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!

Pictures of the London Forum Meet

Diabetic Osmosis!

Something a little strange occured during the London Meet. My blood sugar levels are normally very good, and practically always within range, but on Saturday they were almost invariably high – sometimes even double what I might have normally expected! My only conclusion is that, like fertile women who live together and whose cycles become attuned, my blood sugar levels were equalising with the other diabetics sat around me. The closer they were, the greater the effect. On one occasion when I checked I was 13.9 mmol/l – almost unheard of for me! – the two people sat at either side of me had levels of 20 mmol/l and 26 mmol/l, also higher than they expected. Gradually, as I travelled home my levels began to fall back to more normal levels, and had fully settled in range before bed after I had been alone for a few hours!

Beware the Dark Side, should you meet
With diabetics on the street,
For there’s something, although it’s rare,
Of which you may not be aware!

When diabetics form a group,
Like poultry in a chicken coop,
The sugar in their blood may rise,
So please be warned and worldly-wise!

Should one Type 1 with good control
Be subject to more millimoles,
It seems there’s only one prognosis –
Proximity Diabetic Osmosis!

The sugar seeps from every pore –
Some may get less, some may get more,
But in this diabetic bubble
Meter readings often double!

This all-pervading, unseen force
Will start to fade with time of course,
It’s temporary, so please don’t fear
If diabetics stand too near!

Megatrain!

As reported in yesterday’s blog post, I went to London yesterday. Astonishingly, the return rail fare was £2 plus 50p booking fee! When I booked it, I couldn’t believe it, and as I said to Katie at Southampton Central, I won’t really believe it until I get back! Well, I’m back and I’m still finding it hard to believe. I booked well in advance, which is important to get the lowest fare. The guard simply checked the reference number I had printed out, let me through the barrier and off we went. The train arrived on time, and contrary to what I was expecting, there weren’t hordes of people fighting to get on – just five other passengers – so we got a seat quite easily. Moreover, we weren’t assigned to a particular carriage – I’d envisaged maybe some kind of rail container vehicle with soiled straw on the floor and no windows, but it was just an ordinary carriage.

As the train departed, the guard informed us that, should we so wish, we could upgrade to First Class for an extra £5. This would be £6 paid for a journey that, if booked on the day, would have cost £58.20. As the train began to fill up, the value became even better, as the guard announced that he was opening First Class to all passengers at no extra cost, so that would have meant a £55.20 journey for £1! We didn’t bother, as by the time we had reached the FC carriage, all seats were likely to have been taken, but this doesn’t detract from the amazing price.

The journey was smooth and comfortable and arrived in London Waterloo on time. Our return journey was equally trouble free, although we had cut it a bit fine and made the train with only a couple of minutes to spare – I hadn’t taken account of Katie’s desire to hug everyone before she left the pub when calculating when we would have to leave!

I will certainly travel on this again. It’s almost worth booking a journey even if you’re unsure whether you can make it, as £2.50 is hardly going to break the bank if it turns out you can’t go. And we got to spend seven hours in London for the price of a pint of JD Wetherspoons beer!

London!

Today was the eagerly anticipated meeting of members of diabetes support forum. The plan was to meet up in the British Museum and then find a local watering hole capacious enough to accommodate a crowd of about 15 to 20 diabetics! Katie and I travelled into London together, and walked the mile or so to the British Museum from Waterloo railway station. Thankfully, the weather was clear and sunny, and the views across the Thames on either side of Waterloo Bridge were truly superb, although our initial steps across the bridge had been somewhat blighted by the concrete monstrosity of the Southbank Centre – how could an architect ever have thought that that was beautiful? Hideous!



We did get a little lost along the way, but not too far off our route, and managed to find the British Museum without too much drama, although I’m not sure I inspired much confidence in Katie! The arranged meeting place was by the souvenir shop on the west side of the Great Court. I have never been in there before, and was hugely impressed by the magnificent Court. As we were arriving a little later than the others, they had already moved on from the shop, so we wandered round the west side until we came across some tables at which many people were seated. Casting my eye over them, I recognised one of the forum members, Rossi, almost immediately so we made our way across and I introduced myself and Katie. How strange to meet all these people that I had been chatting to on the forum for months, and put faces to nicknames, and names to nicknames!

As it was approaching lunchtime, we decided to forego an exploration of the Museum, and instead set off in search of a pub for some food and drink. Our first choice, The Museum Tavern, proved unsuitable, as it was too small and many of the tables were already taken, so a quick search by Amy was made to find a nearby Wetherspoons – generally large establishments, with a good choice of food and beer at very reasonable prices. We settled on The Shakespeare’s Head, admirably suited to our large party. Wetherspoons are also good pubs for diabetics, since they provide full nutritional data for their food, essential for the carb-counting insulin users amongst us!



And the rest, as they say, is history! I won’t go into all the conversations we had, as there were too many, but I do know that my voice was starting to go from all the talking as the afternoon drew on! A most enjoyable afternoon spent chatting and imbibing until the time came for Katie and I to leave. Very reluctantly I might add, but it was a condition of our tickets that we had to catch a certain train – which we managed to do by a very slim margin! All in all, a very enjoyable day, meeting some terrific people, and definitely an event to be repeated!

Bad diabetics eating profiteroles!


Such innocent looking souls!