A little bit shocked...........

[HelenP]

Today I had my first appointment at the local Diabetic Clinic. I spose you could call it 'An Introduction to Diabetes'.

I certainly don't mean to blow my own trumpet or come across as a 'Nelly Know-all' but I can honestly say I didn't learn a single thing I didn't already know!! And that, of course, is largely due to being a member here, and soaking up lots of information, and on a lesser level, due to looking things up on the internet, going to the library etc.

Don't get me wrong, what I know is a mere drop in the ocean compared to most of the members here, but the thing that really shocked me today was that most of the people at the 'meeting' really knew very little about their condition. Having been given the news that they were now suffering from a horrible illness which, unless lifestyle changes are made, can result in devastating complications, I'm gobsmacked that people didn't seem to have even the most basic information.

So, Thank You to everyone here who's passed on knowledge and information to help me understand what it means to be a diabetic and how to manage it relatively well.

xx
PS I understand that not everyone has access to the internet but the library is free to all.....................

 

[Northerner]

It is frightening sometimes. I was talking to a neighbour about her friend's husband. He was Type 2 and the doctors wanted him to go on insulin but 'Oh no, he won't do that'. I'm thinking - what choice does he have? Either he looks after his levels or he ends up very, very poorly. It was clear that no-one involved knew the first thing about diabetes and just assumed it was inevitable that the things that used to happen 40 years ago are inevitable now. I'm a bit of a bookworm and read about 14 books about diabetes in the month after diagnosis. I may not understand everything, but I can at least put most things in context.

 

[Copepod]

There can be very good reasons to fear going on insulin, such as loss of driving licence (not car or motorbike, but taxi and anything bigger) and thus livelihood. But it's not suggested for type 2s unless other methods of controlling blodd sugar levels have proved inadequate.

 

[Viki]

Maybe when you go again print the poster off for the forum and stick it on the wall!

I was very proud to see the one i had emailed my DSN takiing pride of place on the notice board at my last appointment 🙂

 

[AlisonM]

I came out of the surgery after getting my diagnosis and headed straight for my laptop and Google. I found Diabetes UK and was rather underwhelmed, except they pointed me here. Best find ever! I say that because thanks to the members I've been pointed in the right direction to find the data I need to make informed decisions. I'm finding friends here too and it's all helping to keep the nightmares at bay.

Heading for the 'net was automatic for me. In the old days I'd have gone to the library, but many people getting that kind of shock will either try to hide from it, or not know where to start, or believe everything the medical types say without question.

 

[Sugarbum]

Maybe when you go again print the poster off for the forum and stick it on the wall!

I was very proud to see the one i had emailed my DSN takiing pride of place on the notice board at my last appointment 🙂

Good woman! well done!

HelenP, well done at learning what you know about diabetes already. Its a long road, but you have started on the best foot. YOU will benefit from this, well done.

 

[tracey w]

It is frightening sometimes. I was talking to a neighbour about her friend's husband. He was Type 2 and the doctors wanted him to go on insulin but 'Oh no, he won't do that'. I'm thinking - what choice does he have? Either he looks after his levels or he ends up very, very poorly. It was clear that no-one involved knew the first thing about diabetes and just assumed it was inevitable that the things that used to happen 40 years ago are inevitable now. I'm a bit of a bookworm and read about 14 books about diabetes in the month after diagnosis. I may not understand everything, but I can at least put most things in context.

I know what you mean, i find it astonishing that people dont bother to find out much about their own conditions.

Just last Saturday we were out and a buffet was provided, think it was chilli and curry, i didnt have any as had already eaten not long before. A friend of the family, who is type 2 and has been for a while, said to me infront of many, "Oh cant you eat this kind of food with your type of diabetes" Incredible!

I just politely said i could but had already eaten. Later on speaking with him he was truly uneducated about the condition, does not test (i know its not necessarily criteria for all), but did say how often he was unbearably tired and exhausted, he did not relate this to his need for testing to see how foods are affecting him. he was aware of complications but was of the understanding that they were just inevitable. I didnt even bother to mention pump etc it would have been too much info for him. He said his family had bought him a meter last xmas but he had never used it. I know its each to their own, but i really dont comprehend why some people dont bother to learn about their condition. Long rant i know, sorry

 

[SacredHeart]

You know, I had exactly the same reaction recently. I went on a carb counting course last month (which was a total mixed bag of usefulness, because I'm still on such small amounts of insulin, due to the fact I'm still honeymooning, that they couldn't really work out a carb-insulin ratio for me!), and I was absolutely APPALLED at how little the rest of the people there seemed to know, and the fact they were saying their levels were quite frequently in the late teen's and twenties and that it didn't seem to bother them! Could be that they've been dealing with this so long that I'm in a different 'generation' of attitude, but I don't know.....it really startled me. I know I was desperate to absorb any and all information on the topic, via books, articles and reliable websites!

 

[Caroline]

I find other peoples lack of knowledeg about their condition more scarey than the condition itself, and at first that is scary enough. I m another one that can come across as a nelly know it all sometimes because I like to do my research, I work in a library and my deparmental motto is Knowledge is Power.

When I saw the DSN, it was her opinion I knew too much for a DESMOND course to be any good, and as I wasn't on insulin she couldn't send me to meet DAFNE which would have been of greater benefit.

When ever I'm asked for information I point everyone with a computer here, and give those without a computer some useful reading ideas taken from our threads.

There is certainly a lot to learn and I'm learning all the time with a lot of help from these forums. I pass posters and fliers along for others benefit too.