On the eve of Valentine's Day...

Lament for a Lost Love

Oh pancreas, my luscious pearl,

I love thee more than any girl!

For who but you could make my heart

Beat fast and wild when you depart?

My breathing, shallow, gasping air,

To lose the touch of one so fair!

Why did you fail me on that night

And leave me in this awful plight?

What did I do to hurt you so,

And make you feel that you must go?

Forgive me pancreas, my love,

Let’s be once more like hand in glove!

Without your influence so sweet,

I contemplate each thing I eat,

And daily tasks serve to remind

Of all that we have left behind…

Return, and let our love grow strong,

And please don’t make me wait too long!

Diabetic Days of Yore

I was only diagnosed a couple of years ago and have been able to take advantage of all the wonderful advances that have been made in diabetes management, with the pace increasing all the time. Insulin pumps are becoming more widespread, often these days linked to continuous monitoring systems to establish even better blood sugar control than was possible before. Many people on the forum, diagnosed decades ago, remember how things used to be. I have even read the story of one person, Richard, who has been living with diabetes for over six decades and he recalls the early days of boiling syringes and chemical urine tests to determine sugar levels. Now the talk is of stem cell and islet transplantation, smart insulin and artificial pancreases – a long way from those difficult early days…!

I won’t forget those wise old words my Daddy said to me
As he sat down in his chair one night and perched me on his knee.
He said, ‘Son, diabetes wasn’t always so much fun,
So let me tell you how it was in 1931!’

Twice a day we’d drive to town, down to the abattoir,
Pick out a bovine pancreas and stow it in the car,
And when we got home Mum and Dad would mash that organ up,
And strain it through a muslin bag into a paper cup…

Then Dad would get some chemicals and boil them in a pan,
Adding bits of this and that with flourish and élan!
And meanwhile I would drink and drink until I had to pee,
And Mum would take a jar away, as swiftly as could be!

She’d add it to the chemicals, and if it turned bright red
Then I would have no supper and be sent off straight to bed.
But if it just turned yellowish, I’d have something to eat
Like carrots mashed in gravy, with sweet pickles for a treat!

I didn’t like the needles though, at least six inches long!
So Mum would jig around the room, distracting me with song!
And when he’d scraped the rust off, Dad would stick it in my butt,
I’d bite down on a leather strap to keep my mouth tight shut!

So, should you whinge and moan about how finger pricking’s bad,
Then pause to contemplate about the progress we have had.
We’ve gone from times when prospects for our future might seem poor,
To looking forward to the day that they announce the cure!

Chocolate Chickens and Diabetic Eggs

Well, Christmas is over, and no sooner had the New Year started than the Easter Eggs began lining the shelves of the shops and supermarkets up and down the land. One particular variety is the ‘diabetic egg’, ostensibly produced to satisfy the niche market of those poor souls amongst us that cannot tolerate real sugar and real chocolate. How are these eggs produced? In factory farms, with row upon row of unfortunate chocolate birds with their pancreatic ducts tightly ligated? A scandal! And you will find whole sections, particularly in pharmacists, dedicated to ‘diabetic chocolate, sweets and cakes’, giving the impression that people with diabetes can only enjoy specialised products that need to be set aside from the treats of the general public. Or have I got it wrong, and it is the chocolate itself that is diabetic, its pancreas removed during manufacture in order to make it palatable to some ghoulish section of the community?

My eyes weep for the plight of those skilled, but dreadfully abused diabetic members of the Belgian nation, forced to work long hours in dark, squalid chocolate factories – in stark contrast to the luxuriously packaged edible nirvana we see adorning specialist shop windows, proudly proclaiming their origins as ‘Diabetic Belgian Chocolates’…

This madness must end! Let the chocolate chickens roam free and lay normal-sized crème and truffle eggs that we can all enjoy with a clear conscience! Let no more chocolate suffer the pain and indignity of having its pancreas torn from within for the sake of a specialist market! And let the diabetic Belgians out into the sunlight, to make ordinary chocolates alongside their non-diabetic compatriots!

