Musings of the 3 AM Brain

What if everyone in the world had either type 1 (or type 2,etc.) diabetes?


Would life, as we know it, be easier or harder? (since the theories for managing diabetes are almost as plentiful as the number of cases) Would the Type 1: Type 2 ratio matter...since they are different,& can be treated thus. If there were more type 1 cases, would people get more education:be better informed? (and inform others)


Would we be healthier-would we take matters into our own hands,implement exercise programs, various incentives, etc...or would the vast majority of us continue to ignore what should be done & eat ourselves into a state of morbid obesity? And would insurance companies be any better about covering the supplies needed to TREAT and prevent complications from occuring? And would Congress/etc. get serious about funding various entities to make a cure happen sometime in this lifetime? I mean, we'd all be just one big happy D-family...all of us would want that cure.


And would we finally get rid of this stupid "diabetes blame game" where if you have diabetes (any type) you must have eaten too much sugar or not have exercised enough or been dropped on your head as an infant...etc. Would we stop blaming the patient,& would people stop blaming themselves enough to work towards a state of health?

(In conclusion, I don't think more people getting diabetes is going to improve either the public perception of it/chances of a cure/or anything else. It's just going to cause more suffering. And some days,you just feel like a paper towel against the flood of stupidity,ignorance, etc...nothing you say is making much of a difference)

Diabetes on Demand (Disclosure)

"Who here has diabetes?"

Those were not words that I EVER imagined coming from any instructor's lips, let alone the department (semi) head. But flow they did, in response to another student's inquiry on a diabetes-related topic.

"Oh, I do, I do, I do!I got it when I was 16.5, which isn't as sucky as some ages to be diagnosed because you can take full responsibility for your disease,and can wield a needle like a pro, but still,the only good age to get diabetes is age 86(or whenever you're in your final illness) when you don't really care that much because you're nearly dead..."

(Wait a second. What am I about to DO? I'm about to tell a group of people (of which, 50% will probably turn out to be food Nazi's and hound me relentlessly for the next 1.5 years (till graduation) about how I should manage "my" diabetes. They don't need to know. This is a teachable moment,but it is not "my" teachable moment. There are 30+ people in this room & my not saying anything,will not forever influence/ruin their careers.) And so my hand(burning with the urge to go UP) stayed down.

"Some of my student's in past semesters have diabetes,and have better perspectives on that (various diagnosis ages) then I do."

I thought about that, and while it's certainly up to the individual in question whether they want to share that I don't think it's something an instructor should be asking the class. That's an extremely personal question. I have diabetes,and at this point only the disability office knows it because they're the only ones who need to know. It still feels a tad weird though (the amount of candy that flows through this class is like being in kindergarten)like you should say something (about why you're not chowing it down like the best of 'em). Nothing against the candy in question, it's usually my blood sugars that I don't want to chase for the next 6 hours. Regarding different diagnosis ages,things are very different when you're dx'd at 6,16,26, or 60. But at every age, the patient can be involved in SOME way. (6 year olds are very smart & can get concepts before adults do) Being dx'd at 17, my childhood was D-free and candy was candy.(not something to be fought over, or something that would kill me.) I didn't have major food issues because I was diagnosed in the age of carb counting(and we always ate pretty healthy, so no changes there either)Getting diabetes is so much more then "anxiety over insulin injections" such as the examples in class are portrayed. It's more like anxiety over hypo/hyperglycemia/blindness/stroke/heartattack/kidneyfailure/amputations/neuropathy/foodbattles/dating/marriage/childbirth/job/healthinsurance/bloodsugarswings/earlydeath etc.etc.etc. I guess they choose that (as something that the nurse can actually "do" something about.)You can't dive forehead deep into something, you've got to take it by degrees.

On the plus side,I've survived three tests,a math test,a presentation,and a paper (with mostly A's) so I'm not just surviving,I'm doing pretty darn good. Switching to disability accommodations in the testing center was a really good idea.(less stress,lower bgs,and the slightly extra time have really improved my test scores)I should have done this a long time ago.