Hey, I’m Danica! I’m new to TuDiabetes but I’m excited to network with you guys!
I just wanted to let anyone who is interested know that I’ve started a little channel on YouTube where I’ll be talking about some of my experiences with diabetes, starting with a series of “TOP10 Ridiculous Misconceptions I Hear about Type 1 Diabetes”.
Some people say some pretty wrong, misguided stuff about what Type 1 diabetes is, and while it can be funny sometimes I think it’s important people know what’s real and what’s not!
So anyway, if you feel like you can relate to this or it interests you, check it out! New videos will be coming every week or so. I hope I’m not the only one who gets these ridiculous comments from people who just aren’t educated!
So glad that you’re doing this!! Some “misconceptions” you could make videos about (as if you need ideas are):
The difference between type 1 and type 2. People are often completely unaware that they are COMPLETELY different conditions (and please remember that even within the “type 1” category, there are different kinds).
Having a pump means your diabetes is “severe.” I have deal with this one all the time. It’s just a different means of management.
Insulin is a cure. It is not a cure - it’s a treatment.
The meaning of being “high” or “low.” In particular, what the symptoms are of low blood sugar. I’ve found that some people don’t understand that I can be completely concious and alert, but still be “low.” They assume being low means I have to be passed out on the floor or something.
I want to hear about the latest “fad” diet that is going to “cure” my diabetes. I hate, hate, hate when people say, “Oh, but have you tried [THIS] or [THAT] diet so you can get off insulin or better control your blood sugar??”
I don’t mind intelligent questions about my D, its management, how my pump works, etc, but I just hate when people assume they know what I should be doing to manage things and feel the need to offer up advice. Unless someone has T1D or lives with someone who has it, I am probably going to know more about the condition!
That’s EXACTLY how I feel!
And thank you for all the ideas wow, I actually already filmed them all on the same day, but you have a couple ones that are a lot better than some of mine! I just thought of them kind of on the spot and more on the lines of direct comments people say to me. But yes, a lot of them are on the difference between T1 and T2. People just have no idea that they’re so different!!
Thanks for the reply, I really enjoyed hearing what you thought!
T1 and T2 are not as different as you might think.
Yes there is a world of difference between a T2 on diet/exercise and a T1.
But an insulin-dependent T2 on MDI or a pump has a daily routine that is pretty much the same as a T1.
Just a thought also, have you looked at the series of videosmade by TuD member Ginger Vieira on ‘Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes’ back in January. There was also lots of useful debate, comments and suggestions on that thread.
That’s a good point. Aren’t the number of T2’s on shots/pumps a pretty small majority? Or is that another misconception… haha. I feel like the majority of T2’s and the majority of T1’s are extremely different.
And no I haven’t seen those! I’ll be sure to check those out, thanks!
You can get a bunch of basic diabetes statistics from NIH. Of the 18.8 million diagnosed diabetics in the US (T1 and T2), 26% use insulin. About 5% of all diagnosed diabetics are T1, and 95% are diagnosed T2. So basically, that would mean about 1 million T1s, all on insulin, and more than 4 million type 2s on insulin.
So, according to the NIH numbers, there are 4 times more T2 diabetics using insulin (than T1).
I am diagnosed T2 and I use insulin and I do exactly the same as a T1. I carb count, follow an MDI regime and I test like 6-10 times a day. The primary difference would be that my total daily dose is like 60-70 units.
Hi Brian: You know those stats from NIH are wrong, and that all the slow-onset Type 1s (with slow onset autoimmune diabetes) are incorrectly included in the Type 2 category. So rapid-onset mostly kids T1=5 to 10%, slow onset Type 1 = 10-15%. So most of those 26% on insulin are Type 1.
Hi Lila: The difference is that the underlying disease process, which defines the disease, is different between Type 1 and Type 2. Diseases are not defined based on treatment.
You are right, but it just makes everything more difficult and the answer ends up being the same. There are more T2 on insulin than all the T1s combined (including those misdiagnosed slow onset T1s).
I am well aware of this, having been misdiagnosed myself. But I rather suspect that this is not the kind of difference the OP was talking about, e.g. ‘how my T1 is different from my grandma’s diabetes’.
I don’t come to that answer, doing the math. If all Type 1s combined = 15-25% of all PWDs, and 26% of all PWDs are on insulin, Type 1s outnumber Type 2s on insulin. But this does not even get into the complexity that probably more Type 2s should be on insulin for optimal control, etc.
I meant more like the percentage of T2s on insulin out of all T2s is really small, would that be correct? Not the actual number of T2s on insulin compared to T1s.
Exactly! As T1s on the pump, we’re basically just able to choose what we want to eat - just like any other person would be able to choose whether or not to eat a brownie or whether they want to eat low-carb all the time.
And the one about losing your limbs is actually #9 in my videos! I hate that too.
last thing I heard someone say was that when a diabetic’s insulin levels were off their teeth get chalky. I’ve never heard of or experienced that one before.
Where in the world did that person hear that? haha, I’ve heard of your breath smelling like fruit when you’re high (which I think is a real thing) but never chalky…
The stat that always gets tossed out is that 40% of Type 2s eventually require insulin. But as I have said before (and wrote about in Skewed Statistics), that 40% includes all the slow onset Type 1s/LADAs who have been misdiagnosed. So it’s probably more like 25-30% of Type 2s eventually require insulin.
