So, I find myself getting bitter rather frequently about T2s- their prevalence/people automatically that we are T2s, T2s thinking that they know everything about diabetes even though T2 is very different from T1. . .
The other week my boyfriend's mother (who is T2) was talking about how her doctor is getting her off all her meds and how she does not believe in getting flu shots because you are putting the virus in your body.
Part of me was happy for her, but the other part of me wanted to scream because I don't have the luxury of coming off my meds because I take the dog for an hour walk everyday and I have to (should) get a flu shot because I am much more prone to having something like that become a MAJOR problem.
Has anyone here gotten over resenting T2s, or are you in the same boat as I am?
If anyone has gotten over it- how did you do it? Any suggestions for the rest of us?
I don't know when you got diagnosed, but I was 4 years old. For me, realizing that many type 2's are diagnosed after adulthood makes me sympathetic. Yes I have had more time to accrue damage or impairment, but an older age at diagnosis has to change lifestyle patterns to be successful. Not to mention balancing work, family, parenting, school, or whatever other responsibility this person has. At least diabetes was old hat to me when I started other important areas of life. Treatment is very different too. I have T2 relatives who are told to only test once a week because it is not important, and they don't know that their glucometers need to be coded to work properly. This makes me sad because better information and care could speed their control of sugar levels, and a lack of information can be deadly. In a sense, some T2s are not cared for as much by their doctors as T1s. While your relative may be going off her meds, some T2s cause irreversible damage, or don't follow instructions and thus never get off meds. Some T2s end up needing insulin, putting them in the same boat as the rest of us. While T1 is surely not a desired quality, we never have to deal with being taken off medications and then placed back on due to inappropriate self-care or a progressive worsening of the disease. In general, I find it frustrating that the public is only aware of T2, but I feel a great amount of sadness for those individuals too.
I think we have to be careful when discussing T2 b/c there are members on here w/ family members who have it, and we don't want them to feel unwelcome. However, I agree that it can be *very* frustrating when people give us advice that is not related to OUR disease. I think we all have to do our part in educating others that we have a different disease and no, we can't just exercise it away. But, many T2's have a lot of trouble w/ insulin resistance which we have to deal with less. But, I hear you that it's frustrating. When I was growing up, when kids heard I had D, 90% said, "Oh my grandmother has that!" Luckily, I seem to get that less lately. When I was 10, I didn't want to be compared to anyone's grandma. (:
I personally don't carry any form of resentment towards anyone with type two diabetes. I view them as brothers and sisters in a sense when it comes to the overall fight against this diesease. I believe the real issue at hand is the lack of awareness in the fact that there are two different types of diabetes and that the symptoms and treatments that accompany them are very different. We all share diabetes, its risk of complications and it restrictions and difficulties it places in our lives. Taking shots versus pills doen't make one type any better then the other or mean that their life is more difficult versus another. Sadly becuase of our western junk food diet type two diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and makes us who have type one diabetes a minority in a sense. This can be frustrating becuase most hospitals diabetic assitance and education plans are geared towards those who have type two diabetes. I actually attended a support class at my local hospital where i found myself correcting the educators and dieticians for failing do distinguish the differences between how someone with type one or two should appoarch different aspects of their care. They were quick to point out that of the twenty people in the class only two us where type one so they only orientated the class to address type two issues. Upon which we both promptly left. I advised my doctor to never schedule me for any more thier groups if they felt the only people who qualified as a diabetic were type twos. I certianly understand the frustration many type ones have when they find themselves feeling like they have been forgotten. However this is not anyone who has type two's fault but rather a lack of social understanding on the part of the medical community and the lack of overall awareness by society at large of type one diabetes.
I used to resent type 2s, but I don't any more. I watched my mother in law die from both T2 and a form of cancer. Now I hate T2 and what it did to her.
I do resent mightily a handful of T2 people, but I have the memory of my mother in law to stop me in my tracks. I loved her very much, and I miss her.
I do resent the receptionist who works in my internist's office for bragging about getting off of insulin after she had lap band surgery. I resent the idiot who listened to her story and thought I should hear about it when I went to get an X-ray (even though I am not fat to begin with).
Most of the T2 people I know are people that I also am very fond of and care deeply about. I wish that more was heard about T1. I also wish that every commercial for a meter would not have an overweight person or an old person selling it.
Most T2 people I know, by the way, aren't overweight! That's what really blows my mind about the media and advertisers...
I used to think that T2s brought it on themselves and had very little sympathy for them. I now know that's not true and changed my opinion of them. My mother-in-law is a perfect example: She developed type 2 because her heart failed. She had a heart transplant and now is on pills and insulin. The only time I resent a T2 is when they don't take care of themselves or when they argue with me about facts because they don't understand that T1 and T2 are completely different diseases with different management.
Thanks everyone for clarifying some of My misconceptions about T2. I really did think that a lot of people did it to themselves. Most of the T2s I know are overweight and unhealthy.
I think I am just still dealing with resenting my own T1, so when I see some T2s who seem to have it "easier" - I get upset because I am reminded of how hard it can be to have T1 sometimes. (I do think taking a pill is less of a burden than giving yourself shots.)
I do really care about my boyfriend's mother and the other T2s in my life as a general matter - but I guess I don't really find them to be a good support system for me personally (maybe because a good number of them don't take care of themselves).
And that's really messed up what happened at your support group. I would have definately left too.
My grandmother is type 2 and despite the fact that she's seen my father live 20 years with it she still says to me all the time "can you eat that?" I tell her all the time, even my mom tells her, I can eat whatever I want as long as I'm taking my insulin. Because like her I'm never going off my meds and so I don't see a reason for changing my diet.