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Poll results and the statement which
prompted the poll. The following news-
groups were included in the poll, in -3-
separate posts:
alt.politics,
alt.philosophy,
alt.education,
alt.life.sucks,
alt.atheism,
alt.agnosticism,
talk.philosophy.humanism,
alt.religion.christian,
alt.religion.christianity,
alt.religion.christian.baptist,
alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic
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Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER- - -
Preface : I've had type 1 diabetes since
the age of 5, for almost 50 years.
Recently, a news article began with a
statement regarding how "most people"
perceive that condition, and in seeking
to ascertain whether that statement was
accurate or not, I was unable to find any
poll supporting or refuting that statement.
- - -
Aside
To avoid influencing the poll results, that
statement will not be presented at this
time, but instead will be posted along
with the poll results at the end of the
day, tomorrow, June 5, 2010.
End Aside
- - -
Statement which prompted the poll:
- - -
No answers yet for kids with Type 1 Diabetes
Canada.com
http://tinyurl.com/insulinitis0013-noanswersyet
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Excerpt:
There is a large misconception among most
people that Type 1 Diabetes (the most severe
form of the disease) is caused by unhealthy
lifestyle and that insulin injections are the
'cure'.
- - - end excerpt - - -
As stated, unable to find any information
confirming or refuting that "most people"
think that.
The article is true in that -if- that's the
case, it's a misconception. Insulinitis*, aka
type 1 diabetes, see my response to the
questions on the poll, below, for details
on its causality, its treatments, and the
risks in having the condition as well as
the risks of treating it with insulin injec-
tions or pumped in insulin.
* Refer to the reference at the end of
this post for details on new names
for all high glucose conditions.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVERSince newsgroup responses might affect
results, my request is that you don't
respond to this poll on the newsgroup,
but instead by sending me an email at
and that you base your response on the
perception you have when reading the
poll questions, rather than by researching
the matter.
Goal : To either confirm or refute the
statement made in the news article.
- - -
Type 1 Diabetes Poll
I received no emails in response to the
poll.
In these newsgroups, one person
responded with the position that the
disease and the medical response to it
were fraudulent in nature, that money
resided at the root of the fraud, that
people with the condition actually are
suffering from hypochondria. All that
is untrue, though money does reside
as an important aspect in the current
costs of treating the disease, and as
an important aspect in the costs of the
research into curing the disease or
coming up with much-improved treat-
ments for the condition.
A couple of other posters countered
the position taken by the poster men-
tioned in the first sentence of the pre-
vious paragraph.
In yet another newsgroup, one person
responded that there was a great deal
of ignorance regarding the subject be-
cause most people don't get to know
about most things until it affects them
directly. He also pointed to a name prob-
lem. A solution for that name problem is
addressed in the link at the end of this
reply. Since type 1 diabetes is only pre-
sent in about 1 in 500 people (more than
that in many European countries, especially
Scandinavian ones, less than that in most
of the world), it's understandable why that
would contribute to misunderstanding due
to the issues that person mentioned.
Some suspect that the reason the cure
hasn't come about is that big-pharma
can make much more money by treating
the disease than they can by curing it.
I consider myself to be a rather skeptical
person, and as such, do have suspicions
regarding the way it's taken so long to
come up with so little, and all we've got-
ten is more insulin injections, and more
blood-pricks, and more expensive external
devices, all of which places additional
treatment burdens on persons with the
disease.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Since I've had the condition for almost
50 years, I feel well-qualified to answer
the questions I asked in the poll, so feel
free to refer to the following for accurate
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER1) If you had to describe type 1 diabetes
in one sentence, what would you say?
When insulin production is drastically
reduced or totally ends, most often due
to an autoimmune attack on the pan-
creatic cells of the islets of langerhans,
but sometimes due to other conditions
or to pancreatic surgery, an individual
must inject (or pump) insulin to stay
alive, trying to keep glucose levels from
going too high, while at the same time
guarding against hypoglycemia (low
glucose) which can cause unconscious-
ness and, in a minority of cases which
are reported from time to time, death.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER2) What causes type 1 diabetes?
