Younger Type 2s

[nneighbour]

I'm a type 2 that was diagnosed just over 3 months ago, at the age of 25. This is definitely something I'm not proud of, when I was diagnosed I was actually pretty ashamed since it's something you're not supposed to get until your 40s. I've come to accept that things are the way they are, especially with the help of DF.

Anyway, are there any other younger type 2s around? How has been your experience with dealing with being diagnosed at a younger age?

[Jill-O]

I've turned 29 10x so far... does that count ;) Don't feel ashamed. Be happy you know you have it and can take steps to treat it. I probably had it for 5 or more years before I found out.

[jvetter18]

i'm 31. Haven't been treated any differently. If anything, docs say that since i'm so young i'll be able to control better w/ diet & excercise. so far it's working.

lifestyle. lifestyle.

[kgm0612]

Here in the United States, more and more school age kids (under 18) are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every day. The reason for this being poor food choices (McD's, Burger King, Wendy's, high carbohydrates) and lack of exercise. Kids today, unless they are involved in sports, would rather sit in front of a computer or their Sony Play Station than to be outside playing ball, riding a bike, etc.

Karen

[nneighbour]

But this is what I'm talking about. It's common for people to say things like poor diet and exercise has lead to younger type 2s, but once you have diabetes, it's a moot point. Now it's time to deal with the situation. When I tell someone I have diabetes (not very often), I feel ashamed, even though I know that my lifestyle wasn't the only contributing factor.

[wiseguy]

While having diabetes is not something to be proud of, it is definitely not something to be ashamed of no matter what age you are when diagnosed. It's not like you engaged in some illegal or immoral activity to contract it.

[kgm0612]

Don't beat yourself up. Diabetes is nothing to be ashamed of. It's controllable and we all know what we need to do on a daily basis to keep it that way.

Karen

[Christinety]

My husband was diagnosed in January at the age of 30. It is not your fault you got diabetes. Yes type 2 diabetes can be controlled well with diet and excercise. Really it has alot to do with genetics, and insulin resistance and other things you have no control of.
There are alot of people out there that eat terribly are overweight and don't have diabetes. It is not your fault.
That being said, now is the time to eat right exercise and be proactive about your health. What matters now is how you control your diabetes. Not why you have it, or that you have it young.
Would you be ashamed of a headache, or strep throat? No. So keep your chin up. Know that you are not alone. And this is not your fault!

[mindylee]

I was diagnosed just in October and I am 32. My sister is older than me and weighs a lot more and is homebound because of weight issues and doesn't have it. I had 2 over 10lb children and I have it. It does depend on other things that just what you do.

[Emm]

I hate the attitude so many people have with Type 2 :( No one has actually pin-pointed an exact reason why people get it - ok we know that about 80% of them overweight. We know that junk food and being sedentary contributes to being overweight. That doesn't mean that 2+2 = 5.

I personally think that there's some other cause. I believe that T2s are often overweight because the insulin imbalance causes cravings, the ups & downs with insulin cause the ups & downs of moods, lethargy, depression, and all of that often leads to more eating. I just wish someone would find the root cause, as I'm ****ed sure there is one that isn't going to make all T2s feel horrible about what they've done to themselves.

Regardless of the actual cause, the 'pointed finger' attitude is horrible. A person with a hangover gets more pity, and that's something they've definitely brought on themselves! Why do people think they have the right to point to the finger at someone with diabetes, why tut tut and shake the head instead of trying to understand and help?

I'm not a type 2 myself, but I really can't see the sense in making people feel bad about themselves. You may think it's nothing to do with me as a type 1, but unfortunately it is as most people don't differentiate between the types so type 1s get the flak too.

BTW not talking about anyone here, I hope that's obvious! Talking about this worldwide epidemic of finger pointers thanks to governments etc putting so much energy into t2 prevention the cruel way. *sigh*

Edited to add... apologies, I got off topic a little...

[nneighbour]

Emm,
Your reply is awesome. Really makes me feel better about being T2. Has anyone seem any research to back this up? I really don't know the mechanics of the disease but it almost seems like part of it could be that it's one of those diseases where they are always present but need a trigger to be turned on. Trigger being certain BMI or something. Then again, maybe I've just been reading too much about prion diseases...