Discrimination against diabetics

[Northerner]

Sir, ? Diabetes Ireland must respond to the article ?Is Ireland failing its heroin addicts?? (Brian O?Connell, January 9th). The comments made by two healthcare professionals in the article are not helpful in combating discrimination that many people with diabetes face due to misunderstandings about diabetes. Insulin must be taken as an injection at the specified times or risk ill-health, hospitalisation or worse.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0119/1224310446912.html

 

[trophywench]

Well I've read the original article now

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2012/0109/1224310001769.html

and clearly the chap who mentioned methadone and insulin in the same sentence meant it in the way that "methadone was regarded as the answer to a maiden's prayer in a similar way to insulin being the answer to a T1's prayer - whereas it isn't anything of the kind because it causes shedloads of problems of itself''

Methinks the protester hasn't read it properly.

To be honest apart from blatant discrimination at work (and that wasn't at all universal) the only actual public incident I can personally remember in 40 years, was last Easter whilst sitting on the esplanade at Berck sur Mer and doing my jab before tucking in to some excellent frites. I jabbed and a woman passing by pointed at me agitatedly and was jabbering away to her companion; she had a 'Yours. Disgusted, Tunbridge Wells' look on her visage. So I grinned, dialled up a few more units and airshot them with a flourish! LOL (And Pete said 'Go and fetch a policeman then, you silly .....')

Do you have to take your heroin before you eat?

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for the link TW 🙂

Indeed, do these people really imagine that an addict would so casually be shooting up an illegal substance in full public view? I was on a crowded train from London a few weeks back and had little choice but to inject in full view of the 'businessman' who had just sat down beside me. He promptly got up, got his bag down and struggled back up the train where he must have know there were no empty seats - what a prawn! 🙄

 

[novorapidboi26]

what a prawn! 🙄

Pretend businessman you mean.....................😡

 

[Northerner]

Pretend businessman you mean.....................😡

He was one of those types who looks full of his own importance, wearing one of those hideously old fashioned pinstripe suits and looking about 5 minutes away from cardiac arrest (unless that was just apoplexy due to my temerity to inject in front of him! 😉)

 

[Copepod]

Methadone is more usually taken as linctus to liquid to drink or tablets, rather than to inject. The main aim is to get people who inject illegal drugs, often in risky ways eg sharing needles, to take drugs in a safer form, and then gradually cut down, while cutting ties with drug taking buddies.

So, while it's not correct to liken methadone to insulin in terms of essentialness to life, there's no implication in the original article that it's the injecting that is being compared.