Actually the reason Type 1 and Type 2 is different is because in Type 1, your pancreas does not produce ANY insulin at all and in Type 2, you do produce insulin, but not enough and not always in healthy doses- otherwords, your insulin producing is short-circuited, so to speak.
Hello its melissa.My all time 1 reason i got diabeties from eating to much sugar. 2 you must have got it from your brother lol he had it first. 3 ARE YOU A BAD DIABETIC??? I DID NOT KNOW THERE WAS A GOOD AND BAD ONES Well thanks for letting me vent!!!
I am sorry, Maegan…What a way to ruin a fabulous trip. I hope you get to go back to paris one day with some fun friends.
Now I know why, after 3 years, I am still hesitant to tell people that I am “afflicted.” It’s hard enough for us to figure out what is true, what is right for us, let alone educate others…
Thanks! those people really sucked… LOL
What about “You can’t or shouldn’t have kids!”
Oh I know that one “it could kill you to have this baby” or “You can pass the gene on down into future generations and they won’t have a cure for them either”
Did anyone mention TOXIC MYTH #1?
Type 2 diabetes is caused by obesity and people who have it could reverse their diabetes if they just lost 10 lbs?
I posted about this in a recent blog post on My Diabetes Update Blog" and got an ear full via email from folks like myself who lost a ton of weight without seeing any change in their blood sugars.
Judith,
Ouch!!! I guess all you can do is turn it into a “teaching moment” and explain that because you work hard to keep your blood sugars normal your immune system is in better shape than all those many millions of people who don’t even know they have diabetes. Then if you are really annoyed you can smile sweetly and ask them whether they’ve ever had the doctor check their blood sugar after eating to make sure they aren’t one of them.
There’s something like a 1 in 5 chance they are.
I know you all have had this happen…here’s how it went today, " I need to get home, I just talked to my mother, her BS is at 40 and she could go into a DIABETIC COMA!!!" Me, “Did you tell her to eat something or drink some juice?” Other person, “Uhhh…” Me: “Is she type 1 or 2?” Other person, “Uhhhh…she takes 4 shots a day.” etc etc…
As I asked knowledgeable questions, she lectured me on Diabetes…What type,? don’t know. Actions to take? don’t know. What causes her high and lows? don’t know…but she knew DIABETIC COMA…People think that we fall into a DIABETIC COMA at the least provocation.
I might have to blame Julia Roberts for this…First Wilford Brimley, then Haley Berry. Now Julia…our list grows.
I’ve put over 100,000 words about diabetes on my main site, but often it occurs to me that all I really need is one page with these words:
Carbs raise blood sugar.
Imagine how much stupid advice would disappear if people only knew that one simple fact.
I recently spent $175 out of pocket (my deductible hadn’t been met) to have an ADA certified diabetic educator at the regional hospital here tell me that the 120 grams of carbs I was eating (and still having high sugars) wasn’t enough, and that I should be eating 196 grams of carbs a day! I’d not only gain back the 15 lbs I’ve lost in the past year, but my sugars would constantly be over 200 with that many carbs. Right now even 120 is too much, as I’m struggling to get my numbers down, and don’t see the endo until the end of November (an appointment I made in JULY).
Her advice was totally useless, and I resent that I had to pay for bad advice.
Here is a good Myth about a Cure for Diabetes.
My parents were told that if the person who had diabetes would drink their own urine in the morning for 9 straight days it would heal them. Wait…and to stop taking their insulin at the same time. And no I did not do it even though they were forcing me at the age of 9 to drink my own SH*T! Yes, I still love my parents today. 
Judith…THAT MOVIE DISTRESSED ME HORRIBLY, TOO!!! If you had to divide women into two groups, it could be the ones that liked that movie and the ones that HATED it…I suspect most people have no clue what we’re talking about…I was prepared to hate Erin Brockovich as well for the bimbo factor, but somehow she pulled it off.
I would pay double to see a Steel Magnolias II, especially if they could resurrect the “ability to accessories” line.
Maybe they could use the venue to educate the general public about diabetes…maybe using Shelby’s child…(although my southern friends tell me they butchered the accents.)
My insurance covered a one-on-one visit with an instructor as well as group classes. I was willing to pay whatever the fee anyway to have a knowledgeable chat with a professional. It was a half an hour of me making a statement hoping to generate a conversation,and her waiting for a question as she squirmed about…I was totally wasting her time. I learned nothing more than I had by reading, as her insights were purely general…I have learned way more from the wise people on this site. Why no endo appt fo 6 mos? I am sure you are motivated and educated and getting a lot of info on your own. I hope you have a great Doc. I have had 2 seemingly caring ones, but again, I learn more here.
I paid to see a nutritionist…I look back now and say, “Huh?”
I constantly hear “If you’d just lose some weight you’d not have diabetes and could stop taking your pills.” Give me a break! Don’t know if y’all know it or not but Avandia, which I take, has a huge side effect that my doc didn’t inform me of. It makes you actually gain weight! She refuses to change me to another drug that might not do that or to a cheaper one. Says this one is working for you. Yeah if you count the 30 or more pounds I’ve gained in the last 6 years as working for me then it works for me. I’m constantly told you can’t eat that like most of you are and am given sugar free candies and such by well meaning family members. Just because I’m a diabetic doesn’t mean my tastes have changed. If I didn’t like something as a “normal” person why do they think I’d like it as a diabetic just cause it’s sugar free?!?! Even if I do get better control of this with diet and exercise and do manage to stop taking meds I’m still a diabetic and always will be because it is part of my genetic makeup and won’t magically disappear. I’m a diabetic. Period. End of sentence. I’ve also been told that I’d have more trouble getting pregnant or carrying a baby to full term simply because of being diabetic. Aren’t we glad that docs are fortune tellers and can predict the future? Yeah I know I’m being very sarcastic but I can’t help it. I wish all these well meaning folks that don’t have a clue would just leave me alone and let me live my life to the fullest of my ability. Just cause I’m a diabetic I didn’t suddenly become stupid or helpless. Happy posting folks and thanks for letting me vent today.
What? You don’t go from sitting nicely getting your hair done to experiencing an instantaneous seizure-like low during which you refuse the juice offered to you?
My favorite was from my yoga instructor, who informed me that my type 1 diabetes could be cured through yoga. She’s seen it happen!
I tell people I take up to 11 shots a day and of course they say just what you said, “You must have it really bad.” I usually tell them that either you have it or you don’t. It’s just the amount of management you do that’s different.
My sister worked with a Doctor, (yes, a doctor!) who she said was a, “Brittle Diabetic”, type 1. She would say that he had a worse case of dibetes than I do. I had to correct my sister, the surgical assistant and let her know that the label, “Brittle Diabetic” goes to someone who doesn’t manage their blood sugars well. So consequently they end up with many complications. Such as extreme lows that are ignored until it’s too late, extreme highs over an extended period of time which causes exhaustion and sometimes passing out…
She didn’t like my answer and decided not to talk to me any more about the subject.
Andrew
I’m with you on this one Jenny. Restricted carb diets work best for maintaining tight control of your blood sugars.
It’s like you said, when the carb level rises, (and I like to refer to carbs as the refined type such as pasta, potatoes, rice and any and all kinds of bread plus all packaged snack foods that have been put through the ultra-processor) you’ll have a much harder time keeping your blood sugars under control.
And the ADA is just a money pit. No help there as far as I can see, except more publicity to get more people sending them more money to pay who? The people propagating the here-say and platitudes that they keep spouting. Just repeat after me, “It’s all going to be O.K., just do as we say. We’ll take care of you. We’re from the government.”
Ouch!