Brittle or Fragile?

 

I am a mother of a 6 y/o Type 1. I have heard a lot of people older than me ( I am 28) refer to having T1 as being a Brittle or Fragile diabetic. Is this an old term people used to use? is it even proper? Just wondering about this..  I will say she is not going to break if mama has anything to do with it!

 

Thanks for your replies.. just curious where this came from. :))

 

Sarasusan

I'll be referring you over to Carol Cheney's response- "The term "brittle" is used to describe someone with widely fluctuating blood sugars.  In the past it was often felt that the fluctuations could not be explained, but many endocrinologists feel that, if you know enough about all of the circumstances, you can usually explain what is going on with the blood sugars."

=) I've even had a person call me a "radical diabetic" by my bf's dad, he thought that he was being clever. However he still doesn't know what type 1 diabetes is and has told me that he refuses to learn. Hope the people you talk with will be open to learning!

Sarasusan-

I personally don't like either term never did.  We are all different even in respects to our diabetes.  Meaning our  insulin sensivity is different; Some of us are extremely symptomatic with  blood sugars lower than 70 while others can be nonsymptomatic at 50, etc...  So if someone asked me if I'm a "brittle/fragile" diabetic I would ask them what do they mean - chances are they wouldn't be able to give me too much more of an explanation. 

I can understand being very frustrated with people not wanting to learn. Sorry you have to deal with that !

yeah I should try that.. get them to explain to me what they mean. I am glad that Cheyenne is aware of her lows though. She can even feel it dropping ,  It is scary to think that it could go so low for people and not be aware . I am sure that can be dangerous.. I am so blessed though with such a smart and mature girl who handles all of this so very well.

I work for a children's hospital where the new diabetics usually stay, and they always use the term brittle in the diagnosis! I personally don't like the term, and I never have either. I have been diabetic for 24 years now, and one thing I have learned is that every person is different, and every person tends to react to things differently, so I agree that you would need clarification on what they actually mean.

[quote user="Sarasusan"]

I am glad that Cheyenne is aware of her lows though. She can even feel it dropping ,  It is scary to think that it could go so low for people and not be aware . I am sure that can be dangerous.. 

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Hi! People tend to not feel their lows is if they run too low for a while. So, if she has lots of lows, it is possible she will then notice them less. Running higher for a couple of weeks usually makes you more aware again. So, it's something to be aware of in the future even if she feels her lows now. Other people may have more advice on this, but this is what I've heard...

(BTW, I'm from VA too!)

I've been called brittle, but it's far from proper.