Being mistaken for a drug user

[Inka]

Too many people are bothered about what others do! They should just let you get on with it and mind their own business.

That’s pretty close to what I tell people now

 

[helli]

I confess sometimes I may watch others longer than maybe they think I should so I understand if someone sees me with a lancet out and my meter, they will be intrigued at what I am doing.

A few years ago, I was waiting for my flight at Heathrow and noticed an elderly couple opposite me. I assumed they had had a long flight and were waiting for their connection because the lady was lying out with her head on her partner's lap. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted him put his arm around her which, initially, I thought was very sweet. Then I thought it was a strange and not a natural position, especially as he had a phone in his hand. Eventually, I realised this was my first experience of a Libre in the wild. If they had looked up, they would have thought I was staring and maybe considered that I was rude. Maybe I was. But I did not mean to be offensive.

 

[nonethewiser]

Even as type 1 seeing someone injecting in churchyard first thoughts would be they getting high, just sign of times we live in.

 

[trophywench]

Ah, but you saying you didn't mean to be offensive is not an actual defence in law, of being offensive. I have to say, c**p like that stops us being allowed to tell people they have BO these days, let alone anything else.

 

[helli]

Ah, but you saying you didn't mean to be offensive is not an actual defence in law, of being offensive. I have to say, c**p like that stops us being allowed to tell people they have BO these days, let alone anything else.

I assume that comment was in response to my Libre story.
I did not mean it as a defence in law. But there again, watching someone doing something in public is not illegal.

My point (which I did not make clearly) was that there are two sides to something like this - causing offence and taking offence. I would do not take offence when I spot someone watching me undertake diabetes stuff. I just think they are curious.

 

[Pine Marten]

Sadly, it is quite likely that such places do get used by druggies and the incumbents have the job of clearing their discarded paraphernalia etc from time to time, so his assumption might be slightly justifiable if misplaced in this case. I do sometimes wonder if anyone will think I am a junkie if they see me injecting publicly. For that reason I now try to be more brazen about it rather than discreet. It helps that I have lost most of my belly fat so I don't mind so much getting it out in public these days. 🙂

I'm afraid that last year we had terrible trouble with drug dealers and addicts around our church building and in the garden. A playgroup rents our church hall, and eventually we got extra security gates erected as it got so bad, and extra police patrols in the area. Fortunately after some time the trouble lessened and we haven't had much since, so i wouldn't blame the priest for being wary - clearing up needles, human faeces and other unmentionables like discarded condoms from the garden became a regular job.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Of course, druggies being so common, with people being used to seeing them, won't have made the experience less ...unpleasant?... for @Lucaswatts. People need to be able to deal with their condition without having hassel. Or having to explain anything.

 

[Sally71]

Well you can understand someone being curious, and if they ask polite questions and are genuinely interested then I don’t mind answering them. Not sure my daughter would entirely agree, but now she's at secondary school she seems to be able to cope with having to talk about it occasionally and she gets it now, that if you’re going to walk around with what looks like a bottle top stuck to your arm then of course people are going to ask questions. Whereas at primary school she would practically have a meltdown if someone even dared to ask her what her pump was or why did she have to prick her finger.

The ones which really annoy me are the ones who think they know all about diabetes just because they know someone with type 2, and then try to tell me how to look after my own child. Met a couple of teachers like that at primary school 😡 When you’ve come to a few hospital appointments with us then maybe you can have a say in the matter!

Thankfully the staff at my daughter’s secondary school have absolutely got it nailed, including the added mental health issues she's having at the moment. They really do care about their students there!

 

[Alfie Foster]

Very sad. Why didn't the priest ask you what you were doing there first? Why did he immediately start kicking you out

 

[mikeyB]

I inject anywhere I happen to be. Most folk just don’t notice. My advantage now that I am in a wheelchair in public is that people avoid staring whether or not I’m injecting.

Because our eyes are not cameras, what we see is a construct made by our brains. So if what appears is outwith your experience- for instance, someone injecting in a restaurant, you may look but not see what is going on. And that is the source of the “double take”, while your brain is computing.

 

[Lilian]

There is more publicity about drug users. You see them on films even when it is not part of the story. Everyone believes any homeless person must be a drug addict or alcoholic. There is no publicity about diabetes. You rarely see a film where someone has to use insulin unless it is pertinent to the actual story line. Therefore the average person in the street (who does not have a family member or friend who is IDD) would automatically presume a drug addict.

 

[grovesy]

There is more publicity about drug users. You see them on films even when it is not part of the story. Everyone believes any homeless person must be a drug addict or alcoholic. There is no publicity about diabetes. You rarely see a film where someone has to use insulin unless it is pertinent to the actual story line. Therefore the average person in the street (who does not have a family member or friend who is IDD) would automatically presume a drug addict.

Also what publicity there is about Diabetes , it is framed they are fat, and they have caused it themselves.

 

[mikeyB]

People can presume what they want, I couldn’t care less.

 

[trophywench]

@mikeyB - I am firmly of the belief because friends and acquaintances have always told me this - that you become largely invisible in a wheelchair - which may be OK when having an insulin jab (or needing to scratch certain parts of the anatomy LOL) but should you become ill or need help for anything - it isn't.

 

[Lilian]

Also what publicity there is about Diabetes , it is framed they are fat, and they have caused it themselves.

I found this very interesting. Doctor apologising for his fat prejudice.

 

[rebrascora]

That video is hugely emotive for me.
Not that I have ever been fat shamed, but the power and passion of this doctor's presentation is what helped me to find my way forward with low carb higher fat eating. All the NHS and government advice throughout my lifetime about fat being bad and my diabetes nurse at diagnosis stressing to keep to a low fat diet was holding me back, but this TED talk by Dr Peter Attia helped me to realise that doctors and governments are not always right and it is OK to ignore that guidance and experiment with what might work for me rather than blindly accept the science.

 

[Piglet]

Hi,
Today I got steak bake and a gingerbread man from Greg’s and found a sheltered bench to check my blood sugar and inject some insulin. The bench was in the porch of a church (I won’t say which). As I was injecting, I heard someone come out of the church and he said, “You can’t be doing that there” in quite a stern voice. I looked at the person and saw that he was a priest. I took the needle out, showed him my pendency device and said, “I have diabetes, I wanted somewhere sheltered to check my blood sugar and have my insulin. I can go and eat somewhere else”. The priest appeared startled and a bit embarrassed maybe? He said I could sit there as long as I liked. Has anyone else had any similar experiences?

Hi I had many similar experiences when I was diagnosed in the 1980's just as the HIV / AIDS issues was hitting the headlines. People always assume the worst and I am really glad you addressed it in such a calm way as to make the person feel embarrassed. it's a shame the world attitude to people who need to inject hasn't changed much.