wow...hmm..
1. I'm not going to die when my pump beeps (haha) and it's annoying when people yell that out.
2. They don't need to tell everyone I have diabetes, i'll tell them if i want.
3. Jokes about my diabetes are good every now and then but when jokes are constantly being said, it just serves as a constant reminder that i have diabetes and gets old after awhile.
I hate is when people ask me if I'm going to die. One thing that made me mad was when my friend kept calling it my blood PRESSURE instead of blood SUGAR!!! There is a huge difference between the two!
one thing I wish they could understand is well a few things... I REALLY hate it when I go to eat and they constantly ask if I'm supposed to be eating that...I know what I'm allowed to eat. Also...it really makes me mad when I check my sugar and they constantly have to ask about my shots or poking my finger...It just irratates me...it's like they think it's just going to "go away" or I won't have to do it anymore. Idk..
LilMissMissy77 -
what?!?!?!?!? you mean... it's NOT going to go away?!?!?!?
Cheers,
A-D
like someone said before, i've got some good friends too.
one thing i do hate it when people get type one and type two confused. for instance in HEALTH class we were watching a video about diabetes and the narrartor said diabetics are, in most cases, extremely overweight and unhealthy. that made me crazzzy cause everyone in my class turned and looked at me [im open about it, everyone knows i have diabetes] and just made faces. im not overweight and not at all unhealthy, when i was diagnosed i was neither of the two either. i just hate the misconception that all diabetics are overweight, ate too much sugar when they were younger, blah blah.
overall though, my friends are really good about it although they often make jokes referring to MY dia"biddies" or my "dead" pancrease. it doesnt bother me though :]
like someone said before, i've got some good friends too.
one thing i do hate it when people get type one and type two confused. for instance in HEALTH class we were watching a video about diabetes and the narrartor said diabetics are, in most cases, extremely overweight and unhealthy. that made me crazzzy cause everyone in my class turned and looked at me [im open about it, everyone knows i have diabetes] and just made faces. im not overweight and not at all unhealthy, when i was diagnosed i was neither of the two either. i just hate the misconception that all diabetics are overweight, ate too much sugar when they were younger, blah blah.
overall though, my friends are really good about it although they often make jokes referring to MY dia"biddies" or my "dead" pancrease. it doesnt bother me though :]
I would say it would be nice if my friends understood all the psychological factors that come a long with it. I think very few realize how mentally and emotionally draining it can be, and it would be nice to be recognized for dealing with something so difficult.
well theres a couple things...
1. when im testing and they're all "oh whats ur pressure now?" and im like "SUGAR!!" and theyll get mad at me because they don't know the diference, and the two main people im talking about have known about my diabetes since ive known them...so like almost 5-6 years...they should get it by now!!!
2. when my friend (one of the same ones from above) asks me if i can eat a certain food or if i go over to her house and her and her mom literally WON"T let me eat any random types of food!! Its the most annoying thing on the planet. Its like "hello, ive had diabetes for almost 10 years...dont you think i know what i can and can not eat?!?"
3. Another one of the most annoying things is if i ask my friend how many carbs are in something, like a bowl of cereal, or we always have pancakes together, but then she'll tell me how much fat or calories and i know that its the fat/kcal, but ill go along with it and then tell her to look where it talks about sugar then "tell me how many carbohydrates it says in grams" most of the time it doesnt work anyway...
4. so im thinkin that basically the most annoying thing is when people think that they know everything about diabetes and so you ask them a random really easy question and they give you a really long answer and your only reaction is "...WOW...wrong..."
5. I promise this is the last thing that im gonna write...me and some of my "diabetes friends" at school are always in plays together and so every time before a show you know how people say "break a leg?" ya we always say "rupture a pancreas...wait to late!!" its entertaining and everyone is really confused afterwards!!!
ya thats it!
I am in the same boat as many of you. It is very refreshing to read my thoughts coming from someone else.
What I would love most for my friends to understand is that although I have been diabetic for over 20 years, I still struggle with it EVERYDAY. Everyday is a new challenge, to check my blood, take insulin, not stuff my face with sweets and carbs; just because I have been dealing with this since I was two does not mean that I have it under control all the time. Sometimes I slip, sometimes I do not care, sometimes I just don't want to be diabetic anymore.
Then I remind myself I don't get to "not care" and snap back into the real world. :)
And....having them ask "Are you ok?" EVERYTIME I check my sugar, like that helps when I am having an anti-diabetic moment.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
~Laura
I am diabetic and continue to out perform most without diabetes. I have to sometimes ask myself where do I find the energy to keep pushing. I want them to understand with diabetics 100% will not do, we have to put out 200% sometimes to accomplish our everyday goals.
All the "do-gooders" out there who think they know more about the health of a "D" and give too much advise on what to do. It would be nice if friends and FAMILY would just understand that the D knows WAY more then they do on how to be well.. So shut up already! LOL
One thing that I wish that my friends would understand about diabetes is that if my blood sugar goes low or high, it does not mean that I am a "bad" diabetic.
