as her friends. Lorelai just has to count all her carbohydrates to calculate the amount of insulin she needs the insulin pump she wears all day.

“I didn’t really take any notice of the pump anymore. I can’t do anything about it, I need it,” Lorelai said. “It’s hard having diabetes but doesn’t stop me doing anything…hard because I don’t like having highs and you’re always guessing, so there’s a chance I might get something wrong.”

Lorelai still swims and she also loves reading. It can be hard to focus on her book or school work if her blood sugar levels get too low, so the pump helps her prevent dipping to that point.

Her mum Christine Henderson said they were lucky Lorelai’s condition had been picked up early and the change had been incredible.

Ms Henderson said Lorelai’s grandmother was a great example of someone with diabetes living life to the fullest, but for a lot of families there was a lot more fear of the unknown.

There are 314,000 Victorians diagnosed with one of the three main types of diabetes, including gestational diabetes. It is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia. More: invisiblecondition.org.au.

DON’T SUGAR-COAT IT

EXERCISE and Sports Science Australia is also campaigning in National Diabetes Week for more awareness of risk factors and management of the disease.

ESSA’s ‘Don’t Sugar Coat Diabetes’ campaign focuses on implementing more exercise into everyday life to reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions, like diabetes, but also in making symptoms more manageable for those with the disease.

Exercise physiologist and diabetes educator Drew Harrisberg said only managing diabetes with insulin means you miss out an entire does of medicine to help overall health outcomes.