What caused it???

[ladydresden]

Hey there. So we all know that t1 is a giant pain in your life. In scientific terms, a lot of progress has been made in the last decade or so by studying the genetic factors involved and how environmental factors can act as triggers for the disease progression. As far as we can tell t1 diabetes can be classed as an autoimmune disease. The most convincing studies at the moment suggest that a change in gene expression in the beta-cells of the pancreas cause a production of chemicals called cytokines that are activators of the immune system.
So, if you have some mutations in theses cells or an environmental factor causes a change in their gene expression, you are much more likely to develop t1 diabetes.
I realise this is a very technical answer but for me having as much information as possible helps me to deal with the day to day hassle of t1. If you can understand how everything is working, then we may be getting closer to a cure.

If you want to know more this paper is useful.
http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/inf ... en.1002552

 

[stevie24]

I was diagnosed T1 in March 2011 age 30, no previously family history of anything including Diabetes, my sister has Lupus though. I believe it was brought on after a hugely stressful period of my life. Unless it was triggered by a virus or environmental factors. Truth be told I don't know for sure

 

[tom58]

I was diagnosed T1 in May 1964 at the age of 25. As a New Year resolution I had given up smoking and ate a large quantity of sweets for five months to compensate. On the other hand my grandmother died of T1 in 1905 so maybe I was predestined or perhaps it was a combination of the two.

Tom

 

[Geri]

I got type 1 diabetes when I was 8 years old - Im 52 now. I also developed Vitiligo when I was 6 and this was after I had a bad bout of Chickenpox. Strangely - my son also developed vitiligo after having the chickenpox virus, but he dousnt have diabetes..
I also have other auto immune conditions that developed in my 20s and 30s.

Two of my female cousins daughters both have type 1 and were diagnosed at an early age. They also have under active thyroids. It seems to be the girls that are prone to auto immune conditions within our family!

I was the first person known in the family to have diabetes. In the 60s and early 70s it was quite rare.

 

[MrsBRW]

I think it's a combination of things. My healthy step dad developed diabeties after a split from his 1st wife. He blames the shock for this. Then his son,my half brother was born diabetic & also suffered epileptic fits. I developed diabeties at 14 after I was beaten up at school again we blamed shock then I developed epilepsy at 30. Our mum has an under active thyroid ( as I do ) and coeliac disease ( I hope I never get that) so in our family it seems to be shock,genes & hormones too I think. I think my mum has had a lot to cope with & she's a tower of strength for all of us.

 

[hale710]

We had no family history when my cousin was diagnosed 11 years ago as T1. She had a bad bout of flu and was diagnosed shortly after. Her mother is a dietician and recognised the symptoms straight away. She remained the only person with it until very recently.

There doesn't seem to be any reasoning behind my diagnosis. No specific illness I can "blame" for triggering it. Just bad luck. My mother though is CONVINCED it's because I'm prone to tonsillitis. I have massive tonsils and I get ill with them around every 6 weeks. She's determined that my body was so busy fighting off that and so was unable to stop whatever made my pancreas play up. Personally I disagree with her but hey, no one knows for sure! I fought to get my tonsils out for around 15 years and was refused on the grounds that I "cope very well" with it.

6 weeks after diagnosis I'm top of the list for a tonsillectomy as a matter of urgency as they claim it may cause me to have complications with my control of they're left in. Typical eh!

 

[cjw]

I have no family history of diabetes but got it age 11. I blame having my tonsils removed the year before but I also had glandular fever some time before diagnosis.

 

[benjygirl]

I know that my Type3 (managed as T1) was caused by me having pancreatitis. My mother died from cancer of the pancreas and the medics have concluded that pancreas problems run in the family. My children have been told to seek help if they ever suffer any symptoms.

 

[Jenn1f3r]

I know T1 can be a pain but i never think why me when i know there are so many people out there with far worse conditions than i/we have...for the most part it is a manageable condition adn, for me certainly, has very little restraint on how i live my life

i have no family history of diabetes but two grandparents developed T2 recently

 

[Lealea83]

I suffered from bouts of tonsillitis about every 6 weeks when I was younger and got them removed when I was 11, the following yr I was diagnosed with t1.


