[Alene]

...will you get/ have you been tested too? My father is at risk (52, overweight, has a family history of diabetes beyond just me) and is too stubborn to get tested. I find this a little bit insulting and I'm really worried about him. Will you take the time and get tested yourself if/ when it's neccessary?

[Penny]

Originally Posted by Alene

...will you get/ have you been tested too? My father is at risk (52, overweight, has a family history of diabetes beyond just me) and is too stubborn to get tested. I find this a little bit insulting and I'm really worried about him. Will you take the time and get tested yourself if/ when it's neccessary?

Alene, I am 59. My generation (at least the people I know) did not routinely have checkups. I seldom went to a doctor as a child, and even as an adult only when I was very, very sick. I did not see doctors until my 4 or 5th months with my pregnancies. Our parents had medical care even less often. This is the experience I hear from almost every 50 something person I know. I would not have started taking my diabetes seriously if it wasn't for having a heart attack. Nag your Dad, sometimes Dads will do things for their daughters that they will not do for anyone else. I hope he appreciates having a child who cares.

[Alene]

Hi Penny, Thanks for the response. I notice the mentality of my parents... they seem to be under the impression that you only go to the doctor if you're "sick". (That's an insult to me all in itself... I'm not "sick"!) but I didn't realize just how common it is to think that way... and well, I guess it goes beyond that when my dad even shows a few symptoms and does nothing about it. At this point I think he's just stubborn or scared (he knows in the back of his mind that he should go, he even admitted it). Thanks for the advice, I'll try to keep nagging him. We aren't a very open family though, so this is difficult. Do you know if there are any panphelets out there that I could give him on the importance of screening for diabetes? Does anybody?

[Penny]

Maybe you can test your Dad a few times, if you get high readings, it would be a lot easier to get him to check it out with a doctor. Tell him it sneaks up on you, often you do not know you have it until something bad happens, like a heart attack. There are many sites online that your Dad can read all about Diabetes. I hope you can get him in for a checkup, not just for Diabetes, but at his age, there are many things he should be screened for.

[Alene]

Yes, that's very true. I tested him a while back and he had a high reading. I even told my nurse about it, she said that he should do fasting readings in the morning... I left my tester out (with clean lancets) and he never did it. All this with a sister very sick with type 2... her kidneys are failing and she's on constant dialysis... I guess if that doesn't scare him, nothing will.

[Alene]

So back to my original question... will you parents take the time to be tested yourselves? Or will you just worry about your children?

[Eri's mom]

We rec'd a letter b/f Eri's last endo visit(last month) asking if we'd want to be part of the study...so we are.

I've been tested(obviously) while pregnant, I was always borderline, but they tell me I'm hypoglycemic now.

[Tim_Roy]

My Mom's a nurse. She knows almost as much about diabetes as I do.

My Dad was diagnosed type 2 a couple years ago.

I like to kid with him that it's a heriditary disease that he inherited from me.

[gettingby]

Originally Posted by Tim_Roy

My Dad was diagnosed type 2 a couple years ago.

I like to kid with him that it's a heriditary disease that he inherited from me.

LMAO, now that is just too funny !!!!!!!!!!!!