Diabetes Misdiagnoses
Friends of ours just discovered their 6 year old son has Juvenile Diabetes. The look of pain on Mom and Dad’s face is transparent as Jordon takes his shot, but being the little trooper he is, Jordon says “Don’t worry, I’ll get used to it”?
The day before entering the hospital, Jordon was urinating every 30 minutes which clued the parents in that something was not right. His blood sugar level was at 497 and he was immediately referred to another hospital more equipped to deal with this form of Diabetes.
What is odd is that Jordon went in for a test a few months before and everything checked out fine. Now, he’s diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. More odd was that the doctor specializing in this field asked if Jordon had any recent significant events, such as surgery.
Jordon did in fact have surgery to have tubes placed in his ears a month or so before. Upon hearing this, the doctor seemed concerned and said “He Did?” – it’s not much, but the expression on the doctor’s face and the way the question was asked hinted that the doctor knew something. Nothing else was mentioned and the doctor continued the consultation.
Perhaps the doctor knew something or has seen enough to make a conclusion, but in the medical industry, and for legal purposes, you just don’t mention a hypothesis without factual information, so the thought stayed private.
I’ve seen misdiagnoses many times; let me quickly tell you about two serious errors. I had a lump on my tongue which doctors lopped off, tested and diagnosed with cancer. A throat specialist was smart enough to suspect that I had Mono and retested (at 38, it’s rare and can mimic cancer); Mono it was, no cancer and the lump was simply a swollen glad brought on by Mono. Without the retest, I can only imagine what would have happened!
While living in Florida (we are originally from and now living in Michigan) my wife was diagnosed with a hyperthyroid (an overactive thyroid gland that causes excessive sweating, tremors, heart problems, etc.) The doctors wanted to use radioactive Iodine to kill part of the thyroid to bring it back down to normal levels.
Luckily, we never had the procedure and moved back to Michigan shortly after. It was a misdiagnosis and within two months, her thyroid went back to normal! Turns out it was the climate, but the doctors never suggested this (or perhaps didn’t know about it). Had she killed part of the thyroid, she would now have the opposite problem, a hypothyroid!
Cure for Juvenile Diabetes
If the doctor says your child needs attention, it’s nothing to ignore and they can provide immediate treatment to bring levels to what they should be.
The point of this page is not claim that doctors are misdiagnosing diabetes, but rather to bring to light patterns that may be an underlying cause to some cases of Juvenile Diabetes; patterns that the doctor may not be aware of or can’t legally say. If we can find a pattern, we can narrow the cause and hopefully, find a less invasive (or natural) treatment.
Perhaps when the body is traumatized, such as surgery for ear tubes, it somehow causes something in the body to produce more sugar. Doctors are not even sure what causes diabetes, but perhaps the information found here may help Jordon or others in some way. As it stands, Jordon’s life has changed, forever.
How you can Help
Perhaps you, your child or someone you know has also had surgery or trauma of some type before being diagnosed with Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes? If you have any information whatsoever that may help, please leave a comment. You do not have to use your real name.
Disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting that you not seek medical advice or avoid treatment but rather looking for ideas, suggestions and creative thought.
Here are some ideas that visitors have suggested:
One visitor said they were shown a heat map for Diabetes that displayed how many incidents occur in parts of the state (something to do with GIS and incidents of registered Diabetes). The area their child was in was flagged as a hot spot. If anyone comes across this map, please let us know. [diabetes registry, diabetes heat map, diabetes hotspots, etc].
Vaccines – speculation that these HOT areas may have something to do with vaccines.
Pop – speculation that Aspartame is somehow involved can be found on defeatdiabetes.org, which can now be found here:
Defeat Diabetes: Aspartame – The Silent Killer (archive.org)
A quote from this page states:
I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows exactly how deadly their product is. They fund the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association, Congress, and the Conference of the American College of Physicians. They have the contacts and the power to keep their product on the market. Public health means nothing to these people, it’s all about making money.
Vomit – was your child recently sick and vomiting? Ketones used to determine T1D and can show in your urine after a frequent vomiting which may register as diabetes.
Check thyroid, vitamin D, folic acid and B12.
There are a number of comments related to ear tubes and T1D (Type 1 Diabetes), see below.
My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in January of this year. She is 11. At a follow-up, she was diagnosed with hashimoto’s syndrome (hypothyroidism which is associated with type 1 diabetes). All of her blood tests has shown to be within limits when we have gone to our appointments. Recently she was extremely ill (vomiting, running a fever). For three weeks she has not had to take her novolog for meals and her sugars have been fine and within limits. We still continue with the night-time, levemir (I still err on the caution side). Has anyone else experience this with their child? Are just in a “honeymoon” phase as we were told by the NP? Or, by chance, could she have been misdiagnosed and her numbers out of whack simply because her thyroid was “out-of-whack”? If anyone could offer input, that would be great.
“Becky”, I know yours was an old comment, but I wanted to tell you that my 7 year old was diagnosed on 12/28/2009. She had the H1N1 vaccine 10/2009 and soon after starting getting symptoms of type 1, like the thirst, urinating, tired, and then finally the weekend before she was diagnosed, vomiting. I always wondered if the vaccine had anything to do with it. They all said no, but I have this gut feeling… as it seems you do also. Have you learned anything more on this topic?
My son was diagnosed in November 2010. He just turned 12 in December. We started noticing frequent thirst and urination following his 11 year vaccinations. There is no history of type 1 diabetes in our family. I read about it online, with certain vaccinations , that they may cause diabetes. I believe this was the case.
I worked at Glendale Adventist for years. They are exempt from unions because the supreme court
said they were a religious organization. If there is a problem,employees have no where to go to.
EAP,HR,Employee Health and Occupational Med are all in bed together or lose their jobs(among the lowest paying non-profit hospitals in the the area). Once the Employee Health Director stated she documented at least 60 scabies employees in a period. It is not unusual to find 6-8 patients ratio to one nurse. Administration clerks reveal upgrades to seminar accommodations if not satisfied. Whisterblowers are soon without a job. These must occur at other hospitals as well,but being treated or employed at Glendale Adventist, is a very real risk one should consider. Infection rates are high,so if admitted,get out as soon as possible and always request an itemized statement of facility charges.
Hi, my 14 yr oid daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 9 weeks ago. Like others here, there is no history of diabetes on either side of the family. She has had no ill health, colds or flu. A year last January she was with my father when he had a nasty accident and a few days later he died. She was extremely traumatized by this and really thought that she was to blame for what happened. Looking back perhaps I should have taken her for counseling but at the time we were all struck by our grief.
My son has type 1. Prior to his diagnose he had gotten bit by a brown recluse spider. I had him on Benadryl for one week. This all occurred one week prior to his diagnose. I’m just wondering how many of you with kids that had ear infections or tubes put in the children’s ears were using benadryl to help reduce the fluid in their ears. You see, my son also had tubes put in his ears because of the fluid. Fluid can be caused by allergies which in turn can be reduced by antihistamines. I would be curious as to how many of you were using benadryl? For me, I think it was the spider bite attacking his system or was it the benadryl.
