I had me a thought....

[HeatherP]

And this seems to me somebody else (such as a scientist) would have thought of it, but:

If say, a person were to be monitored regularly for diabetes, and let's say that this same person became "pre-diabetic". Wouldn't it be interesting to find out if immunosuppresant drugs would calm the immune system down enough to save the pancreas?

Just a question....
HeatherP

[Ashtur]

Heather: That's one of the current directions of study for Type 1... there seems to be some promise to it, though it's still at an early stage. The problem is that such a therapy would only work if it's caught early enough, so it's probably most applicable to those with strong family histories, who are closely monitored.


Type 2 doesn't work like that, so it would do no good :(

[leigh4095]

when i was first dxd, and on my last check up with doc before coming home from hosp, the doctor told me about a study they were doing nationwide.
when you first are dxd, you are still producing a small amount of insulin and what the docs were basically doing were testing out a new drug that would hopefully stimulate the pancreas and help it to keep producing insulin for as long as possible.
the doctors wanted me to basically be a guinea pig, said i was an ideal candidate. i would have had to agree to following a long list of do's and don'ts, have to spend 1night a month in a clinic so i could be on some kind of drug through a drip and be hooked up to all kind of monitors and machines, agree to go for at least 2-4 blood tests a month, plus not eating and drinking certain things, the list went on and on.
looking back, i wish i had have taken part now, but at the time i was black and blue from all the blood tests in hosp and was coming to terms with having diabetes and the drug hadnt actually been approved, everyone else who had taken part had no adverse reaction to it and they said they didnt think id have any problems but couldnt say for certain, as it was still in the early stages, guess it just scared me a little.

[Ashtur]

Heather,
For that matter, just came across this story. You see it's not drugs, but they are with that overall concept.

http://www.lifescan.com/care/news/dn062404-1/;jsessionid=500RSDHVPDIZMCQPCCFTDTYKB2IIQNSC

[mark-TN]

Dr. Berstein believes that you can prolong the honeymoon stage indefinately in newly diagnosed Type 1's by normalizing blood sugars through the use of a low carb diet and intensive insulin and exercise program. His treatment plan, if done correctly, keeps blood sugars between 80-100 mg/dl almost 100% of the time as in 24 hrs a day, even during and after meals.

Please read the first paragraph on this page:
http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/book/chapter1_2.shtml

Mark

[rzrbks]

That's kinda what my Dr. was trying with me at the begining:rolleyes:---------didn't work well enough or maybe they didn't catch me soon enough