[chakra]

I've been working hard to pay down all my debts, and prepare for peak oil or an economic depression. I was making progress but my 2 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It wasn't genetic and it caught us completely off guard.

Now the implications of system collapse is down right terrifying. I've been considering what I'd require to keep insulin cool so it can be stored longer but that doesn't address the possibility of no access to the medicine. I'm not sure what the shelf life of insulin is if it's kept cool? Keeping a refrigerator cool with solar panels is no small project either.

As far as I can find, there's no natural remedies for type 1 diabetes and it seems we're very much dependant on the current system. Not only are we dependant, the insulin and equipment to deliver the insulin is fairly expensive. If I lost my benefits, I'd have to rely on a foundation to supply the drug, and do you think these kind of foundations would continue to operate after an economic crash?

What do diabetics do in places like third world countries, or places like Argentina?

This makes planning much much more difficult.

[EnergyHog]

The best thing I could think of is to find someone that has easy access to it, get to know them, and then store up or learn to make the things that this person might want to trade for in hard times.

Good luck.

[onecvj]

An islet cell transplant would be a possible option that if successful could eliminate or reduce the need for insulin therapy. It's still considered experimental, but promising. Also, stem cell research may lead to additional breakthroughs for type 1 diabetes.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/islet- ... nt/DA00046

[curly]

I am Type 2 and keep up with all clinical tests in progress. At present some are showing great promise for cures in the near future...................for both Type 1 and Type 2.

[max_power29]

You will have to become a pig farmer or butcher or make friends with pig farmers or butchers and squeeze it out of fresh pig pancreases. This is where they originally got insulin for diabetics.

I would look up any information on the original history of insulin production if I were you. Good luck we all are going to need it!

[EnergyUnlimited]

Correctly stored insulin will be stable for several years, perhaps even 10 years.
However, due to partial decomposition with time progress you would have to adjust (increase) dosages accordingly.
I do not think, that insulin will not be available after TSHTF.
Basic versions of the drug are not requiring particularly advanced technology to manufacture.
Small amounts could probably be produced in home lab setting by those with adequate skill and only trivial chemicals would be required.
However I would not administer such insulin to my daughter, unless she is actually dying in front of me...
I could post you one of basic lab scale preps, if you are interested to see, how such manufacturing could possibly look like.
Only some fancy versions (say recombinant human insulin) may no longer be available.

Being in your position I would go for high tech experimental cures based on iselet transplants, or whatever they might offer to you, if it gives any hope of cure.
Potential risks are probably irrelevant here comparing to risk of leaving your daughter for life on insulin.
Even with unlimited access to best versions of insulin available she will not live particularly long and in addition to that her quality of life will be poor, with constant deterioration as time pass.
You are probably aware of it anyway.

What do diabetics do in places like third world countries, or places like Argentina?

Try to live with adequate diet, use poor quality medication if absolutely necessary and die faster, than in the US.

[ChumpusRex2]

An islet cell transplant would be a possible option that if successful could eliminate or reduce the need for insulin therapy. It's still considered experimental, but promising. Also, stem cell research may lead to additional breakthroughs for type 1 diabetes.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/islet- ... nt/DA00046

However, after an islet cell transplant you will need a lifetime course of a cocktail of high-tech immune-system busting drugs. Stopping these drugs will result in failure of the transplant.

By comparison, insulin is a low-tech drug, which has been used for 80 years.

The production of drugs is unlikely to be severely affected except by the most severe of depressions. If the pharma companies do go, then the drugs that will get discontinued first are the expensive, high-tech modern drugs. The age-old ones, can be produced by any company with basic labs.

[kevincarter]

I don't know if this is going to help you or not:

I read a book about a special diet that goes with your bloodtype, they claim that every bloodtype should eat different things, they also quote the exemple of a diabetic person who had to take lots of insulin and after the diet he didn't even have to take his shots. I don't know if its real or not, but you could try it.

I don't have the book name with me, it was something like "the bloodtype diet" or something similar, is should be easy to find.

Good luck!

[Fergus]

My cat has Diabetes, dont know the type. We had him on Insulin and then one day I call the pharmacy and request a refill, they tell me the compnay that makes that is no longer making it and we cant get anymore. They offer a substitute that costs 3 times as much. I could not afford that over the long run so I talk to the vet. He recommends HIGH PROTEIN food. I search and find some, no more expensive then regular cat food really. It works. Since I ran out of insulin, my cats weight has improved and hes drinking less water then he was. While its not as good as insulin, the vet says that will help extend his life. So while I know you child is not a cat, maybe talk to your dr and find out if High Protein food could compensate for that. Not sure what foods would constitute high protein, as for my cat its all in a can. But its worth looking into. Hopefully this helps. I offen wondered about pple that take specific medication for a killer condition, what they would do when the SHTF. Hopefully this wont prove to be that case.

[Pretorian]

type 1 is not genetic? wow. which one is then?

[EnergyUnlimited]

type 1 is not genetic? wow. which one is then?