I have type 1 diabetes, 38 years old and was diagnosed at the age of 6 but I remember being sick for at least a year prior. I remember having dental surgery and then getting really sick with flu like symptoms not to long after I started to have diabetes symptoms. I have no diabetic complications and I have 4 kids one is almost on her way to college. as the poster above stated I have to thank my mom for allowing me to be a normal kid, never making me feel different or that I had a “condition”
Diabetes is my life and although, I have to make adjustments I do not have a problem. Please understand, I will be the first in line if they find a cure but I do not dwell or feel sorry for myself. I only hate the fact that whenever anything happens to me they think my diabetes caused it. My retina detached because a wine cork popped in my eye and the doctors still believed it was caused by diabetes. My advice to parents with children with diabetes is to make sure they feel normal, do not make a big deal about their diabetes to them or people around you. If they have a positive attitude about their diabetes they will do fine and live a long normal life:-) Heck, I made out of my wild college years alive anyone can do it.
I was diagnosed 51 years ago with Type 1, at the age of 6, five months after I had mumps. I have lived through many of the improvements that have come for diabetics. Since we had no way to do a blood test at home, it was a once a month trip to the hospital lab for blood tests. For my child-hood, I was on a 1X day dosage of NPH insulin (as best as I can remember) with many hypoglycemic episodes. After this amount of time, my kidneys still function at 100%. I have very little retinopathy, and no signs of foot neuropathy.
After living through this and with this disease, I recommend to all parents that they involve the child as much as possible. My father took me to a college library at the age of 7, to formulate my own questions to the doctor. I was made a vital part of the care equation and was told that I would have to be responsible for myself. I was also told that I could do anything that any other child could do, but I would have to make adjustments, and these are words that I have continued to live by. However, my parents didn’t coddle me, and I was allowed to be a kid. I played all sports in high school and I feel that now I have not missed anything in life due to diabetes.
I now know that it wasn’t easy for my parents to be as tough as they were on me, but, I also thank them constantly for allowing me to be a kid and for forcing me to take responsibility for me.
I also correct anyone that expresses “pity” that I “suffer” with diabetes. I correct and say that I don’t feel that I suffer and that I continue to live a full life.
Yes, I am not underestimating the extent of this disease, but in many circumstances, it can be controlled in some fashion. I look around at other families that are experiencing other diseases, including cancer, with someone and I count my blessings.
My son was diagnosed Type 1 just two weeks ago. He is 19 Months only. He received vaccination two weeks prior to diagnose of D1T. Other than that we have not seen a doctor for last one year. He has been always healthy and active and no illness what so ever. He is on insulin 4-5 times a day.
I wonder if there is link between vaccination and diabetes type 1.
Our little boy Jake was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes November, 2007. He was 4 years old. My husband and I were planning on sending him to a headstart program nearby, so we had to finish getting his vaccinations and a flu shot. That was in October. The day he was diagnosed his blood sugar reading was almost 700. Now almost 3 years later, Jake has an insulin pump which makes life easier, and he rarely complains.
As a mother, I have always wondered if there is a link between juvenile diabetes and vaccinations. I was told by a nurse, that the diabetes is triggered by a virus, which could have been his vaccines. I have also wondered if there is a connection with baby formula. So many children are getting this horrible disease, there has to be a cause! I pray for a cure. I do not think anyone really gets it, unless they are a parent of a child that has diabetes.
It is very sad to read that doctors and medical students see the body as a disjointed machine instead of an interconnected, complex system. In an earlier post I read “Abdominal surgery, could, in theory, cause diabetes (this would not actually be type I diabetes, since it is not autoimmune.) Surgery in the Eustachian tubes (which I had myself when I was very young because of recurrent ear infections) could NOT disrupt the pancreas, since the pancreas is in the abdomen and the eustachian tubes are in the skull.” This ignorance and lack of depth in understanding the physiology of a living organism IS SCARY! To think we give so much repsect and power to such limited thinkers is very dangerous.
Surgery is invasive and cuts the body open from the outside. Any time the protective barrier (skin) is broken we are more susceptible to infection. Even without infection, such trauma can cause fluxuations in the immune system simply in the need to ramp up and repair the area. Why would this (plus all the foreign to the body medications used during surgery) not seem possible that an auto-imune response could occur? Why wouldn’t frequent infections and the need for tubes in the ears not seem like there is an immune problem to begin with. Why do we have such low expectations for our health? And why do we believe such non-sense that keeps us powerless and drugged up?
I am 46 years old and at the age of 3 I was diagnosed with juvenile type 1 diabetes after I was hospitalized for pneumonia. Yet afterwards I had seizures almost every other day. So I have been on insulin since the age of 3. I even went to a hospital in another city where they stated there was a 1% chance I was not diabetic…It does not run in the family. And it is unknown what tests they did 43 years ago.
But many have questioned this diagnosis even my mother all my life. Then I had a seizure so bad and the hospital said my white blood count was up but they found nothing with that. Now I’m getting ready to go on the pump – yet the dietitian told me today she has never seen such a insulin resistant type 1 like me before. She cannot understand it. I keep wondering did they miss something or was I misdiagnosed???
I was 40 ish, stressed and applying lots of betamethasone to my skin… I ended up with diabetes type 1 diagnosis, within 2 years having studied type 1 diabetes to death I concluded i need to know if I had antibodies or lack of c-peptides. It was denied on the basis that I wouldn’t be treated any differently. The test was only £90, I somehow felt deflated and didn’t get the test done privately. How wrong was I. recently May 2010, three years later… my insulin was not behaving, I was not getting good control. I moved to a new district and the new consultant tried to help for a few months, then gave up and declared I might be type 2. I gave blood that day, within 3 weeks the results were correct, I was producing insulin, I’m on metformin with no insulin injections and its like I have my whole life back. How many people out there are type 2? In my district they inform me that if things don’t stack up they simply get the test.
It has been about 11 years now that I have been diagnosed with Diabetes. It is peculiar that as I am reading I am realizing that everyone’s story has some sort of surgery involved. Early June I has reconstructive surgery on my knee cap and in November the same year I was diagnosed with Type 1. I just told myself that the GENE was triggered by the surgery and went on with it thinking I was the only one, however that is not the case.
Our 5 year old son had a tonsilectomy and ear tubes removed in mid-April 2009. 1 month later we took him flight for life to children’s hospital……DKA. Diagnosed with Type 1. Doctor’s mentioned the “stress” of the tonsilectomy could have triggered the eventual autoimmune attack. Unfortunately, we passed off his symptoms of lethargy and thirst to being related to the tonsilectomy. We will never forgive ourselves for not taking him to the Dr. earlier. 1 year later, he is my biggest hero ever……..living like a champ!!
I want to make a correction_ I meant to say that drs will leave my thyroid medication dose the same or lower it once my tsh levels drop to 3.3 or below. In my experience 3.3 is still way too high for me and I know I need my tsh below 1.12. Many people are probably being under-treated for thyroid problems because of the messed up reference range. This range needs to be reevaluated and changed!
