Why People With Type 1 Diabetes Shouldn’t Compare Themselves With Others.

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Why People With Type 1 Diabetes Shouldn’t Compare Themselves With Others.

By Sysy Morales

July 14th, 2017

Sysy Morales has lived with type 1 diabetes for 22 years. She also blogs at The Girls Guide to Diabetes, is a motivational speaker, and is a graduate of The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sysy lives in Roanoke, Virginia with her husband and 8 year old twins.

She says

Many people with type 1 diabetes still have endogenous beta cell function after 10 years with type 1 diabetes. This study reveals these persons are immunologically different from other long-time type 1 diabetics.

Researchers conducted a study to look at the immunological differences between those with or without measurable remaining endogenous insulin production after 10 or more years of type 1 diabetes.

They recruited 113 patients of 18 years of age or older who had lived with type 1 diabetes for 10 or more years. Then they determined residual beta cell function using an ultra sensitive C-peptide ELISA test. They also checked the patient’s plasma for circulating cytokines, like IL-35.

The researchers found that the blood concentration of the cytokine IL-35 was lower in the C-peptide-negative patients and this was linked to a simultaneous decrease in the proportion of IL-35+regulatory T cells, IL-35+ regulatory B cells, and IL-35 producing CD8+Foxp3+ cells.

“IL-35 has previously been shown to maintain the phenotype of Tregs, block the differentiation of T-helper 17 cells, and thereby dampen immune assaults to β-cells,” wrote the researchers in their abstract.

They also discovered that “the proportions of IL-17a+ cells among the Tregs, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells were lower in the C-peptide–positive patients.”

They concluded that those with type 1 diabetes who after 10 or more years still have beta cell function “differ immunologically from other patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes” and that “In particular, they have a much higher IL-35 production.”

Stephen Ponder is a pediatric endocrinologist who lives with type 1 diabetes (and the author of Sugar Surfing, a book about how to manage type 1 diabetes.) shared some of his thoughts:on this study

Here is another reason why persons with type 1 diabetes must NOT compare themselves with one another. About half of us are still producing “some” insulin up to a decade AFTER diagnosis.

Plus we differ immunologically. This in part explains this finding. It might also explain why some people are more challenged to attain tighter control than others based on the presence or absence of some residual insulin production internally.

Some might think that a tiny amount of insulin makes no difference yet, anyone using an insulin pump knows that an adjustment of less than 1 unit does make an impact.

Why We Shouldn’t Compare Ourselves to Others

In his practice, Dr. Ponder completely avoids laying on judgement regarding the A1c levels of his patients. Everyone is dealing with various circumstances and not everyone’s diabetes is the same. He explains that, “An A1c is just a glycemic reflection of the past 3 months,” and he recommends we make a real effort “to NOT use judgment terms when discussing [blood glucose] data or an A1C result.”

He says that “the emotional emphasis that comes by prefacing these data with the words “good” or “bad” only serves to equate morality with physiology,” and that “These two forces are and should always be kept separate.”

People with type 1 diabetes often share stories about what they accomplish despite their type 1 and these stories are helpful to inspire and motivate others. We should draw a line when it comes to comparing ourselves with others however, since our type 1 diabetes may not be like someone else’s type 1 diabetes and all the details of our lives differ, too.

We can instead focus on what we can each do to manage our diabetes well and encourage each other to do our best.

Sourced from

Diabetes Daily

: Life with Diabetes, News, Type 1 Diabetes