How does a chocolate chicken lay a diabetic egg?
It’s something I have pondered for some time,
They must be enormous chickens, and decidedly bow-legged,
It’s not normal, and must be a poultry crime!

Does chocolate have a pancreas? For I saw once in the shops
A section for the diabetic kind…
Are they made that way on purpose? Then if so, please call the cops!
That’s as bad as making a Venetian blind!

Are diabetic Belgians especially employed
To make the staples of that nation’s fare?
Do they work in chocolate sweatshops the authorities avoid?
Does the chocolate-eating public really care?

Let us shout a cry of ‘freedom!’ for I think the time has come
For those labelled ‘diabetic’ to break free!
We’re no different from the masses, and far healthier than some,
And no more chocolate chickens should we see!

Dear Santa...

Christmas is notoriously a time for over-indulgence, eating and drinking with abandon and not really worrying too much about the consequences of this once-a-year celebration, as it can all be remedied by the New Year Resolutions that are just around the corner. Last year, however, was my first with diabetes, and for the first time I had to consider carefully what I was going to eat and drink – how much I could safely handle without making myself REALLY ill, and not just a bad stomach ache and sore head the following day.

As I’m on insulin I can, in theory, just calculate the carbohydrate content of my food and drink and dose myself accordingly. However, I’d also have to consider timing of injections, so I wasn’t peaking or dropping low, and I’d also have to consider whether I really wanted to inject the amount of insulin I might need for a day of extreme over-indulgence! It’s at times like this that you really start to realise what a great asset your pancreas was – and no doubt (as in my case), completely unappreciated! So here’s my plea to Santa, for a new, fully working pancreas. Even if it only works for a day, like many Christmas gifts, it would allow me one day free of the shackles of diabetes – and that would certainly be a day to celebrate!



Dear Santa, I’m hoping that you read this list,
For I’m asking for something that lately I’ve missed,
It’s a thing called a pancreas, now I know what it’s for,
It’s something that I’d never thought of before!

I’ve got one that’s broken, and whoever would know
It was my dearest possession, and I do miss it so!
If you brought me a new one, with all working parts,
Then I could eat jellies and trifles and tarts!

I’d have roast potatoes, and parsnips as well,
But I’d lay off the sprouts (because of the smell!)
And after my turkey and cranberry sauce,
Why, then there’s the pudding – with custard of course!

And all through the day I could fill up on treats,
Like mince pies and chocolate and fruit cake and sweets!
With a lovely new pancreas I could drink lots of beer,
Till I couldn’t walk straight, but with no hypo fear!

I know that a pancreas might be hard to find,
And if you can’t get one, I won’t really mind,
Instead, leave some insulin, for my stocks might run low –
A gallon of fast-acting, and a pint of the slow!

Don't take away my Pancreas!

Before I was diagnosed with diabetes I had no real idea what the pancreas did or even whether I really needed one. I think this is fairly common amongst the general public. We are used to hearing about our ‘vestigial’ organs that we can function perfectly well without, so are not surprised at the suggestion that maybe another organ can be added to the list.

Since diagnosis, of course, I have learned much more about the functions of a pancreas. Not only does it normally produce insulin and its opposite hormone glucagon, but it also plays an important part in the digestion of our food, producing powerful enzymes for the purpose whenever we eat. We can live without a pancreas, but will then have to take additional medications to help with the digestion of food. I have yet to discover whether a lack of glucagon is something that needs to be remedied – this is the hormone that prompts our liver to release glucose into the blood to raise blood sugar levels, and which therefore has an opposite effect to insulin.

Some people have their pancreas removed due to infection or disease, and this will make them diabetic. Sometimes the pancreas may not be wholly removed, and may continue to function. I know of a child whose pancreas produced so much insulin at birth that her blood sugar levels were continuously falling dangerously low, and she had to have her pancreas removed. However, a small part remained and this will still sporadically produce insulin, making control extremely difficult and unpredictable. Banting and Best also encountered problems when the dogs they were experimenting on had not had their pancreases fully removed.