I believe that a low thyroid can cause diabetes because thyroid issues cause autoimmune diseases. I think the reference range for tsh levels is set too high. They just lowered that range from the highest number being 5. to 3.3. I still feel this is too high for most people. In my case I was diagnosed with hypothyroid with tsh of 40.
I have had symptoms since year 2000 but my tsh and other thyroid hormones were all in the “normal” range. Now I am on thyroid medicine and feel a lot better however drs have found a huge connection between low thyroid and a person developing an autoimmune disease or problem. In 2000 my tsh was at 1.12 and I was having symptoms.
The problem is that it is still in the normal range according to the reference range of a normal thyroid. So keeping this in mind, if I am being treated with the thyroid hormone to bring my tsh down, then once I get to the “normal” range the dr will think I am normal again and may leave my thyroid dose at 3.3 which I know is way too high for me and will contribute to an autoimmune disease such as diabetes, lupus. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Arthritis and the list goes on. Do you see the connection that I am talking about.
So what I am saying is that I believe so many people are not receiving treatment for low and high thyroids because drs think their thyroid levels are fine when really they need to reevaluate the reference range again. Anyhow I dont know how this may help you, however I just wanted to get it out there and hope that things will change in the near future concerning this thyroid connection because I believe that most juvenile diabetes may be caused by a faulty thyroid. Thyroid problems are linked to Xrays, poor diet and many other environmental issues that we are surrounded with everyday. I had a neck xray done and after that my thyroid hit rock bottom and that was when I was diagnosed with low thyroid.
I truly believe more people than we know have problems with their thyroid which drs are not recognizing yet because the “normal reference range for the thyroid is just set too high”. I hope your son gets feeling better soon and Im so sorry to hear he has gotten diabetes. Good luck and if you ever want to email me: Avalisastar @ yahoo.com.
Aja
To Becky and all above,
Becky I felt the same way when my normal healthy 7yr old was diagnosed with type 1D. It was really hard for me to except. It has been 4yrs and I still read and research everything I can. I do have many concerns. 1st is genetics, we have autoimmune diseases in our family such as Hypothyroid disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. 2nd is, there is a test that can be given at the age of 5yrs that will alert Drs. if a child is high risk. Why isn’t it a required test? 3rd is environmental factors. Why haven’t they been identified and made public? 4th is, the way Drs. train us to care for our children after diagnoses. During onset we are told to administer insulin based on carbs. and to push carbs. because the body needs it to develop. I’m ok with that, but more carbs. means more insulin which means the Drs. and Pharmaceutical Com. make money. 5th if we push carbs. like this we are creating fat cells in our children that will lead to obesity and more health problems.The food that our children consume and the medical practices of today make it hard to believe that anyone really cares about anything except the almighty $$$$. 6th is vaccines, My sons onset took place after a really bad reaction to the DTAP and several bouts of viral throat infections.
My son is now going through puberty,and let me tell you that it is very demanding on the childs body. To the tune of 1u. of insulin per 4g. of carbs. That is alot of insulin.So we are now looking at other things like low carb. hi protein diets. And trying to cut carbs. to reduce the intake of insulin. If we cont. to do the work for the body it will never work for itself. Here is some info I found on the internet and I will include the link. Best of luck. And remember. You know more about your child than anyone else! You can choose to try other things. But never,never stop the shots until the blood sugars show that a reduction of insulin is needed. And pray hard for a cure.
God Bless you and take care.
” Most cases (95%) of type 1 diabetes mellitus are the result of environmental factors interacting with a genetically susceptible person. This interaction leads to the development of autoimmune disease directed at the insulin-producing cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. These cells are progressively destroyed, with insulin deficiency usually developing after the destruction of 90% of islet cells.”
I am a diabetic and as to if it is type 1, type 1.5, type 2 ect. given my medical history and extensive test results, mostly repeats but thats not My point. I have a lifelong history of ear infections along with some cuts that did not heal well, but seemed to fight off infection and illness like most people until the age of 30. From the age of 30 up to the age of 42 however I had a definite decline over time, but I always had a battle with ear infections and out of desperation to regain
My health I bought into the stupid BS about all My health problems being linked to my consumption of diet drinks. At this point I began the downward spiral of bad health illness and decline in strength and persistent pain losing my health jobs, insurance and almost My life and finally My house. So I have drifted a bit off point here and that is that one of the byproducts or symptoms of being diabetic is elevated blood sugars which causes the person in question to have a problem fighting off infection and in some people high instances of ear infections.
Of coarse every child with ear infections is not diabetic or pre-diabetic, but the likelihood of an undiagnosed diabetic child having a problem with ear infections is defiantly higher than normal. The most important thing I hope anybody takes from any of this here is do not ever accept anything as fact without questioning the motive and agendas of others and their biases and if you suspect for any reason that you are hyper or hypoglycemic talk to your doctor about it or if he or she won’t listen go to Walmart and buy an A1c test for 10 dollars and if a problem is indicated bring the results to another doctor. I know a stigma exists for diabetics type 2 as if you were to believe what you are told type 2 diabetes is caused by being overweight and all you have to do in order to believe this is ignore the fact that all overweight people are not diabetic or even pre-diabetic or that 20% of type 2 diabetics are not overweight also neglected is the fact that there is a rise in the number of type 1 cases. It is much more likely that being overweight is a symptom and not the cause.
The problem is quite simple pre-diabetes is an insurance term that has been accepted by the medical community because insurance companies do not want to pay for treatment until the disease has progressed to the point of requiring treatment because reality is absolute, but medical practices change as does understanding and acceptance.
My little girl was diagnosed with type 1 D last month on January 12th 2010. It came as a complete shock to us as I am sure it does to most parents. But we knew absolutely nothing about diabetes, it doesnt run in my husbands or my family. I took her in because she was drinking a lot and peeing a lot and I thought maybe she had a UTI, they tested her blood and urine and said to me and my daughter “her blood sugars are over 500 which means she has diabetes, you need to take her to the children’s hospital and have her admitted right away”. After recovering from the smack in the face I took her to the hospital and starting getting a crash course in how to take care of her. I have had a hard time accepting the fact that she has diabetes and I guess that’s a normal reaction. I guess I just wonder why they never made her do a fasting test or anything like that. The one thing that has stuck out in my mind since we were told is that she had the H1N1 flu shot in October and then again in December for the booster. Maybe it’s the guilt in me, maybe I NEED a reason as to why this happened. But it’s just strange to me that know one in my entire family has diabetes and all three of my children have always been very healthy. What if making my little girl get the flu shot to protect her has given her somthing so much worse? I don’t know. The best I can do is sit, wait, study, question and pray for a cure for all of these amazing little kids who show more strenght then I could ever imagine having.
Hi,
one of my friend’s nephew is suffering from juvenile diabetes and now he is having some stomach problems, they say its because of sugar , he is been given glucose drips now. can you suggest me any treatment, any diet control something like that.