Most often, an autoimmune attack on
the pancreatic cells of the islets of langer-
hans, and some studies suggest that coin-
cides with a viral infection in most cases.
In a small percentage of cases, a condi-
tion not related to an autoimmune attack,
such as pancreatic cancer or an operation
on the pancreas to remove that cancer or
an operation on the pancreas to prevent
a rare condition (known as hyperinsulinism)
from causing hypoglycemia (low glucose),
or some other disease which adversely
impacts the release of insulin, or a severe
injury or wound can cause the total or
near-total loss of insulin production known
as type 1 diabetes (aka, Insulinitis*).
* Refer to the reference at the end of
this post for details on new names
for all high glucose conditions.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER3) How is type 1 diabetes treated?
With the necessity of eating the 'right'
amount at the 'right' time to mate to
insulin dosages (delivered via injections,
up to 6 per day, though some use as few
as 1 or 2 per day, or via an insulin pump
which delivers steady dosages + additional
insulin based on manual decisions), meta-
bolic unknowns, stress-impact unknowns,
other medicinal impacts unknown (which
is often the case when other medicines are
taken), and an amount of exercise which
is variable unless one has absolute discipline
in controlling when/how/to what extent one
exercises every day of one's life.
As for eating the 'right' amount at the 'right'
time, I'd call it a "food as medicine" diet, try-
ing to mate all described in the previous para-
graph in a way that influences glucose levels
which react in a variable and frequently un-
predictable way, sometimes in a way causing
one's glucose level to go so low (hypoglycemia)
that it places one's life at risk.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER4) What risks are inherent in having the
condition?
Ketoacidosis is often a condition present when
the disease is first diagnosed, but can recur if
the glucose level goes too high at any time,
and a high glucose coma can result from that,
in which case, if untreated with insulin in time,
death can result. If undiagnosed, death will
result, and if diagnosed too late, serious medi-
cal complications can occur in the short term,
the most serious being death.
In the long term, risks of premature death are
increased, and one risks blindness, heart fail-
ure, stroke, kidney disease, limb amputations,
with a reduction in life expectancy of from 10
to 15 years. However, some persons with the
condition meet and exceed the average life
expectancy, but unfortunately, they're a small
minority, and complications sometimes set in
in childhood or young adulthood, sometimes
later than that.
Studies have shown that lower HbA1c readings
(that reflects the average glucose levels over
an extended time period) reduce the risk of
long-term complications, but increase the
risk of hypoglycemia (low glucose -- see '5',
below).
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER5) What risks are inherent in treating
the condition?
Hypoglycemia (low glucose) which can result
in unconsciousness (when the glucose level
goes too low, but especially overnight as
there's no way to know that your glucose is
low when you're asleep, unless you are using
an expensive device, a Continuous Glucose
Monitor, which sounds an alarm when your
glucose level goes too low or too high) unless
an intervention in which orange juice or another
carbohydrate is ingested to raise the glucose
level and prevent unconsciousness.
When unconsciousness occurs, as happens
infrequently in most cases, death can occur
(either directly, due to the unconsciousness
-or- indirectly due to reduced mental cogni-
zance when in a low glucose condition caus-
ing an accident to occur).
Chances of depression and anxiety are elevated
for persons with this condition.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER6) What treatments are available for
the condition?
In addition to everything mentioned above,
some medications exist to lower the risk of
long-term complications in some areas. Laser
surgery is available to try to prevent blindness
in the cases where the condition is leading to
blindness. In response to raised risk in some
areas, medications are available to reduce the
risk, but their effectiveness is variable from
individual to individual.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER7) Is type 1 diabetes curable?
Research has been ongoing since insulin first
began to be used to treat the condition in 1922,
-but- a cure has not yet made it past the prom-
ise or test stages to the actualized viable widely
available stage. Many different types of cures
are being researched, but no one is holding
their breath regarding such matters, as cures
have been in the works even since way back
when insulin was introduced in 1922, and none
have panned out yet.
A helpful reference regarding the discovery of
insulin:
http://tinyurl.com/discoveryofinsulin-popsci1923
As for prevention or treatment to try to main-
tain insulin production in the early stages after
diagnosis, progress has been made with several
different drug treatments, and they're in the
testing stages now.
