Type 1 - Cured ?

[Nathan Thomas]

Hi apologise about the heading however I believe my journey/insulin control over the last year or so would be of interest to many people and due to my lack of confidence in my diabetic specialist, I feel that by informing you guys, that someone might take notice.

I have been type 1 for 2 years, where I had been taking humalin in the early months, To the disapproval of my specialist I changed to a basal bonus to allow me to control my bg better. I was determined to eat healthy watching/counting carbs like there's no tomorrow. The months passed and I started to use less and less insulin to a point where again against my specialist wishes I asked for a children's pen so I could accurately give an insulin dose in 0.5 increments at that time using 4.5 as I was very sensitive to insulin which got greater each day. 6 months later (January 2014) I was down to 0 24 hour insulin and only 1.5/2. Units of insulin, although this sounds amazing now, at the time my life was he'll in that the moment I walked to or of work just a short stroll I had to drink half a bottle of Lucozade along with stopping 8-10 times to check my blood as it would be around 2.5 . It was shuck a frustrating time. Where ai had little support from the nhs, thankfully great support from my family and friends.

I STOPPED taking insulin middle of January this year, as although my bg shot up at that time to around 15 it soon lowered ( still careful on what I ate)
finally and only after becoming drowsy and dizzy my diabetic nurse sent me straight to hospital which I sent an early post on this, It was thought that I might have had a insulinoma as they couldn't understand why my body is now producing insulin, 5 days spent in hospital with no food allowed whilst they checked my blood for signs of the insulinoma thankfully the results came back clear, however they are still unsure to why my body is producing insulin, first suggestions had been a honeymoon period however this seems unlikely know as It's been over 8 months without insulin.

The specialists just call me an enigma and say that I need to be checked every 6 months.
I feel that they aren't giving the help and support that I need as I still have moments of confusion and although not stupidly high my bg does rise to around 10 after food, however more importantly here is that surely I am am not the only person who have had these type symptoms, but if I am surely I should be undergoing test checking t-cells/islet cells blood plasma glucose to see if I can help in the search for a cure and so back to the main reason of this post, if you now of anyone who you think May help or would be interested in this please share and help us find a cure.

kind regards

Nathan

 

[Nyxks]

sounds like T2 not T1 to me (my mom is t=100% diet controlled T2 and has been for the past 40 years - she's now 80 and dying yet still doesn't need insulin)

 

[Lesleywo]

Hi apologise about the heading however I believe my journey/insulin control over the last year or so would be of interest to many people and due to my lack of confidence in my diabetic specialist, I feel that by informing you guys, that someone might take notice.

I have been type 1 for 2 years, where I had been taking humalin in the early months, To the disapproval of my specialist I changed to a basal bonus to allow me to control my bg better. I was determined to eat healthy watching/counting carbs like there's no tomorrow. The months passed and I started to use less and less insulin to a point where again against my specialist wishes I asked for a children's pen so I could accurately give an insulin dose in 0.5 increments at that time using 4.5 as I was very sensitive to insulin which got greater each day. 6 months later (January 2014) I was down to 0 24 hour insulin and only 1.5/2. Units of insulin, although this sounds amazing now, at the time my life was he'll in that the moment I walked to or of work just a short stroll I had to drink half a bottle of Lucozade along with stopping 8-10 times to check my blood as it would be around 2.5 . It was shuck a frustrating time. Where ai had little support from the nhs, thankfully great support from my family and friends.

I STOPPED taking insulin middle of January this year, as although my bg shot up at that time to around 15 it soon lowered ( still careful on what I ate)
finally and only after becoming drowsy and dizzy my diabetic nurse sent me straight to hospital which I sent an early post on this, It was thought that I might have had a insulinoma as they couldn't understand why my body is now producing insulin, 5 days spent in hospital with no food allowed whilst they checked my blood for signs of the insulinoma thankfully the results came back clear, however they are still unsure to why my body is producing insulin, first suggestions had been a honeymoon period however this seems unlikely know as It's been over 8 months without insulin.

The specialists just call me an enigma and say that I need to be checked every 6 months.
I feel that they aren't giving the help and support that I need as I still have moments of confusion and although not stupidly high my bg does rise to around 10 after food, however more importantly here is that surely I am am not the only person who have had these type symptoms, but if I am surely I should be undergoing test checking t-cells/islet cells blood plasma glucose to see if I can help in the search for a cure and so back to the main reason of this post, if you now of anyone who you think May help or would be interested in this please share and help us find a cure.

kind regards

Nathan

Wow, this is a very interesting read ... how was the diagnosis made in the first place? Did you have antibody tests?