I would like to leave a reply about the diabetes article is this the right area?
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 9/10/93 at the age of 11. I’m almost 28 now. A month before diagnosis, I was tested for it and it came up negative. Diabetes was triggered by a flu virus. My body was actually able to fight off the 2 week flu, but I still felt weak (lost 20 pounds those 2 weeks and I was only 4’9″) despite eating and drinking a lot. So, my dad took me to the doctor…then the ER…..then I was transported by ambulance (At that time, Florida Hospital had no rule or law that forced them to perform life-saving measures on people with the “wrong” insurance.) after I slipped into a coma while waiting for insurance verification to an insurance-friendly children’s hospital. Two days later, I woke up and learned about my diabetes. Eight days later, I went back to 6th grade.
Prior to diagnosis, I had a voracious appetite (still do), huge metabolism (slightly lower now due to eating disorder history), and super healthy immune system (still do). I had never had a cold and hadn’t had the flu in almost 2 years (incubation period for diabetes according to endo, but that doesn’t jive with the negative test less than a month before diagnosis).
To those of you who are confusing Type 1 with Type 2, sugar does not cause Type 1 diabetes. There is little to no evidence of diabetes in my family. My great grandfather and my grandfather’s cousin had Type 2. I have a large family with my sister, mom, dad, 7 uncles, 8 aunts, and 18 cousins. Longevity and good health run in my family. My grandparents are in their 90s and still very healthy. I also have an ancestor who lived to be 120 years old in 1880.
Asthma, allergies, anxiety, and ADHD tend to run in my family. I have ADHD and anxiety. I was diagnosed with asthma and allergies only after I moved from Florida to Kansas. I think because I am allergic to dust. However, I can manage both asthma and allergies with little to no medication.
I never had ear tubes, although I did have a head injury with 7 stitches when I was 3 years old and I stuck a pebble in my ear (which was removed with suction and tweezers by an ENT doc) when I was 4. I have never broken any bones or sprained anything in my life.
I had an insulin pump for 4 years and was in excellent control, but Kansas Medicaid is not as nice as Florida Medicaid and I was forced to give it up when I moved here. I take 3-5 injections of Novolog and 2 injections of Levemir daily. I test my blood sugar 5-15 times a day, depending on activity level. (I can’t wait until I am finished with college, so I can get a real job with insurance that allows me to go back on the pump!)
I have recently been put on medication for fibromyalgia and low testosterone levels. But aside from what I have already stated, I am healthy and have a great immune system. I’ve only had 5 colds and 4 flus since my diagnosis 16 years ago. I am still in excellent health, despite battling anorexia and bulimia in ways that should have harmed my health permanently.
I have two children with diabetes metillus aka type 1, but I found out they got it from a genetic disorder 2 years back. They were perfectly healthy babies. My oldest is 13, he did have a lot of ear infections but that was it. My next to oldest who is 10 now had no problems at all until the school told me she had really poor vision. My son had just started to complain about not seeing the board also. So, point is they had a genetic condition that causes diabetes and optic atrophy (poor vision that can not be corrected with glasses). I was lucky to have had internet and found out about it on a website. I believe that you can get diabetes from different ways since no one knows for sure exactly what the environmental trigger(s) is (are).
Also, about the pump, I think you, as a mother would know better than your daughter’s doctor if she was ready for the pump or not. There are websites where you can way the pros and cons like jdrf and children with diabetes research foundation.
Kandace
Interesting comments about Ti diabetes. My 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 8 and I do remember that about 9 months before she was diagnosed she had her tonsils removed. She was constantly on anti-biotics and had recurring throat infections. She constantly struggles with diabetes and would like to use the pump, but her doctor dissagrees with the idea. His theory is that by using the pump it facilitates her life too much and she will forget that she is diabetic, overindulging on thing that she should not eat. Go figure! Does anyone agree with this Doctor?
My son was diagnosed 4 days before his 17th birthday I thought he had food poisning he was throwing up, drinking alot of fluids and urinating alot we when took him to the ER almost 3 days later his sugar was 827 and was rushed to the back and then transported to Childrens Hospital. It was scary crazy and doctors was in our room at 9 the next morning asking us do you want basil/bolis or pens or syringes it was just mind riveting.
I can’t believe that much research really has not been done on this disease it drives me crazy there has to be a link some where and we must find it.
My son did have his tonsils removed in the 5th grade maybe this is a link similar to the tubes could it be related to the ears, nose & throat possibly? My cousin also has this disease.
I have a Granddaughter that was diagnosed with Type 1 approx. 8 weeks after her well baby check up and of course vaccinations.She was 26 months old at the time.. No family history.Given our choices I wish she would have got the measles, mumps or chicken pox. I know another child that was diagnosed after going to the ER with an allergic reaction and receiving a type of steroid injection.
I think it is a win … win situation for the pharmaceuticals. Why should they mind if they do not receive anything initially or much for their vaccines .. when they will eventually be treating them for life for something much worse than measles,mumps or chicken pox.
I really need to look at the studies they have done to disprove that vaccines have contributed to this and also who actually did these studies. I would almost bet the CDC has not had any cutbacks or layoffs recently.. especially now as they need to be busy researching this new SWINE FLU.Yes I am biased and I want to know why Juvenile Diabetes is sky rocketing in this country and no one is finding out why and stopping it..It seems we are more focused on how to treat it than it’s cause and eradication. Same with cancer.. Yet the news media is all about the handful cases of swine flu…I have my own opinion of that… perhaps last years wonderful vaccine has mutated and gone wild.. I see money .. money and more money but not for the public only a few private sectors will enjoy the proceeds.. the rest will deal with the crippling effects and the heart breaks.
i was diagnosed with T1D when i was 12. my doctors told me that white blood cells in your body attack your pancreas and kill the islet cells, which produce insulin. this commonly occurs after trauma, like surgery, or a big life change, or anything that can cause a lot of stress. also, it can happen after you are really sick. just thought i would through what i’ve learned in here.
OK so after reading I figured I might as well add my 2 cents worth. When I was 9 I got a really bad case of pneumonia was put on antibiotics and the such and then almost a week later was diagnosed with T1D. The doctors said that the pneumonia had caused my pancreas to shut down and therefore caused the diabetes. Also said it had a lot to do with the way my Mother was taking care of me. and then of course there was the genetics almost every female on my dads side has it. SO there can be a lot of reasons why a person gets it and why others don’t. It’s just the way the cards were played I guess. But I have a 2 healthy boys who are now 12 and 14 and don’t have diabetes. Thank God.
My daughter was diagnosed Aug, 27, 2007 with type 1. She went through the summer sick off and on. Had been exposed to the flu and had been losing weight. She was becoming a young lady and we did not think much of it.
At the beginning of Aug she went in for a school physical and we decided to get her the gaurdisil shot. She kept getting a little sicker I called and the dr said the shot had flu like symptoms as a reaction. Within the week she was in the hospital with diabetic ketone acidosis and we very nearly lost her.
