[Penny]

Originally Posted by solox316

I tend to agree that people who say this simply don't know. It is out of ignorance. It used to bother me, but I realize now that many many many people simply have a misguided idea of what diabetes is. I tend to make a joke of it... If someone asks if it is the bad kind, I simply say "Yes, but it is the REALLLYYY bad kind!" and chuckle...

I am sure I have made statements about other diseases/conditions out of ignorance...

If time is available, and it is a comfortable arrangement, I will attempt to explain T1/T2... as well as people's control leading to severity of complcations.. etc...

I had that happen recently, and said "Yes it is the really bad kind and very contagious!" The lady backed away and asked if it was safe to eat with me. I am too soft hearted to keep it up though....I just laughed and told her I was teasing, but she still tried to avoid getting too close to me.

[morrisma]

Originally Posted by Penny

I had that happen recently, and said "Yes it is the really bad kind and very contagious!" The lady backed away and asked if it was safe to eat with me. I am too soft hearted to keep it up though....I just laughed and told her I was teasing, but she still tried to avoid getting too close to me.

Penny,
That's GREAT!

[solox316]

Originally Posted by Penny

"Yes it is the really bad kind and very contagious!"

That is HILARIOUS! I never went that route with it!

[Alice]

I'm evolving into a "total opposite" view of my former self. Yes, this stuff bothers me...in the sense that you realize how many people are 1) clueless about basic diabetes knowledge or 2) clueless about most everything. Unless they have half a brain to begin with...learning something basic about diabetes won't be much help. Same with cancer, aids, & MS.

I'm in a Weight Watchers group where I hear this stuff every week. I also hear each week how someone was "cured" by losing 25 lbs. I was told by someone that since I took insulin I should avoid "starches" at all costs.

This stuff goes on and on. I didn't hear it much when I was younger...but entering the baby-boomer-diabetic-wave...it's now several times a day.

I rarely discuss diabetes with anyone now...unless I know them personally.

[Janlaton]

I agree it is a cross between showing how little they know, the person who is being talked about has a "poor ME" attitude or the person is nearing the end of life due to complications whether because they did not take care of themselves or not who is to say.

I also make a joke of it. One of my favorites is when asked if I am a full blood Indian I say no I'm a pint low from checking my blood sugars.

So like many areas of life put on your big boy pants and deal with it or let what other people say rob you of joy in life.

[MarcS]

Its the old joke....."What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?" ......"I don't know and I don't care!"...

People just don't understand, or care about it, until they are lying in a hospital bed with a tube in their arm, or worse.

[UpNorth]

Some people are so clueless...


In MY oppinion, diabetes is always bad but it can get worse! So i guess you COULD say those who struggle soooo much and still can't gain control at all, have a bad case of D, while people who have good control with or without struggling a lot, just have diabetes. But the main thing is that many don't understand the reason WHY some diabetics use insulin and others don't. So i guess because many don't know why some diabetics are on insulin, it sort of becomes an indicator of Bad diabetes since it's being used when nothing else works.

Hope it makes sense... I'm currently at 1.9mmol/l so i'd better go and eat something

[grace girl]

I've gotten to where I just laugh...it's just so much simpler, really.
My current fav remark is when someone tells me to be glad I ONLY have to take shots because their friend so and so has Diabetes SOOOO bad they they are on a PUMP!
I just say, wow, that's gotta really suck, huh???

[princesslinda]

I often get asked "is your sugar bad like your mom's was?" Therefore, I think to be a "bad" diabetic would be totally ignoring your disease and having tons of complications because of it.

Generally, I respond with an "i'm doing well, thanks" and leave it at that. I don't have time or inclination to educate those who don't really care to learn. If they wanted to learn, they'd use a different term than "bad diabetic."

When I hear this, I have this mental picture of me at the table with a plate of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, yeast rolls and birthday cake with ice cream, with someone standing over me with a rolled up newspaper saying "BAD BAD diabetic!"

[Gary_W]

For most folks outside this club that you don't want to join, injections seem like the worst part of the deal. Other than that, most people just think that you have to leave sugar out of your tea and go careful on the cakes.

For that reason, Joe Public tends to view injections as meaning serious.

As 85-90% of people with diabetes have T2 which is MOSTLY diet and meds controlled, the public think this one isn't as bad. This mindset is reinforced because if T2 'gets worse' they go on insulin, therefore anyone on insulin in the first place must have it really bad. This is backed up further due to everyone knowing at least one T2 that doesn't change their lifestyle in any way due to diabetes. They will get away with this behaviour for years before it bites them, but bite it will. A T1 cannot really do this. The immediate seriousness for a T1 ignoring the condition is all too real, again giving the illusion that it is more serious.

I'm seeing a colleague next week over in Ireland. He's known me for years and is well aware that I have to inject before dinner. I called him the other day and, during the conversation, I told him that I was now half man and half machine as I had an insulin pump. 'Oh my word is it that bad now?' came his response. It's the second such comment I've had since pumping and it's not even been 3 weeks yet. I just laughed and explained. Heck, if I could be blissfully ignorant of this disease I would be to. He's a lovely bloke and will be happy for me once he understands the benefits.

With that in mind, I'd like to propose the Layman's terms of diabetes:

1. Pre-diabetes - A bit like being pre-menstrual but involves less cakes.

2. Syndrome X - A form of metabolic disorder that involves people in tight trousers deciding if you've got it or you haven't.

