Tuesday, November 9, 2010

D Blog Day - 6 things about D

I'm very early on this, but I am on the other side of the world to a lot of the D-bloggers out there!

What would I want people to know about diabetes?

I want people to know that Type 1 diabetes is not something I got from eating too much sugar, nor is it something only children get (ok so that's sort of 2 things that I'll count as 1)

I want people to know that if we collapse they shouldn't give us more insulin! This is when sugar is in fact vital!

I want people to not ask - do you have too much or not enough sugar?! Hmm, let me think before I answer that? I might just go with the answer that I don't have enough insulin (and by not enough I mean none).

The trouble with doing this is there is so much I want people to know. That's three bullet points, how to grasp 3 more succinct ideas when really we need to tell people so much.

As much as I want to be positive about it, I want people to know that living with D can result in devastating complications - there is no cure, so managing this life long disease can take its toll. BUT... don't tell us about your grandma or aunt who had her leg amputated. It's really not very helpful.

We can eat sugar. (Note: I am not a dietitian. But if as a diabetic, I make the informed choice to consume carbohydrates that is my decision. It may or may not be the right thing for another diabetic).

And last of all... we are wives and daughters, mothers and sisters, husbands and brothers... you won't be able to spot us on the street, unless the sighting of a glucose monitor or needle or insulin pump peeping out of our top gives us away.


5 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Very interesting post- I see the myth of people with diabetes got it from having too much sugar all the time. I blame this on all the advertising about how too much sugar is going to give everyone diabetes!

I studied abroad at UNSW in Sydney- it was amazing :)

Unknown said...

Yeah, I hear the misconception about getting diabetes from eating too much sugar a lot too, as well as comments like "but he doesnt look overweight". I blame a lot of the general population's misunderstandings, misconceptions, and uneducated questions/comments on the media. The media clumps "diabetes" all into one category, without going into any kind of explaination about the various types of diabetes. Truely nerve-wracking! I'm a mom of a 5 year old Type 1 Diabetic and we are always getting asked questions that we now think are off the wall, though, I must admit, I probably would have asked the same questions if my baby boy wasnt diabetic.

Allison said...

I always get excited when I can spot a PWD. I was at a bridal show a few weeks ago and I saw someone with a Minimed insulin pump. It's so dorky how excited I was.

Anonymous said...

Excellent list! That misconception is everywhere, but just by doing things like this we chip away at it slowly but surely. Thanks for sharing your points, and I'll look forward to seeing you around more in the DOC!

Leighann of D-Mom Blog said...

Let them eat cake!

I was asked at a school party for Halloween if my daughter could eat the snack. I said that of course she can...with the insulin to cover it. Oh, and a mom to come to the party to give her the insulin!