As a young child she had many ear infections and tubes twice. Allergies so bad that her eardrums burst twice. She went through testing and shots for about 1year with very little improvements. With her dpt shot it was crying for two days straight and I was told this was a reaction. No other major illnesses although when she was sick she did have a funny fruity smell about her.
After she was diagnosed I mentioned this to the Doctors and they said this was not possible. Now she is sick vomiting about every two to three weeks and extremely tired. The doctors keep telling me that her immune system is different from ours and she will get anything going around at school and so on.
I recently lost insurance on her and have been doing research on different things and have just found about ciliac disease. I am going to check into this and the other things mentioned from other posts on this site.
I just wanted to say thank you to people who do the posting I am kind of at a loss and hate to see her so sick all the time. Her one doctor is a specialist in this field and I am not sure why he is not putting some of what I am saying to thought. any way thanks to you posters for the ideas.
My son has been diagnosed with type 1 at 11 one month ago. He had only a re-circumcision at 8 months. He had a severe ear infection that caused temporary hearing loss and was on antibiotics for that. He has only had a few ear infections. He had a reaction to the DPT immunization and slept for over a day – lethargic, difficult to wake. We took him back to the doctor after 15 hours and they said to just watch him. My brother died the day after he had the dpt booster. He was, like my son, sleeping after the first dpt and then when it came to the second he died the following day – it was said to be ‘crib death’. My son never took the booster of pertussis. He has had two dog bites by the same dog. The dog has been diagnosed with ‘hypothyroidism’.
My son has type 1 diabetes. We have no family history of diabetes 1 or 2, but there is strong family history of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Another unusual bit of information: my son came down with the mumps at 6 months of age. No one had any idea how he got it, but the mumps can get into your pancreas. I believe type 1 diabetes is a auto-immune disease but what triggers the body to attack itself??
Possible heredity, or a virus or maybe just a weakness in the pancreas.
PS: The insulin pump is amazing! -do check into it.
If you were to review the statistics of type 1 in schools that have soda pop machines, you will find much higher numbers that schools without. Ask the parents if they allowed their children to drink soda before they discovered type 1!
Thank you to all posters, especially Holly and Scholar. I am a doctor. I don’t have diabetes, but both type I (most commonly juvenile onset) and type II (most commonly adult onset) run in my family. I have two sisters who were diagnosed with diabetes between ages 10 and 12. I also have a second cousin who has type I (juvenile onset) diabetes.
Naturally, during medical school this topic peaked my interests and still does. I have one daughter, age 10. I want to be as educated and prepared as possible for her sake, and to a lesser extent, for mine as well.
Is there a genetic predisposition? Yes, definitely, in both type I and type II diabetes, although the pattern of transmission (on a pedigree chart) is quite different for the two types. The gene is related to (or may be directly attributable to) the HLA DR-3 and HLA DR-4 genes which your immune system normally uses to determine what is normal healthy tissue and what is infection.
Are ear tubes a contributing factor? Almost certainly not. This is arguably the most common pediatric surgery performed. Millions of children get ear tubes (also called PE tubes) each year. There would be a huge epidemic if there was an association here. There may be a round-about association though.
Children with allergies and frequent ear infections go to the doctors office more often. They are kids. They like to play with other kids. They are curious and like to touch everything and each other. They have runny noses and are constantly rubbing their noses and faces. It’s natural, it itches and it’s irritable. Anybody who has ever had an allergy can relate. What may be worse is that we teach children to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze. Many studies have shown that this is the vector by which viruses are transmitted from one person to another. Face-hand-other person’s hand-face. Or butt-hand-hand-face. The second is more likely the culprit here. The likely virus being Cocksackie B. The prevelance of baby wipe use (which contain no antibacterials and certainly no antivirals, but smell nice) may encourage its spread although this is purely theoretical.
Cocksackie B is seasonal, usually occurring in June through October. It doesn’t always have the same symptoms and they are often mild enough to be ignored. Fever and intestinal upset are the main symptoms. There is no vaccine. Here, I wish there was though. In some cases it can be a real killer in addition to being a likely cause of juvenile diabetes. The treatment is the same as for any other type of intestinal upset. Mainly the treatment is tincture of time, for as with any other virus, symptoms usually abate in two weeks. Yet for the unlucky ones who are DR-3 or DR-4 positive, a whole other process has silently begun.
In these people, not only is the virus is attacked by the immune system, but also the precious insulin-making (and glucagon-making) islet cells of the pancreas. When this process reaches completion and no more insulin is being produced (which may take weeks, months, or years who knows) excessive urination, thirst, and weight loss show up bringing the child back to the doctor’s office for the fateful diagnosis.
Before the discovery of insulin, these children usually died. With insulin they live relatively normal lives…to an extent, but what of the other precious islet-cell-produced products? What of glucagon? AND LOOK INTO THIS ONE. What of C-peptide? Ideally there should be a pump programmed to secrete all of these. Some day soon I’m sure there will be, but not without some significant public outcry. Until then, kidneys, limbs, and eyes will be lost. Strokes and heart attacks will be common. And people will just accept that this is part of the disease process.
So why hasn’t this been proven conclusively? Expense and compliance. Testing for HLA DR-3 and DR-4 is expensive. It is similar to tissue typing for a transplant. All family members related to a type I diabetic would need to be tested for any study to be meaningful. Then a panel of antibody studies to viruses would need to periodically be performed and repeated if any illness occurs. Technically the study is doable, but funding and human nature would be formidable obstacles.
Until then, what is a parent to do? I avoid taking my daughter to the doctor’s office for minor illnesses. I manage allergy symptoms as best I can at home. Keeping her hands washed, especially after any ill contacts, or after changing diapers is key. Hand sanitizer, while in my opinion second best, is another alternative, and a must when doctors’ visits are unavoidable.
My heartfelt sympathies for any parents and their children affected by this terrible disease. I know the impact it had on our family. My hope is that this information will provide hope and possibly some coping strategies until a vaccine or cure can be developed.
Rich, M.D.
Have thyroid checked. Also Vit D, folic acid and B12. I have much info on this as I have been researching it for almost 5 yrs. Feel free to contact me at my email address.
Have thyroid checked this and/or celiac are the causes of almost all mental and physical problems. There is a thyroid/diabetes fact sheet on the web. Type in” thyroid disease and diabetes patient education sheet” . A good reference book on thyroid is Diseaes of the Thyroid by Leslie DeGroot 5th edition. In my research, celiac disease is another possible cause as it and thyroid go hand in hand. Have not been able to determine which comes first. Antibiotics kill the natural bactria in the intestines causing malabsorption of vitamins and minerals and everything starts to go haywire. Research the thyroid and its test. There are several but the most common is the TSH. For an accurate diagnoses a thyroid panel is necessary. Good luck. Insurance will only pay for the TSH. Go to “thyroid top docs ” site. Also have vit D and B12, and folic acid checked. Be alert for adrenal problems also. A good starter book is Living Well with Hypothyroidism by Mary Shoman. Once you start with autoimmune disease everything is interrelated. More than one condition is quite common, however, the thyroid controls all the other glands. Doctors are not taught about the thyroid. For celiac disease VSL #3, strong probiotics purchased through a pharmacy may be necessary. These and/or vit D deficiency cause gastritis. May be needed for a long time. Thyroid destroys the immune system and leaves one open for all kinds of infections, and other illnesses. Feel free to contact me at my web address if I can be of further help.