Pancreas transplants are extremely complex and difficult, chiefly because of the digestive enzymes which, if leaked, can literally eat away at the surrounding tissue. A more likely future appears to be in the field of stem cell research and beta cell transplantation, but this is currently in the early stages.

So, the pancreas is certainly not vestigial! But neither, it appears are those other organs that traditionally have no use – the appendix and the spleen. The appendix is now thought to be a storehouse of ‘good’ bacteria which can be used to replenish the intestines should they become depleted. And the spleen is now thought to be important in aiding the recovery of heart damage after heart attacks by producing white monocytes which aid in the repair. The conclusion? Never mock an organ that seems to have no use!

Who would have thought a pancreas
Was such a complex thing,
And when it fails to function right,
The problems that could bring?

If you have diabetes
Does that mean it has no use?
Like your spleen or your appendix,
Or perhaps the male prepuce?

But no! It’s not just insulin
Our bodies need it for –
There’s glucagon and enzymes,
So it cannot be ignored!

All hail then to the Pancreas!
Hold on to your original!
It may produce no insulin,
But it’s certainly not vestigial!

Second honeymoon!

It’s not unusual for people with Type 1 diabetes to experience a period of remission in the months following diagnosis. It is thought that, once treatment with insulin is started, the beta cells of the pancreas may recover some of their function and start producing insulin again. This may last for months or even years, and will vary from person to person. Some may not experience it at all, but for those who do it can be time when blood glucose control becomes easier and remains more stable. This is because, even though it may only be in small amounts, the pancreas is responding to higher than normal levels by putting out a little insulin which helps to regulate things. Without this ‘help’, the person is fully dependent on getting the levels of injected insulin just right to counteract rises in glucose levels.

It may be that I am currently in this ‘honeymoon’ period, as I do seem to have pretty stable levels, and rarely hit double figures on my blood glucose monitor. I have no idea how long this may last. It is possible to have a test called the ‘C-peptide’ test which can measure the amount of ‘natural’ insulin a person is producing. C-peptides are a by product of natural insulin and as such are released in equal quantities to insulin. They are not present in injected insulin, so therefore provide an accurate measure of any remaining pancreatic function. The test is too expensive, however, to perform on someone like me who has been diagnosed and is already receiving treatment. It is used primarily to distinguish between diabetes types – Type 1 will not normally have much, if any, c-peptides, whereas Type 2 may be producing lots of insulin but suffering insulin resistance.

We’re in our second honeymoon, my pancreas and I,
It seems that we’re a pair again for many months gone by…
We separated for a while, about a year ago,
Oh Pancreas, how could you forsake me, when I needed you so?

I don’t recall when first we met, for I was very young,
We grew and shared our childhood games – those days were filled with fun!
And as the decades came and went, and I took you for granted,
I never thought our relationship would ever be supplanted!

But then last year in summertime, we hit a rocky patch,
That virus and your beta cells were not an even match…
As you began to fade away, I realised too late
How much you meant to me that day, and what would be our fate.

Now months have passed and I began to treat you with respect,
Please stay with me forever – there’ll be no more neglect!
To all of you whose pancreas may not be with you soon,
Cherish that relationship – enjoy your honeymoon!

Snake Oil

A bit of a rant today! As with many chronic conditions there are some astounding claims made for ‘cures’ for diabetes. There is no cure for diabetes. It may be possible to gain better control of blood sugar levels by following certain strict diets or by taking certain supplements, but this does not constitute a cure, yet you will see adverts for cures all over the internet (you may even see some on this page, as part of the ‘targeted’ adverts from Google). As I am an insulin-dependent diabetic there is no substitute for insulin – I must therefore inject it to live. Insulin can’t be taken in pill form as the digestive juices in the stomach will destroy it before it can be passed into the bloodstream. Scientists are trying to find a way around this by coating pills in a special protective film so that it can pass into the small intestine unmolested, but this is still some way from being a reality. It is also possible to inhale insulin from a special device, but this method is expensive, difficult to guage dosages, and with unknown potential side effects on the lungs.

