Diabetes poll worrying, say experts

[Northerner]

More than half of UK adults do not see diabetes as a health threat, a survey found.
It discovered that 55% of people are not concerned about developing the disease.

Almost half of Scots surveyed said diabetes is not a health consideration, while 58% of those in Northern Ireland said they are not worried about developing the condition.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...betes-poll-worrying-say-experts-16259789.html

That is scary 😱 I wonder if people think it will never happen to them, or think that it's no big deal if they were to get it?

 

[Ginnie]

If someone would of asked me a couple of months ago I would of said the same I was told months before I was diagnosed that I could have diabetes and it didnt bother me mind you a doctor did refuse to test me so I thought diabetes cant be that bad. I believe its the lack of knowledge I knew nothing about diabetes I simply thought if you had it all you did was inject insulin......... Oh how wrong was i !!!! Its a shame really but unless you know someone you THINK it doesnt effect you and sadly I was one of those people blissfully unaware

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

That is scary 😱 I wonder if people think it will never happen to them...

I'm sure that's it Alan. They have seen/read the media portrayal of the sort of people who 'bring it on themselves' and know that this is not them. They like a treat every now and then, but mostly just have a 'normal' diet like everyone else. And sometimes they try to eat low fat too.

An besides even if they were quite overweight... Well the vast majority of overweight people (is it 80 or 90%) do not have D so it will be easy to think that it won't happen to you.

The scary thing is the (very modest) waist measurements that DUK quote as a marker or increased risk (NOT cause I hasten to add) which are only about 37in for men and 31.5in for women... That's most people these days I would think

 

[HOBIE]

People havnt got a clue until it happens to them. Schools are still having cake sales to raise money. Is that a good way to educate. I like the odd bit after a HARD days work but make sure is under control

 

[trophywench]

Well Mike - I have exactly that - a waist that measures 31.5". Pete is 5ft 10 with a 17in neck and a 36in waist. Yes he has been down to a 32 waist, but bearing in mind he was walking about 10 miles a day at the time reading meters and only having a piece of cheese and an apple for his lunch (1 Weetabix for brekkie and if he didn't pass an open pub, couldn't have a pee (so didn't want to drink anything) or anything else all day as not allowed to ask a customer - so normally he'd just keep going and going eating what he could get i his jacket pocket until he couldn't - and then stop and come home) I don't think there's really very much chance of him getting in his Racing Snake bike leathers again in the foreseeable future. (Still - he was the object of my desire whilst he could!)

 

[Caroline]

To be honest and having been healthy all my life I didn't think it would happen to me. My father didn't admit to diabetes until quite lates in life. I have always been more worried about developing breast cancer as the list six or seven generations on my mothers side of the family have developed it.

 

[LeeLee]

Let's face it, nobody really thinks about diseases that they or their friends/family haven't got. I'm as guilty as the rest... diabetes is in the family, but I still let myself get REALLY fat!

 

[DeusXM]

Well, there's a variety of things. We are hitting a sort of health saturation point where it seems like everything gives you heart disease, cancer or diabetes and I think if you don't have any of these questions, it's becoming more common to simply filter out these messages from your day.

Another side is that I really don't think people are ever told about the complications that come from poorly controlled diabetes. Almost everyone who doesn't have a direct connection with D knows three 'facts' for certain: you can't eat sugar, you need injections, and only old fat people get it.

What no-one knows is that poor BG control causes blindness and stroke and CVD and limb loss and impotence and all sorts of other things. I do sorta feel sorry for Diabetes UK. It must be very hard to get across the message about the potential problems without alienating all of us who are already managing our conditions to avoid these problems.

 

[Northerner]

What no-one knows is that poor BG control causes blindness and stroke and CVD and limb loss and impotence and all sorts of other things. I do sorta feel sorry for Diabetes UK. It must be very hard to get across the message about the potential problems without alienating all of us who are already managing our conditions to avoid these problems.

