Dear T1D Family,
My name is Laura Tremblay. I am a former primary care physician and a current volunteer for Breakthrough T1D. More importantly, I am the mom to a daughter who lives with type 1 diabetes (T1D). My daughter, Bella, was diagnosed in 2018, just before the start of fourth grade, when she was nine years old.
Our diagnosis story may sound familiar. Like 85-90% of families, we had no history of T1D in the family until Bella was diagnosed. Because we were not looking for T1D, we missed all the warning signs. Only in hindsight were the symptoms (frequent urination, increased thirst, fatigue, weight loss) glaringly obvious.
When Bella was diagnosed, she was in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and needed to be admitted to the hospital. This, too, is common – up to half of kids in the United States are in DKA at the time of diagnosis.
Although Bella’s diagnosis was many years ago, I still clearly remember how scary those early days were. Even with my medical background, I struggled to quickly get up to speed with what felt like life and death issues: short-acting insulin, long-acting insulin, carb counting, what to do when she went low, what to do when she went high, how to dose glucagon, going back to school, etc.
Looking back on those early days after diagnosis, I am grateful for the wonderfully supportive care we received from Bella’s healthcare team. However, if I could change one thing, it would be this: I wish someone had talked to us about clinical trials.
For those of you who are still in the overwhelming days shortly after diagnosis, enrolling in a clinical trial can provide the possibility of delaying further progression of T1D. It also can provide intense support and guidance from a team of experts, well beyond what even the most well-meaning endocrinologist can offer. The clinical trial team will give you back-up help at a time when you need it most.
For those of you who are farther along in your T1D journey, enrolling in a clinical trial still offers great advantages. You also will receive the support and expertise of the clinical trial teams. In addition, you may potentially benefit from new treatments. Trials enrolling locally and across the country are exploring a range interventions, from drugs to help with complications to fully closed-loop algorithms to islet cell transplantation.
You can get matched to a clinical trial in 60 seconds today using Breakthrough T1D’s match tool, and explore which clinical trials are actively seeking participants in the Oregon & Southwest Washington here. Along with myself, Breakthrough T1D has several local Clinical Trial Education Volunteers who you can reach out with any additional questions, or, if you’d just like to chat and learn more. Our contact information is below.
By participating in a clinical trial, you are helping to advance T1D research. Every improvement we have made over the last several decades in T1D care is because people enrolled in the trials that proved that the new interventions worked. We can’t make progress without clinical trials. I hope you will consider enrolling in a clinical trial, and please do not hesitate to reach out.
Kind regards,
Laura Tremblay, MD, Clinical Trial Education Volunteer and Mission Impact Volunteer
Clinical Trial Education Volunteers
Oregon
Laura Tremblay, LDTremblay71@gmail.com
Washington
Jude Restis, jrestis@yahoo.com
Laura Tremblay, LDTremblay71@gmail.com