Whats the most annoying comment you've ever gotten about diabetes?

Type 1 and LADA
#1

I’ve gotten quite a lot of really annoying and sometimes even hurtful comments about my diabetes…

When i told a family friend who (by the way) is an assistant nurse about my condition she said "really? but you will get better right? it will go away when you start taking care of yourself?"
and i said "no, i will always be a diabetic and i will actually get worse since my body will eventually stop producing insulin all together"
and she still kept insisting that I would get better in time and that my condition would go away…

i couldnt believe she knew so little

#2

Dean, there IS such a thing as thin T2. There's even a group for them here.

If the definition of T1 is antibody positive, then what would you call someone who is antibody negative, regardless of their weight or use of medications?

Then, of course, what do you call someone who is antibody negative, but not insulin-resistant?

The point I'm trying to make is that you CAN'T fit everyone in boxes, and overgeneralizations just don't work. Not all T2s are fat, not all of them are unfit, and not all of them eat badly. And not all of them can get off meds, even if they kill themselves with diet and exercise. So your blame game is unfair, and doesn't help even the ones who ARE large and unable to exercise vigorously. I'd much rather see you help people rather than criticize them -- why don't you become a health coach for obese people, the MAJORITY of whom will never, ever get T2?

#3

http://health.yahoo.net/health/type-2-diabetes/statistics

http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Type-2-Diabetes.aspx

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-2-diabetes/DS00585

These three were found quickly and all point to what I am talking about but I keep hearing how ignorant I am. Here is another list from WebMD

Anyone can get type 2 diabetes. However, those at highest risk for the disease are those who
Are over 45
Are obese or overweight
Have had gestational diabetes
Have family members who have type 2 diabetes
Have prediabetes
Are inactive
Have low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides levels
Have high blood pressure
Are members of certain racial or ethnic groups

So whether or not you like what I am saying, telling me I don't know what I am talking about doesn't seem to add up to what is readily out there about T2!! Can you explain that?

#4

T2 is a genetic anomaly. I try to avoid talking about weight imbalances, perhaps because I got rather heavy as a T1, and talk about BG control T2 is an evil disease, just like T1 and the common element is to fix the BG. Most people, at least in the US, are inactive and eat lots of carbs, have various cardiac issues, HTN, etc. so I'm not sure saying "T2 are inactive" has a huge amount of validity to fix the problem, which is genetic in nature.

#5

As a society, we often make serious logical errors on things like T2. Here Dean listsed a number of "risks" for T2. A risk simply means an association, it does not mean a cause. Exactly how much is high blood sugar a "cause" of diabetes. Yet, there it is right there in the list list of risks. So we might ask how many of these risks are actually symptoms of diabetes?

Here is my list of possible symptoms of T2 diabetes:

Are obese or overweight
Have had gestational diabetes
Have prediabetes
Are inactive
Have low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides levels
Have high blood pressure

Gosh, that is almost everything. And yet we have made a leap of faith, confusing the associations with causes of diabetes with the result that we come to the illogical conclusion that if you fix the symptoms, diabetes will disappear. And we even have so called medical professionals confusing a symptom for a cause and leaving total confusion in their path of destruction.

#6

"Leap of faith" is a good way to put it! Gary Taubes' books (which I probably read, at least in part, because of Brian's reviews thereof...) make the point that many people who are obese are very aware of it and, in fact, may eat less than people who aren't. It's hard to jump on everyone making uninformed comments linking diabetes and obesity but I think that it's important to do so. I have learned a lot about T2 hanging around here and I try to avoid talking about obesity too much, except for my own experience.

#7

So all those sites are can talk about obesity linked to t2 but you are above that?? The correlations to t2 and obesity are talked about all over the place, but you won't talk about it here! So this is like the White Elephant in the room then I guess.

For me it seems you miss the point. It isn't so much about being obese. It is about the fact that most of us, whether or not we want to accept the REALITY, have a lot more control over what happens to us than we realize. The vast majority of humans can change their lifestyle. Especially if their lifestyle is causing them to be sick. Forks over Knives is a movie which highlights this nicely. But I guess here at TUD we have all the unfortunate souls who don't fit the medical description of t2. Wow, just think of the odds!! (sarc)

#8

Well many of those sites also use words like "preventable" and such, but your right, what I do know. Society has it wrong so you say!

