My medical and lab reports from my Joslin Medalist Study arrived recently.
My lab report showed: Cholesterol-126, HDL-60, LDL-52, Trig-69, A1c-5.8. The rest of the report also showed good numbers, much the same as my Sept. report done in my home town.
The Complete Blood Count showed some mild abnormalities: WBC (White blood cell)-4.3, RBC (Red blood cell)-3.78, HGB-12.8, HCT-38, PLT-126… all those are somewhat low. Then there was: MCV-100.6, MCH-33.8…both of those are somewhat high. I Googled those and anemia was considered a possible cause for most of those abnormalities. I have had occasional anemia ever since my radiation for prostate cancer in 2003. I had no surgery, just radiation, and occasional anemia is my only remaining side effect. Now I will be taking Vitamin B12. That has worked in the past very nicely. The rest of my blood tests were normal.
My BP was 126 over 64. The rest of the report was very good. My eye exam, including pictures of the back of my eyeballs, showed that my eyes are very healthy.
My fasting that morning was 119 (usually 80-100 at home). When they gave me my Glucose Tolerance Test my BG was determined every 30 minutes for the next two hours. Those numbers were: 169, 244, 290, 320. I had my morning basal but I was not permitted to bolus until the test was completed. I needed a bolus of 20 units. Since my BG kept increasing for the entire two hours, it is apparent that I am not producing any insulin. I was told that many Nedalists had high BG for the first hour after drinking the glucose but then their BGs during the second hour were lower. They are the ones still producing some insulin. To find Type 1’s still producing insulin after 50 years, or more, of diabetes is amazing! Those individuals have no serious complications. I produce none and still have no complications. There are a few others just like me. They are very interested in that subgroup where there is no insulin being produced but there are no complications. Makes me feel like some kind of freak! I was also told that there were several Medalists who had not taken good care of themselves, and still don’t, but they have no complications either. Another interesting subgroup. Some, or all, members of the latter subgroup probably produce some insulin.
My eye exam was done after the tolerance test. I felt sick and had a hard time concentrating on the opthamologist’s discussion with me. I had cataracts removed many years ago so I had an artificial lens in my eyes. A high BG does not affect an eye exam under those circumstances. For those Medalists who still had their natural born lens, however, the high BG would cause the lens to “wrinkle” and the eye exam would be affected. I suggested that to the opthamologist and she agreed. I sent an email to Joslin this week and they were interested in my suggestion. Maybe they will have the eye test done first and the tolerance test done later for the rest of the Medalist testing. LOL! They actually listened to me!
Dr. King, head of the study, was in Europe the day I was examined and I did not get to meet him. His assistant told me that I could send him an email and ask questions I wanted answered.
This post is getting way too long. I may post my discussion with Dr. King some other time. It is a rather long report.
Dr. George L. King, M.D., is the Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Joslin Diabetes Center. He is a Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School.
