How is the money donated to British diabetic research improving the lives of Type 1 diabetics?

[Phoenix69]

Hi everyone. I am a Type 1 and have been for most of my life, that's 43 years, I am now almost 47. Ever since I was diagnosed I have been told there will be a cure in 5, 10 years all my hopes have been distinguished and I have become increasingly sceptical. Not that I don't believe that Type 1 Diabetes is curable, I believe that it already is, but that it just won't become available and that if it finally does it will only be for a select few or those that can afford it.
In over four decades of living with diabetes I have seen some changes, we now no longer use animal insulin, we use cartridge pens instead of a syringe and needle, and glucose testing has moved on from urine to blood which has seen the introduction of the testing meters these have just become smaller and snazzier with time.

However, the cure is elusive, and probably for ever will be for the majority of Type 1s. Despite the millions being poured into research, I am still diabetic, I still inject insulin and I have to monitor my blood sugar levels several times a day. We now know that many things affect blood sugar levels yet the onus and blame is still on us. Where are the real improvements in monitoring and treatment?

 

[AndBreathe]

I must preface my response by stating I am a T2, fortunate enough not to require medication, thus far.

My response would be that even in the time I have been reading avidly about diabetes there have been strides forward. Your feelings towards diabetes are probably natural.

Currently, whilst pancreatic transplants are not cures, due to the need to take immunosuppressant drugs for life, it is a massive step in the right direction.

I can't and wouldn't join in the speculation about timeframes to cures for diabetes any more than I would for certain types of cancer, but all that can be done is for research to continue.

I do hope your frustration ebbs for you, and good luck with your ongoing health.

 

[catapillar]

You must have seen a lot of changes in treatment and monitoring in 43 years with diabetes. I hope you see most of those as improvements.

I've never had the experience of someone telling me there will be a cure in 5 years, only for 5 years to fly by with no cure. I cant imagine how frustrating that must be.

I can't deny, I wish it could be better, i wish there was a cure. But, i am grateful for the small incremental improvements in monitoring and treatment. I do think that I'm lucky I don't have to test my urine to get sugar levels, I can do it on a easy portable monitor and get a result in 5 seconds. I'm lucky I don't have to boil massive syringes, I can use teeny 4mm needles. I'm grateful there is a possible option of an insulin pump, of continuous glucose monitoring, of the libre. Technology does seem to be opening up lots of interesting possibilities for diabetes management.

The improvements might seem like small steps, drops in the ocean, but I would think that they make ever such a big difference to the day to day diabetic management.

I don't know where research is with a cure. I know you hear frequently of diabetes being cured in mice, perhaps one day that will translate to a cure for humans. I'm not holding my breath, but maybe something in the research will be a concrete positive to cure my diabetes or, more likely, prevent anyone else's (and what I actually mean here is my nephew/niece/potential children's) immune system getting so super keen it accidentally kills off their pancreas!

 

[tim2000s]

I'd say that the biggest difficulty with identifying a cure is that you need to identify a cause in the first place. That's what's still proving elusive. No-one still yet knows what triggers the antibodies to attack the beta cells, although there seem to be a number of research projects that are getting closer.

I've seen some interesting research relating to stopping onset and dealing with it early after diagnosis, but for us long termers, there hasn't been anyting much yet.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hi everyone. I am a Type 1 and have been for most of my life, that's 43 years, I am now almost 47. Ever since I was diagnosed I have been told there will be a cure in 5, 10 years all my hopes have been distinguished and I have become increasingly sceptical. Not that I don't believe that Type 1 Diabetes is curable, I believe that it already is, but that it just won't become available and that if it finally does it will only be for a select few or those that can afford it.
In over four decades of living with diabetes I have seen some changes, we now no longer use animal insulin, we use cartridge pens instead of a syringe and needle, and glucose testing has moved on from urine to blood which has seen the introduction of the testing meters these have just become smaller and snazzier with time.

However, the cure is elusive, and probably for ever will be for the majority of Type 1s. Despite the millions being poured into research, I am still diabetic, I still inject insulin and I have to monitor my blood sugar levels several times a day. We now know that many things affect blood sugar levels yet the onus and blame is still on us. Where are the real improvements in monitoring and treatment?

Hi, many of us have heard that ' a cure will be here in 5, 10 15 years' but still nothing yet. I try to be hopeful that one day a cure or a less evasive treatment for type 1 will be available. It can be hard at times, but we must carry on and try to live life to the fullest (which I know can be quite difficult at times)
No one has actually blamed me for having diabetes, I look at my young granddaughter and wish I could magic it away.
https://jdrf.org.uk/news/government...h-funding-after-launch-of-countmein-campaign/

If we could find concrete evidence that a certain cell or a certain part in the body is responsible for triggering type 1 and a 'cure actually found' then that would indeed be an eureka moment
Best wishes RRB

 

[Radge21]

I have been type 1 diabetic for 42 years
Biggest change for me is how small and better the needles are compared to the early 1970's
There will be a cure sometime but I feel as if time is not on my side so much too.

My mum used to cut out newspaper clips for all those years promising the chance of a cure.
So many hopes raised that have yet not come to much.
Still we battle on.

 

[Notorious]

As Tim2000s says, it's because no-one really knows what triggers autoimmune attacks, or how to stop them. I also have Crohn's disease and the research on that is lacking too. I hope that with the current epidemic of autoimmune diseases we will soon see breakthroughs to treat and cure all of them.

 

[the_anticarb]

There is a massive difference between finding a cure and finding an affordable cure that can be given to the masses on the NHS. I belive there are cures out there, or potential cures, but the costs involved are so massive that that's the biggest stumbling block to implementation.

Not quite the same, but when I had severe retinopathy I saw how the financials can scupper things when I was denied lucentis due to cost. I had to obtain it privately, off licence, as avastin and sell my car to pay for a single injection.

So when the cure is found, you better be rich!