 

[Nathan Thomas]

Hi, I was taken into hospital after collapsing, prior to that I had a few weeks of what I know now as the usual symptoms, thirsty, tired and going to the toilet constantly and through the night. My bg had been 29 and hhba1c confirmed this, at the start I was asked to take part in peptide trial where they measured my pancreas function along with T cell counts to see if I was eligible for a new treatment, unfortunately I wasn't a match however they to confirmed type 1 having calculated a 60% pancreas/insulin function. A brief description I am 34 prior to diabetes healthy/fit, weigh 9 stone since a kid (apart from loosing just under 2 stone) just before diagnosed, which I am back to 9 stone now I eat healthy.....

 

[Ali H]

I wonder if it is LADA or type 1.5? Sometimes with that the honeymoon can last much longer and it isn't unusual not to require insulin for a few years once things are under control?

 

[phoenix]

Have a look at ketosis prone T2 diabetes (AKA , type 1b or idiopathic T1 or Flatbush dietbets)
This was first found in Black Americans and is relatively common in them however it has been found in most other ethnic groups.
Short definition here (unfortunately have to subscribe for more detail)
(edit, most though, but not all seem to be more likely to be overweight )
http://www.uptodate.com/contents/syndromes-of-ketosis-prone-diabetes-mellitus
Papers on it here
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22611441
LADA as mentioned by Ali H is also a possibility. . I've certainly seen some people on forums who had DKA at diagnosis reduce insulin and even stop taking background insulin for a while, just keeping small amounts of rapid for mealtimes. I think that probably, once the glucose toxicity is reduced there are enough beta cells still working to allow almost normal function for a while,
The defining characterisitic of LADA is being antibody positive (those with KPT2 of T1b are antibody negative)
http://www.diabetesmine.com/2010/03/clarifying-lada-type-1-diabetes-in-adults.html

 

[kyrani99]

There are stem cells in the pancreas that can become either alpha or beta cells by epigenetic changes. Maybe you somehow were able to stimulate the stem cells to get some new beta cells.

 

[Spiker]

Kyrani, you do talk rubbish.

Luckily there are lots of sensible replies on here that don't blend mysticism with science fiction.

OP is a misdiagnosed T2 or LADA or T1b. Simple. No miracle cure explanation is required here, and it is really not helpful to the OP to suggest that when he is already struggling to get medical support. He needs explanations that will engage medical support constructively, not drive them away.

Kyrani this guy is on here asking for help, he is not a vehicle for your esoteric musings.

 

[jack412]

my uninformed 2c worth, enjoy the good bg, I hope it lasts for years.
the only thing I know and has been said, is that you aren't T1 cured.
At this point it doesnt matter that much if you are misdiagnosed T2,T1/1.5,
learn carb counting, it cant hurt either way and I would learn all I could about T1. (could be T1/1.5 on a good honeymoon)
keep testing your bg and see your dr regularly

a free T1 course and workbooks
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/newly-diagnosed.60873/#post-583801

 

[Jaylee]

Kyrani, you do talk rubbish.

Luckily there are lots of sensible replies on here that don't blend mysticism with science fiction.

OP is a misdiagnosed T2 or LADA or T1b. Simple. No miracle cure explanation is required here, and it is really not helpful to the OP to suggest that when he is already struggling to get medical support. He needs explanations that will engage medical support constructively, not drive them away.

Kyrani this guy is on here asking for help, he is not a vehicle for your esoteric musings.

....Hey, let's not forget the deep seated paranoid delusion of the pharmaceutical industry, culminating a conspiracy so insidious & "toxic" that it touches the very fabric of the relationships we have with our family & friends.

 

[kyrani99]

Kyrani, you do talk rubbish.

Luckily there are lots of sensible replies on here that don't blend mysticism with science fiction.

OP is a misdiagnosed T2 or LADA or T1b. Simple. No miracle cure explanation is required here, and it is really not helpful to the OP to suggest that when he is already struggling to get medical support. He needs explanations that will engage medical support constructively, not drive them away.

Kyrani this guy is on here asking for help, he is not a vehicle for your esoteric musings.

"OP is a misdiagnosed T2 or LADA or T1b." Are you a doctor making a diagnosis here? Are you not breaking "the rules" as you have yourself claimed we should not diagnose!

I have not made any esoteric musing at all. I have made a scientific suggestion of hope.

You should do a quick google search before you start calling what I have said rubbish. Try the free encyclopedia for instance.
Here's the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin
Just a short way down under the heading of Ghrelin cells and then under the sub-heading of features

Heck let me type it out for you...
"Ghrelin cells are not terminally differentiated in the pancreas: they are progenitor cells that can give rise to A-cells, PP cells and Beta-cells there"

and here is another interesting science research study.
http://www.pnas.org/content/101/9/2924.full.pdf
And there are heaps more.

I suggest you are too negative to see beyond to the green pastures.

