Do you consider yourself to have an illness?

[Kentoldlady]

Interesting question. When I was dx I was also told I had hypothyroidism and hypertension. At the moment I consider the hypothyroidism an illness because it is still making me feel ill. The hypertension worries me and I have no problems with t2d at all.
So I don't think of the t2d an illness, just something I have to deal with, like wearing glasses, only with more thought!
I suppose if it makes you feel ill then you consider it an illness. If it doesn't then you don't. I know that lots of people with hypothyroidism don't think its an illness but that might be because it doesn't make them feel ill. But if they stop taking the medication then they will be ill.

 

[Flower]

I consider myself to have an auto immune disease that's out to damage every part of me if I don't keep it controlled. With the right elusive balance I don't feel ill. I feel rough if I get it wrong but I wouldn't describe myself as having been ill for nigh on 40 years. I think of illness as a hopefully short period of time when I feel poorly but with a foreseeable recovery. Diabetes definitely doesn't tick that box for me.

As others have said I don't want to overplay it but nor do I wish to be told it's as easy as brushing my teeth

 

[Ditto]

I have hypertension, thyroid, crossed eyes, a fatty liver, obesity, ischaemic ticker and I'm Type 2. I don't consider myself to have an illness, I feel I'm a creaking gate.

Oh forgot prolapse and self-diagnosed autism! 😉

 

[Amberzak]

It's interesting.

I feel rotten a lot of the days and I've just always assumed it's the diabetes. I do have a huge amount of other conditions too including under active thyroid.

I guess the other problem with thinking of it as an illness is that some people associate illness with something you recover from like a flu.

I guess, if I'm really strict on my definitions, I only say I'm ill with my diabetes on those days where I just can't get my sugars down (and usually it's stress). So I guess I don't really think of the diabetes itself as an illness, but more of a condition, except when my sugars are high.

As for disability (and I am disabled as well with mobility issues) I think it depends on the type of job you are doing. When I did my teacher training, diabetes was definitely considered a disability, because I needed to treat any hypos etc and the school I was at wanted to make sure they had a teaching assistant in every one of my classes. Their choice. It was because it was a challenging school. And by classing it as a disability they were able to approve funding for it. However now that I'm self employed home tutor, I don't think of it as a disability because there's nothing to stop me looking after my self. Same when I'm on set for a film. There's no real reasonable adjustments needed.

I do find my diabetes controls my life a lot. My sugars can change so quickly and often without any real cause (usually as I say it turns out it's stress) that I test a great deal. It's more stable since being on the pump but it's still so much work. And I'm already getting some damage like In my eyes and such. So personally I do consider my diabetes to be serious. But I have severe anxiety and stress really affects me, plus I have lots of other conditions (including autism). I always feel a little but jealous when I read that some other people don't see their diabetes as being that controlling over their life. Maybe I need to learn to relax a bit more, but the moment I do I lose control of my sugars. It's a lose lose. Ha ha.

 

[Steff]

Id consider it an irritating fly I can flick away occasionally but never get shot of it for good.

 

[HOBIE]

I absolutely hate the thought of being called in any way disabled. I would knock someone's head off if they ever called me that. 51yrs of T1 & never been unemployed in my life & very proud of that. 🙂

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Well, I am disabled, but it's nothing to do with having diabetes! I am ill because I have ME, and I would tend to think of that as a disability rather than an illness - I feel ill with it, but as someone said earlier, people expect you to recover from an illness, so disability is a better description.

But diabetes - I'd agree with everyone who prefers to call that a condition rather than an illness. It's a blooming nuisance at times, but as long as it's managed it doesn't make me ill. Even with my frequent hypos I'm not exactly ill - you can't really call something an illness when it only lasts for 10 minutes or so at a time, can you?!

I'd call DKA an illness though - I felt lousy with that, but only for a few days - once I was put on insulin I felt wonderful!

 

[mikeyB]

As I swan around in a wheelchair outdoors, it would be odd if I denied I was disabled, because I can barely walk. I am, very. I'm just not disabled by diabetes, but I don't consider the conditions that put me in the wheelchair illnesses. I do have conditions that I do consider as illnesses because they are only intermittently symptomatic and treatable. It's hard work keeping up with them all to be honest. But diabetes for me, as it is with others on this forum, is a by the way. It is the least of my problems in life.

 

[Bloden]

Great thread, Amberzak.😛 Sorry to hear you have to work so hard to keep on top of your diabetes.

I'm another diabetic with a 'condition' not an 'illness'. My OH is ill at the mo and the difference between us had crossed my mind - I'm chronic and he's acute! If you looked at him, you'd say "He's ill" whereas you wouldn't say that about me.