As for mice, many are cured of type 1 diabetes,
but unfortunately, none of those cures have
made their way to humans, yet.
The following describes a type of cure that is
available for a very small minority of persons
suffering from this condition, presently. In this
video, the gentleman touches on one of the
significant difficulties present in treating the
condition with insulin injections -or- pumped
in insulin (clue: it involves the inappropriate
use of the word 'control', an issue I address
in inspiration '10' in the linked-to-article at
the end of this post), and conveys his happi-
ness in being one of the few who have been
able to recreate their insulin-production to
such an extent that presently, he feels like
he has been 'cured':
Video : Potential Cure of Type 1 Diabetes
Details on Pancreatic Islet Transplantation,
the technique which was used in the video
referenced above
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/pancreaticislet/
Cautionary notes (excerpts): ... Risks of islet
transplantation include the risks associated with
the transplant procedure-particularly bleeding
and blood clots-and side effects from the im-
munosuppressive drugs that transplant recipients
must take to stop the immune system from reject-
ing the transplanted islets. ...
... Patients may also have increased blood cho-
lesterol levels, hypertension, anemia, fatigue,
decreased white blood cell counts, decreased
kidney function, and increased susceptibility to
bacterial and viral infections.
Taking immunosuppressive drugs also increases
the risk of tumors and cancer. ... Researchers
are also trying to find new approaches that will
allow successful transplantation without the use
of immunosuppressive drugs. For example, one
study is testing the transplantation of islets that
are encapsulated with a special coating designed
to prevent rejection. ...
- - - end excerpts - - -
For me, with all the risks entailed, I'd have to be
in a much worse state (than I'm presently in) in
order to consider such a risky procedure. In any
case, the procedure is not yet widely available,
and I wouldn't qualify anyway as my average
glucose readings (HbA1c levels) are well within
a range considered acceptable by the medical
community.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER8) Describe how you would feel if you,
a member of your family, or a friend
was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes?
When diagnosed, I was 5, and too young to
know much about the condition. I just did as
told, and my parents handled the insulin-giving
chores. Testing was solely urine-based, and
far from helpful, so I didn't keep that up, and
even when glucose tests became available, I
resisted using them.
Recently, a little over a year ago, I reluctantly
began using glucose tests, as I was having
problems with hypoglycemia and unconscious-
ness events.
I switched to 6 shots per day (what is known
as an intensive insulin regimen), and 4 (or
more) glucose tests per day, per a doctor's
advice. Short-term, I had more unconscious-
ness events, but feel confident I can avoid
those now (although, see the following).
Having tested at 42 late yesterday, that's
very close to an unconsciousness event, so
you just never know -- when that happens,
it becomes difficult to prepare for what I call
the rubber-band effect, the glucose going too
high following the hypoglycemia event -- my
glucose level this morning was 239 -- it's a
daily battle, and sometimes you're the wind-
shield, and sometimes you're the bug*.
* Credit to Barry Switzer for that one.
As for a friend or family member being diag-
nosed as having type 1 diabetes, I would be
disappointed and devastated to a certain ex-
tent, fully cognizant of the treatment risks
and the risks of complications and the death
risks which a newly diagnosed individual would
have to face for their entire life -or- until the
condition is cured -or- until much-improved
treatments become widely available.
My 19-year-old daughter does not have the
disease, not yet, anyway, thank goodness.
My older brother has type 2 diabetes, aka
Cellosis*.
* Refer to the reference at the end of
this post for details on new names
for all high glucose conditions.
Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER- - -
Poll results will be posted, with no references
to individual names, along with the statement
in the news article referenced above, at the
end of the day, tomorrow, Saturday, June 5,
2010.
- - -
Thanks,
Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
- - -
I've done a considerable amount of work
on trying to fix some inherent problems
with diabetes terminology, arrived at in
the past few months, and the following
website includes links to that work which
some may be interested in:
- - -
C.ure I.nsulinitis A.ssociation
http://prohuman.net/cureinsulinitisassociation.htm
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