I still struggle with accepting that I will not have control of this disease 100% of the time. I think that is why I struggle so much with this judgment of being "bad". I take it personal when it is just a fact of the disease that we do not always have control. No matter how much I test my sugar, adjust, and modify, I will always go low or high when I encounter new situations. I can not control and/or predict all of the mental and physical demands of life and the subsequent effects on my blood sugar.
This is something that I wish others would understand and something that I also need to accept so that when they do not understand, I have the patience and understanding to not take it personally.
I just want my friends to understand that I can take care of myself...they don't need to ask me if I need to check myself every 5 minutes...i know how my body feels when I need something....they don't. I know they are just worried but it still gets annoying.
Very true melissa! i hate when people do that to me too! it sucks! like when i was diagnose I weighed like 60 lbs and could see my ribs so i was def. not heavy by any means! but it it so stupid when people think that is the reason why! I AGREE!
Okay let's see, where do I begin, ha.
I really don't like when my friends see my like low-carb foods and are like that looks so gross. I don't know why it makes me so mad, but it just ticks me off cause it's like well I'm sorry this is something that's just convenient to eat and it doesn't look appealing to you. Ah! Ha, maybe I'm the only one on that one.
But other than that it's just that diabetes jokes get old. My friends and I joke about everything, so I'll say jokes about diabetes, but sometimes they just need to stop. It often makes it seem like diabetes is all they see when they see me, which is obviously not good. Oh, and I hate being asked "How's your blood?" Ugh! Some of my friends say that, and it's supposed to be a joke and all, but it's really not that funny and it just gets really annoying cause they don't like understand any of it anyway, ha.
Well that's it :)
After giving this post much thought, I would like to think I have narrowed my answer down to one specific thing I wish I could have my friend understand about having diabetes. Naturally, as a diabetic a large portion of my life does consist of the disease. However, that is not all in my life.
I've gotten several comments from people I am close with on several occasions where they will comment "Um... are you sure you're alright? Should you check your blood sugar?" They will usually emphasize this when we are goofing off together or making jokes. But usually, if I make the joke they automatically think it's because I have diabetes, that I can't be fun or silly without there being something wrong. I can't even express to them how insulting and degrading this is, assuming that I am "all diabetes," although I've wished on several occasions I had explained this to them. Usually, I pass it off as a "whatever" sort of situation, and they drop the subject. But I've always wished that they could understand that diabetes hasn't, and won't, ever define me. That I can have a personality true to myself without there being something wrong.
ahahhaa its the worrrsst!
ah, i have such a good one for everybody though it will hit closer to home for the pumpers :]
so this girl in my school, not my friend but we were friendLY last year and talked every now and then, realllly pissed me off the other day. we both leave school the same time and apparently i was "riding up her ass" while driving.. which i was not because i'll admit, im scared to do! anywayys the next day she is talking to two of my best friends and says "oh yeah, and that girl, melissa, your friend, was riding my ass yesterday. i was just chillin, taking my time, smoking my ciggarette and i wanted to stop my car get out and say DO YOU WANT ME TO PULL THE WIRES OUT OF YOUR STOMACH?"
rediculousss, so i confronted her.. [it doesnt bother me when my friends joke around and say something like that, and i will laugh about it] i just couldnt believe this girl would stoop that low to use a disease against me.
so yeah basically a bunch of people hate her right now,..spoiled brat.
thats my shortened version of what pissed me off lately :]
If my non-diabetic friends could understand one thing about Diabetes ... it would be:
- the disease doesn't make me different, just more aware
- you're more conscious about healthy foods and understanding carb control
- it takes a lot of time and effort. In order to have your blood sugar in line, you have to check it multiple times a day
- it makes you feel like it's a lose-lose situation sometimes. If you control your blood sugar too much, that can lead to bad things (ie: having a lot more lows because it's monitored all the time). Your bs can tend to freak out if you're under stress, sick, etc.
- you learn to live with what you've got. In the almost 5 years of having the condition, I've learned there's only so much you can do. After checking your bs multiple times a day, taking your meds and excercising, you have to hope nothing else gets in your way.
- you learn to become more understanding of the many doctors you have to see on a regular basis. The opthalmologist, endocrinologist (every 3 months) and get your blood drawn.
I wish they would be more understanding sometimes. With some of my friends, I have yet to tell them. Usually, I wait until they go to the bathroom to take my bs and then bolus my pump. I realize it's not healthy, but all the people I am frequently around know. My family has been very supportive and my boyfriend as well. It tells a lot about someone if they can't handle the news. When I got diagnosed, I was with a guy and we ended up breaking up because he couldn't deal with it. Non-diabetics sometimes feel as though it's a disease they don't want any association with. I'm sorry it's like that.
I TOTALLY agree with you! I know my mom and sister constantly are up my butt asking me why my number can sometimes spike up. I always get irritated answering that because there's no answer specifically. A lot of things can affect it. They say they know and understand and I'm sure they do ... but ... I know how it can truly go crazy because of something you're going through, etc. I just wish they would stop making me out to be the "bad" diabetic you talk of because I'm not!