His surgery was not ear related it was testicular. Sorry I did not include that prior.
My friends son was diagnosed with diabetes a few months ago. He is 10 years old. He had surgery a couple months before that, and I believe his doctor also asked about surgery prior to this happening, but that may have just been a routine question. But her brother is also a diabetic diagnosed at age 11. I do think it was hereditary but the common surgery factor does make you curious. I do not know if her brother had had any kind of surgery.
I have a close friend and my boyfriend who both got T1 at an early age both between the ages of 16 and 19. both of them led healthy normal lives and then bam, had t1. They showed the typical symptoms before being diagnosed. I just think it is so odd that most people I meet or know with t1 were diagnosed at a young age.
i totally agree with this misdiagnosis of type one. my daughter was diagnosed seven years ago at the age of five. she had been sick. but she is not text book type one as she is still producing insulin. small amounts. the longer you are on insulin the less your body will do its job. i sometimes suspect she could have been type 2 as she was heavier for her age and had a high cholestral at age 7. she is now 12. i still suspect her diagnosis as she has had some severe lows and never had ketones with any illness or otherwise. there were mod. ketones present at diagnosis so i am told and her blood sugar was 545.
i was told that she was hours away from going in a coma. type two diabetics do get those same highs at diagnosis. i would have liked to have had a dr. treat her with pills and diet and exercise before we went on insulin. i don’t know if there are any out there who have successfully done this on occasion with children. i do know that nothing about her is typical and i say she has type one and a half. anyone with info on this please feel free to contact me.
thank you
Just a note…I too have Type I diabetes….I was diagnosed at the age of 21—-3 months after gallbladder surgery—-I had no symptoms of high blood sugars previously–I was in the hospital for 2 weeks because I initially presented with pancreatitis as well as gallstones–I’m wondering if the surgery/pancreatitis might have played a role in it all.
Hello,
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetis at age 6. I had a few ear infections as a child, but otherwise, no sicknesses outside of that. I did have eye-surgery as an infant for congenital Cateracts.
Odd tho I find it. I have only mild allergies at certain parts of the year, but beyond that, I do not get sick, I have no other food allergies.. but I am hooked to an insulin pump for the rest of time, monitoring glucose levels.
So the theory on tubes is a good one, I’d like to see some results on that. But instead of limiting it to tubes, why not encompass it to include all surgeries on kids prior to their 13th birthday, that developed Type 1.
Regarding vaccinations. They arethe bargin basement creations of the 21st century useing such outlandish materials like Green African monkey kidneys, and such to filter the diseases we aretrying to erradicate. It’s more like alchemy or Mad Doctor’s lab type chemistry. and conidering Most Vaccines use Mercurey as a suspension fluid. There is alot of debate in certain parts of the web on Vaccines, and their ligitimate use. Dr. Mercola (google him) has some rather insightful information on such things..
My thoughts are.. Read everything, trust little, check and re-check. After all, if you don’t watch your own health, what you eat, what your meds do, no one else is going to for you. Dr, Mercola, check him out.
I was really excited to read this. I am constantly looking for “reasons” for my Type I diabetes. When I was young, I had multiple ear infections and tubes three times. At the age of 12, I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I am sorry to say, but this definitely seems to be more than a coincidence. I have however, now had diabetes for almost 18 years (on an insulin pump – definitely look into it, it is a life saver!!) and have had 2 healthy pregnancies with 2 amazingly healthy daughters. So Type I diabetes has made amazing strides in the 21st centuries.
Also, shortly after my diagnosis, it was discussed that there may be an environmental reason for my diabetes. I grew up in suburban Detroit and lived near the new Mazda plant, my doctors believed this may have been a cause of my diabetes, but that has never been determined. I have however, read that there are more diabetics in MI than any other state in the U.S. and this could definitely be associated with all of the car manufacturers in the area (at least in suburban Detroit).
As to what the med student said, there certainly are more reasons for Type I diabetes, but the fact that it is an autoimmune disorder AND we have all had reoccurring ear infections AND tubes, there has to be a connection.
Maybe we can contact the American Diabetes Association and suggest a research project into this? I work for a large technical school and would love to suggest a research project like this to our research professors. Thanks for posting – I think there certainly is more to this than what people realize. Good luck on your search for the truth!!
My little brother,now 25 years old, was diagnosed with T1 diabetes at the age of 10. He displayed all of the typical symptoms before entering the hospital, where he stayed two weeks. 20 months prior to his diagnosis, he had tubes put in his ears. So many stories i hear are identical…..you would think there is enough information to find the cause. I HATE to sound paranoid…..but does ANYONE else think there is just too much money to be made in treatment to develop a cure.
I had strep throat so my regular doctor who didn’t recognize it sent me to a throat specialist in Glendale. He looked at it for a moment and told me it was polyps and gave me a number medicine instead of what I needed. I went on thinking it was going to go away. One day I could barely stand up and was very weak. My throat already had broken out with with like tissue a number of times. After reading though a bit and I’m not a medical student I managed to get to the doc demanding an antiobiotic. He gave it to me but even my regular doctor couldn’t understand what the sickness was. Strep throat should be easy to recognize especially by a throat specialist. You see white spots on someone’s throat. Now my sickness developed into full fledged reuhmatic fever which happens when strep throat isn’t treated. I suffered with Rhuematic fever for five years to say the least which isn’t a happy condition to be in. By the time I found out I also was passed the statue of limitations which didn’t allow me to sue the throat specialist at least. I fought day in and out constantly being put back on anti biotics because with Rheumatic fever strep throat breaks out whenever it feels like. When I went to hospital one day there was a rash on my chest which looked sort of like Scarlett fever rash. The doctor’s couldn’t understand what it was. It was idiotic though cause now I realize all they had to do was a skin test. It took my regular docs years to give me an anti allergy shot though after giving me creams for years and years with no let up. The anti allergy sort of shot worked some. Why do docs not perform tests when they can and don’t know?
