Hi there,
First of all, let me say, I am new to the blogging world, so forgive me if i get off to a slow start.
The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences as a type I diabetic in hopes that it may help others in some form or another. So, here goes...
As I mentioned, I am a type I diabetic and have been for the past 17 years. Wow, that sounds like a really long time now that I have actually see it on the screen. I was diagnosed when I was 13 years old, as if I wasn't dealing with enough change at that age.
Not sure exactly what brought it on, there is no known history of the disease in my family. There are a number of possibilities and I have yet to narrow it down to what I think may be the specific culprit.
My diet back then was reasonably normal, though I did have a sweet tooth and consumed more than my fair share of coke. So, to much sugar perhaps?
Stress was another big factor in my life, my parents were going through a rough divorce, and I had recently changed schools. It's not always easy being the new kid.
Sometimes I think it could have been caused by a temporarily weakened immune system. The summer before I was diagnosed, I suffered some sort of spider or tick bite on Nantucket island and became very sick for a couple weeks. Unlikely, but I have always wondered if that played some part in the whole thing.
Anyway, I will probably never really know the cause for sure, just that there are plenty of possible catalysts. I have been hearing a lot about the adverse effects of dairy products, especially milk. A convincing argument linking dairy consumption to a large share of America's most prevalent diseases is made in the book "The China Study"by T. Colin Campbell. A very interesting read that goes as far as to claim one can reverse the progression of most types of cancer simply by changing one's diet. The book advocates a whole foods, plant based diet. Anyway, if you know someone suffering from cancer, you might want to pass it along to them.
As for me, I am a healthy, (besides the obvious diabetes) active individual, and would like to stay that way. I love the outdoors, skiing, surfing, hiking with my dog, pretty much if it's active and outside, I'm into it. As most type I's know, these sorts of activities can prove somewhat difficult when trying to control the blood sugar. Frustrated doesn't begin to cover what I feel sometimes when trying to balance activities with eating. Nothing worse than being out in a good swell and needing to paddle in because the blood sugar is on the decline.
I recently celebrated my 30th birthday, and disappointed by the complete lack of progress I have been seeing in the field of type I diabetes, I decided to become more proactive in whatever way possible. I remember when I was first diagnosed, my doctor assured me there would be a reliable, non-invasive way to test one's blood sugar within 5 years. 17 years later... Nothing. That combined with the fact that every couple of months there is a new and improved ipod or cell phone, and yet, there isn't even an insulin pump that can both test your blood sugar and administer insulin.
It's easy to get discouraged by this stuff, and diabetes is known, among many things, to cause depression, so let's focus on what we can do instead of all the stuff not being done.
I have been thinking for a long time now about stem cell therapy. I have done a fair amount of research on the topic and was even involved in a study where islet cells were to be injected into the pancreas. In the end though, i did not follow through with that particular study because it required you to take immuno-suppressant drugs and I decided the possible benefits were not worth the potential risks.
Anyhow, after a lot of research, I have decided to go ahead with a stem cell transplant. They can be extremely costly and there is no guaranteed outcome, not to mention more than a few treatment centers with somewhat shady reputations. Since this type of procedure is not done in the US, treatment must be sought outside the country, so I suggest putting in a lot of leg work checking places out and the validity of their credentials before making a decision of this magnitude. That being said, I know there will always be a part of me that thinks "what if". I do not expect any miracles or quick-fixes, but even if there is a chance of improved quality of life, it seems worth it to me. Risks appear to be minuet as the procedure is minimally invasive.
The money is obviously an issue, but in the end, it's just money. Feeling good is far more important to me than money could ever be, so once I excepted the fact that the worst thing that could possibly happen is no real improvement, I put the money issue out of my mind. I did however talk to a few people who had had similar procedures and it turned out some of them had gotten quite creative on the money front. I spoke with a couple who's son's school ended up throwing him a party/fundraiser that ended up covering the costs of not only the procedure, but flights and hotel as well. This sort of stem cell procedure, if nothing else, contributes valuable information to the future of stem cell research for all sorts of diseases. It is more than likely you have friends who have friends or family members suffering from diseases that could benefit from stem cell therapy, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were more than happy to donate a small amount to your cause... So throw a big party, talk to friends and local business' about donating food/drinks/entertainment, whatever, its for a good cause and its fun.
Ok, so, as I mentioned, there are lots of "treatment centers" that claim to fix all your problems if you give them enough money. After an extensive search, I found a place that not only appeared to be reputable and legitimate, but it was also one of the less expensive options by thousands of dollars. They have reps in the US, so communicating was easy and they were pretty helpful and responsive. That being said, the contacts are not actual doctors and I'm sure they are incentivized to recruit patients. Non-the-less, it seems to be the right and most promising facility.
I chose the Xcell Center in Germany. There are two locations, one in Cologne and another in Dusseldorf. Germany is known to have a very good health care system with fantastic doctors. I have been communicating with the US rep and one of the doctors so far. They have sent me a list of preliminary blood tests to have my doctor do over here, which they will evaluate to make sure I am a good candidate for the procedure. From what I can tell though, I don't think there is a whole lot that would exclude someone from being a candidate. I think it is mainly to make sure you are healthy enough for the procedure and possibly they can get an idea of what type of results you can expect depending on your condition.
Time for the tests... More to follow.
