# What caused your diabetes?



## EmmaLou (Nov 20, 2008)

Several months before i was diagnosed i suffered from glandular fever and it is suspected that diabetes can be triggered by a virus. In my case i believe the epstein bar virus related to glandular fever was my trigger.

What other experiences have happened to you that make you think it could have contributed to your diagnosis?


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## Vicki (Nov 20, 2008)

About 5/6 months before I was officially diagnosed, I had a really nasty UTI. I never felt the same after that infection and I think that, combined with the stress of my final year at Uni, triggered my diabetes. Maybe I was genetically prone to develop it? The hardest thing I find to cope with is the fact that I was perfectly healthy for 20 years... why did I get it? will I ever get rid of it and why don't the doctors I talk to care about causes?


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## EmmaLou (Nov 20, 2008)

Well ive just been told i have LADA diabetes or 1.5 neither type 1 or type 2 but apprently this type is genetic yet i dnt fit the criteria because i am only 18 and it usually happens to people later on. So it makes me think if i was already predisposed to it because i have the antibody for type 1.5 but maybe it happened earlier because of the glandular fever. Its difficult because all you really want to know is the reason why you have it and after so many years of been 'normal' your suddenly shooting up 4 times a day. I like to refer to diabetes as my 'specialness' lol


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## HANAAAA (Nov 20, 2008)

well I was always quite sick as a child... but I don't really think I need a reason for me having diabetes, I don't really need to know why I have it as I don't know life without it. Therefore, I just think of myself as unique compared to my friends and I always have been. I guess I don't mind having diabetes as I'm not diabetic I simply have diabetes


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## ivygirl (Nov 20, 2008)

I guess I have to say me being overweight caused my diabetes. The media have certainly done a good job of making us feel so guilty because its 'our fault'.  I recently traced my birth family and found out I was the oldest of 10!!!!  (6 boys and 4 girls) The boys are all slim and healthy the girls are all overweight, all type 1 and all have heart problems. My birth mother was also type 1. Although overweight I'm slimmer than my half sisters, have no heart problems and am type 2 and unlike them have never smoked.  All this surely says heredity is an important factor.


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## tracey w (Nov 20, 2008)

I dont know what caused my type 1 at 42. I asked the doctor at the time and his reply was that it was irrelevant the important thing was that I have it now?

You always wonder why, but really it is irrelevant because no one ever knows what caused it, although "viruses" are suspected can never be proved. I dont remember being unwell apart form my diabetic symptoms. Somethings will always remain a mystery.


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## sofaraway (Nov 21, 2008)

My diabetes was caused by a genetic default. My Hnf1alpha gene is faulty. I've even seen my frozen DNA.


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## AlanJardine (Nov 21, 2008)

In some cases, there are specific causes, such as drug use or pancreatitus, but most of the time, it's what doctors call idiopathic, meaning 'Any disease arising from internal dysfunctions of unknown cause'.

As Tracey_w's doctor said, cause is generally not as important as controlling the condition is.


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## delta (Nov 21, 2008)

i think you may be right about a virus.
my son had severe diarhorrea and sickness and chicken pox all in one go
i think the receptors that fight off virus's for some reason attack the insulin cells 
i'll never forget when he was first so ill he could'nt stay awake was weeing and drinking all the time we had no idea about diabete's the worst thing was we tried to make an appointment at the doctors they said they were fully booked but after a week he was so bad we just took him that when he was rushed to the hospital. more people need to be made aware so they get treated as soon as possible


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## FelineFan (Nov 21, 2008)

I'd have to be honest  and say it was likely a mix of being very overweight, (high BMI) and family history - both Mum and brother have it. 

My Type II was picked up in Jan 2006, following a blood test for a trial they were doing into Insulin Resistence in pregnancy.


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## Bananas (Nov 21, 2008)

Similar to other people my type 2 is a result of being overweight but I also read that stress over a long period of time can contribute.  No-one in my family has ever had diabetes.  I think the a childhood of white bread everyday didn't help either.


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## Diabolical (Nov 21, 2008)

auto immune response - the same response cause pulmonary fibrosis in my mother - affects everyone differently


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## piggylover (Nov 21, 2008)

I was in intensive care with pancreatitus diagnoised type 2 about a year after but I don't know if it caused it. I am a bit over weight so could be that.


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## StephanieLouise (Nov 22, 2008)

i have no idea what caused it but the doctors in 1995 when i was diagnosed said that it was the result of the trauma of an accident i had had the winter before... they said that they felt that the trauma had triggered my diabetes.


