The healing blankie

On Apr 8, 1:36*pm, wrote:


I'll bet! I'm pretty sure that's exactly how I would be. I have
enough trouble with the fairly mild blood sugar drops I get when I'm
hungry. It's not bad enough to be medically alarming, but it sure is
uncomfortable.
..

I get mild drops in my blood sugar if I haven't eaten (and I tend to
only eat when I'm hungry apart from breakfast which I MUST eat) and
they make me feel dizzy and incredibly hungry..like the night before
last when I polished off a large Chinese meal then ate Dave's
leftovers!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Marina wrote:
I woke up last night with hypoglycemia at 2 am and had to get up and eat
something. This naturally woke up the cats. When I'd eaten, I stumbled
back to bed and tried to get back to sleep.

A moment later, I heard the sound of something dragging along the floor.
I knew immediately what it was: the vet had put one of those paper
padded sheets into the carrier with Caliban yesterday. I'd left it in
the carrier for the cats to sniff and wonder about. I was pretty sure
that, sooner or later, Miranda would decide it was not allowed to be in
the carrier.

So now, in the middle of the night, she decided to bring it to me. I
don't know what she was thinking; did she think it has healing powers
since it smelled of the vet? Did she just think I would feel better with
another blankie? I don't know, but I can't shake the feeling that she
was aware that I wasn't feeling too good and she tried to do something
about it.


What a good nurse she is. She did her best to take care of her Maw.
Please thank her and give her head scritches from on of her fans in the USA.

Pam S.

wrote:
Marina wrote:

wrote:

Funny, I was just talking to my mother on the phone tonight. She's a
type 1 diabetic, and has been since age 10.

I developed type I at the age of 5, my sister's had type I since she was 4.

That's even tougher, in terms of getting used to the shots. I'm sure
it's much easier to explain to a 10-year-old why she needs to have two
shots a day than it is to a 4 or 5-year-old!


I don't know, I was used to the thought that you could need injections
daily because my sister had had them ever since I was born. I was never
scared of them, either. I shudder now when I think of those needles that
were used back then, because compared to the ones we use today, they
were humongous, but I was never scared of them as a child. I've noticed
that people who develop type I diabetes at a later stage in their life
find it much more upsetting. To me, it's just a part of me. I don't
remember what it's like not to have it. I'm taking 5-6 injections per
day now.

The fact that both you and your sister got it at that age seems to point
to it being inherited. But more recent research on type 1 suggests that
it's caused by a virus. I know that's not conclusive, and of course, you
and your sister could have had the same virus, although both of you ending
up diabetic would be pretty rotten luck (and I would think unlikely)! Do
you read up on this at all? I'm wondering what scientists are saying these
days.

I do follow the research a bit, and the latest theory is that there is a
gene that carries it, but you also need a virus to trigger it. Mum does
remember us both having a severe cold not long before we were diagnosed
(but we were diagnosed 5 years apart). This virus then 'tricks' your
pancreas into destroying the cells that are producing insulin.

snippage


The Peabody clinic? My sister and I were treated there when we lived in
Cambridge, MA. Small world.

Not so small, apparently, at least not when it comes to medical centers
in Boston. She went to the Joslin clinic in Boston (not Cambridge).


Oh, right. I've heard of that one, too.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:06:29 +0300, Marina wrote:

wrote:
The fact that both you and your sister got it at that age seems to
point to it being inherited. But more recent research on type 1
suggests that it's caused by a virus. I know that's not conclusive, and
of course, you and your sister could have had the same virus, although
both of you ending up diabetic would be pretty rotten luck (and I would
think unlikely)! Do you read up on this at all? I'm wondering what
scientists are saying these days.

I do follow the research a bit, and the latest theory is that there is a
gene that carries it, but you also need a virus to trigger it. Mum does
remember us both having a severe cold not long before we were diagnosed
(but we were diagnosed 5 years apart). This virus then 'tricks' your
pancreas into destroying the cells that are producing insulin.

The likely scenario is that some portion of the surface of the virus has
much the same chemical & physical structure as the insulin-producing
cells, so that the antibodies that are produced to fight the virus also
match the insulin-producing cells, at least closely enough so that the
antibodies kill the insulin-producing cells. I have heard antibodies
compared to the molded foam packaging used in an appliance carton; they
are matched in chemical layout and physical shape to a particular portion
of an invading organism's exterior. If you encounter a new strain of the
flu, for instance, some of your existing antibodies will fit, and some
new ones will need to be manufactured. If the change is minor, it won't
take long to make the new antibodies needed, so you get over the
infection quickly.

I have type II diabetes, which means that my body is producing insulin,
but another metabolic pathway doesn't work quite right, and the insulin
has trouble making its way in through the cell walls to where it is
needed.



--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

John F. Eldredge wrote:

Marina wrote:

I do follow the research a bit, and the latest theory is that there is a
gene that carries it, but you also need a virus to trigger it. Mum does
remember us both having a severe cold not long before we were diagnosed
(but we were diagnosed 5 years apart). This virus then 'tricks' your
pancreas into destroying the cells that are producing insulin.

The likely scenario is that some portion of the surface of the virus has
much the same chemical & physical structure as the insulin-producing
cells, so that the antibodies that are produced to fight the virus also
match the insulin-producing cells, at least closely enough so that the
antibodies kill the insulin-producing cells. I have heard antibodies
compared to the molded foam packaging used in an appliance carton; they
are matched in chemical layout and physical shape to a particular portion
of an invading organism's exterior. If you encounter a new strain of the
flu, for instance, some of your existing antibodies will fit, and some
new ones will need to be manufactured. If the change is minor, it won't
take long to make the new antibodies needed, so you get over the
infection quickly.

That's fascinating, John. And kind of sad, too. Here these antibodies
are trying to fight off what might not be more than a minor infection,
and they end up giving you a much more serious disease. Not to
anthropomorphize or anything.

It would be interesting to know how inheritance affects this scenario.

--
Joyce ^..^

To email me, remove the XXX from my user name.

Marina wrote:
I woke up last night with hypoglycemia at 2 am and had to get up and eat
something.snip
So now, in the middle of the night, she decided to bring it to me. I
don't know what she was thinking; did she think it has healing powers
since it smelled of the vet? Did she just think I would feel better with
another blankie? I don't know, but I can't shake the feeling that she
was aware that I wasn't feeling too good and she tried to do something
about it.


Great story!
Best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek