I know what your thinking rite you dont know how we get Diabetes CASEY?
Well i have had Diabetes for 8 years but that will be 9 on sept 11<02 but whos counting rite. Well i was talking to some one to day and i told her a little but about me and i said. Did i tell you i have Diabetes well her respones was how do whats that and how do you get that. I read that and my chaw droped and i was like what. She says whats that and how do you get it agean and. I am like to my self i have no idea and i know the hole glucoes thing but what do you think how we really get Diabetes i think its geans but who really knows rite mybe you mybe me or mybe the sienticest siting in his little lab with his whit coat and pushing numbers :) who really knows.
To tell you the truth Casey I've been trying to figure that out ever since I was diagnosed. I really do think that it comes from your genes. My family is "eat up" with diabetes. It's on both sides of my family. I would really like to know the answer too but we may never know. :)
I am the first person in the recorded history of my family to have t1, and we have only one relative (an aunt's cousin) with t2. Doesn't mean there isn't a genetic component, but I think something definitely triggers the attack on beta cells.
To tell you the truth Casey I've been trying to figure that out ever since I was diagnosed. I really do think that it comes from your genes. My family is "eat up" with diabetes. It's on both sides of my family. I would really like to know the answer too but we may never know. :)
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See, thats what people tell me, that it comes from your family. but i am diabetic and i am the only one in my family. There is no one else on either side, even way down the line, with type 1 or type2 .
When I became type 1 at five years old, they (doctors) thought that they might be able to find out some genetic information from me. There are, evidently, genes which, when combined, create the potential for type 1. That's how I understand it. These same researchers told one of my brothers that he had the autoimmune tendency. This same brother ended up with an autoimmune disorder, but it was a blood clotting disorder which caused him to have a pulmonary embolism. He now takes medicine for it.
My other biological brother ended up getting type 1. So evidently there is some manner of research that happened in I guess the late 1980's in the southeastern United States that tracked genetic potential.
The short answer is that it is an autoimmune disorder, from what I understand of it. Also, though, some people immediately associate the term autoimmune with other illnesses...there's no easy way to explain to some people what type 1 is. I tell what most likely happened and then explain that I did not get it by doing something bad like eating too much (not many T2's that I know got it that way, either!).
My doctor told me mine was from genetics. My family has diabetes on both sides. My gradfather on my dads side. My grandmother, aunt, cousin(s), uncle(s) on my moms side.
Regarding your brother with the blood clotting disorder, what is the name of his autoimmune disorder? My husband also developed pulmonary embolism (twice). There were alot of lab tests and hematology studies and you name it they tested it. His doctors never discover the explanation for his episodes. One doctor, with less than stellar bedside manner, came into his room with chart in hand. Never made eye contact with my husband. Mumbled something about cancer precursers could cause hypercoagulable states..... and then left. Nice. Three years later, no sign of cancer. Also, no explanation on why he develops emboli. He also takes medication to prevent recurrence.
Our daughter was diagnosed with T1 last December. If you are comfortable sharing the information, I am really interested in what autoimmune, clotting disorder your brother has.
What do you mean? Drink yourself back into reality? I know sometimes its hard to accept but, you do have diabetes unfortunately. And you won't live very long if you drink yourself into reality. Is there something else you can do other than drinking to help you cope with having diabetes better? Maybe as a group we can help you think of different ways to help you out?
If you ever need someone to talk to you can always email me through juvenation privately.
Diabetes happens because our bodies stop producing insulin, its nothing anyone has done. It couldn't be prevented it just happens. If we knew how it did I think their would be a cure.
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its definately not genetics. im the only one in my family to get it. its a curse. no family history. i was healthy and in shape. and it just happened.
my solution to having diabetes is to drink my self back in to reality. Right now....i dont have diabetes. :) and i can live with that.
We know HOW diabetes happens; we don't know WHY diabetes happens (t1).
t1 is caused by a "mistake" in your immune system. for some reason, your immune system is overstimulated and begins to attack itself. it goes about sytematically destroying the beta cells (insulin producing cells) in your pancreas. this can be a slow process or a very quick process. eventually, all the beta cells will be destroyed. the reason there is a "honeymooning" period for recently diagnosed t1s is because their body is still producing small amounts of insulin.
what is difficult, is pinpointing the trigger in the immune system causing it to attack itself. how do you make it stop? the body continuously produces more insulin cells, however the body also continuously attacks and kills them. if we can stop the automatic-immune response, we can stop the progression of t1 diabetes. once you are diagnosed with one autoimmune disorder (like t1 diabetes), you are prone to develop more because of your overstimulated immune system. right now, we can treat immune disorders, but we can't cure them.
currently, a lot of the diabetes "cure" research is going into how to stop the immune system from attacking itself. it is easy to regenerate beta cells, but it is not easy to keep them alive in a body prone to attacking itself.
having others in your family (mainly mom, dad, brother, sister) means you have a greater chance of developing it. however, (as others have pointed out) you don't have to have other members to become a diabetic. genes CAN play a factor, but they aren't the only factor. in fact, you can have other family members with t1, but that doesn't mean you WILL get it. in my family, i am the only t1 on both sides of the family (i come from HUGE families, too). my immediate family was tested and no one carried the genetic marker for t1 diabetes. for some reason, i have a crazy immune system. :o)
As I was told you do have to have the gene for it, but you also have the stressors (i.e. viruses, illnesses, stress, etc. Oh, some doctors even believe the food you ate when you were little can be a stressor too). And they now realize it's usually a combination of many stressors and not just one that causes diabetes.
I've been thinking about this a lot because in books I've read it says you have to have the gene for it, but it's not hereditary and here's why I believe that. The stressors I have been exposed to won't neccesarily be the same for other members in my family, especially if they are growing up in a different time period than me (i.e. my kids or very young siblings).
Also, the stressors that cause my immune system to attack itself are probably different for each person. That's why twins only have a 50% chance of getting it if the other has it. They can be exposed to the exact same thing and it won't affect the one because the needed stressors are different. That's my thought on the whole genetics thing :)
(I swear I am not trying to take away from the seriousness of this conversation)
I have heard and agree with all points that people have made as to how we got diabetes. Here's my story about how I think I got it...
It was a fateful July Saturday in 2004 when I went to a friend's party at noon. From that time on until 10p, all I did was drink, eat, and sit in a hot-tub. At one point, I was so drunk that I was in the hot-tub for 4 hours because I had passed out. I woke up, got out, and drank some more and ate more crap. I threw my guts up that night and the next morning is when I started to feel real thirsty and started to urinate every hour or so. I let this go on for about 5 weeks (the thirst and urination) before I went to a doctor and found out I was diabetic and in DKA at that time.
The point of the story is this: for me, I have this event in my head that is the "trigger" for my diabetes. Before that day, I felt I was normal and healthy. Did the excessive heat or chemicals from the hot tub "trigger" my auto immune response to stop producing insulin? Was it the excessive drinking? The bad eating? I don't know, but it proves to me that some T1's have triggers that start the disease. I am the only person in my family with it as well, so how was I pre-determined to get it? Would I have gotten it if that day did not go down that way? I doubt it, as something else would have triggered my immune system to attack and destroy my naturally produced insulin. It leads me to believe that indeed there is something in our body that could have told us sooner that we were going to be T1's and that maybe, with enough research, someone can find that marker and "fix" it so that the disease does not happen, hence a cure.