 

[kyrani99]

....Hey, let's not forget the deep seated paranoid delusion of the pharmaceutical industry, culminating a conspiracy so insidious & "toxic" that it touches the very fabric of the relationships we have with our family & friends.

I agree with you Jaylee. The pharmaceutical companies are writing the medical science journals through the doctors that they have on their books. And doctors are forced to follow guidelines or get de-registered. Scientific studies are cherry picked to sell a story and sell drugs. And they talk about Bonanza Drugs and best seller etc., and many are based on bad science. There are a number of scientists starting to speak up and point out the bad science and the cherry picking of results.

 

[donnellysdogs]

A scientific suggestion of hope?

First time I have ever heard that expression..

 

[kyrani99]

A scientific suggestion of hope?

First time I have ever heard that expression..

it's a suggestion of hope and it has a scientific basis and not the more esoteric type have a look here
http://ugbdd.curie.fr/en/article/00634-stem-cells-and-tissue-homeostasis
it's on the web for all and not esoteric, which only a small number of people with specialized knowledge or interest.
Real esoteric would involve mental prescriptions for healing.

 

[Heathenlass]

it's a suggestion of hope and it has a scientific basis and not the more esoteric type have a look here
http://ugbdd.curie.fr/en/article/00634-stem-cells-and-tissue-homeostasis
it's on the web for all and not esoteric, which only a small number of people with specialized knowledge or interest.
Real esoteric would involve mental prescriptions for healing.

All I can see in that link is a study of prollferation of differentiated stem cells in the gut of fruit flies.

Signy

 

[phoenix]

There appear to be progenitor cells in the pancreas which may be able to become new working islet cells.
Until recently it was thought that in non diabetics cells in the pancreas were like neurons and simply died off with age and were not replaced . It was thought that cells were replaced very slowly by division and those that were killed off by gluco/lipotoxicity or autoimmune attack were could not be replaced since completely new cells were not formed after childhood/adolescence.
However in mouse models they have been able to show that new cells were 'grown' in a damaged pancreas. http://www.betacell.org/content/articleview/article_id/114/

There are other studies that seem to support this view (not completely unchallenged though).
It is also known that initially the beta cell mass increases in those that become obese (that's why all overweight people don't become diabetic) Indeed beta cell mass increases during normal pregnancy. This means that there must be either new cells formed or increased cell division and some sort of signals in the body that causes this to take place.
They have also discovered that very long term Type 1s have some insulin producing islets (very small amounts that couldn't be detected by earlier techniques)
However, the autoimmune 'attack' may continue as has been demonstrated in islet cell replacement therapies, one theory is that cells may be produced and then killed off continuously. What is clear is that the process is very slow and doesn't provide very large numbers of new cells.
(that's why an important field of research is how to encapsulate and protect implanted cells to stop them from just being killed off again)

How to reprogram progenitor cell to increase functional beta cell mass is very much a target of international research.
These are the aims of the 'beta cell consortium'

1. Use cues from pancreatic development to directly differentiate pancreatic beta cells and islets from stem/progenitor cells for use in cell-replacement therapies for diabetes,
2. Determine how to stimulate beta cell regeneration in the adult pancreas as a basis for improving beta cell mass in diabetic patients,
3. Determine how to reprogram progenitor/adult cells into pancreatic beta-cells both in-vitro and in-vivo as a mean for developing cell-replacement therapies for diabetes, and
4. Investigate the progression of human type-1 diabetes using patient-derived cells and tissues transplanted in humanized mouse models.

http://www.betacell.org/research/

 

[Heathenlass]

Thank you, @phoenix, that's interesting .

Would the anti rejection therapies used in organ transplantation have a protective effect in transplanted or regenerated beta cells ?

Signy

 

[Jaylee]

All I can see in that link is a study of prollferation of differentiated stem cells in the gut of fruit flies.

Signy

Yep, this particular type of fly gets widely used in genome mapping comparison projects..
A sort of comparethefruitfly.com

 

[phoenix]

Yes, they do take anti rejection drugs. At five years though only 7.5% of islet transplant patients are off insulin but most still make some C peptide showing that some islets are still working There are also a number (smaller but I don't have the figure) whose bodies completely kill off the new cells within that period.
(This is info from the Coursera Global diabetes course; the researcher/lecturer works at the Novo Nordisk laboratories.(!)

 

[kyrani99]

Stem cells research is not done on humans to begin with thus flies (of the type Drosophila) are very commonly used. What they want to do is to uncover general mechanisms controlling stem cells. They look at their differentiated daughter cells to get some idea about what is happening when these cells become specialized. They are looking at genetics to investigate the cell biology, in this case of the intestine.

Hmm maybe this is a bit esoteric.