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## Frantastic (Nov 22, 2008)

I was diagnosed 3 years ago and i'm a big believer that diabetes was always in me and always a part of me from birth. And even though i could feel for a about 2 years before my diagnosis that i was getting ill with something, i think it was having the mumps that finally triggered it!!!


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## jeanus44 (Nov 25, 2008)

I always blamed being on HRT for my diabetese. I was fine up until I stopped taking it and then my blood sugars shot up over a few weeks.


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## sunflower_harvester (Nov 25, 2008)

I had some unknown virus before diagnosis. There is a definate genetic basis for diabetes but the trigger isn't known-Check out TEDDY study-its a massive study following children with the diabetes gene trying to find out what the trigger is.
I think when you first get diabetes (esp if youre older) you go through almost a grieving process and wanting to know why is a normal part of that, but unfortunaltely as you cant undo it the focus has to shift from 'why' to 'what am I going to do about it' and once you start focusing on that you'll start to feel more empowered but if you need to talk and grieve and sometimes just have a moan thats what these boards are here for.


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## kirsty-ann (Nov 26, 2008)

I'm type 1 diabetic and have had glandular fever. However I have been seriously dieting since 13 and have been addicted to exercise and I honestly think that the combination of both extremes caused my body to attack itself. I've had a hard time excepting diabetes too and feel a total outcast.


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## sueneil (Nov 26, 2008)

Hi 
I've had diabetes now for 38 years ans apparently mine was caused by shock. When I was 2 a big heavy iron grating from a fireplace fell on my foot and broke it the local Gp told my Mum it was just bruised and not to worry. I screamed and cried all night so finally was taken to A and E which was 20 miles away, told it was broken in plaster for 8 weeks but 6 days after this was taken in as very poorly and diabetes was diagnosed.


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## mcr (Nov 26, 2008)

My son was diagnosed at aged 4 on September 14th 2003
My sister was diagnosed at aged 4 on September 11th 1969
so I think ours is in the genes


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## goldie31 (Dec 1, 2008)

*type 2*

i was very heavy .still am but not as bad was 22 stone .but now i am a young slip of a lad at 19..3 and still losing and it was def my weight that caused it


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## scotstigress (Dec 1, 2008)

i had been to the doctor 3 weeks previous to diagnosis and was told i had a virus (their excuse for everything theses days, so they dont have to give you anything for it) then they asked if i wanted to stop smoking as i hurried out the door...to which i mumbled a maybe....but there is defo a genetic predisposition..

(the 4 litres a day of irn bru may not have helped...hehe)


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## lynwill53 (Dec 2, 2008)

Bananas said:


> Similar to other people my type 2 is a result of being overweight but I also read that stress over a long period of time can contribute.  No-one in my family has ever had diabetes.  I think the a childhood of white bread everyday didn't help either.



What you said about stress is interesting Bananas. I was diagnosed Type2 two weeks ago ( still a bit in denial, but increasing having to accept the evidence of the blood tester every time I push my luck re certain foods which I love ) I am on Metformin at 2 x 500mg a day, but it's not really had a chance to kick in yet.

I've been overweight most of my adult life (now 55) and currently bordering on the obese. Also a chocoholic, with a weakness for all things sweet and tasty. So there are classic Diabetes triggers. But I also had a lot of stress and anxiety over the last few years, due to my mother developing Alzheimers Disease.

When it first raised its ugly head I tried to look after her alone (we were the last of my family left. I am an only child). But I wasn't very good at it, couldn't handle it, and had to put her in residential care. The stress of it was already causing panic attacks and depression. Selling our jointly-owned home to pay for her care added to that of course - a nightmare of time-wasters and let-downs. 

Finally got that all sorted out and things were starting to look up a bit, when she fell over at the Home and broke her hip. She was in hospital at death's door for 2 weeks, and I really wish now that she had slipped away then, for her sake as well as mine. She had already reached the stage where she didn't know who I was. The night after I was told she was going to pull through I suffered a heart attack! 

For the next 3 years she was bedridden in a Nursing Home (never walked again) and almost a total vegetable. Just fed at one end and cleaned up at the other. A pitiful state and hard to bear. My panic attacks became worse and I became Agoraphobic as well. Would not leave the house for days on end, laying on my sofa reading & watching TV, only driven out to the shops by lack of ciggies and/or chocolate.

She finally died last January. I had thought that would be the end of my problems and that I would pick up mentally, but my sad and sorry lifestyle was too deeply entrenched by then and I carried on with my unhealthy and antisocial life just the same. Until a nasty boil thing came up on the back of my neck a couple of months ago and the Doc decided to test for Diabetes. And, to my shock and disbelief, there it was.

