I agree Rob. I think it's important to show the difference that trying to achieve good control can make so that people feel they can take individual action to work at managing their diabetes well. I've no doubt that there are many hundreds of thousands of people with diabetes who suffer complications and premature death because of lack of education, motivation or just pure bad luck, especially if they are diagnosed after unknowingly being diabetic for many years and have already developed problems. But the overriding message should be one of hope, and a comparison of the likely outcomes from different levels of control ought to illustrate the benefits of good control.
I'm reminded a bit of that Flora Heart Health calculator a while back where, as soon as you ticked the diabetes box it instantly docked 10 years off your life span - no account taken of levels of control or years since diagnosis, nothing! I wrote to them but they just gave me a stock reply about how it was based on some old study (I forget which) carried out years ago and no doubt lumping those with excellent control in with those whose levels might have been double or treble 'normal'. It was practically saying 'Oh, you have diabetes - sorry there's no hope for you and nothing you can do'
In the same way that smokers or heavy drinkers might be told 'If you continue as you are, your life may be shortened by X years, but stop now and start looking after yourself and that threat will diminish. As an ex-smoker I know I found it encouraging to be told that in x years my risks would be practically the same as someone who had never smoked - it gave me hope that it was something worth doing, plus of course I quickly realised the benefits in feeling fitter and healthier, just as a person with diabetes does when they manage their blood sugars well.
🙂
