A friend, not close, but part of my trialthon diabetes team, just diet this morning of kidney failure. Totally untreated. He was 30 years old with 3 kids, 9 yo, 3 yo and 1 1/2. No medical support. We his friends put together money so his body can be taken out of the hospital and cremated. This is the reality of type 1 daibetes in the phlippines. Grossly undertreated, with far too lenient treatment goals, very little support (imagine not even any such thing as a diabetes educator here). He didn’t get medical treatment becuase he wasn’t enrolled in the government healthcare plan (which can get free dialysis for up to 90 sessions a year), and couldn’t afford treatment on his own.
So tragic. HIs family has no money. Who knows what will become of his family. Likely his kids will stay with his wife’s parents in the province, while his wife finds work in Manila and sends the money back to enable them to survive. This sad story is repeated every single day here.
We are going to see how we can become involved as patient to patiient activists. So much is needed to be done here. including spreading the knowledge of low carb eating, which can help control AND reduce the cost of treatment.
That is such a sad story. Living in the US as I do, I don’t appreciate how hard it can be at times in this world. And as you point out, sometimes it is some simple things that can really help people.
this is such an awful story and reality. i am so sorry for your friend and his family. being a patient activist is forward thinking, good luck with helping t1s in your area. xxx
I hope the sad passing of your friend can provide a legacy of change for those in the PI who need care. May I suggest you contact the International Diabetes Federeration for assistance with your organizational efforts with advocacy? They are on many social platforms now and have a web site with contact information.
Even with dialysis end stage kidney disease is a terrible process - my prayers to your friends family.
Thanks. I’ll talk, with my friends in the next few days about what we can do. I’m doing ketogenic diet due to some of their encouragement. Amazing impact on weight and blood sugar. Only cost is regular food.
I am sure this sad event is going to be a trigger for action. Also for us to be more aware of each others health so we can give support, encouragement, and advice early rather than this happening.
I’m familiar with some of the tasty high carb common dishes of the PI so you might have a lot of work ahead developing tasty alternatives - I’m a lumpia fan myself…I’m trending about 40 carbs daily right now so good luck with the ketogenic diet…let us know how it goes!
Keto diet going great! Really amazing results. Blood sugar in 70 - 100 range all the time, losing weight while actually eating. I’m a total covert. This approach certainly could be a valuable tool.
Your sad story is a stark reminder to us first world residents that diabetes is still often a death sentence in many parts of the world. Good for you for using this tragic event to seek solutions.
Congrats on your progress with the carb-limited diet. Trying to convince people to change their way of eating is an uphill climb. People aggressively defend their current way of eating, even if they know on some level that it’s not good for them.
I know for me, I knew about the benefits of a carb limited diet for diabetes for a few years before a secondary diabetes complication motivated me to try a lower carb diet. The results were so dramatic to me that I found it hard to believe how much push back existed from people I suspect it could help. I think we just need to provide our personal testimony and hope to convert a few people at a time.
What is the situation for health care in the Philippines? For diabetics?
Is this story representative? I mean, is being a diabetic (especially a T1) in PI truly a death sentence, as this story would suggest? Is the experience this 30 year-old had typical? Routine?
Or is it the exception?
I’m struggling to wrap my mind around this, if indeed this is the case. That would be a lot of people dying, without anyone noticing or caring.
While I certainly don’t consider the Phillipines “first world”, I certainly thought diabetes care would be on par with, say, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, etc. The picture this post paints is one of diabetics simply being left untreated in the Philippines as a matter of routine.
So sad to hear about your friend and his family. This is a stark reminder of how inadequate (or outright nonexistent) proper care is in much of the world. It’s beyond outrageous how often a tragedy like yours is what it takes to get attention. Blow that advocacy horn as loud as you can as often as you can, and know that you’re not alone in your efforts.
His story is terribly common. If you don’t have enough money or a well off enough family you die. Many people still die and spend all their family’s savings in the process. Most everyone here knows someone who has died. Diabetes generally is a death sentence. And a sentence fir family bankrupsy. The last time i saw my Dr he told me he had a patient in icu with diabetes complications. The family were selling their properties and pulling the kids out of school to pay the hospital. That is Tragic on so many levels.
Diabetes is absolutely epidemic here, there seems to be a huge genetic predisposition. Treatment is not stringent and treatment goals are lenient enough to ensure complications, if people are even treated. Most People can’t afford medication or drugs. Actually insulin is,far cheaper than 3 or 4 drugs combos. But no one is prescribed insulin (unless they’re type 1), and the must commonly prescribed insulin is mixed. People don’t even get a chance to use diet because anyone seeing a nutritionist are fed the standard ada high carb diet carbage that we know doesn’t work.
There is minimal government assistance. Pumps are the realm of the rich. I’m not poor, but i could not even consider a pump. Fortunately I don’t need to.
I’m very sorry for your loss. Too many of us die too young.
Why wasn’t he enrolled in the government run health care? We don’t have that in the US (unless we are old or desperately poor) and if I didn’t have private insurance, I wouldn’t be able to afford dialysis either. Until the new ACA, I couldn’t buy private health insurance and would have died if I needed dialysis, just like your friend. I wish we had a govt run system.
Insulin can be bought without a prescription - But one had to know How to use it. Minimal daily salary here is, about p400 - 500 / day. About $10 - 15. Insulin costs about p800 - 1200 a vial. Depending on type. Cheapest test strips are p600 for 25 pieces. Few if anyone has insurance.
Maybe he didn’t have spare money to pay the government healthcare contribution. This could be the case if he was self employed. Most employers pay the employers party and deduct the employees component and remit it to the government monthly. Since employers don’t even though not dimming so is illegal.
While this is not directly germane to this thread, I thought you and others might be interested in this bit of insulin trivia. I found this at Wikipedia.
NPH stands for neutral protamine Hagedorn, and the words refer to neutral pH (pH = 7), protamine (a protein), and Hans Christian Hagedorn (an insulin researcher). NPH insulin was created in 1936 when Nordisk formulated “isophane” porcine insulin by adding neutral protamine to regular insulin.
Can you imagine trying to control blood sugar with Regular insulin, only? It appears that before 1936 there were no long or intermediate acting insulins.