One promising area of research is stem cell research, where stem cells transplanted into the pancreas can be transformed into insulin producing beta cells. So far, this has met with some limited success, particularly in newly-diagnosed subjects who may still have some ‘native’ insulin production. There have also been pancreas transplants but this is not a common operation. Because the pancreas is also responsible for producing powerful digestive enzymes, the surgeons have a particularly delicate task trying to ensure that none of these powerful acids leak and damage other organs. Also, with transplants, the subject would then be on a plethora of anti-rejection drugs for life.

Another promising area is in ‘closed-loop’ systems that work like an artificial pancreas. These comprise a continuous blood glucose monitoring system (CGMS) and an insulin delivery device (a pump). The idea is that the CGMS takes frequent readings of blood sugar levels and commands the pump to deliver tiny amounts of insulin to ‘correct’ any high values – thus mimicking the way a real pancreas works. These devices are very close to being a reality. Things have certainly come a long way over the past 100 years, but have some way to go yet before we can all be ‘cured’!


‘Buy our pills!’ I hear you say,
‘Make diabetes go away!
Just take these three times a day,
Believe us – it’s the only way!’

Oh my dear, my goodness gracious!
What you claim is quite audacious!
The cure you offer is fallacious,
And your words are all mendacious!

Making money from the sick
Is such a nasty, evil trick,
So take your pills, one at a time,
And shove them where the Sun don’t shine!

Do you love the smell of lantus in the evening?

I use two kinds of insulin to control my diabetes – a fast-acting (bolus) one called Novorapid, and a slow-acting (basal) called Lantus. Both have their own particular ‘scent’, but the Lantus is probably the stronger. It’s not an unpleasant aroma. You pick it up when you do an airshot to make sure there are no bubbles of air in the needle. You do this, not because injecting air would do you harm, as it’s only under the skin and not into a vein – but because injecting air means you’re not injecting insulin and therefore not getting a full dose.

Estimating the dose can be an incredibly complex task, as there are so many factors to consider, but in time you begin to get a feeling for what’s right without too much complicated mathematics!



Do you love the smell of lantus in the evening?
Especially when the glucose reading's high?
But too much of it could mean going hypo,
And a late night feast of lucozade and pie.

Do you love the taste of porridge in the morning?
If it's covered with a bolus that's just right.
But working out just how big a bolus
Would even give the Vorderman a fright!

You have to take account of waking sugars,
And if you're going to run a mile or so,
And if that dreaded man-flu you've been feeling
Will need corrective treatment on the go.

Do you love your meter when the reading's normal,
But wish you didn't have to squeeze out blood?
Those fingers, sore from constant piercings
Would rather miss the testing if they could...

Do you sometimes think your body must be stupid
To turn against your pancreas that way?
But thankful that it's something you can manage
If you keep your wits about you day by day.

So, if you've just found out you're diabetic,
As I found out a few short months ago,
Then try to keep your spirits on the high side,
And do your best to keep your 'numbers' low!

Ode to a Perfect Pancreas

I hadn’t realised just how much my pancreas did for me until it stopped working properly and I became a Type 1 diabetic. What a thing of beauty a fully-functioning pancreas is!

Ode to a Perfect Pancreas

Oh Pancreas, perfect Pancreas,
Oh will you please be mine?
And let me feel the touch of your
Secretions endocrine?

My own dear pancreas failed me
And has left me in the lurch
What can I do to make you mine
And end my ceaseless search?

I love your Islets of Langerhans,
Suffused with treasured stores
Of beta cells, all working well,
A credit to their cause!

The insulin that you put forth,
Oh! If it only could
Restrict the upper limits of
The sweetness in my blood!

You’d be the organ of my dreams,
I’d always treat you well,
And if I could I’d lavish love
On each and every cell!

Oh please, O perfect pancreas,
Your functioning’s divine,
So let me be the one for you –
Your Type 1 Valentine!