I just want to get an idea about what others have heard / experienced by those that are "not in the know".
My absolute BIGGEST peeve is when I tell someone my softball catcher/soccer goalie/basketball playing daughter is T1 and they spout off "REALLY!? She doesnt look diabetic". I just want to stroke their hair and say "its a good thing your pretty". But I dont do that. I typically do a quick education about the diffeences between 1 and 2.
Do i really have to pick just one! i think i can narrow it down to 2. When people realize that both my oldest 2 are type 1 i get "there not fat!" da da da! CAPTAIN OBVIOUS! (my girls swim competitively year round and dance 12 hours a week)
the second is "did you have gestational diabetes?" Um, no. and even if i did i don't think i could have magically transferred it to my girls, and switch the disease itself! (eye roll so big its a miracle i don't fall over). I could go on but i will stop there. This is fun!
My 9 yr old daughter plays bball and sball and it ticks me off that the officials won’t let het wear her bracelet. It is stretch plastic they don’t understand she had to wear it for safety reasons.
I hate it when people ask me if she'll "grow out of it." Uh, no, it will never magically go away because she grows up!
And the other day a D-mom I know was calling around for a daycare center who would accept her 2 year old T1D daughter and one - a church-based one, no less - said no, they don't because "it would be a distraction for the other kids." OMG - can you believe that?? Made my blood boil! If you don't accept kids with adverse health conditions, just say "no, I'm sorry, we can't take her" but don't be so ignorant and insensitive to add salt to the wound!!
Wow, I haven't heard that one before about gestational diabetes. Duh!
I was given a gluten free cookbook as a gift. Very well intentioned, but not even remotely on the mark.
Oh, I have more so dont worry about taking up too much space here.
My pet peeves are, "Will she grow out of it?" and "Is her diabetes under control?" and "Was she born with it?" It takes every ounce of patience I have not to yell my answers. No, it will not magically go away. Well, her blood sugar may happen to be in range right this minute, but ask me 5 mins from now and I will probably have a different answer. And, no, she was not "born with it." It developed when she was very young, but for the first 22 months of her life, diabetes was not a part of our lives.
I try to remember that *most* people mean well, and every question is an opportunity to educate and advocate for our T1 loved ones. But, it's those people who *think* they already know it all that I want to punch. And sometimes, after having had a particularly loooooong night, restraining myself is an especially difficult thing to do!!
I wish people could understand that this disease is not managed by "just taking some insulin a couple of times a day." Many people I have met seem to be under the impression that it is like remembering to take your daily vitamins, same amount, same time every day... no big deal, right? Oh, and just don't eat candy.
UGH! If they only knew... but sadly, unless you are also a T1 parent, no one really gets it.
"That's the bad kind, right?"
*facepalm*
Here's a great video - it's so sarcastic I couldn't help but laugh
I do think most folks are just uneducated. When my son was first dx at age 20 months, I got both 'he isn't overweight' and 'did you feed him a lot of sugar?' a lot. Drove me crazy!
Another one of my favorites is, "i know a homeopathic doctor who says they could have the girls off of insulin in 6 months!". To which i am thinking, yeah, they would be off insulin because the quack would have killed them.
Ugh! Yes! That one drove me nuts, too! Here I was with a baby, 23 months old, and people would ask, "Did you feed her too much sugar?" or "Is it because she ate too much candy?" SERIOUSLY?? She wasn't even 2 yrs old!! Further proof that people speak before they think.
Thanks! I needed to start my day with a laugh!
I love that video, my girls and i quote it all the time. I can honestly say that i have heard every single one of those dumb things, and then some!
I hate having to reeducate my daughter when we leave my parents house. They are both T2 and my brother is T2 as well. I just keep breathing and point out that, with regards to my family, I am somewhat active and have avoided it to this point. BUT, she has a totally different kind that is not so much of a lifestyle consequence as it is a lifestyle requirement. Then I point out that they are missing a few digits on their feet / entire lower limb as a result of them not taking care of their business. She realizes that by staying active and keeping an eye on them carbs she will have a good, fun, active life.
I love that one too. Seen it many times.
So I called the schools PE teacher because I had a question about the school policy regarding her testing before class. She said she would have to check on it and that she didnt remember much about diabetes. "It has been a while since my gestational diabetes". I wanted to say "well, it is ALMOST exactly the same thing as type 1 diabetes". What I think is troubling is that the instructor didnt know one of her students has a medical condition.
Unfortunately I think secondary teachers often dont know. I assumed that my daughters school nurse would be informing my middle school T1s teachers about her disease (since we provided informational packets and were told by the nurse that she would be talking to each of the teachers about it). The first any of her teachers had heard was a month after school started, when i informed them. This is especially disturbing since we do have a 504 in place. i guess they assume that she can completely self manage, luckily for us our daughter is pretty independent, but i know lots of teens who still need help doing shots and carb counting. Not sure what the schools do with them.
I got a new one...you invite an adult you know well with t1d to have dinner, talk to your child and motivate you. You end up hearing about all the "close call's" and night time paramedic visits. And then can't sleep for days.