I’m wondering if T2 diabetics feel like people think it’s their fault they got the disease? Is there more “sympathy” for people with T1? I am a type 2 (fairly) newly diagnosed, and sometimes I do feel like people around me think I gave it to myself. I DON’T think the people on this site discriminate, that’s why I’m here!! I’ve seen the “discrimination” first hand in my profession too, from people who just don’t know any better, it stinks! I personally feel like numbers don’t matter, it’s just a terrible disease!
Any thoughts?
I have read through this lot of comments, Firstly as a lean diabetic i must be honest before i ended up here i thought type 2 was a obese thing i like many thought people ate their pancreas to death. Ignorant i agree but honest. I also thought type 1 was a childhood virus therefor no fault to place. In all honesty when i was told 2008 i was going to be diabetic i though my GP was quite potty being thin all my life she must be crazy. Even to this day i am struggling to accept it. Now no doubt you will all lay into me but i meet the same view over and over so where are these opinuons being born? Insulin resistance is not viewed as a serious issue its NOT understood inluding by me oh i get the chemical action but people do not view it as something that progresses like type 1 sadly. book after book i have read reverse type 2, Prevent type 2, Are you on the road to be type 2 stop it now. etc I have at least 20 books on the prevention of type 2! Therefor people think like me it is “Self” made illness, I have yet to find a book on type 2 that explains its genes caused all STATE lifestyle and genes so there you have it even the “People” claiming to help Type 2s push the “Lifestyle” Issue so in truth why are type 2s shocked that people think its self made? So until this mith is blown up the problem will remain. Even the government is on the “band wagon” by stopping test strips Insisting people with type 2 deal with their “Life style” Issues, Loss weight and work out! So there you have it predudice is running wild in this country, So Now i get called Lean diabetic no type. Why because even GPs lump type 2s in obese bag as the Goverment says so. You want this to change more education of No,10 i think!!!
I’m not saying Type 2 is always cause by lifestyle. Never did I say obesity. That was you. I do agree that it can be cause by genetics as well. However, all I was saying was that Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes need to be classified as different diseases (or conditions ) Why the rise in diabetes then? Do that many people in the US have a genetic mutation? I don’t think so. I’m not ignorant. I’m stating reason. I think T2 should just go by a different name. Do t1s and t2s have similar lifestyles? I little, except our pancreas’ DONT make insulin anymore while T2s still do. Or are we talking about type 1.5. What a joke.
i am a type 1 and i become a little agitated when people ask me what i did to get this disease. i feel like i always have to explain the difference between t1 and t2. so i hate to say it, but i probably do discriminate a little bit. it’s all a drag though.
Well, yeah… Doctors tend to only test the TSH, but that test isn’t always the best indicator. They need to do a TSH, a Free T3, Reverse T3, and a Free T4… And sometimes, Autoimmune Thyroid tests… We have a group for Diabetics with Hypothyroidism with TONS of information that you can search through, and ask if you have any questions. A TSH only gives you a partial view of the picture… and sometimes, none at all, as that’s a hormone produced by the Pituitary gland (in response to the Thyroid gland’s needs), and if the Pituitary gland isn’t working well, it’s won’t be very reliable… Autoimmune attacks also make that measurement unreliable… Among other reasons, etc, etc. So never accept that as the ONLY test being done of your Thyroid.
Type 1 and Type 2 are not so different. They both result from a loss of beta cells; Type 1 is autoimmune, and Type 2 is a genetic failure of the beta cells. Insulin resistance is a separate issue, and can occur in both Type 1’s and 2’s, and is very common in the non-diabetic general population. You don’t need to go into a long-winded explanation, especially since much of what you’ve heard about Type 2 is wrong. You just need to explain YOUR type, and what YOU need, and leave it at that.
Last night news at ten there was a piece on a diabetic type 2 who lost a leg as a result of having his test strips stopped. The caster stood by fruit announced type 2 can be easy to manage by “Life style and Healthy eating”, There in lay my point type 2 is viewed as a self made problem. Type 1s do not like being thought of as type 2 type 2 is NOT SEEN as a serious illness. This is not my view but the way its looked at. Most people view it as a “fat problem” I feel that until people get better education this will not change. I am moving into diabetes in a very nasty way and having all sorts of problems health wise. My employer is not happy as they DO NOT understand just how complicated this illness can be, Why because they think you can eat yourself out of it! For me life style and healthy eating will NOT control stop or manage this. I will be on insulin as soon as it tips over which its busy doing as we speak. Eating Fruit is NOT healthy eating for me hello its loaded with sugar. But the perception is fruit is good for us! Obesety is targeted across this country left right and centre like smoking its ok to have a pop at. Its ok to show NO understanding and belittle these issues. WHY because the gioverment target it the media target it. So its ok and they are so uneducated they make stupid comments like this mjan lost his leg because “HE DIDN’T MANAGE IT” Type 1 and 2 may not be that different but they ARE VIEWED VERY DIFFERENTLY.