It is - I have discussed this with them and it is extremely difficult to get the public's 'sympathy' and donations etc. when compared to something like, for example, cancer, which always seems to elicit public sympathy whatever the origin or cause. Cancer is serious, but so is diabetes, but because the message that comes across is that it is self-inflicted and easily managed the realities never hit home

 

[trophywench]

MMmm, speaking to a youngish very westernised Asian (Indian) lady - born in the UK - whilst personing a DUK stand at the waterboard offices recently we had this really interesting discussion.

She sees an awful LOT of older rellies and friends of parents etc getting T2 and SHE understands 'why' it is and has no intention of going there herself. But says her parents and older don't regard any illness as their prob - if you are ill it's not your fault (they don't have the guilt thing in their culture for starters) and this isn't the NHS culture that's done that to them - it's their mindset. Whatever you do yourself, it is normally the will of Allah of course, or whoever your culture believes in.

And the doctor's job to sort it out so that you can just carry on as before. End of story.

THey should be able to just pop a pill or 27 and everything will be fine. When it isn't, that is the doctor's fault not theirs cos he hasn't done his job properly ......

Even if you need to inject insulin, which means you have an extra bad case so have clearly been a very bad person and are being punished (but still no guilt trip, cos the Gods are dealing with it by visiting you with this affliction) you shouldn't have to limit how many chapati's you eat.

They don't have much concept of what we know and understand. For instance - they know there's a hereditary link to T1, hence you avoid anyone T1 like the plague because you don't want your pure blood to ever get mixed up with theirs, sort of. And there may be a remote offchance of that if you start being friendly with those people ......... and of course if you are ill with anything, much wailing and praying, cos that's what you do. And that's ALL you can do, after following doctor's instructions to the letter. If you don't do that exact thing, then they know for a fact they will definitely die.

Whereas how many of us - would the reverse actually be true?

 

[DeusXM]

it is extremely difficult to get the public's 'sympathy' and donations etc. when compared to something like, for example, cancer, which always seems to elicit public sympathy whatever the origin or cause.

Depends. Since Roy Castle died, there's been a marked drop-off in sympathy for lung cancer as I think the public perception is this can only be caused by smoking. HIV has managed to turn itself around, although the whole 'good AIDS/bad AIDS' spoof from Brass Eye does still have some currency.

I think this this though why DUK has been focused recently on promoting diabetes in children, although again this is a double-edged sword because people now do genuinely think T1 only happens to kids and magically goes away.

One thing I think where a trick has been missed (or perhaps hasn't been possible) is the use of aspirational celebrities with diabetes. Sir Steve Redgrave is proof alone that diabetes isn't just about lazy fat people and you've got other people like Halle Berry and Nick Jonas too. And I'm amazed nothing's been done with Jeremy Irvine, the star of War Horse. Although having said that, I can also imagine these people don't necessarily want to be too closely associated with what is a negatively regarded condition or might simply be too expensive to work with.

But come on, something like the below picture with a tagline along the lines of 'Think you know what someone with diabetes looks like? Think again' could do wonders for the public perception of our condition.

 

[PattiEvans]

I know several T2s in real life and their attitude is:

Acquaintance 1 "the nurse says mine is only minor and that I mustn't go without meals, so I need a sandwich if the meeting runs late" On another occasion "Well it's mild so using sugar in my coffee occasionally is fine".

Acquaintance 2 "My Dr says I need to get my sugars down, so he's given me gliclazide" ergo I can continue to eat whatever I want including sweets and ludicrous desserts like creme brulee but of course I am controlling it with diet.

Acquaintance 3. "Well, it's the Dr's problem isn't it, he needs to prescribe something that works!" said in an indignant tone.

WHO exactly is to blame in the case of those 3 patients? With the exception of Acquaintance 2 who does have test strips but doesn't want to use them because they make his fingers sore.... the others don't and can't have a clue!

Sorry I have given up because I am a lone "nutter" when I say anything.

 

[LeeLee]

I know what you mean Patti. A T2 friend calls herself 'borderline' and eats whatever she wants because she sometimes has a good blood result. Has just had a stent inserted for cardiovascular disease. I just bite my tongue these days.