Houston . . . We have a Problem!: #3

Thursday, November 3, 2011

#3 - 1 in 20 #NHBPM

6:00 AM

JDRF went there! They posted a full size ad in the Washington Post and the NY Times with the following:

Piper has type 1 diabetes.

One in twenty people like Piper

will die from low blood sugar.

In fact, kids and adults are dying every day from low

blood sugar or complications caused by type 1 diabetes.

In the next few weeks, the FDA has a chance to show

it is leading the world in medical innovation, not

standing in its way. It will lay out the pathway to bring to

market the first artificial pancreas, a life saving
technology now under development, and the most
revolutionary treatment in diabetes since the discovery
of insulin. Three million kids, teens, and adults with type 1

diabetes are counting on the FDA to get it right.

Our lives and health are at stake.

www.jdrf.org

I don't know about the rest of the world but the diabetes online community certainly took notice!

Wow!

What are your feelings on that ad? I've seen some really mixed responses on Facebook, CWD and Twitter.

Not that you asked but here is my opinion ----

It is what it is. This is my life. The people that are closest to me in real life still ask me why I'm so tired all of the time, why I still check Nate throughout the night, and why I check his BS so frequently. Well, friends ---- 1 in 20. That is why.

The ad honestly didn't scare me. I'm not going to bed tonight any more worried than I was last night. I've known the risks of type 1 for a while and although I certainly don't dwell on them they are always there.

I say kudos to JDRF for being bold today! I do not think they were trying to scare the T1 community --- I honestly believe they were trying to wake up the rest of the world. The world that thinks that diabetes is no big deal. The world that doesn't know any of the complications from T1 diabetes. Most importantly I believe they were sending a loud and clear message to the FDA because they have the ability to hold back progress or move it forward and bring life saving technology to the United States.

So I say be bold JDRF ---- let the FDA know they can save the lives of those with Type 1 Diabetes.

Be Bold.

1 in 20.

From Jeffrey Brewer

Estimates of the number of people with T1D who die from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) range from 2% - 10%. Therefore, 1 in 20, or 5% is a conservative estimate roughly in the middle of this range.

Specifically, several publications by Philip E. Cryer, MD on hypoglycemia[1],[2],[3] cite estimates of death due to hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes. Older estimates were that 2% to 4%[4],[5],[6] of patients with type 1 diabetes die from hypoglycemia and more recent estimates are that 6%[7], 7%[8], or 10%[9] of those with type 1 diabetes die from hypoglycemia.

[1] Cryer PE. The barrier of hypoglycemia in diabetes. Diabetes 2008;57(12):3169?76.
[2] Cryer, PE. Hypoglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2010. 39(3): 641-654.
[3] Cryer PE. Death during Intensive Glycemic Therapy of Diabetes: Mechanisms and Implications. Am J Med 2011 124(11):993-996.
[4] Deckert T, Poulsen JE, Larsen M. Prognosis of diabetics with diabetes onset before the age of thirty-one. I. Survival, causes of death, and complications. Diabetologia. 1978;14:363-370.
[5] Tunbridge WMG. Factors contributing to deaths of diabetics under fifty years of age. Lancet. 1981;2:569-572.
[6] Laing SP, Swerdlow AJ, Slater SD, et al. The British Diabetic Association Cohort Study, I: all-cause mortality in patients with insulintreated diabetes mellitus. Diabet Med. 1999;16:459-465.
[7] Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications Study Research Group. Long-term effect of diabetes and its treatment on cognitive function. N Engl J Med 2007;356(18):1842?52.
[8] Feltbower RG, Bodansky HJ, Patterson CC, et al. Acute complications and drug misuse are important causes of death for children and young adults with type 1 diabetes: results from the Yorkshire Register of diabetes in children and young adults. Diabetes Care 2008;31(5):922?6.
[9] Skrivarhaug T, Bangstad HJ, Stene LC, et al. Long-term mortality in a nationwide cohort of childhood-onset type 1 diabetic patients in Norway. Diabetologia 2006;49(2):298?305.

Keep calm and advocate on . . .

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

Labels:#NHBPM #diabetes #wdd #dblog

7 comments:

Michelle said...

I couldn't have said it better myself Laura! The rest of the world needs to know....I think too often people think that if we're doing what we're supposed complications (including hypoglycemic coma or death) won't happen....but it does happen even despite "doing it all right". I'm glad they ran the ad. I had a few FB friends that don't typically share my D-related posts that shared the ad....so grateful they took notice and it meant a lot to me that they shared it!

November 3, 2011 at 8:58 AM

Kelly said...

Well, I can tell you when I saw the 1 in 20 my heart began to palpitate! I tend to "glitter" the harsh realities in my mind. By doing so it helps me pretend it isnt so....

November 3, 2011 at 9:07 AM

Joanne said...

Bravo to the JDRF... the world needs to know what we're up against. When I tell people why I check Elise during the night they always get the most horrified look on their face.

I'm not trying to scare them, just trying to let them know why I am the way I am.

Can't imagine why ANYONE would be against speaking truth like this.

November 3, 2011 at 9:43 AM

Meri said...

I support the campaign. I've always said JDRF needs to be more vocal. I've been waiting for them to take a stand!

November 3, 2011 at 11:06 AM

MyBustedPancreas said...

I love this ad. It hits it home just how serious T1 is. I think because of the large number of T2s (who don't deal with this issue), T1s get ignored. People think that because we have insulin (and now fancy pumps and CGMs) that we're ok. Reality could not be further from the truth. Every day is a struggle to keep BGs in a range compatible with human life.

November 3, 2011 at 12:20 PM

Misty said...

I agree with you Laura. I hope that this ad does "wake up" some of the "rest of the world" that doesn't already know.

November 4, 2011 at 10:14 AM

Jen said...

This ad made my eyes tear up. It is something I know and keep at bay most days to survive and to be the best parent and pancreas I can be. That fear is always there and it will never go away but it doesn't mean I let it rule our lives!! The ad makes my eyes tear up with a weird kind of happiness that the the JDRF had the balls to put it out there. There is no sugar coating this disease and I am glad to see them laying it out, naked and truthful. People need to know.

November 6, 2011 at 1:58 PM