The whole “eat less, move more” is a campaign based on extreme ignorance – even the scientists are at a loss to explain why some people get morbidly obese and others don’t. It’s not as simple as couch potatoes and bad diet. That’s just a myth the media and public buy into, because then they think it can’t happen to them. HA!
Among serious scientists who are researching obesity, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, there is a lot to be learned, and they don’t even know what the correlation is. Which means they certainly don’t know what the cause is. They’ve even found insulin-resistance in Type 1 adolescents – which means it’s just not so cut and dried as the public and the media make it out to be. And they are discovering that the 3 disorders are NOT necessarily related to each other – fat people can have insulin resistance and no diabetes, and slender people can have Type 2 with no insulin resistance.
I agree with you that it’s infuriating how little care goes into Type 2. For example, Medicare gives Type 1’s a whole 3 strips a day, but Type 2’s only get one. Why? Do Type 2’s suffer fewer complications? Hardly. Are they easier to manage? Not unless they are on a very strict Bernsteinian diet, and even then, it varies.
There is a TERRIBLE blame it on the victim attitude in this country, and only the Type 2’s are going to be able to change it by getting out and advocating!
Totally agree type 2s go blind type 2s have heart attacks and lose limbs too plus have serious complications its time all diabetic stood together instead of being a type we should be diabetic simple type should only matter with health managment NOT perception of the public. Both are nasty and can kill its that simple
Natalie is right, although “genetic failure of the beta cells” can’t explain the type 2 increasing incidence. But there is overlap among the different types of diabetes. A lot of scientists are looking at environmental pollution as a possible cause of diabetes, as well as weight gain and insulin resistance. I just attended a workshop by the US National Toxicology Program: http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/evals/diabetesobesity/index.html, “role of environmental chemicals in the development of diabetes and obesity.” You can read the evidence for yourself.
There is good evidence in humans and animals that contaminants can contribute to diabetes, mostly they’ve looked at type 2 so far, but there are some studies on type 1 and even gestational diabetes.
I’ve also summarized evidence at my website: http://www.diabetesandenvironment.org.
Well, one thought is that some people are just too well-adapted to famine and starvation and during hard times, the diabetic genes were never triggered. But over the past 50 years, living standards have improved greatly in many places and those people now find their genetic heritage is a liability. However by ‘improvement’ we’re not talking about sitting on your butt all day eating chips, but things most of us take for granted like indoor sanitation and more than one meal a day.
Unfortunately, if you are genetically predisposed, simply NOT having to walk 20 miles a day to find clean water, might be sufficient to trigger the disease.
So ‘preventing’ T2 might not be as simple as giving up sugary drinks. It might have to be something much more radical, like walking 20 miles a day to find clean water, i.e, going back to famine and starvation mode.
A interesting point of view but i find it ironic that the “Management” Programme for type 2 is eat regularly not to starve as for walking 20 miles a day it has been proven lean Type 2s exercise does NOT manage this condition. There are many type 2s that in fact are type 1.5 therefor nothing they have or have not done would make a difference the same as type 1s So all the dietitians have it wrong recommending 3 meals a day etc? Still the approach you are taking is placing the blame on type 2s if they had starved themselves and walked they would not be in this position. So now lady’s and gentlemen if you don’t want Type 2 get your genes checked starve yourself and walk to work. Otherwise don’t complain!
Hi Claire - having read some of your other posts, it looks like you don’t fit into any of the moulds - which is absolutely fine as people like myself don’t either. Natalie invented a great terminology for folks like us - Type Weird. Hopefully you’ll be able to get the right treatment for your condition. I do think however you have the types a bit mixed up. T1 (and that includes LADA/1.5) is autoimmune and the other is not.
And I don’t think you quite got the point I was trying to make with the starvation and famine issue. I personally have those genes and so, yes, it does mean that in that sense, I am built for a different sort of world, and that if I’d grown up in times of famine and starvation, the diabetes might perhaps not have been triggered. But nobody can eat a concentration camp diet when everyone else around is eating normally - and with indoor toilets to boot.
It is just the luck of the genetic lottery. I have a few friends whose ancestors did not adapt to eating dairy products. So they are lactose-intolerant. Are they to blame for their condition? Of course not.
