[Olidus]

*** WARNING ***
I have no idea how or where this thread is going to go -but it has been on my mind for sometime now and I really need to get it off my chest.

"SO AND SO Has Diabetes REALLY BAD."
The amount of times I have heard someone say this statement since DX'd is more then I want to admit.

I want to get all your thoughts on this statement.
Now for me, maybe its because I am still new to the D - and believe me when I say I learn something new on it every day, mostly thanks to all you and this great site.
It bothers me when I hear it said.
Mind you - we are all different; we all have a different insulin resistance, heck even some of us still produce our own- But the one thing I learned about diabetes really quick is - its only going to get as bad as you let it get. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but if someone has "Diabetes REALLY BAD" does that normally mean poor control? If I am totally wrong with this I want to apologize now, as I do not want to offend anyone. Its just sometimes when I hear it, makes me feel like my diabetes is belittled. Like all the hard work I put into taking care of myself and making sure I am in control of this disease is nothing cause its not as “BAD” as so and so.

It has been eating me alive - and I would really love to hear the community thoughts / feedback on this.

Thanks in advanced.
Mark K~

[art]

It pretty much means the speaker doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.
And don't forget the ever present " you can't have that there's sugar in it"

Art

[2high]

Quite often, i think people think that if you are on Insulin, you must have D bad... people don't understand the diferences between type 1 and 2, and just assume that they are the same disease. I was told at a bar, by a bar tender, that I must have d really bad because I'm on insulin... (he was fussed at having to go find diet coke for me). You should have seen his face when I showed him my pump... he was mortified that I'm "so sick" I need insulin all the time... sheesh.

[fgummett]

Diabetes (Type 1 AND Type 2) is a SERIOUS, CHRONIC, PROGRESSIVE DISEASE.

Just because there may be few/no outward signs; like a cast on the leg or a limp to elicit sympathy, it doesn't change the above plain facts.

Anyone who thinks otherwise probably has D and has their head firmly planted in the sand... floating down that river in Egypt.

Those of us who step up and decide to take control may have full rich and hopefully healthy lives but there are no guarantees.

---

With all that said, your statement suggests to me someone who is in the final throes of the COMPLICATIONS of D: blindness, renal failure, heart failure, amputations etc... whether they got there by their own neglect of themselves (most likely) or by the unpredicatble progressive nature of D I can't say.

[Gangrel]

Here's my advice to a long, stress-free existence: ignore it.

I've had diabetes for 25 years now, and I've heard it all. But I don't take any of the comments I find "off" very seriously, else you'll be getting all worked up over nothing.

Besides, I know for a fact that I have had incorrect ideas, some most likely spoken, about other diseases and ailments myself, so 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other........

But, that's just me.

[davef]

To a certain extent I'd go with the sentiment "It pretty much means the speaker doesn't have a clue what they're talking about."

I have recently come across the concept that because I'm type 2 that it's not the bad one. I was at the funeral of a friends Father, there were some people there that I haven't seen in over a year. The commented on my weight loss and I said I was pleased with it, one asked what had spurred me into losing the weight and when I said I had been DX last November there were gasps, then I was asked if I had to take injections everyday, I explained that I am a Type 2 non-insulin dependant diabetic, using diet and tablets, which was greeted with "oh, so it's not the serious type then". I said oh G*d no, the worst that could happen is that I'd lose my sight, have legs amputated and have heart complications, so it's not serious at all. Geez!!

[Jan B]

99% of the time, I would think: Out of control = really bad.

[Phonelady61]

Originally Posted by art

It pretty much means the speaker doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.
And don't forget the ever present " you can't have that there's sugar in it"

Art

My aunt used to do this to me all the time and yes she knew nothing about diabetes !! she would aggrivate me to no end .

[Evermont]

Forgive me if I think and talk like a programmer sometimes, it's an occupational hazard.

We could call it 'severity'. It's one of the variables. People tend to have trouble dealing with multiple variables, it gets complicated. Especially with things that you can't see directly.

Another variable we could call "effort". This is how hard a person tries to gain control. Yet another variable is "effectiveness" (of effort). This is how appropriate the effort is for a particular case.

I think that every case has it's own unique combination of severity, effort, and effectiveness and that it's not only difficult to compare these things from one person to another - but fruitless too. What's the point?

I've been thinking about this a lot because I feel that I am quite fortunate in that the severity of MY case of diabetes is less than a lot of people that have been diagnosed. Particularly people who find their way to DF. Many of them seem to "have it worse" than I do. Now make no mistake, the level of effort, AND the effectiveness of it have something to do with my success so far but severity certainly plays into it.

Degree of control is a combination of these three variables and more. It's complicated and maybe impossible to measure. Severity is what it is. You may be able to prevent severity from getting worse by effective effort. Effectiveness is what we can expect to increase by coming here to DF. Effort is entirely up to you. Fight the good fight!

Well, that's how I see it.

[xMenace]

I think that every case has it's own unique combination of severity, effort, and effectiveness and that it's not only difficult to compare these things from one person to another - but fruitless too. What's the point?

From an external perspective, ya. Bad, Good, and Moderate are about all they'll comprehend anyway. I've tried explaining differences but usually cut myself short realizing they were totally ignorant. Those of us in this business have a hard enough time understanding the differences. A total noob has no chance of understanding in a 60 second lecture. I now use the "Smile and Wave" policy.

But for someone in the game, understanding the variables is critical. From a management perspective, there are almost countless more granular variables to learn about. Effective control is the result of identifying our relevant variables and discovering their behavior and interactions. My current project of emulating a 3D Excel spreadsheet with a CompositeDataBoundControl is childs play in comparison

[fgummett]

And for those of you who still think that software programming is an exact science... IT AIN"T Just like managing D, it is more of an art-form, with subtle nuances than can take a life-time to master

[morrisma]

The best advice I've seen in this thread is to ignore it. You have the disease. It's your happiness & health (& butt) on the line. It's your goals & dreams.

The only time I'd give it any credence is when the person uttering it is someone special to YOU. Then it's worth the time to educate.

No stress!

[Mich]

I look at it like this:

At least the stock ignoramus statements have evolved over the years. It used to be "So and so has SUGAR diabetes real bad."

For you programmers, here it is in teacher grading language:

When you look at the Bell's Curve of potential intelligence or education, this statement is probably from someone in the lower quatrile.

Mich

[notme]

I have to agree Oldius, it bothers me when I hear that statement. I think the reason it gets to me is I know that I have to do one of two things. I either have to ignore it and smile and nod, or I have to go into a long dissertation on Diabetes. I usually choose the smile and nod.

[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...