A Report On Type 1 Diabetes, 1900-1950, by Dr. Joslin
Dr. Elliott Joslin wrote the following article in 1950. It gives a report on Type 1 diabetes for the years 1900-1950. It is very interesting to be able to compare the now with the then while reading this article. Type 1 diabetics, and others, should find the article very interesting...rather startling too.
[url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2037674/pdf/brmedj03598-0003.pdf[/url]
Richard - Very interesting reading. If I were diagnosed 100 years ago, my life expectancy would have been a little over four years. I would have died at the age of 34. Modern medicine added at least 26 years to my life and for that I am grateful.
It's interesting to read the "strict discipline" of pregnant diabetic women included limiting carbs to 180-200 grams per day! I wonder what these doctors of yesterday would think of some of today's diabetics successfully thriving with diets under 50 grams of carbs per day.
There's no mention of different kinds of insulin, either short or long acting. I did see the name "Hagedorn" attached to the era from 1937-1943. I remember that Hagedorn lent his name to the "H" in "NPH."
I just can't begin to imagine living in a time when you could only get your BG tested at the doctor or hospital. Talk about flying blind! It's completely understandable that diabetics preferred to run high and avoid hypos.
We must all be thankful that we've been born and diagnosed in this era instead of back then.
I agree with Terry that we are indeed lucky to have been born and diagnosed in this era. And those of us who have only been diagnosed recently are luckier still.
Joslin's compassion for his patients really comes through in this article.
wow
Thank you, that was very interesting and something I would not have come across otherwise. I found this quote, from 1950, interesting because it shows how long the importance of good control has been known (though not "proven" until DCCT): "These young patients must in some way or other be told that if they do not keep their diabetes controlled they are liable to serious complications in their eyes, their kidneys, their hearts, or their brains. We can always offset this serious advice by emphasizing that those who are perfect after 25 years are in general those who have followed treatment the best."
Thanks for sharing, Richard, this article by Joslin is fascinating! I laughed out loud at Joslin's comment, "Patients get tired of us doctors." And truly, we can all be grateful that we have the tools (insulins and technology) that we have today.
Those of us diagnosed prior to the availability of BG strips and meters in the mid-80's were indeed flying blind with respect to actual BG, though we had urine tests that were actually pretty useful (with obvious limitations). I had about ten years of urine-only testing; but Richard had about forty years of diabetes before BG tests! I'm very impressed that Richard had already had diabetes for five years when Joslin was writing this report!! Richard is clearly one of the successful T1 youngsters that Joslin was writing about.
Its also clear from Joslin's writing that he never recommended that a diabetic "run high and avoid hypos" - quite to the contrary.
I find it interesting that this book by Dr Joslin is getting some attention here on TuD. On a few other diabetes websites it is getting almost no attention. People on Facebook like it too.