Lately I’ve been feeling isolated and I think that it would help to meet and talk to other people like me face-to-face. When the Tandem rep came to my house to go over how to use my new pump, I was overjoyed to have someone to talk to, and she didn’t even have diabetes!
When I do see interesting stuff like the TypeOneNation coming to my hometown, I feel quite let down that it’s only for T1’s. Sometimes it feels like the only thing I have in common with the majority of T2’s is my weight and lack of GAD antibodies, but how we treat our diabetes, what works/what doesn’t, are miles apart.
So far my evil plan to lose enough weight that I won’t give myself away as a T2 is stalled. I briefly considered going anyway and just “lying low” as a stealth T2 but that defeats the whole point of connecting with people in-person. I’m just kidding though. I do realize that it would be quite offensive to those who do actually have type 1 diabetes.
The Diabetes UnConference is open to all, but is quite far away. Maybe I’ll save up anyway and go but if anyone knows of other events, meetups, etc that would be friendly to someone like me, I’d love some suggestions!
I guess I just struggle with feeling like a “T1 wannabe” or a hanger-on and wish I had someone to kick my shins in-person and remind me that I’m not a special snowflake. I’m not sure if I’m making any sense at all or if I have just horribly offended everyone which I probably just have…
All snowflakes are special but that does not make one different. Your description of yourself pretty much fits me. I am a T2 pumper and my treatment has very little in common with most T2s, it is very similar to most T1s.
For this reason gravitate to T1 discussions, I am not in the T1 club but I feel like an honorary member. I feel quite at home with them.
If time and space did not separate us I would sit face to face with you and I promise I would not kick you in the shins
hey @daytona I hope you can find lots of places to connect, including right here. 3 of 6 admins here are type 2s on insulin, @Stemwinder_Gary has been pumping for quite some time, we also have a live chat room on our home page http://www.tudiabetes.org/ and frequently @Thas is there, he’s a T2 pumper and dexcom user.
we also have lots of T1s who would be willing to help, and do understand about T2 pretty well. You don’t have to be a “T1 wannabe” here at TuD. and you certainly did not offend anyone here imo
Oh I have! Sorry that didn’t really come across. I’ve been getting a lot out of the Wednesday night talk series, and am so glad that I found tudiabetes. It’s the only place where I feel accepted!
I was just wishing for a way to meet more awesome people like the ones here, in-person.
I hope you applied for one of the full scholarships to MasterLab. You’d meet a crowd of awesomeness. TODAY is the last day to apply!! @TypeJones can explain all about it. I know we are always looking for T2s to advocate.
Am I misunderstanding what Masterlabs 2017 is about? It seems to be for entrepreneurs and those with a early-stage project to improve life with diabetes. I don’t have a project, and am just a blogger. Or is MasterLab and MasterLab Leadership Institute different things?
I would ask @TypeJones to perhaps chime in on the difference. My impression is that this year DHF is doing things differently. Previous MasterLabs were held in conjunction with Friends For Life and sought to help emerging advocates. The MasterLab Leadership Institute is looking to help people with already formed ideas figure out how to be successful with their effort.
Hi @daytona! My apologies for the late reply between the holidays and my organizing MasterLab. You are correct in you’re understanding of MasterLab Leadership Institute this year – more for the project-stage. That said, we are looking to host other advocacy offerings this year, so stay tuned! You can sign up for our newsletter at diabetesadvocates.org What’s your blog? How can I find it?
Oh dear, it has been sadly neglected of late. I was a lot better about blogging when I able to manage with just diet and exercise. Once that stopped working, I didn’t feel comfortable sharing my experiences because of the negative comments. Perfect strangers would demand details on my diet or tell me that I must be “doing it wrong” because it wasn’t working anymore. I still get moderated comments on old posts, and I just send them to the trash so I don’t have to feel bad about myself…
I’ve been tempted to redo the whole thing and remove everything but the blog because I don’t believe a lot of the things I wrote back then. So with that giant caveat, my blog is at http://blog.sweetgeek.net.
I’m just kidding though. I do realize that it would be quite offensive to those who do actually have type 1 diabetes.
What’s your blog? How can I find it?