[owlyn]

Originally Posted by princesslinda

kinda makes you want to look at them in horror and say...OMG you're right...I can't eat that!!!!....then fall to the floor clutching your throat...or better yet...spit it out on the table....while begging them not to call the "diabetic police!"

Thank you! Now I can't wait to be able to use that!

[Jackets]

Kinda related...

I just don't like how some of these words sound, honestly.

"Diabetes" just always sounded so plural to me. You don't have one diabeety in you, but a whole army of diabetes. Too similar in sound to herpes too.

"Bolus" just sounds close to BS to me. Seriously, isn't there a cooler word out there to describe what you're doing?

Also, is it a rule that everything involved with Diabetes must have an 'S' sound in it? Besides the two already mentioned, there's: syringe, sugar, glucose, test strips, insulin, lantus, lispro...

Diabetics with lisps have my sympathy.

[REDLAN]

I work in a field where, political correctness, and the use of language is considered very important. Personally I think that words are just that words - I would like to believe that it is the intention with which something is said rather than the actual words being used that matters most. However I also believe that changing how things are described also changes how people think about things.

I do find myself agreeing with Gary_w and marked. I prefer "I have diabetes" over "I am diabetic"

In the medical field, there has been a move away from using "ic" to describe people's illness. Pretty much every medical description now refers to an individual having rather than being their illness.

Many of the words were changed because what was originally medical descriptions became used as insults. Moron, retarded, spastic were once medical terms.

At my practice, I no longer go and see the diabetic nurse, I instead go and see the Diabetes Specialist Nurse (obviously she gets a fancier title in the new paradigm) and I go to the Diabetes clinic. In this new paradigm, the medical professionals certainly seem to treat me differently when they are thinking about me as having a disease, rather than thinking about me being a disease. We get to talk about how best to manage my diabetes. I'm actually allowed to choose and make decisions, and I don't get lectured. This is very different from the prescriptive, we are the experts approach I got, when I was a diabetic going to the diabetic clinic and seeing the diabetic nurse.

Having said all that I don't mind if others wish to refer to themselves as diabetic rather than having diabetes. I just prefer it when others refer to me as having diabetes rather than being diabetic - but I do believe it is the intention with which something is said that matters most.

[parrotletzoo]

Originally Posted by belyro

I also don't like the term "cheating" in reference to eating sweets. With respect to the way I manage my Type 1 diabetes, taking a bolus to cover a cookie isn't "cheating", it's "balancing".

I had an endocrinologist that used to call "cheating", "fudging" instead, the irony of which just cracked me up. He however didn't see the humor in it.

[parrotletzoo]

Ok on the "I'm diabetic" vs "I have diabetes" debate... Personally, I feel that by saying "I have diabetes" I am claiming the disease as mine, where as when I say "I'm diabetic" I feel more like the disease claims me.

I might have the disease, but it's not all I'm about.

Another one that annoys me is when someone asks me if I take Insulin pills or shots.

1. insulin can't be taken by mouth, it just gets digeseted and won't do any good. Plus if you ever smelled a broken vial of insulin, YUK! man it would taste nasty!

and

2. Insulin shot is redundant. No need to add the shot part.


oh oh

and lol

when someone asks me "can you eat that?" I usually respond with "I can eat what ever I want. It might not be good for me, but then <food in question -usually sugary type junk food> isn't really good for anyone is it?"


since I've had the transplant and am no longer on insulin people keep asking me if I"m type 2 now. or saying "sooo you control it with diet and exercise then?" "sure, kind of". Truth is, I'm not sure how to answer that. I'm still considered type 1 and I don't control it with anything. so how do I explain that to someone that thinks my diabetes was caused by my momma feeding me copious amounts of sugar as a small child?

[ant hill]

I find that people off the street are seem to be lost in the 70's as they thought that Diabetics are not allowed sugar!! Then you tell them that I can and confusion sets in and you tell them that technology is better and also the understanding is better too.
You would need a lecture to these people to get them to understand that I can have normal sugar in my coffee.
And there is obligatory slice of cake as everyone gets a slice except me only because that I am a D yet when it comes to bread as we all know that too can raise BG's too but to the uninitiated sees that differently.

[Alice]

Yes, "sugar" is the most difficult and annoying word for most people. I can see their confusion...and will say..."Yes, I know it contradicts what you have heard"...and just smile and continue with "There have been a lot of discoveries since 1965."

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by Alice

"There have been a lot of discoveries since 1965."

Love it! Can't wait to use it.

[Alice]

I eat lunch at a local hangout where "diabetes" is almost a daily discussion at the lunch counter. The owner is Type 2, along with many regulars.

When newcomers (like me) come into the picture...I always start my "intro to diabetes" like this:

"Yes, I've been Type 1 since second grade". Said with a smile and an attitude that it was the best thing that ever happened to me....the voice inflection is very important. I don't feel guilty, angry, or embarassed. That simple sentence says many things...

1) I've lived a long life with diabetes
2) There is more than one type
3) I'm no different than anyone else in the conversation

I also find this opens the door for someone to ask questions. Of course, #1 is always "Does that mean you take shots?"...I answer "Yes, the new insulins are great. I count carbs and take my insulin accordingly. Much better than the old days, right?"

Then,there is silence...that is usually followed by "so, is that the severe or mild form of diabetes"...then I explain that both types are completely different...the severity normally is based on how long someone has been undiagnosed or not medicated correctly. But that not all diabetics have "severe symptoms".

Then, they seem to get it. Takes about 2 minutes tops.

I repeat this over and over...but found it works for me. I've used this intro entering new jobs as well.

[xMenace]

[UpNorth]

Swedish has an old word for Diabetes, which a lot of people still use instead of saying Diabetes, that word is "Sockersjuka" which directly translated is "Sugardisease"... Bugs the **** out of me... People who still use that word here, are more prone to still believeing that people with diabetes can't eat sugar

[DCaplinger]

Originally Posted by xMenace

Are you "allowed" to eat that? Give me a ****ing break! Ya, like there's a ****ing diet rulebook. Are you "allowed" to eat that Chinese food? Does your wife know?

Now that is just freaking hilarious.

Regards,