I think it's good to think about it and discuss it because as you say it can maybe help lead to a prevention/cure or better treatments.
I already had mild asthma, mild raynauds and ocular rosacea. My grandfather had graves disease and my father has asthma and raynauds. Since there is no diabetes in my family, my endo said my grandfather's grave's disease is the autoimmune link.
Holger--your description is probably the best one I've read in a long while...thanks!
The following link supports what Holger says above about the blood cells being attacked. Hopefully the patent that Dr. Habib Zaghouani is pursuing pays off soon!
http://www.sciencecodex.com/adult_stem_cells_could_hold_key_to_curing_type_1_diabetes-113048
I had been slowly getting sicker for about two months, but I developed horrible pneumonia during a ski trip.
I had chicken pox the Summer of 1988 and was diagnosed in October 1988 with a bs of 1200. I was always told my t1 was a result of chicken pox until a month or so ago when I saw on the news that its not linked. I still think it is.
Mine is similar. When I started teaching in 1998, I was sick a lot. Had several bouts of pneumonia, and asthma so bad the allergist could only control it with prednisone for a year. Fast forward three years, and I am battling PCOS. I could not get pregnant without infertility assistance. I also had a bought of shingles shortly before getting pregnant, and after giving birth I had toxemia. Toxemia is always dangerous, but when it occurs after giving birth, it is much more dangerous. Doctors had to make my body believe I was in labor again. I came very close to a stroke or seizure. I also had a horrid yeast infection, and had many more over the years.
I was diagnosed type one in March when I went to an endocrinologist because I was tired of my general practioner threatening me with insulin. The endo told me on my first visit he thought I was type 1, ordered the tests and I was diagnosed soon after.
Interesting, I was three months premature and have had issues with allergies and obviously Type 1 since childhood. I wonder if there is some connection.
Please, this conspiracy thinking is absurd. The immune system is VERY capable. I have witnessed a person going into an allergic shock. Within 3 minutes the appearance of this person totally changed beyond recognition. Just the quick intervention of the emergency doc prevented this from ending lethal. In comparison the reaction stimulated by a vaccination is totally harmless. In fact any reaction to an infection is far more pronounced. The vaccination is just a stimulus for the rogue T-cells. Without this incentive the next best infection would have lead to the same outcome - the rogue T-cell starting their attack. If any specific vaccination would be involved then the statistical timelines would show that for sure. There are early warning/monitoring systems in place for countries to find these effects. Fact is that even the greeks knew T1. Young people fading away quickly having urine that tasted very sweet. They called it diabetes (urine passing through) and later the romans added mellitus (sweet like honey). It was always there. The incident rate has increased - that is true. But the driver behind that has not been identified yet. However there are no indications that vaccinations are the cause. Perhaps T1 have problems to metabolize vitamin D. Perhaps the increase in cloud building influences vitamin D production due to less exposure to sunlight. From Finland we know that the insufficient supplementation with vitamin D in children is a driver. But this is a country with very limited sunlight. There supplementation is a must. These environmental factors might play a vital role. If a person from japan with the lowest incident rate for T1 moves to finland his risk to develop T1 will increase/adjust to that of the finish population.
Holger, I agree completely. Most of this vaccine started off with Dr. Andrew Wakefield's fabricated research from 1998. His fake data claimed a link between autism and childhood vaccines. The paper has been retracted and the doctor has lost his medical liscence: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html.
His fake research has caused many parents to consider not vaccinating his children which IMHO is a bad mistake. Others began to think that vaccines may lead to other problems (like T1). To my knowledge there is no evidence of this. There is only a correlation that you get vaccines and some get T1 in their adolescence.
No history of diabetes in my family. In 1992 when I was diagnosed I had just started to get over the flu. Had a prolonged honeymoon period so it was determined that my immune system attacked my islet cells when fighting the virus. I’m curious about why that part of my body was attacked…no explanation has ever been given so I’ve just gone on with my treatment.
