Annoying Diabetes terms for conditions.

[Injecto]

Insulin Reaction? Insulin reacts in ALL of us when we take it. It "reacts" by allowing our cells to be fed, with the beneficial side effect of lowering blood sugar.

Insulin Shock? Seriously? I've never been electrocuted by insulin and I've never seen that on the "possible side effects" list of any insulin.

Diabetic Shock? Now that one I HAVE experienced, when I was diagnosed I was shocked. :eek:

Diabetic Coma? What, a coma from passing out because you are far too low? Or resulting from DKA? I mean come on, one term to describe two completely different causes of comas? If I get head trauma in an accident, am I still in a Diabetic Coma because I'm diabetic? :) LOL.....

There must be others....come on.

[marked]

Good insight there Injecto.
I will state the obvious one. A Diabetic. A disease walking around as a person.
Mark

[Injecto]

Good insight there Injecto.
I will state the obvious one. A Diabetic. A disease walking around as a person.
Mark

:rofl: :rofl:

Ha ha...I never thought of that before....LOL :)

[Alice]

"Non-Compliant Diabetic"...what?....we broke the law now?

also..."Mild" diabetes...my friends think Type 2 is more "mild" than my "Severe" Type 1. Groan.

I agree with shock (sugar shock?)...and go crazy if someone says "diabetic fit".

Also hate using the term "shooting up" in regards to insulin injections. (Don't even like "shots"...but that's just a weird thing with me)

[Gangrel]

Actually, I agree with all your terms, but diabetic. I think that is perfectly fine. I'm sure there is some grammer term for it, but I'm too stupid to know it. :P

While you won't find someone saying "I'm canceric", but rather "I have cancer", I think it's normal for me to say "I am diabetic" vs. "I have diabetes" (which is also fine to say.

It's the same as if you are sick. Do you say "I have a sickness" or "I'm sick"? ;)

[Injecto]

"Non-Compliant Diabetic"...what?....we broke the law now?

LOL....

and go crazy if someone says "diabetic fit".

Perhaps they meant "fit as in physically?" :T ;)

Also hate using the term "shooting up" in regards to insulin injections. (Don't even like "shots"...but that's just a weird thing with me)[/QUOTE]


I suppose I'm just on insulin "pusher" now that I use the pump. :)

[xMenace]

"Brittle" diabetics. It's a good thing I never was. I would never have been able to play hockey or football. I'd be smashed into a zillion bits.

[belyro]

also..."Mild" diabetes...my friends think Type 2 is more "mild" than my "Severe" Type 1. Groan.


"Severe" diabetes is the worst one for me. My pancreas doesn't work. Severe enough for ya?!

"Brittle" diabetics. It's a good thing I never was. I would never have been able to play hockey or football. I'd be smashed into a zillion bits.

I almost shot my lunch out my nose when I read this! LOL!!!


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".

[Injecto]

"Brittle" diabetics. It's a good thing I never was. I would never have been able to play hockey or football. I'd be smashed into a zillion bits.

:2in1:

:rofl:

Too too funny....

[Funnygrl]

When someone asks if I'm testing my insulin levels. Right...

When someone asks if I had to bolus cause I ate too much.

[Alice]

I agree, the word "cheating" is very insulting...I especially hate hearing diabetics say that about themselves. It's a disease people...not an eating disorder!

And agree about "brittle"...I always picture peanut brittle...

[w5wjp]

It's the same as if you are sick. Do you say "I have a sickness" or "I'm sick"? ;)

Yup, we all know just how sick you are Gangrel........lol

[Jan B]

This is really funny stuff! Now I'll be bothered all afternoon trying to come up with one of my own!

[Injecto]

Glucose Intolerant

:D

It's true, so true ***shakes head*** I just can't tolerate glucose. I mean seriously.....whe I see glucose coming, I just walk the other way :T

[marked]

It's the same as if you are sick. Do you say "I have a sickness" or "I'm sick"? ;)[/QUOTE]

But you made my point. Of course you wouldn't say I am a sickness. Just as you wouldn't say I am a diabetic.

Words are just words,they matter not, but when they become a mindset in treatment as the word "diabetic" certainly has become in the medical profession I have a problem with that.

Mark

[princesslinda]

INSULIN RESISTANT...My cells refuse it....I don't want it...I don't need it..keep it away from me...no insulin for me, I must resist! :eek: :eek:

[owlyn]

There's one that I see here a lot: "...I went to see my diabetic doctor about..." Now, if the doctor happens to be a diabetic, I guess that's fine, but is it really any of our business anyway? Or, similarly, "...my diabetic supllies...", etc.

Or, "sugar diabetes", as opposed to...what, "salt diabetes"?

[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?
http://rigby-jones.net/es/art/art/Grrrr.JPG

[princesslinda]

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?

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!"

[xMenace]

"diabetic police!"

There's another one ;)
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/09_01/taserpoliceDM0609_468x462.jpg

[gettingby]

The one that gets me is when someone finds out I'm diabetic. They say Oh, you have "the sugar"? Yeah, I do. It's here in my purse.
:rofl:

[gambi]

Diabetic Coma? What, a coma from passing out because you are far too low? Or resulting from DKA? I mean come on, one term to describe two completely different causes of comas? If I get head trauma in an accident, am I still in a Diabetic Coma because I'm diabetic? :) LOL.....

There must be others....come on.

