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A cure in our lifetimes?

S

SharonLondon

Member
Messages
12
Location
Highgate, north London
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabetes, aniseed, diets.
I was talking to my diabetic nurse recently who said she didn't think there would be a cure for diabetes in our lifetimes. :shock: It was a bit depressing to hear but we have to be realistic I suppose. What do you think?

Sharon
 
Who knows Sharon we may see a cure one day :)
 
The current great hope is the Newcastle University diet to reverse type 2 diabetes.Still in its early stages but see my post of today's date in the weight loss section.I went from diabetic blood sugar readings to non-diabetic in 8 weeks and have maintained the improvement over the first three months off meds (previously 3xmetformin per day).

Remember that the average diabetic nurse was trained a long time ago and things do move on.I am blessed with an open minded nurse who accepts that everything is possible.Other posts suggest that their doctor has supported them in trying the Newcastle diet,although this appears very rare!
 
II think they are on to something regarding early , aggressive, intervention with something like the Newastle Diet or early treatmnt with insulin :short term... For T2s of course. I would love to see something as promising for T1s.

at present we seem to be doing the opposite in leaving people to accept he diagnosis and introduce reatmen gradually. This may be a good thing to do psychologically, but if it could be proved that early treatment would or could reverse the condition how many would hesitate?
 
I don't think your DN should be telling you that even if it's what she believes, after all, it's only her opinion.

I never give up hope of a cure. There's research being done all over the world, on our behalf, and I have faith in it. :)

Helena
 
Helenababe said:
I don't think your DN should be telling you that even if it's what she believes, after all, it's only her opinion.

I never give up hope of a cure. There's research being done all over the world, on our behalf, and I have faith in it. :)

Helena
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:thumbup:
 
Look at it from a DSN's point of view. If you really, really love your job, then you're not likely to be hoping for a cure. :lolno:
 
Lol! I should add that my nurse is lovely and very good at her job but it was a bit depressing to hear such a negative viewpoint.

Is the Newcastle study where people ate 600 calories a day and reversed their symptoms? She was quite skeptical about that too, saying the researchers hadn't been willing to provide any of their original data etc. I think it sounds really interesting though. I have lost two stone but really need to lose another four. I'm rubbish at sticking to diets, that's my trouble :thumbdown:
 
There is far too much money to be made from the medications/Treatments needed to deal with diabetes for any company to seriously attempt to find a cure. They will never do it and if they do.....

Will they actually tell us ???

Cynical? me? surely not lmao
 
I, sadly, agree with sheep.

The best I hope for is to manage my type 1 the best I can and live a long life. I honestly don't believe we will see a cure for type 1 in our lifetimes, but I do believe we can still live a long life if we look after ourselves.
 
i think that if drug companies spent more money on research for a cure rather than on treating symptoms, a cure for diabetes might have a better chance. the 100's of millions of $ invested on drugs which treat BG levels, etc, might be better invested in researching a cure.
remember the cure for polio was discovered by searching for a cure, not trying to treat symptoms.
of course finding a cure would mean the end of metaformin, januva, etc . etc.
 
Well, treatments are only going to get better, cheaper and/or more ubiquitous (insulin analogues, pumps, continuous glucose monitors) and they're working on some fascinating new stuff as well - "artificial pancreas", blood glucose sensing tattoos,... ; whilst that's not a cure, it's still great.
 
In the US, I don't think they will every find a cure. Treating diabetes is a big business here for both doctors and the drug companies. What a shame!
 
I think that its a bit paranoid to say that there will never be a cure because big pharmaceuticals dont want there to be one, most research as I have said before is carried out by charities like Diabetes UK and universities who are not governed by politics or big business.

The only scientific fact we have with regards the Newcastle study is that 86% of people trying this type of diet will fail and this seems to be backed up by the fact that 14 people started the Newcastle study diet and only 11 people finished it, yes it might help a few and if you are one of them then great but its not a cure and for 86% of those who try it is going to be a waste of time. So at best its a bit of a long shot and if you think you can stick to such a restrictive diet then why cant you stick to a much less restrictive diet and loose weight in a more traditional manner?

I firmly believe there will be a cure for diabetes. In our lifetimes? Well we will just have to wait and see, and whilst we wait it is probably best if we try to control our weight and our bg levels as best we can by whatever method works for us :thumbup:
 
AMBrennan said:
Well, treatments are only going to get better, cheaper and/or more ubiquitous (insulin analogues, pumps, continuous glucose monitors) and they're working on some fascinating new stuff as well - "artificial pancreas", blood glucose sensing tattoos,... ; whilst that's not a cure, it's still great.
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curious outlook, as insulin has definitely not gotten cheaper (as promised with the advent of man-mades), and in certain cases one could even question the efficacy of more recent in$ulin$ in comparison to older (and less profitable) insulins. but either way, your uber-positive outlook is refreshing! :thumbup:
 
I am not convinced Sid that DUK and the universities are unaffected by politics or by big business. Surely everyone and everything is . I always think of DUK as a quango and university research has to be sponsored.......
 
Well, I didn't actually say that everything would get cheaper *and* better - I no longer have to remember to take my insulin an hour before eating and I think that's a significant improvement.

Basically, that's how technology in general seems to develop - you can get a much better TV/mobile/toaster today than 10 years ago for about the same price, or a TV/mobile/toaster that meets the basic requirements for a lot less, and I assumed that meters, pumps and such would be similar.
 
AMBrennan said:
Well, I didn't actually say that everything would get cheaper *and* better - I no longer have to remember to take my insulin an hour before eating and I think that's a significant improvement.

Basically, that's how technology in general seems to develop - you can get a much better TV/mobile/toaster today than 10 years ago for about the same price, or a TV/mobile/toaster that meets the basic requirements for a lot less, and I assumed that meters, pumps and such would be similar.
Click to expand...

i'm keeping my fingers crossed, especially for the testing stuffs. the electronics example is a great one, i myself am hoping for a BG tester that'll also serve as media player so i'll have one less device to carry around. :lol:

the meds are a whole different story though --- while theres been incredibly slight improvements in all these years, unfortunately theyve remarkably coincided with an abnormally strange number of issues that while suffered by patients, regularly observed by endocrinologists, and widely acknowledged by the very sales forces pushing these meds, remain wholly unresolved, largely outweighing any benefits brought about (ie: hypo unawareness in short-term T1 patients, there is NO excuse for this, regardless of dosing convenience).

the meds are a many-billion $ industry, i cant see any drug-dealers (and their well-paid distribution network) giving that up. ever.
 
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