Hmm could this have been the cause??

Status
Not open for further replies.
D_G

D_G

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
When i was at work today i was talking to one of my friends and they rasied this point:

I went on holiday last year to egypt and although it was an amazing holiday i fell ill with a virus on day 2 which lasted 3 days and consisted of me eating food, throwing it back up and also having erm..lets say tummy upsets? lol all the time! i lost lots of weight as well! so my friend raised the point of maybe this virus triggering the onset of diabetes and causing my immune system to attack the pancreatic cells.

I have been thinkin about this and also remember that when i got back off the holiday i was driking more water and milk (strange) than i had ever done before, but then i only developed the main symptoms a few months ago before diagnosis!

Just wondering what u guys think??
 
I cannot pin down when I was "attacked"! but I do think it has been mentioned before that a large number (maybe!?) were on holiday shortly before diagnosis, I was on a lovely holiday down the Amalfi coast in Italy, never going there again, I blame the Italians!🙄😛
 
Viruses do play a part in the onset of diabetes, but are not the only cause or mitigating circumstance.

Certainly after a virus the immune system can turn on the body and attack the bits we need to function fully.
 
I am not to sure about that but i have had a few freinds that have been to eygpt and have also fell ill, due to the very poor water, even no you drink bottled water when they are cooking like pasta, rice, washing salad, the bad bacteria still stays in the water eg your food.
 
One therory that I have heard about is that viruses don't tigger the start of the process but they expose an already existing process. The autoimmune attack starts to happen but not enough damage is done to show any problems or symptoms. So insulin production is down and you catch a virus. We already know that during illness insulin needs go up, because most of us tend to need to inject more to keep levels down. With reduced production and increased needs, the body becomes overwhelmed and diabetes will start to show itself as blood sugars rise and symptoms occur.

This is what I have heard and it makes sense to me but I don't believe it has been proved. If it is correct it still wouldn't explain what actually starts the autoimmune process.
 
sofaraway said:
One therory that I have heard about is that viruses don't tigger the start of the process but they expose an already existing process. The autoimmune attack starts to happen but not enough damage is done to show any problems or symptoms. So insulin production is down and you catch a virus. We already know that during illness insulin needs go up, because most of us tend to need to inject more to keep levels down. With reduced production and increased needs, the body becomes overwhelmed and diabetes will start to show itself as blood sugars rise and symptoms occur.

This is what I have heard and it makes sense to me but I don't believe it has been proved. If it is correct it still wouldn't explain what actually starts the autoimmune process.
Click to expand...

That pretty much describes what happened to me. I progressively lost weight and had other symptoms for a couple of years (drinking 30 pints of milk a week at one point!), then I caught a virus and ended up in hospital. I think it might have started due to stress originally then the virus wiped me out.
 
my parents have told me that i had a virus of some description shortly before i was diagnosed - so when i became ill right before i was diagnosed, the doctors said it was still the virus.
 
I had a viral infection a little while before diagnosis, but what triggered which is a mystery. The onset of diabetes may have triggered the virus by weakening my immune system and leaving me vulnerable.

Re, the milk thing, I thought it was just me! I still like my milk but I've switched to 1% instead of full fat and drink far less of it now. I used to get through a couple of litres a day, now that much will last me a week.
 
Diabetic_gal10 said:
When i was at work today i was talking to one of my friends and they rasied this point:

I went on holiday last year to egypt and although it was an amazing holiday i fell ill with a virus on day 2 which lasted 3 days and consisted of me eating food, throwing it back up and also having erm..lets say tummy upsets? lol all the time! i lost lots of weight as well! so my friend raised the point of maybe this virus triggering the onset of diabetes and causing my immune system to attack the pancreatic cells.

I have been thinkin about this and also remember that when i got back off the holiday i was driking more water and milk (strange) than i had ever done before, but then i only developed the main symptoms a few months ago before diagnosis!

Just wondering what u guys think??
Click to expand...

Bitten by a dog before dx ?
there is a suggestion that dog bites trigger T1 !
 
While I think of it though, I do know that a viral infection is the trigger for certain cancers, so I suppose it's possible that they could trigger diabetes too. We don't yet fully understand how the immune system works and how the various organs involved interact and affect us. As scientists learn more, perhaps all will become clear.
 
Ive come across alot of people saying that they were on holiday shortly before being diagnosed.
:confused:
Right, im never going on holiday again!!

It could well be that you contract the virus because your system is already weakened from the onset of Diabetes.

Its a case of the chicken and the egg. 😛
 
Akasha said:
Ive come across alot of people saying that they were on holiday shortly before being diagnosed.
:confused:
Right, im never going on holiday again!!
Click to expand...

Maybe it's not going on holiday but the returning home? next time I'll phone and tell work that my immune system doesn't want to come home 😉
 
I had a recurring viral infection 2 years before I was diagnosed was in bed for a couple of months because I didn't have any energy. I'm fairly certain that was the cause of my pancreas dying on me :( the doctors in the hospital at the time of diagnosis said that could have been it x
 
Have just read all ur replies as have been at work today.

Grr should have never gone on that stupid holiday! i couldnt really afford it lol....was a sign!!

..and no peter, no ravenous dogs 🙂

x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top