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[islelassie]

My son in law, aged 30, was not diabetic nor was any one in his family, He was prescribed Chantix the anti smoking drug and became ill immediately, they found his sugar levels were off the chart and he was diagnosed with sudden onset type one diabetes. There is a laws suite going on in the USA for those in the same situation but at the moment it hasn't included UK people . I think this is being kept quiet over here otherwise surely people who had sudden onset after taking this drug would be doing their on law suite!

 

[tacipe05]

I have my theory about why i got type one diabetes. I have suffered from eating disorders for 10 years. anoressia and bulimia. i think that is what caused my diabetes . I think i messed with my digestive system big times. i would like to know if there are other people around that had suffer from any of this disorders prior to their diagnosis. i also got a pretty bad kidney infection months before i was diagnosed, like someone else mentioned in other posts, but i relate that more to the body not functioning right already. just a first sign.

 

[roo.be]

Having been type 1 since age 3 and now for very nearly 40 years this question regularly rears its very ugly head. Why me? What caused this?
As a grown adult I am more accepting, but as a child I really struggled with this. No-one in my family that anyone can recall was diabetic, therefore my condition is not genetic. I believe, mostly from various things that I have read, that as with most diseases, medical conditions etc. we all have the potential to develop them but for the trigger which must be instigated. As to the trigger, well if we knew non of us would be suffering.
Pre diabetes I apparently suffered with chronic bronchitis, I do not remember this but t is potentially the trigger which stared t type 1. Having said this I also had a full compliment of available vaccines and as an adult discovered many food intolerances. It really could have been any number or combination of these things I guess.
It still intrigues me.

 

[twowheeler]

Paternal grandfather had type 2, but no other diabetes in previous generations.
My brother and I are both adult onset type 1 (me at 25, him at ~35 yo.)
We both had major emotional stress just prior to diagnosis (broken heart),
but don't recall a concurrent infection. Otherwise very healthy, normal immunisation
schedule, chicken-pox as child, glandular fever as teenager. Would need a major
health questionairre and medical record review of large numbers of people to
narrow down the trigger factors. Perhaps a standardised patient history and serology
at diagnosis organised at national level ? I'm sure endocrinologists obtain all this info
already, but a centrally organised body using standardised data sets might yield some
rapid/useful results ?

 

[andym496]

I went on a school trip to Switzerland in 1966. We all had to be immunised against smallpox for some reason. Cowpox is what they give you and that is known to attack the islet cells. I was diabetic almost immediately. All my fault for making my parents spend money they couldn't afford.

 

[emmaLC]

Well I'm going to blow your 'runs in the family' theory through the window coz I got type 1 when I was 21 and there's absolutely no diabetes in the family.
But I did skip meals as a kid and borderline anorexic so perhaps I did damage thru not eating properly :/ I used to worried my mum to death :/ xxxxxx

 

[jimmysword]

Very interesting all this talk of emotional triggers...

Just before I started getting symptoms I was having the most stressful time of my life to date. I was also eating a LOT of cake. For example 4 big muffins with frosting on an afternoon. If it wasn't for all the cake I'm not sure I would have noticed that something was wrong but I do feel that the high stress levels and sugar helped to trigger my onset of Type 1.

Then again I read that Type 1 usually develops early in childhood so it's possible I had it all along and only noticed it because all the extra glucose in my blood was doing me in. I thought I had some magic resistance to cake, was eating loads and getting thinner!

My Mum and Brother have Type 1 as well. There are studies being done in at the moment to help find out what might cause the auto-immune attacks. They are looking for 180 participants in Leeds and London and you have to be diagnosed after the age of 12 if I recall correctly. If anyone wants to know more please send me a PM, I'm no expert but I have a leaflet at home with more information.

 

[Muddie]

Hi my 2 yr old is newly diagnosed type 1 , there is no trace of diabetes in either sides of the families !! The doctors say that he picked up a virus about 5/6 months ago which then attacked his pancreas , slowly stopping it working !!! X


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