I am angry. Angry with myself cos I know it's all my own fault. Angry with whatever passes for a god (I am agnostic). And very angry with the Doc because the Practise Nurse let slip that high blood-sugar levels were detected nearly a YEAR AGO and nobody told me!! They put on record that I was pre-diabetic, but neglected to inform ME! I never had the chance to do something to prevent it developing (though whether I would have made the effort is admittedly debatable)

I'm sorry, I know you didn't ask for my life-story, but it just all came pouring out. Thanks for listening (if you have)


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## Northerner (Dec 2, 2008)

lynwill53 said:


> I'm sorry, I know you didn't ask for my life-story, but it just all came pouring out. Thanks for listening (if you have)



I'm hoping that things just start getting better and better for you from now on. You've had so much to deal with there, hopefully, now that you know where you stand you can make positive efforts to take control and enjoy good health and happiness


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## Vanessa (Dec 2, 2008)

Lynwill53, most of us make choices in our lives based on what is happening at the time and how we can best cope at that point.

As a fellow Type 2, I've been overweight for much of my adult life and certainly ate all the "wrong" things when dealing with a lengthy period of stress.  For a while after my diagnosis I too felt very angry at the medical and health care professionals for as I learned more about diabetes I realised that several years of health problems were all signs of diabetes and had not been picked up on and "if only I'd known then ..." kicked in although I'm not sure that mentally I'd have done much about it earlier as it may have been too much too cope with on top of much else.

The first few weeks are hard - there seems so much to learn and so much to change - and what works for you may be different to what works for me or for others.  Shock, denial and anger are natural responses at first and then I found that as my blood glucose levels came down I started thinking more clearly and was able to take more and more responsibility for myself.  Doesn't stop me looking at chocolate with relish but does mean I ask myself whether the short term pleasure is worth it or not - occasionally it is but it is a few squares thoroughly enjoyed rather than a whole bar eaten almost without thought

Good luck to you


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## Viki (Dec 2, 2008)

I was diagnosed 6 weeks after finding out my dad had terminal cancer at 55. Doctors also think it was stress/trauma which triggered mine.

My cousin was diagnosed with type 1.5 recently so there is obviously a wobbly gene in our family somewhere too!


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## Katie&GraciesMum (Dec 2, 2008)

I had my wisdom teeth out under a local anasthetic and I always blame this as it was quite traumatic!


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## VBH (Dec 3, 2008)

Viki,
You're not alone.  T2 is already known to be genetic and there is mounting opinion that there is a genetic link for T1 as well.  I've been running into increasing numbers of older T1s of various types who have family history or links.

And just a thought for all the T2s regarding the weight link - There appears to be a reasonable argument that the same genetic factors that cause T2 also lead to being generally overweight as well.  Gretchen Becker explains it quite well in "Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year".  An excellent book where chapter 1 is called "Its not your fault"

The media's got stuck on the idea of "get fat = get diabetes" but thats a long way from the full story.  For starters running higher BGs causes weight gain.  I hate to see T2s saying its all their own fault because frankly it isn't.


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## Freddie99 (Dec 3, 2008)

Hi All,

I know that there is a large history of diabetes in my dads family and his father has type 2 I believe. I don't know what caused me to develop type 1 but at the age of five you don't really know what's going on. All I know is that I've had type one for thirteen years now and that there seems to be a genetic predisposition towards it in my family unfortunately.

Tom H


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## Emmal31 (Dec 3, 2008)

I had three Viral Infections in the previous two years to being diagnosed with type 1, I'm pretty sure it was the viral infections that destroyed my pancreas. I agree with delta people should be made more aware of type 1 I didn't even know it existed until I was rushed to hospital and told I had it and I probarbly had for at least a month because I lost near enough 3 stone in weight. I only thought there was type 2 diabetes.


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## lynwill53 (Dec 3, 2008)

I didn't know anything really about Type 2 until I got it! Only knew about people who had to inject Insulin.

Losing 3 stone in weight certainly wasn't one of my symptoms!! 3 stone is what I am having to try to lose!! Life ain't fair!


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## VBH (Dec 3, 2008)

Lynwill,

Thanks to metformin, carb control, BG control and regular exercise I lose 55lbs in 5 months after diagnosis.  I suppose a lot of it was down to determination to beat DM, but just taking control meant that it started dropping off nicely.  I went from a BMI of 33 to 25.4

Metformin helps with weight loss in the first year for T2s.  I don't know if you are taking it but its fairly commonly prescribed as routine for overweight T2s.

But getting your BGs down to the 4-8 range makes a huge difference.


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