Then I had uterine fibroids. Fibroids are a condition of growth(s) on a female’s uturs which is non cancerous. Many many women have fibroids today and don’t know it. Some have pain, heavy menstruation. back aches, and headaches all caused by fibroids which are also fibroid tumors. Fibroids thrive by a blood supply that makes them grow. They are in no way connected to cancer or have an ability to turn into cancer. I got sent to a Cancer Hospital, a ritzy wealthy looking building in downtown Los Angeles area. There I met a specialist and surgeon who took my envelope with 3 thousand dollars of MRI’s done. In ten minutes he told me that I had cancer and he would do a hysterectomy. I brushed him off not really taking him seriously at all. To me he seemed either to be old styled or real old schooled from another country although looked like he was in his late 30’s and should have had enough experience to tell the difference between fibroids and anything else. He seemed gung ho about cutting my child making equipment out of me as well. It was all said too fast as well. I left leaving my MRI’s there with him. I don’t believe I saw him look at the MRI’s either. He was just gung ho to do a surgery. I went to UCLA and had to wait quite awhile before seeing other doctors who checked everything allover again. In fact there was a team of doctors checking the area and looking into what was going on with me. They confirmed that I had fibroid tumors and not cancer. This way I knew for sure and had the proper information to take the proper actions instead of jumping into some dangerous and unneccessary surgery. The fibroids were very painfull and caused some heavy bleeding though in the meantime but I researched and looked up my options. I also saw one more doctor a Cedar’s Saini Hospital – a doctor OB/GYM who studied abroad. He wanted to do regular surgery but not the usual style bikini cut they do today. He was also old school and unlearned. He wanted to cut me open from my belly button to uterine area which is larger, more invasive, and more dangerous. Hemmorraging can happen with this type of surgery. I was against that as well and didn’t trust his advise either. I found out UCLA was doing a surgery called Uturine Artery Embolization which was a very new procedure at that time. No other hospital that I knew of in the vicinity was doing the procedure but it looked promising and I had a good feeling about it! I was the 75th patient to do the procedure at UCLA and they also accepted my insurance. They also promised me that the surgery only may shrink the fibroid tumors mabe up to 80%. But I was ready. The day I went through the surgery I was kept awake on the table. They had fine excellent equipment it seemed which I hadn’t seen at other hospitals. The surgery involved a tiny little cut on the inside of my inside thigh in which they inserted an instrument to insert some type of particles into the main artery of the uturus. It didn’t hurt although I was under some form of anasthesia. It didn’t take long and they had plenty of doctors at my side, a nice nurse, and students. I was also on a catheter. I lay in hospital bed overnight and suffered from pain but I think it was more the pain from catheter than anything else. I think the next day I went home. Over some time the fibroids shrunk and the pain went away. I stopped having heavy heavy menstruation which was sometimes embarrassing. It was so painful prior to surgery at times that any relief was great relief. After a time I decided I may need another one to shrink the last 20% and had a specialist look into it. After testing me he called me and told me I was not a candidate for this surgery because the doctor’s at UCLA did such a tremendous job that there was no way that he could improve upon it. I was sort of glad to hear a doc was honest though and sought him out of another hospital so I could tell he wasn’t out to back the hospital in unnessary profit making. (**) Some docs and related may be blindsighted by a secret threat to earn income and profits for the moguls who run and work behind the scenes and get pressured into wrong diagnosis and stuff like that.
Now I’m going through it it seems again on a different diagnosis. It has put me through some very hard times now. Yes there should be more than one pathologist on any condition to review slides. I was told by the doctor’s at Glendale Adventist that no pathologist would overwrite another pathologist (what sort of criminal thinking is this and thing to say to me?). So the best thing to do is mabe go to a place and pretend I don’t have a patholigst’s report and get another opinion. This way they won’t want to gang up and form a wrong diagnosis committee in secret. It works sort of like the secret service or white house staff at times or police. They all seem to cover for eachother and whereas police are known to commit crimes, write false testimony and tickets to people, come up with stories they cohorts and departments, judges, and the system is usually quick to cover up and let them get off the hook or with just a slap on the wrist. It’s wrong, unethical and immoral but it is quite apparent allover America through my own research and experiences.
If pathologists and doctor’s work this way for some unseen boss who earns a fortune from body parts, surgery, or the like than it is just another mass crime.
I’m still wondering a bit how many unneccessary uterus’ were removed because a doctor just said so.
Right now I have a breast issue. While I was diagnosed with a fibroadenoma which is NOT Cancer the pathologist said otherwise. I got to the point as to I brought my own microscope and demanded the slides to see for myself. They only had one pathologist who didn’t even give me a definite diagnosis. After calling the Pathology dept demanding another answer and antoher pathologist no one “called me back”, just ignoring me as if I’m some dummy idiot off the street or “mentally disabled” and they can take and do what they want. After intense studies I find the mass to be a lobular fibroadenoma. I’m not a doctor but that is what I see under the microscope. The pathologist reported “infiltrative carcinoma with lobular features”. What sort of diagnostic is that? What she saw under the micrscope were the staining which brought to focus my breast lobules which look very much the same much of the time under a microscope as breast lobule tissues. The grape like appearance can be called anything from Lobular Carcinoma In Situ. She also called it this. I’m not ousting her opinion completely but from my studies of all the breast cancers known of today the tissue samples look like a fibroadenoma within a lobular center. All medical journals and studies online say that fibroadenoma is a benign uncancerous condition.
(I’m also wondering here how many women since the breast cancer stats are so very high are being misdiagnosed with cancer when they only have a fibroadenoma or fibroglandualar condition). Under the microscope fibroadenoma fibroblasts have the same sort of appearance and depending on where it is cells that are in fact ducts or lobules within the breast can be called carcinoma when they are not in fact carcinoma at all. A fibroadenoma which pushed on the breast lobules can push the lobule cells some to make them appear atypical which would resemble atypical cells of carcinoma. I see as to where they may have a hard time looking for the right and definite diagnosis and that it is why it is urgent and most necessary beyond any rebutted reason to make sure that second, third, and fourth opinions are sought after by very experienced pathologists. One tired pathologist with a ton of work to do may just not be doing the job right. In fact someone new to the feild could conclude that every fibroadenoma is a cancer and then cause terrible emotional problems in families and victims. Besides this is the after effect of what a diagnosis of cancer could cause including terrible depression which incites loss of appetite, loss of sex drive, loss of will to work and enjoy life and a just a terrible gloom which could make a patient look to family members as if they are sick, or tired because of the cancer when in fact they are not!
This same hospital originally diagnosed the same location with a benign cyst instead four years prior.. Cysts do not become cancer 99.9% of the time. Cysts are non cancerous as well. So how do I have cancer all of a sudden in the same general location? It just doesn’t make much sense.
Any doctor if sees a patient is diagnosed with cancer from a pathologist should make sure there are various opinions before concluding a diagnosis. One diagnosis is just not proof enough.
By the way the uturine fibroid surgery was done in 2001. It is now 2008 and I’m doing great. The misdiagnosis of cancer came in 1991. I waited a long time for a surgery.
But now not knowing if I have just fiboradenoma or cancer has made me suffer tremendously. I also had to spend plenty of money on alternative healing methods in the meantime while I was waiting for an MRI approval and seeking out doctors that would accept my sort of low grade insurance. It was hard. My family also suffered over me. If I find out it was not cancer and I endured all that what then? Now I have to almost fight to get other opinions whereas the hospital should have originally sent the slides out to other pathological units for further study and investigation to confirm a diagnosis. It is all too easy for them to just say someone has cancer if they don’t as well.
