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Permalink Reply by Trudy on April 28, 2012 at 6:34am

Hi Turtle Dove. What a remarkable post this is, thank you for writing it. I read it and immediately felt grateful that my mother did not have to deal with my having T1, when she spent a good deal of her life helping to care for my father's autoimmune diseases and her father's heart attacks. I have LADA/Type1 and only my husband has had to help deal with it! However I don't believe that they've already found a cure. I think we'll get more good treatments as time goes on, perhaps from stem cells; not sure I believe that there will actually ever be a cure. Best wishes.

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Permalink Reply by Turtle Dove on April 28, 2012 at 10:04pm

http://www.health.umn.edu/research/corridors/diabetes/firpo/index.htm

What do you guys think about stem cell transplants? When I first watched the full length video on a group of islet cell transplant recipients, I was crying and crying, and jumping around the house, "They cured Diabetes!" That was about a year ago. My doctor gave me referral and I applied to be part of the last clinical trial that ran here in MN. I qualified for the study, yet they already had selected participants, and said my Dr. was not on their approval list, they were quite surprised I had found them, and the online application to be part of the study. The woman that called was very nice, she told me to switch Dr. to an Endo in their team, and that I could be part of the autologous stem cell transplant trial. I would much prefer that, I don't want to take anti-rejection meds. She told me these were the last of the 'trials' being run, and that by 2014 this will be on the market. (I wrote a poem about this little piggy goes to market, and this little piggy has none) I thought it was funny, but really I just seek understanding and forgiveness. I crunched the numbers/dollars and cents, and figured that the cost of transplant would be equivalent to 2 years of pump therapy, and even if the transplant only lasts 5 years, that is a savings. And, now they are lasting up to 10-15 years, so that means they have been doing them that long at least! So for me, the Cure is and has been here for sometime. Some may Not think this a Cure, Diabetes could come back,,, in 5-10 years after transplant, either another transplant would be needed or return to pump or injections. I would Love a day, a week, a month, a year, up to 5 years insulin Free, my body making insulin for itself! My kids were so excited about this, they told all their friends and teachers, Mom is getting a Cure for Diabetes! One of my sons teachers told him, There is No cure for type 1 Diabetes. He said, Yes there is! He watched the videos, he heard the ppl talking post transplant and living their lives Insulin Free, Non-Diabetic.

I have boxes, notebooks, files - full of info on Cures for diabetes, from so many perspectives. I have dedicated the last 6 years in Chinese Medicine School with focus on herbs, acupuncture and moxa to treat Diabetes. I received grants and scholarships to study medicine based on my diabetes diagnosis, had it not been for diabetes, I probably wouldn't have taken this path of medicine, I studied hard, learned about many illness and diseases and how to treat with western and eastern medicine. In the future, I want to continue developing and researching tx of Diabetes with Chinese Medicine. I would like to run TCM clinical trials on post islet cell transplant recipients. I think it is a good way to contribute to modern medicine in the Western world, and ancient Chinese medicine and prevent Diabetes.

When I hear of little children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and I think of them living a life of injections, pumps, testing, highs and lows, I just... well, something deep inside me is moved to do something, to find another way, to be part of something great, and share with these children the joy of throwing away the syringes and pumps, and glucose tabs, because we don't need them any more, those days are over.

Much of my life, I have been told, you can't! And, I have said, yes I can! I am super stubborn, and many times this has served me well, other times in gets me in lots of trouble. I seek harmony. I learn in Chinese medicine school, balance is Not equal. This has given me tools to harmonise yin/yang in myself, stabilise blood sugar levels, have deeper understanding about what is health and wellness, what is healing. Healing the spirit is first. The spirit, mind, heart,,, the Shen. Diabetes is Evil Qi, it is the enemy, I am in a war. From my first insulin injection at age 8 I knew that I had entered a war. At times I tried to make diabetes my friend, accept it, tolerate it,,, No, 30 years later, I still say no, diabetes is Not my friend, diabetes is the enemy. Anything or anyone that helps me fight diabetes is my friend, Insulin is my friend, foods are my friends, herbs are my friends, exercise, meditation, acupuncture needles are my friends and my tools,

I am so blessed in life, my journey has not been easy, yet every step I take becomes the path, my only goal is long life and happiness, the journey is getting easier. So, I think I won the fight, the first battle anyway, many battles along the way, I am still alive, I still have my eyes, my legs, my kidneys. For me, Healing Diabetes and Curing Diabetes are two different things, I will win the war. In the end, if I die type 1 diabetic,,, which I might, it will be an honor, with my last words I will say, I loved my life.

I don't believe in The Cure. I know the Cure is here. There is nothing broke that can't be fixed. In other words, for me, I know what it is to be broken, helpless, and hopeless, homeless, lonely, empty, depleted, and suffering, I know Stomach 36 gives enough strength to walk 3 more steps, and was the first acupuncture point I received, it put me in a coma, and brought me back to life,,, so I keep going, because I am so grateful for life, and I love the little children.

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