3. Type 2 - Fairy diabetes. Nothing to worry about whatsoever as it's not serious in any way shape or form. Can eat absolutely anything (unless it's birthday cake, and then you can make a scene about them not having any in front of the crowd)

4. Type 1 - Deadly serious diabetes (otherwise known as DSD). Involves lots of needles so it must be terrible. Nothing else about the condition is a problem. Cannot eat birthday cake in the same manner as a T2 (see Fairy Diabetes, above), but anything else goes.

5. Type 1.5 - A diabetic bisexual, partial to both bread AND cakes.

6. LADA - A very bad Eastern European car that has to go easy on the bread

7. Mody - Someone that samples other bits of diabetes and then puts them to heavy basslines and old blues records. Afraid of croissonts.

8. Pumper - Terminally ill, could croak in front of your eyes. Can eat anything as they'll be dead by morning so where's the harm?


Next time my pump alarm goes off and someone looks at it with suspician, I will calmly explain that it means I have 10 minutes to live and need to find someone to have sex with so I can go out with a bang....


Gary

[Penny]

This made me think about when I had bladder cancer. I had BCG treatments which uses a TB virus to get rid of the cancer. I took elaborate precautions (much more than I was told to do, just in case) to make sure I didn't cause anyone any problems from my treatments. During this time, I would only use my own bathroom, even though there were times when it was painful to wait. Most of my friends and family knew this because I explained it to them. But there is always the one person who chooses not to understand what you tell them. I stooped to pick up her 2 year old and she screeched...."No, I don't want you to give him cancer". Besides the fact that the whole neighborhood heard her, it about broke my heart when the little one ran from me, scared because Mommy was telling him to get away. So it's not just Diabetes, I remember my mother not letting us visit a lady with lung cancer, because we might catch it. I guess if you don't have a reason to be educated, you don't bother with it.

[terryok123]

I guess if the shoe fits wear it... some of us like my father had lack of education and parentless childhood which lead to bad eatting habits. i have his GENES and ........... you know I just need to keep working at it. GYM......... off i go.. bye!

[Janlaton]

i loved it. zzzzCould not have thought of such a way to describe the disease if I tried.

[shiftzor]

Originally Posted by Gary_W

1. Pre-diabetes - A bit like being pre-menstrual but involves less cakes.

2. Syndrome X - A form of metabolic disorder that involves people in tight trousers deciding if you've got it or you haven't.

3. Type 2 - Fairy diabetes. Nothing to worry about whatsoever as it's not serious in any way shape or form. Can eat absolutely anything (unless it's birthday cake, and then you can make a scene about them not having any in front of the crowd)

4. Type 1 - Deadly serious diabetes (otherwise known as DSD). Involves lots of needles so it must be terrible. Nothing else about the condition is a problem. Cannot eat birthday cake in the same manner as a T2 (see Fairy Diabetes, above), but anything else goes.

5. Type 1.5 - A diabetic bisexual, partial to both bread AND cakes.

6. LADA - A very bad Eastern European car that has to go easy on the bread

7. Mody - Someone that samples other bits of diabetes and then puts them to heavy basslines and old blues records. Afraid of croissonts.

8. Pumper - Terminally ill, could croak in front of your eyes. Can eat anything as they'll be dead by morning so where's the harm?

Gary

lol, it’s funny how true it is. There is an awful lot of ignorance i see it out there every day. Even my own family who go quiet on the subject, i have always been public about it and not afraid to do what i have to do. My latest comment was from a pharmacy which stated that all blood glucose monitors were the same and 100% accurate. Not the worst thing in the world but i soon corrected her, she was shocked. It’s like going into PCWorld and asking for advice on computers, most of them don't know sh!t. Diabetes is just another one of those clouds, like computers far too complicated for people to understand and so they would rather get on with their lives in ignorance. Can you really expect them to know anything about it? The only time they will ever "NEED" to know about it is when they have gone down with the big D, probably due to an insect bite or that cold they had last week. I am happy for people to know nothing about diabetes, the same way I know nothing about other diseases; however I would prefer if people didn’t “pretend” to know anything about it.

[Scrabblechick]

Gary, that was priceless! Too, too funny.

I kind of got that at church Sunday. Some friends were talking about the Mother's Day banquet and what she was bringing. I won't describe it. Suffice it to say one piece would throw this whole forum membership into hyperglycemic shock! Naturally, it's very yummy. I said, "Sounds like I'm going to have to stay away from the dessert table." Which honestly is what I have to do in order to maintain my sanity. I like sweet stuff way too well to resist it.

So she says, "Well, you can have just a little."
Me: "No, I can't. I'm diabetic and I just don't need it."
She: "Not even a little?"
Me: "No, not even a little. It's delicious stuff, but I just have to stay away from it." And I do. With me, one transgression inevitably leads to another one.
Her husband: "Well, my dad had diabetes and he never watched what he ate."
Me: "How old was he when he died?"
Husband: "In his early 60s, but he had a massive heart attack."

Turns out, he had been on steroids which caused the D to start with, and had heart trouble for years before his DX, but I think you all get the drift.

My response? "Well, my dad was 61 when he died from complications of diabetes caused by not staying on his diet and doing what he was supposed to. I'm not interested in going down that road."

I'm getting a little more snippy and a little less likely to suffer fools gladly in my middle age. LOLOLOL..

I try to take advantage of teaching moments, but sometimes...

Otherwise, I just roll my eyes and let it go.