I know I have a very good lawsuite possibly if it is in fact cancer because they misdiagnosed it four years prior and I could have had the treatment four years ago. It is emotionally upsetting and tiring at times to deal with all these people as well and the drama involved.
Hospitals need to definitely incorporporate a definite system of multible pathological studies on serious illnesses. UCLA had a whole crew of doctors review my conditions before making decisions with me, whey not other hospitals. Whereas the rich and wealthy-ritzy cancer center I went to with the fancy offices and expensive look had barely a patient and one little doctor who didn’t even review my MRI’s just could blurt out the terrible 3 words, “you have cancer” and get away with it. When I called to obtain my MRI’s as well they dissappeared and that doctor’s office stated, they didn’t know or didn’t have the MRI”s so it was quite obvious the doctor tried to cover up for his lies and criminal intent by hiding or discarding of my MRI’s. I didn’t make him sign anything to hold and obtain my MRI’s either. I see how a criminal doctor could work his evil….
I am a medical student and I hope I might be able to give you some idea of what might be going on, bearing in mind that nothing I say should be taken as definitive medical advice– please do consult a physician before making any sort of decision based on what loons on the internet (myself included) have to say.
First off, I take offense to the other commenters’ cynical suggestions that doctors routinely trump up nonexistent illnesses to treat invasively for money. There are always bad seeds, and medicine is a profession where you have tremendous power to harm people– but by and large, I can assure you that doctors are just regular people like you, trying to do a good job. Like you, they occasionally make mistakes. And also like you, I presume, they want to make money to support themselves and their families– but not by harming you with painful, invasive, unnecessary treatment.
To the original author: I am very sorry to hear that your son developed diabetes, and I wish all of you the best. I can say, straightaway, however, that Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease. It occurs when your immune cells (for a variety of reasons) “recognize” the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas as foreign and attack them. There is no known mechanism that could associate surgery (other than, say, organ transplant) with autoimmunity of any kind.
The doctor you spoke to was most likely just trying to take a thorough and accurate history, but he may have been wondering whether your son had abdominal surgery that might have injured his pancreas. It is very unlikely that such an injury would present with diabetes alone, or with diabetes at all, because of the way the insulin-secreting cells are dotted across the pancreas– but it is a theoretical possibility.
In thinking about a patient’s problem doctors try to consider as many possibilities as they can, even if they ultimately go on to treat the most likely one (or to order further tests.) Abdominal surgery, could, in theory, cause diabetes (this would not actually be type I diabetes, since it is not autoimmune.) Surgery in the Eustachian tubes (which I had myself when I was very young because of recurrent ear infections) could NOT disrupt the pancreas, since the pancreas is in the abdomen and the eustachian tubes are in the skull.
The pensive expression you saw was most likely the doctor thinking about the detail you told him about the surgery and double-checking in his mind to make sure that it did not fit– and also that it would not complicate the treatment of your son’s diabetes. Doctors do this kind of double-checking all the time, since medicine is an enormous field, and if you do not stop and reconsider, it would be easy to miss something. He would be stupid to hide anything from you in this situation, as there is nothing to hide.
Regarding your misdiagnoses, the commenter above me rightly pointed out that mononucleosis is very difficult to differentiate from lymphoma, and that it is very important to get good samples reviewed by a skilled pathologist. No doctor wants to miss a case of lymphoma, for reasons that I hope are obvious. Your instinct was absolutely right– seeking a second opinion from a specialist was appropriate; I would have hoped, however, that your first doctor would have tried to confirm the diagnoses more definitively (or referred you to another physician) before, say, starting you on chemotherapy.
As for your wife’s thyroid incident, this was not a misdiagnosis per se. Thyroid disorders are quite tricky, and can arise and disappear mysteriously. I am not a physician, but I do believe that caution is important. In general, unless the doctor suspects cancer (and I presume he did the necessary tests to rule it out), hyperthyroidism is rarely an immediate emergency and can be watched.
Sometimes it does go away; more commonly, it does not. Recommending immediate radioiodine treatment may have been on the hastier side, but it does not make it the wrong decision; ultimately, as I’m sure you know, the decision is yours. The doctor’s recommendation is just that, a recommendation.
To the commenter on vaccines: it is true that there are some tenuous but possible links between vaccinations and autoimmune diseases (note that Type I diabetes is *not* one of the autoimmune disease on this list– studies have consistently failed to establish any kind of link.)[1]
Your comment comes appallingly close to suggesting that parents should not vaccinate their children, or that vaccines are some sort of money-making scam. Vaccines are, in fact, largely unprofitable for doctors and drug companies and developed with a great deal of government funding because the evil medical conspiracy wants to control your life by preventing you from dying of measles, mumps, whooping cough, diphtheria, hepatitis B, or polio– those vicious money-grubbing pigs.
References:
1.Schattner, A. “Consequence or coincidence? The occurrence, pathogenesis and significance of autoimmune manifestations after viral vaccines.” _Vaccine_, Jun 10;23(30):3876-86. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.galter.northwestern.edu/pubmed/15917108?ordinalpos=6&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Mono is very very difficult to diagnose, as it’s in the same family as herpes viruses, and is very difficult to distinguish from epstein-barr virus, for example. I have a recurring problem with oral herpes that has grown from a very infrequent problem on my lip to be something that involves the glands in my neck, which hurt terribly, and often send my white count into the area of “uh-oh, could be cancer, we better make sure”. No one is misdiagnosing me, they are making sure that the old diagnosis is still the right diagnosis. I can’t complain about that.
I have also been recently diagnosed as having diabetes incipidus… it’s water diabetes, not sugar diabetes, although it shows many similar symptoms to the sugar kind. I’m sure glad they took their time testing me to find out which one it was.
I would just suggest that GPs send their patients to well known specialists for as much testing and confirmation as possible.
It’s true that misdiagnoses are incredibly profitable, not only to the health care industry but to the patients when found out. I just don’t see doctors not saying anything to increase money to a harvest they won’t reap. Physicians’ reputations are on the line.
That being said, I agree 100 percent that many physicians jump to conclusions or to diagnoses all too quickly. Patients demand quick answers and turn-around-times, but physicians should not.
There are far fewer misdiganosis than you think. “Misdiagnosis” are created becuase they are extremely profitable; they create business where there was none. There was a surgeon on 20/20 who was putting stents in people who had no illnes at all. Referring to one of the stories above, I don’t believe for a second that in the 21st century medical labs can’t tell the difference between mono cells and cancer cells, but cancer treatment is very profitable and the more misdiagnosis of cancer the more profit. How many people have been told they beat cancer after having medical therapy of some sort when in actuality they never had cancer to begin with? I bet it’s much higher than anyone would believe.
Greedy doctors and hospitals are not isolated incidences, they are rampant.
Roger
Vaccines are not mandatory in many states and we need to seriously question the increasing number of vaccines for our children (a total of 48 by age 6).
People do have vaccine reactions and maybe there could be something related to that? Was the child vaccinated close to the time he was diagnosed with diabetes?