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What caused it???

K

kjw123

Active Member
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This is a question aimed mostly at type 1 Diabetics and it's just a general interest thing. But would be happy to hear what anyone thinks/feels about this.
I have asked many times why me?...why have I got diabetes? What caused it? The health pro's come up with several theories but I still believe in my case it was a family gene thing as it seems to have been passed down my mothers side of the family with 2 uncles both being T1.

:thumbup:
 

Hi there, I am also a Type 1 sufferer and I sympathise with you on your query "why me?" It's really hard, not only coming to terms with the illness but dealing with the fact you have to live with it for the rest of your life. Years ago when I was still a teenager I would constantly go over with the medical professionals the genetic factors - as my Father is also a T1 sufferer, and statistics suggest that there are much higher chances of you getting it if it runs in your family. My Dad always used to feel guilty and I hate it. He always blames himself, but it is not like he asked for it to happen to him or me so I wish he would see that he isn't the one to blame. How are you coping anyhow?
 
Why does anything happen to anyone?!

There's no history of any type of diabetes in my family but I got T1 at the age of 11. There is however a history of heart problems - my father and both his parents died of heart conditions and I had a heart attack at the age of 27.

Genes play a huge role in what happens to us in terms of health - they give us predispositions to all sorts of things - but our environment and what we do in our lives plays an important role too. I expect you've heard the theory that a virus of some kind can be the thing that kicks off the destruction of insulin-producing cells in the body. So following that theory, two people both with a predisposition to getting diabetes (ie, both having a family history or diabetes) and one gets a virus in childhood that causes an auto-immune response and kills off their insulin-producing cells, while the other person doesn't get a virus that happens to cause an auto-immune response and doesn't end up developing diabetes.... a lot of it is down to luck i suppose. [that sentence didn't make much grammatical sense, but I hope you understand what I mean, haha!]
 
Hi Picklebean, I may have to have a read up on what you mentioned about viruses potentially being the reason why insulin-producing cells in the body break down. Admittedly I've not really heard anything about it from the specialists over the years that I have had Diabetes but it sounds really interesting. I understand what you mean about genes playing a major part though, because if you are in anyway more susceptible to things chances are the environment around us will enable it to happen. Interesting... I'd like to tell my Dad some of this, or at least give him something to research!
 
I can't really point you in the direction of any info but I'm sure there is a fair bit of info out there about the virus theory if you do some searching. I know there has been some talk of it here on the board before. The basics are that you get a virus at some point and the body's immune system 'over-reacts' and instead of just attacking the virus cells it attacks the insulin-producing cells too.
 
Hi

I was was looking a few weeks back about things that can bring on T1 diabetes and the wedsite i was looking on names a couple of the viruses none of which i can pronounce let alone tell you what they are but also it mentioned about the BCG vaccinaton can also play a part in it, and i'm sure it said somthing about mumps which i got when i was about 4 or 5 years old and I got diabetes when i was 13 years old. The thing is you read so many things about the causes of this and that that it can sometimes get confusing. But it would be great to know for certain what was the cause of us getting type 1 diabetes at a young age. It really scares me because i can't believe the amount of complications that diabetes can cause and it affects every single part of your body.


tracey167
 
I've found this is a good article to explain the interaction between genetics and heredity in diabetes (it covers T1, 2 and MODY).

http://www.genetics.edu.au/Information/ ... sitionFS57

Interestingly I developed T1 in my 50s, as far as I know I had no family history of it. A couple of years later my cousin also developed it.
As for viruses, the one that is often mentioned most is the coxsackie virus but even though it's been researched for many many years it certainly hasn't been 'proved'. The virus in it's various forms causes all sorts of general illnesses and of course most people don't develop T1.
 
Hi All.

Quite a good while back we had a fabulous thread covering this topic.

I will rummage back and dig it out for you all.
[give me chance to locate it!]

It was really interesting and opened my eyes to a lot of possible factors and things.

Here it is viewtopic.php?f=19&t=34555&hilit=coxsackie+virus


Anna.
 
I have read that a virus can make the imune system attack islet cells and cause Diabetes. but I don't recall having any flu like symptoms before becoming T1 I do recall having the typical tired, thirsty, running to the loo sysmptoms that are classic signs of Diabtes and high blood sugar but my main question still remains, how many T1 diabetics have the condition in other familly members. That is what interests me. Is there a real connection?
 

Hello kjw123 .

Have dug this out for you - hope it can help

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=33768&hilit=genetic+links+to

Anna.
 
I had a kidney infection 3 months before my T1 diagnosis and doctors at the time (27 years ago) suggested it might have been a trigger. No history in my family other than a first cousin who was 10 years older than me, but nothing in previous generations. I used to spend a lot of time wondering what could have caused it but now feel like don't mind that no one has a definitive answer as it won't change things. However, I do appreciate that if an answer could be found to its causes then a prevention may also be found

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hello all, Thundercat, your comment got me thinking about the fact you had a kidney infection just before you were diagnosed - obviously like myself you have had Diabetes for many years and know that it comes with many short term and long term complications if control isn't brilliant. But I did wonder whether or not you could look at that theory the other way round and perhaps as the diabetes was developing in your body, you were more prone to infections and it just hadn't been diagnosed yet. Which over the few weeks that your body was producing less insulin, you may of been run down and getting infections etc...
 
My brother was diagnose type I when he was 16, and me at a similar age 8 years later. There was no history prior to that and none since. There was said to be a high prevalance around Devon and Cornwall where we grew up, suggesting that there are environmental factors as well.
 
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Hi Sandy T. Sounds a likely scenario that the infection was an early symptom. It was the first time I ever had to take antibiotics. Thanks for the input.
 
This thread made me read a bit about Coxsackie Virus. There is no history of diabetes in my family (not even type2) but about 4 months befoere diagnosis I had really bad and painful eyes infection. I saw my gp and 2 different opthamologists and nobody gave me any clear answer what it was. I was treated with antibiotics twice and then it stopped. Now i thinking it might have been Coxsackie virus
 
Hi

I was diagnosed T1 in 2010. My brother was diagnosed T1 in 2007. Our mother aunt and grandmother all have T2 so I think we were bound to get one form or another. My brother was 21 and I was 26 when we got diabetes. I suffered from viruses constantly as a child but my brother rarely was ill. We were both born in Torquay, Devon but have lives in glasgow for the past 20 odd years. We both also suffer from other autoimmune diseases. I have an underactive thyroid and he has and overactive thyroid with goiter.

Also just realised something. About 6 months before I was diagnosed a close friend if mine was complaing of swollen glands and fever. I worked in close quarters with him and we both got diabetes around the same time. He would have been 22 at the time. Maybe that was the virus that caused our diabetes.
 
My daughter's bloods said she had had the Coxsackie virus- which when i have read more about they think it may be linked to type 1. the thing with her there is absolutely no family history of type 1.
 
I think it is just one of those things! I always just try tell myself that I could have something alot worse!
At least with diabetes it is manageable and you can still lead a normal life!
No one in my family has diabetes but I have had it since I was 18 months old (now 21) also 7 years ago my younger brother was diagnosed with type 1 aswell even though the doctors told my parents it was extremely rare for both brother and sister to have it
 
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