Hi Lila Type weird i like it alot very true. The next point i intended to make but you stole my thunder lol was i starved myself for years and work out 3 hours a day and still showed signs of diabetes! So that theory seems not to be totally right i am a anomolly i agree and often feel alone but that matters not type 2s get a rough deal its that simple. They are viewed as self made and that needs to stop!
I do apologize for stealing your thunder 
For what it’s worth, I asked my endo, strictly theoretically of course, what I could have done to prevent diabetes.
His first answer was, ‘Absolutely nothing, you got hits on both sides of the family tree.’
Then he said, well maybe if I’d been a professional athlete and getting insane amounts of exercise every day, perhaps I might have fought if off a little longer. But the minute you retired from professional sports, bang, there would go the trigger.
Note, of course, that even being an Olympic athlete might not be enough to stave off T2. I was told that Sir Steve Redgrave is in fact T2. So five gold medals in five Olympics was insufficient exercise. Could anybody ever accuse him of having a bad diet and not having enough exercise? Of course not!
A valid point that is my point but some people with either type have more problems it maybe that they are not so much insulin resistant but their insulin itself is “Thick” It will depend on how many stupid genes you got lumbered with. But it is without doubt type 2s are discriminated against compared to type 1s and “Weird” types are ignored!
Hello Lila,
I didn’t have any symptoms, no excessive thirst or urination. I always drank lots of water as an avid exerciser all my life so it was just part of what I did. Even with the weight loss and diet my A1c can fluctuate from 5.4-6.2 and I find that during the winter season I need to eat a bit more. Sometimes I think its hard to notice symptoms because being over 50 has its own issues. The weight loss caused me to have bone loss so now I must take fosomax; even though I have been doing the weight bearing exercise all my life. I teach both yoga and pilates (with weights) hike, walk, use the elliptical trainer, etc. Right now I am experiencing higher numbers and don’t know why except I haven’t been walking as much as we have 3 feet of snow and icy roads outside! I do have issue with these “cure” books and sites which mislead the public. Its a difficult disease to manage and everyone’s body is a bit different and we respond to foods and medications differently. Personally, I would love to lower my metformin dosage. I did when I went full raw and vegan but its a hard diet to follow. Perhaps if I lived in sunny CA!
Could be that environmental pollution is triggering the genetic tendency that is and always has been there, but was never expressed so frequently in earlier ages. Both Type 1 and type 2 seem to have a genetic propensity, but don’t show up unless something triggers that propensity.
Anyway, thanks for your contribution!
I’m gonna bet there is far less famine in the world now than there was 2000 years ago (excluding the Irish Potato Famine, and the famine caused by war and refusal of warring parties to ship food to “enemy” regions). South and East Asians are developing little “pot” bellies, which for them, because of their differing genetic makeup, are the equivalent of obesity for Caucasians. So their Type 2 diabetes rates are climbing. What is interesting is that in Tokyo, for example, most people still use public transportation, which may involve walking many blocks to the bus stop or train station, yet they’re still experiencing an increase in Type 2. Their dietary habits HAVE changed, but I don’t think that much. Then you wonder, as sarhow said, how much of it is due to environmental pollution and toxins. A question for which I have no answer, but worth research, at least.
I am so sad and so sorry that the media, the general public, and many members of the medical profession carry the false , incessant theme that you can “prevent, cure, or reverse” type 2 diabetes by diet, exercise, and loss of weight… This theme is so prevalent that this thread is revived every few weeks or so!! I am a type one mesomorph witha high metabolism;so weight is not an issue at this time for me.; but I did nothing to “deserve or merit” this type of genetic background for having relative thinness; nor for getting type One diabetes . It is just how it is!! and God helps me deal with it.
I have friends and co-workers who eat about the same "amount "as I ( but not low carb)I and are significantly overweight:, Some are diabetic( type 2), but most are not. I have friends who exercise a lot more than I do and they still have belly fat. I have a small waist and a coke- bottle frame and I do not have to work to keep it. I am "made up’ like my my father’s people. I do exercise for health and for appearance, That is how exercise is promoted in this nation: to make you look good and looks are considered a hallmark of fitness and character and the AmericanWay!! Kind of sad and shallow. It does not make me a better person who “takes care of herself” ( usually comparing me to other ( type 2) diabetics who “do not take care of themselves”, as I hear from others sometimes. I take it as a well-meaning but unaware compliment,; yet, it sounds like they really do not know how we all are so different in genetic make-up and in causes of diabetes.
I read this on another thread and I post it again. sorry I do not know the original poster’s name :
There is no moral superiority in having a genetic propensity towards thinness., None at all.
God Bless,
Brunetta