Did Milk trigger my 2 year olds type 1 diabetes?

x321amr said:

however since my daughters diagnosis I cant help but think this is the trigger.

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It's possible, but there have been a lot of studies on possible triggers for T1 (genes, viruses and traumatic events are all thought to be significant) and no one's yet come to any definite conclusions. I think blaming milk because your child was having a lot before diagnosis is a bit like anti-vaxxers who blame vaccines for autism.

There have been some studies on treatments for children with certain genetic markers (which make them more likely to develop T1) to see whether the incidence goes down, not sure what the results were. (I remember because my daughter volunteered for the study but was ruled out because she did not have said markers.) So they are definitely trying to cut down the incidence of childhood diabetes, it's just that it's a complex disease with many potential causes.

I think it must be heart breaking to have a child develop diabetes so young, and I can understand your desire to want to have something to blame. But I don't think you're necessarily helping yourself by going down this route. There's nothing you can do to change the fact that she has got it, you need to look forward to the future of managing it and remember that it will get easier as she gets older. And it's very easy for parents to blame themselves for their children's diabetes (I know my T1 mother did even though it has never occurred to me that it is in any way her fault), whether it's genetics or environment (after all, you are responsible for both). Don't go down that route. Yes, your daughter is very unlucky to have joined the T1 club, but she is lucky to have parents that care for her and are able to keep her alive and healthy by managing her insulin until she's old enough to do it for herself. 100 years ago she would have been dead, 70 years ago she would have been looking at a greatly reduced lifespan and possible complications. The treatment today is awesome and is getting better all the time. She can look forward to a bright future.

Good luck.

Hi @Glucobabu I completely agree.Throughout my life I have had my own thoughts about why my immune system attacked my pancreas over 60 years ago, since diabetes appears nowhere in the last three generations of my family tree, and to ascertain all the causes of death before that would be problematic. However, up until 2nd September 2009, the prevailing opinion was that I had inherited diabetes. On that date I received a letter from a Locum Consultant in Medical Genetics, Addenbrooke's Hospital, stating “...I am pleased to report that no gene fault has been identified. Therefore, all the tests to date do not support a diagnosis of a genetic form of permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus in you.”


It is currently agreed that diabetes may be initiated by a virus or trauma, especially in a patient with a genetic predisposition. I have always leaned to the latter category of trauma. Two events occurred only days before my diagnosis. My mother used to tell me that she had left me in the pram outside Shoreham-by-Sea post office while she popped in to buy some stamps. When she came out, there was a large Alsatian barking into the hood of the pram. The other event has taken on more significance in my mind. My mother had taken my brother Giles and me down to the beach, where I was stung in quick succession, seven times, by wasps. She picked me up and dunked me in the sea in order to calm the swellings and alleviate the pain. Clearly I have no memory of either event, but my subconscious has blamed the wasps. Although many doctors have disagreed with me, I think it is possible that wasp stings could easily have caused my immune system to go into overdrive, whether it be the result of shock or of a sudden rush of histamines. My suspicions have been strengthened over the years.


Until recently I used to have recurrent nightmares which would take on a common theme in maybe different surroundings. A typical example would be as follows: I would be locked in, alone, in one of the cavernous state rooms of the Brighton Pavilion, or similar building, with no item of furniture nor potential weaponry in the room. Suddenly a wasp flies in through the keyhole and as it flies towards me it dramatically increases in size until its face is as large as mine, whereupon it says “You won't get away!” My wife Helen's stepmother Veronika, who is interested in dreams, suggested that the wasp represents my fear of the needle and that its message conveys that I have diabetes for life. Interesting thought. In addition, I have had an extreme phobia of wasps all my life. This has resulted in some amusing incidents at times. In 1980, Helen, my sister Johanna and I went Interrailing around Europe (yes, with an Everett glass and metal road drill) and found ourselves with the superb mountain-framed bay at Kephalonia completely ours. As so often happened on these trips, food and drink was on a minimal budget. We sat on the beach with a large Greek loaf, some margeriney spread, honey and sardines. I had made myself an open fish sandwich and as a result attracted two marauding wasps. The girls were highly amused to witness a trunk- bedecked “man” sprint down into the sea with his hand, complete with sandwich, visible above the water like a submarine periscope. Gingerly I resurfaced and completed my lunch in the water.
To be fair to some of those dismissive doctors, several of them said "I think you probably could tell me things about diabetes.
It's great to feel smug sometimes! Keep well.