Type 1 is insuline dependent diabetes.
It may or may not be genetically linked. Considered more serious, than type 2, when non-insuline therapy may help.

[RonMN]

I've been reading lately about "jerusalem artichokes" and how they grow like crazy & help diabetics (and they're -40F hardy).

Do some googeling & check it out.

[TorrKing]

A friend of mine has the same problem (and is PO aware), he says he will jump on any test project for simulating the process in the body as he knows that otherwise, certain death awaits him after the shit has hit the fan.

He is type 1 and it is partially genetic, but his disease would never have gone into bloom if he had lived healthily on a stone age diet.

[onecvj]

However, after an islet cell transplant you will need a lifetime course of a cocktail of high-tech immune-system busting drugs. Stopping these drugs will result in failure of the transplant.

That is true, but a transplant patient would be able to survive for awhile off of immunosuppresant drugs, whereas a diabetic could not go without insulin (or the resources required to store and administer it) for even a few days. Either way you would be dependent on drug manufacturers to supply a steady source of a drug. Supply disruptions on insulin might be fewer given its widespread use, but they would also be much less tolerable. And it would be easier to hoard a large supply of a drug like cyclosporine because it is a pill.

[EarthGamePlayer]

I'm not diabetic myself, but felt it was it was important that I clarified some of the misinformation that circulates widely on this forum regarding Argentina.

Unlike many who post here, I have lived in the country after the crisis (the economic crash). While it is true life was made difficult for many people - Argentina is hardly a "third world" country. Among other things Argentina is a major drug manufacturer, and it is easy and very inexpensive to go the pharmacy and get exactly what you need in most towns.

People who have never been there give this impression that everything completely fell apart, and now everyone scrabbles for scraps of food. Argentina has a functioning economy, and although it is obvious that things were and are difficult, you would never know it by walking down the street. New cars, electronics, and consumer items are everywhere. Argentina has the best buses I have ridden on in the entire world - too bad about the train system though - but that was falling apart before the crisis.

Anyway, I have no idea of what Peak Oil will really look like, but I will bet that North America will have an economy of sorts for a very long time - it just might not look like what we have now. I also imagine that you will be able to obtain insulin during the looming "North America crisis".

[blukatzen]

One of the plants that I have learned about from my Indian customers at my garden centers is that bitter melon is used a lot for diabetic concerns back in India, however, I do not think this would be enough to approach the concerns with Type 1 diabetes. I think the idea of pig insulin production along with eating correctly, and an emphasis on traditional folk medicines would be in order.

I have similar concerns myself, as I have a family member who received a kidney from another family member, and has to take anti-rejection meds for the rest of her life. She is in an even worse situation I would think. I recall insulin production from Pigs way back when, but not anti-rejection meds.

There are all those people with little-known conditions and diseases that take what were once known as "orphan medicines"...I think these people may be part of the die-off. They certainly are if they are in poor and third-world countries.

[EnergyUnlimited]

However, after an islet cell transplant you will need a lifetime course of a cocktail of high-tech immune-system busting drugs. Stopping these drugs will result in failure of the transplant.

In some cases you may get rid of this immune suppressing therapy after few years or so. With advanced, genetically adjusted versions it may work even without additional treatment later.

By comparison, insulin is a low-tech drug, which has been used for 80 years.

The production of drugs is unlikely to be severely affected except by the most severe of depressions. If the pharma companies do go, then the drugs that will get discontinued first are the expensive, high-tech modern drugs. The age-old ones, can be produced by any company with basic labs.

I agree.

[chakra]

Thank you all for your replies. It lightens my load to know that insulin is an easy to develop drug.

All of the information that has been given here is of great help to me, and helps me make better decisions regarding my future.

[JMB]

I think I would look into Alternative and Herbal remedies.

I have been using alternative remedies myself for over 20 years, and have studied it quite a bit and found they work amazingly well. Approx 90 to 95% of all maladies and illness can be mollified or cured using herbal remedies. Most people take drugs needlessly, not knowing there is an herbal cure available that can treat their condition better than drugs.

Some types of diabetes, such as type II, and in some cases even type I where no insulin is produced by the body are remedied by alt methods (regardless of what the mainstream says.)

Alternative remedies are going to become more important as we move into post peak oil because many or most people won’t be able to afford the drugs they “need”. But here is one very fortunate thing -- in most cases, alternative medicine and herbs work even better than conventional drugs -- and they’re cheaper and more easily available.

I think you should at least look into it. it’s a huge field. Some alt remedies work better than others. And sometimes you have to search for the best practioner, and the best remedy. If an alt remedy is available it would certainly beat constantly buying insulin in a post-peak world.

[manu]

You are right Chakra to be concerned. There are over twenty kinds of diabetis according to ayurved. It can be controlled by exercise, herbs and the right diet. The advantage of herbs over allopathic medicine is that there are no side effects. Type 2 can be contolled quite easily. You will still need to take the herbs everyday, and that could be a problem after the crash. Try to learn about herbs that are local.