I know 2 people who's FATHERS died as a result of a diabetic coma - neither one could tell if it was from dropping to low or being too high- DKA. Very Sad.

I heard on SNL on night it referred to as "Sugarbeties"

WHy can't we just say we are hyperglycemic :-) It would be fun to confuse people.

[Olidus]

I hate attention when its cause by something not in my control. Humor is my life savor.
That being said when i was DX'd I got all kinds of attention about it it drove me crazy. I felt ohh so fragile, cause that was how people were treating me.

I just started to have fun with it.
A Random Friend
" Hey Mark - How goes the diabetes?"

Me
"What do you think? Its called DIA-betes, not Live'a'Betes"
Then I would walk away.
Trust me – it’s funnier in real life(tm) then it is on paper. :p

I hate the can you have this? Can you eat that?
Even sometimes people would be like - Ohh I would offer you some but you have the BETIES.
I will tell people what I can and can't eat. No one else.

Diabetes is such a harsh term for this disease. That’s why I tell people that I have the Sugar'Betes. Makes more sense AND makes me LOL IRL ;)

[Jan B]

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!"

THANKS FOR THE GREAT LAUGH!!

[RLK]

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 love this! What a great explanation for MDI and pumping! I'm definitely going to start using that explanation when the "food nazis" get on my case.

[Gary_W]

Regarding the 'I'm diabetic' vs 'I have diabetes' statement.

I first heard this debate in relation to wheelchair-bound folk who wished to be known as a person with a disability rather than a disabled person. The idea is that you should see the person first and the chair second. I thought at the time that this (to me) subtle distinction didn't matter but if it matters to the individuals concerned then it matters. After all, you can have all the empathy in the world but you can never fully understand the life of another person as seen through their eyes. I don't know whether age or diabetes has changed my thinking further in the direction of 'I'm a person with diabetes' but it has. I really don't like it when a person is labeled by a condition that they find themselves in through no particular fault of their own.

Personally, I NEVER say 'I'm diabetic'. In my opinion, this is showing that the condition defines you and frankly it can get stuffed as far as that goes; it takes enough of my attention span as it is so it can get out of the spotlight. That's where I'm standing and I'm not sharing it with such a negative nancy.

You don't get people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome defining themselves by the fact that they have it. Can you imagine?

"I'm Farticus"

"No, I'm Farticus" etc.

I know that it's a really subtle difference in language but such differences do matter and put a very different spin on a person. To me, saying 'I'm Diabetic' reeks of wanting to be seen as a victim. I know this is an entirely sweeping statement and I don't claim to be right. It is purely my point of view, and my way of dealing with this is subtle adjustments in presentation to the outside world. I do not deny my condition, but I'm not giving it an unnecessary leg-up by presenting it in the forefront on my qualities, hence will claim to have diabetes if it comes up. But I will not say 'I'm diabetic'. If I have to start saying "I'm diabetic" then I would have to add "I'm also a rich, humorous genius with startling good looks and no that's not a gun in my pocket" just so I fully define some of the positive aspects of my character to go-with. Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention the modesty.

Gary

[mortis505]

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".

for me Its not cheating either. its PMI. Just making sure I dont go hypo

[Carwy]

It's looks like I may have it and I will be telling people "I have the beties.":D

[Dewey]

Folks, I know this thread was started with the simplest of intentions - to joke certain terminology, etc. However, we need to realize that just because some may feel a certain way about words or things, doesn't mean that everyone else should share that view or should not be considered "properly educated" in terms of 'proper Diabetes terminology.' It's all a matter of perception, folks. I've said before that words are just words & continue to stand by that.

In terms of "Insulin reaction," a new member here used that term to describe her boyfriend's low blood sugar. We wouldn't want her to feel unwelcome because she used what some would consider the "wrong words."

It's the same as if you are sick. Do you say "I have a sickness" or "I'm sick"? ;)

But you made my point. Of course you wouldn't say I am a sickness. Just as you wouldn't say I am a diabetic.

Words are just words,they matter not, but when they become a mindset in treatment as the word "diabetic" certainly has become in the medical profession I have a problem with that.

Mark
Again, here we have a matter of perception. Gangrel did not mean "I'm sickness" to describe when a person is feeling ill. Rather, he was trying to prove his point by saying, "We don't say, 'I have a sickness,' when we are ill...we say, 'I'm sick,'" which is very true. Therefore, he did not prove anyone else's point but his own, which was that saying "I have Diabetes" or "I'm Diabetic" should both be alright. Now, you may not agree Mark, but again, it's a matter of personal perception. We even had a past thread on this: Political correctness - does it affect you? (http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/diabetes/10314-political-correctness-does-affect.html)

I've been saying "I'm Diabetic" for over 25 years now with this disease. I'm not going to stop or change now.

What I'm getting at ultimately here, is that it's fine to have different opinions & views on things. That said, we all need to realize that there are countless ways for people to perceive things & try to be respectful of one another, even if we don't agree.

[mg_2204]

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!"

I really REALLY like that one. I might even just do that one day...

Thanks a million! Had a good laugh. :) :) :)

[owlyn]

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! :D

[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. :hmmmm2:

[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]

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]

"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]

http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/images/comics/en/000.gif

[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... :mad: People who still use that word here, are more prone to still believeing that people with diabetes can't eat sugar:eek:

[DCaplinger]

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. :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Regards,