GD with my fist baby…no meds went from 125 lbs to 200… Went away after birth lost the weight.
GD with my 5 th…low dose insulin for meals only
Had Pnuemonia 2 times between 1st and 5 babies
Pneumonia for 3rd time 5months ago…3 weeks later ER/ ICU DX’d LADA
Possibly a smallpox vaccination. But how do you prove it?
Def an autoimmune reaction as I am the ONLY type 1 in my family, diabetes doesn't even run very strongly in my family at all. I had a couple of distant great aunts or something that were type 2's but that is it...I was diagnosed after having the flu that I could never quite get rid of. I agree autoimmune conditions are something that we were probably born with that was always there lurking around. Strange thing is, no one else in my family seems to have any problems with autoimmune problems, however I do have a cousin with Ulcerative Colitis so bad he had a colectomy done at 16 or 17. Inflammatory bowel diseases sometimes are thought to be autoimmune in nature. Guess just my bad luck.
Science has identified the marker and the T cell that says attack the beta cells. No real mystery as to the cause for the beta cells getting destroyed. The real challenge has been finding a way to stop the T cells from selecting the beta cells for destruction.
Some study have shown that pretreatment to diminish the T cell's ability to ID the beta cells for destruction have been successful. There are several auto immune factors that come into play and most likely a cure or winning he T cell battle will not be a single salutation, but rather a multifaceted approach.
One interesting recent finding is how much beta cell function is still intact with those who have had T1D for several years. If we could turn off or kill the T cell marker action there may be a chance that T1Ds may be able to get the beta cell function back.
Even some of the artificial pancreas clinical studies have had a positive impact, after normalizing BG the T1Ds have had beta cells start producing insulin after being a T1D without or with minimal beta cell insulin production before starting the AP. Several factors were involved, in some cases the study participants who regain beta cell function were pregnant with an almost non-function immune system.
Personal experience for me was pre diagnosis, lots of low BGs and eventually a 8 hour 106 fever, then all was gone and eventually diagnosed at 17. Now 60 and still hoping, but not waiting for a cure.
There is indeed empirical evidence that normalizing blood sugars can lead to recovery of lost beta cell function. Some of this research goes back decades.
I had a case of strep throat. After that was dealt with by antibiotics and my immune system, I started dropping weight (didn't need to got to 96 lbs and I'm 5'6") and all of the other classic symptoms. A friend who is a nurse saw me and ordered me to get to my doctor or the ER. Followed her directions (she's formidable) and bingo! Type 1.
I pondered this question many times in the years after dx but no longer believe it took a specific illness to trigger my autoimmune attack. The theories are too varied and too vague for me to believe any one of them. It really surprises me how little our science and research understands the autoimmune attack that turns our lives upside down.
I was diagnosed at age 11, a few months prior I was really ill for weeks. I had fevers and symptoms that doctors thought could be mononucleosis but wasn't. I've heard more people mention being ill like that before being diagnosed so I really feel like that's what did it for me. But there are so many theories that I will never be able to exclude ^^;
My doctor thinks that I have had T1D since childhood, but never diagnosed. I had a dentist tell my mother not to bring me back, although I brushed my teeth all the time, my gums were bad. had top false teeth since I was 22. then there were the black outs I would have, parents took me for all kinds of brain scans and checked me for drugs. I was diagnosed at an early age for ADD, when I moved out of town and had a new doctor, he wanted a urine test from me. first one lol. it was through the roof. I was put on insulin immediately. since I have been taking insulin I have had no blackouts at all. That was 13 years ago, maybe this is possible from what I have been reading here. very interesting indeed. I did not even know that adults could get diabetes, how naive I have been in many ways. Although it has been challenging my family has been better off with good nutrition habits and lifestyle.
as for family, I was adopted at 6m of age, never got imunization shots since I was to small, through the years it just did not happen, after meeting my birth family, my mother and grandfather on her side has diabetes and my father and his father has diabetes also. seemed inevitable that I would get it after nowing that.