Has anyone heard of the twitter account @crossfit.
Sean Talbot, a fellow diabetic has brought this account to my attention. This account is tweeting false facts about diabetes such as: “Anyone can get T2 diabetes, even those with T1. Stop assuming we don’t grasp the difference and help us raise awareness.” or a picture of a coca cola can stating: open diabetes. Most of us would know that these facts are untrue. But I personally think it could be misleading to newly diagnosed diabetics, or people who don’t even have diabetes. I just wanted to share this with everyone.
I resign myself to the idea that the world will remain woefully ignorant about diabetes. Some people willfully choose this ignorance while some are so busy with life that they don’t know or care about their ignorance.
It’s just human nature. Unless it affects them personally or a close family member or friend, people focus their attention on more satisfying topics. I knew very little about diabetes before my diagnosis.
I am not hopeless, however. I will take the time with anyone that asks questions and takes a genuine interest. We each can address this societal ignorance one person at a time. Like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, the job is never done! It does make things better on the margins but I don’t think I’ll live to see the day of a fully informed public about diabetes.
I’m not sure what to think about the “double diabetes” reference. For several years I gained weight, took more insulin, and had poor blood glucose control. I am a T1D but I did suffer from metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia) for several years.
I never considered myself as having T2D also, but I did have some of the same symptoms. These symptoms were directly brought on by my T1D. I’m skeptical about the term double diabetes but I understand the thinking behind it.
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I saw that Nick Jonas lashed out on this moron (I don’t know what else to call the person), but I’m really confused about “double diabetes.” Aren’t the main differences between type 1, LADA, and type 2 be because of the different antibodies (or lack thereof) present that would signal hyperglycemia caused by an autoimmune attack? If a person is a type 1 diabetic, would they never become a typical type 2 diabetic, because type 2 diabetics tend to not show antibodies denoting an autoimmune disease? If a person is insulin resistant and though to to be type 2 is found with antibodies that denote type 1 diabetes, would they then be considered a type 1 diabetic (or LADA depending on which antibodies are present) who also has insulin resistance?
Would it be more appropriate to say that anyone is susceptible to insulin resistance instead of saying that anyone is susceptible to type 2 diabetes?
I get that there are sensitive issues. But at least from the little I’ve seen, the Crossfit folks aren’t wholly off base, even if some of their stuff simplifies to the point of being misleading.
For example, there’s no inherent reason why someone can’t first develop Type 1 and later Type 2 dynamics, even if in clinical practice we would continue to apply the Type 1 label to them. It’s a bit confusing because Type 1 is defined around an autoimmune response and Type 2 is a diagnosis of exclusion, i.e. diabetes that isn’t Type 1. Type 2 is a function of a confluence of factors, including metabolic syndrome, and Type 1 diabetics aren’t immune from these. For that matter, there’s no fundamental reason someone can’t start with Type 2 dynamics and develop Type 1.
It’s also pretty clear that lifestyle, including diet, plays a big role in Type 2 diabetes. That doesn’t mean everyone with Type 2 is at fault or could have avoided the condition with better lifestyle choices, and in general blaming language probably isn’t helpful. But pretending that lifestyle choices make no difference in the onset and progression of the disease isn’t helpful either.
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I’ve never understood twitter, twittering, tweeting. hashtags. I hate it when I’m watching the news or a show and they start talking about twitter stuff. Or they ask us to “like” them on FB. Why in the heck should I “like” them, just for the asking? What’s in it for me? I have a dummy FB account. Got rid of the “real” one a long time ago. too much nonsense on there for my tastes. I can see family stuff when my wife lets me know there is something interesting on her FB account, from family and friends.
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Here’s a blog from a fellow T1 that I follow on twitter. She tactfully and eloquently summed up the last 48 hours in a nice package. http://myfox8.com/2015/07/01/shark-attack-reported-at-ocracoke-island-in-nc/
Sarah 
I definitely objected to the reductivism of the post since an excess of soda pop had nothing to do with my T2—for me it was genetics and a couple physical traumas that tipped the scales. However our Fearless Leader had some wise words on the subject over on FB. Let’s see if I can figure out the link…
No, it’s not a link thingey since it’s on her page as a status. However, the gist of it was that she hopes we can focus on the bigger context in terms of ableism and the real needs of our community.
In many ways, I agree with Terry…One or a few at a time, we teach…
I think some of what troubles us about these sorts of things is the inherent lack of definition for what Type 2 diabetes actually is. In practice it means “Diabetes of Unknown Cause.” You go to the doctor, he finds you have a high blood sugar, maybe he tests you for Type 1 and MODY or a few other things (but probably not). Then he waves his hand over your head and declares your diagnosis, “Type 2.” There isn’t any test for Type 2. It is a diagnosis of exclusion. And Type 2 is a highly variable thing. But by this definition you cannot be Type 1 and Type 2 because someone diagnosed as Type 1 actually has a specific diagnosis and their diagnosis is “known.”