#9

the most common question i get asked when i am getting ready to prick my finger is "does that hurt?" what kind of moraonic question is that? OF COURSE it hurts.( i am just so used to it that i do it w/out thinking now.and my finger tips are so calussed now that they are thick with pin pricks. i really need to find some new areas to prick, i think.
good luck everybody, daisy mae

#10

I think everyone should be above that as it doesn’t help. There are innumerable case studies of people self-reporting these issues who do what they need to do, according to medical science, but still face challenges with weight and blood sugar control.

#11

I so agree with you Acidrock23. Not only that, leading diabetes research organizations that breath diabetes 24/7, such as The ADA, Joslin, JDRF, can and have done studies and come up with slightly different statistics, results, and even recommendations (depending on how the studies were done). There are sooo many variables it's not funny. In addition, we have to be so careful, because the wording of many of these so called "statistics" from sites other than an accredited organization that not only specialize, but dedicates themselves full-time to diabetes research; because many of them make it sound like diabetics are like gingerbread people; as though we are equally the same, and we are NOT. No type 2 person is the same, and neither are their circumstances. No type 1 is the same; no LADA, MODY, Gestational etc, etc. Each diabetic is as unique as a snowflake. Even amongst each other, we don't always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.

Also, a link to something, doesn't necessarily denote cause.

-Yogi

#12

No were in my message did I blatantly say society is wrong and I am correct,please don't get it twisted. I'm just saying, information is only as good as the day it is given. And there is a stronger likelihood that the latest diabetic findings would more likely come from the organizations mentioned. In addition, don't forget, there is that element of indirect "economic/financial motivation".

-Yogi

#13

LOL, I used to get that question a lot too.

-Yogi

#14

Another question asked is related to the frequency of testing, as in "Why do you have to test that many times, when so-and-so only test 2 times a day", or whatever.

#15

Years ago, I had a doctor tell me I only needed to test once a day. I actually had to fight and argue for more strips. The life of a diabetic huh?

-Yogi

#16

As with any other demanding chronic condition....it's 24/7, but at times feels like 34/7!!! Diabetes is no cake walk!!

#17

And the economic/financial motivation in telling people to take responsibility for their own health is??? We can all lose weight and eat healthier if we so choose! So odd how you make all these excuses, as though the evidence I presented you is somehow wrong or misguided, but it is the exact same information I have heard for years and years!!

Face it! The majority, and I mean vast majority, of those with t2 can improve their condition, even to the point of never needing any pharmaceutical or insulin, with diet and exercise! It is a choice to live with that version of diabetes!

#18

Stop being such a drama queen and grow up. You are taking my comments waaay out of context. There is also the assumption that everyone who is fat, wants to be fat, which is absolutely false. Second, it is not always choice. So convenient we ignore genetics. Yes we can all do better to eat healthier, but even within that their are challenges, in terms of affordability. At times I feel like i'm punished for being overweight. The bad part is, I don't think I'm even that big, yet I pay way more money for cloths, and high quality food.

-Yogi

#19

What %age of people with T2 don't need medication and control it w/ diet and exercise? I've met people here who've succeeded at that but I've also met people who describe what they eat (very little...) and exercise, sometimes 3x/ day (post-prandial...) and still struggle with weight. Like Brian said earlier, the obesity is a symptom of T2, not a "cause" of it. The cause is the genetic defect or defects that cause the problems processing food which can include weight gain and hyperglycemia and other challenges associated with our "club". I agree that exercise and diet are beneficial for everyone but I don't agree that T2 are causing their condition.

I think that another problem with the medical industry that sort of feeds the desire to avoid medication and aggressive maneuvering to help treat diabetes, particularly the T2 "flavor" is their tendency to move slowly towards evaluating the nascent stages of T2, "tolerating" the higher or even above the higher edge of "normal" BG without taking steps to attack the highly dangerous condition which could be confirmed through more aggressive labwork. "Gosh, your BG's a little high at 120, it might lead to prediabetes [ya think?]" conversations are reported here and I've known people in the same boat, folks at work when they do health screenings, etc. This slow approach leaves these conditions un and undertreated for too long.

#20

Well said ar, thanks. We, and especially, the media, often seem to ignore the difference between 'cause' (or trigger) and 'symptom'. T2 is not curable; as you said there's a genetic component. Some people can become asymptomatic, but that doesn't mean they no longer have D.

Blame is useless, and no, not everyone can lose weight, 'cure' their D, or 'do better'.