On the other hand you can argue that a hallmark of Type 2 is insulin resistance. If this is the case then perhaps you could actually test for insulin resistance (this is not done in a clinical setting). And you could give a specific diagnosis, defining Type 2 as “insulin resistance.” In practice, this is an oversimplification since researchers have identified about eight separate defects that are present in Type 2. But cut me some slack. If this is our definition of Type 2 then actually yes, you could have both Type 1 and Type 2. In fact I bet some of our Type 1 members here would probably say they are insulin resistant. This has been called double diabetes and we might reasonably expect autoimmune T1 and insulin resistance syndrome are independent things and T1s would be expected to have T2 at the same rates as the general population (generally between 7-16% of the population depending on race/ethnicity).
I agree we need to teach, but I also think we probably have to start at the beginning with the so called “medical experts” who defined these concepts in a totally messed up way to begin with.
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oh CRAP. This is exactly what I get for trying to multitask. Here’s the link. Petition · Apologize for the "Open Diabetes" Twitter fiasco without further condescension. Admit to your mistake in furthering myths that hurt millions of Type 1 Diabetics. Apologize for the follow up tweets that were inaccurate and just as insensitive. · Change.org
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Here’s an interesting link to a GMA story that aired this morning. Video Nick Jonas Demands Apology After Diabetes Joke - ABC News
Sarah
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Your logic, as ever, strikes me as sound, but I wanted to respond to this part of it because it is always a bit of a head-scratcher for me:
Not to get too philosophical about it, but when you consider that virtually everyone can boost their insulin sensitivity by exercising, then we’re all more “resistant” than we might be, excepting I dunno professional athletes and fitness fanatics. It’s another one of those things where you need to draw a line somewhere, but there’s a certain arbitrariness built into it. As a T1 I definitely see the effects of exercise when I’m keeping at it (which I do try to do). My basal requirements go down and my sensitivity ratios have to change to account for it. Does this mean that if I didn’t have T1 I’d be considered T2? I don’t think so–I think I’m just seeing the benefits of a normal physiological response. But it’s impossible to know since, well, I HAVE T1.
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I tweeted a comment to Cross Fit and then moved on. I’m of the opinion that they’ve turned this into a publicity stunt. I mean look at all the buzz (even negative press is good press) they’ve generated on Twitter and now GMA doing stories about how Jonas is demanding an apology. I think an insensitive tweet turned into a media machine for them. They likely realized it right away and ran with it. What else would explain why they continued to try and justify the tweet to many T1’s on Twitter? Best to just ignore and move on at this point.
I agree, exercise, increasing lean body mass and decreasing bodyfat all improve insulin sensitivity and helps all of us. I am talking about profound insulin resistance where your TDD goes over 100 units/day. I just don’t think that having T1 confers some inherent immunity against the insulin resistance that is at the core of Type 2 diabetes. That insulin resistance is primarily driven by genetics and our environment.
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As a T1D who has experienced significant insulin resistance as well as the daily fluctuation in relative insulin resistance, I think we need to view insulin resistance along a spectrum. When I gained about 25 pounds in five years as the result of chasing high blood glucose with increasing amounts of insulin, my symptoms were a lot like those with T2D. My total daily dose of insulin increased at that time from 40 to over 80. Even at 80 units a day, my control was worse than it had been for many years at 40 units per day.
If I don’t walk my usual distances for a day or two (I walk 25-30 miles/week.), my BG control suffers. It’s probably due to increased insulin resistance, but I can quickly return to my “normal” with simply walking my usual amount.
So, there probably exists a total daily insulin dose threshold for some (maybe most?) T1Ds, when exceeded, insulin resistance becomes the added factor that makes the diabetes harder to control and spirals into a vicious cycle of sustained hyperglycemia, multiple insulin correction doses, followed by weight gain and increased insulin resistance.
Absolutely–I think your point on this was quite clarifying. T1 being its own thing, there’s no reason to think it exempts anyone from T2 if genetics and environmental factors line up that way.
I’ve experienced that as well, though not to the same degree. This damnable cycle that the more insulin you take the harder it is to lose weight, and the more weight you gain the more insulin you have to take and yadda yadda yadda. I’ve been fighting that battle too, with some success thank goodness (yay bike riding). In my case I don’t think it was so acute as to be diagnosed as T2D. But as you point out, the role that artificial insulin plays in driving the vicious spiral is a critical factor–one that wouldn’t exist if I wasn’t T1. Like insulin-induced T2 or something? My brain is starting to hurt… 
Hence the diagnosis used for adult-onset T1s like me as Type 1.5s? I know I have been much more active the last few weeks and my insulin and metformin needs have changed.
Life style plays a role in Type 2, but only if you have the gene set. There are hundreds of thousands of obese people walking around who don’t have the correct gene set for diabetes who are extremely unlikely to get diabetes no matter what they do or don’t do. People with the gene set will get it sooner or later no matter how well they eat or how often they exercise.
I cracked up at CrossFit’s answer to Nick Jonas–they said he was complaining because he was a paid spokesman for Coke. It must have been a knee-jerk answer which they didn’t confirm–Jonas is not, and has never been a Coke spokesman. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth
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That wasn’t their only ‘foot in mouth’ tweet. They had a few they deleted because they were so over the top wrong.
Crossfit has a social media history of bullying tactics. The entire reason they did all this is because of a lawsuit they are in with a competing organization, the NSCA. I normally will let this sort off idiocy roll of my back, but it was the mocking of people that have died from diabetes that fired me up. They could have made their point about ‘big soda’ without crossing that line.
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