• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

I give up

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
spell

spell

Well-Known Member
If you have diabetes you are labelled a diabetic.
If you have cancer you are not called a cancer, I can't think of any other diseases where you are labelled after that disease.
So being a diabetic you are defined as a disease.
What a bag of ****.
 
You are not defined as a disease, you are defined as having the disease.
"Diabetic" is a shorthand for "diabetic person" or "diabetic patient", much like "cancer patient".
Once you reach a certain age, you probably don't care what people think about you or call you!
 
I have autism and describe myself as autistic. Have dyslexia and describe myself as dyslexic. People I know with asthma describe themselves as asthmatic.

I have diabetes and describe myself as diabetic. It’s just words describing what conditions you have. I don’t see any problem with it.
 
Am happy enough to be called a diabetic as it helps explain the condition and helps others understand.
However I always look upon my diabetes as a condition for me to manage rather than a disease.It may seem a subtle difference but I do not classify it as anything other than having to make some adjustments to live a very normal and contented life.
 
spell said:
If you have diabetes you are labelled a diabetic.
If you have cancer you are not called a cancer, I can't think of any other diseases where you are labelled after that disease.
So being a diabetic you are defined as a disease.
What a bag of ****.
Click to expand...
The grammatical torture needs to end! We don't 'live with diabetes' like its our flatmate who occsionally forgets to wash up or nicks the milk, but isn't such a pain as diabetes. Type 1 anyway.
Diabetes is really demanding but it is NOT my identity and I try to minimise its' impact on my life. The new tech makes that a lot easier. There is no need to wear the label as if you are a victim and its up to you how you speak about it (or don't).
 
I have never been “a diabetic”. Diabetic is an adjective. I am a person with diabetes. Concentrate on the person. You are way more than your health condition(s)
 
Well - some years ago now we were all requested to call people with diabetes exactly that hence using the phrase PWD in full every time you wished to convey summat like Blimey - every diabetic in Timbuktu has been issued with HCL technology! or anything really - whereas I can't usually be arsed to type or say more words than are necessary to convey my message. If I refer to you, or Patti, Northerner or someone as eg examples of UK diabetics I happen to have met - how on earth is that inferring that diabetic describes anything about each of you other than the fact we all have diabetes and as it happens, all use insulin to treat it. There is no way whatever that anyone could possibly glean any other morsel of info about us, from that word - and I deliberately chose those individuals because we really don't have very much else in common, really!
(and also of course because I've met a limited number of people from forums generally 😉 )

I remember a GP explaining summat medical to me one day about 15 years ago about my thyroid TSH level that contained the phrase 'people like you blah dee blah..' and I responded with the query 'Now doc, when you say 'people like you' do you mean "female, brunette recently retired corporate international insurance brokers", or perchance "people with diabetes" then?' Broad grin from Doc and the firm response, 'The latter!'
 
JJay said:
I have never been “a diabetic”. Diabetic is an adjective. I am a person with diabetes. Concentrate on the person. You are way more than your health condition(s)
Click to expand...

That’s my preferred terminology too. It is also what medics and healthcare professionals are encouraged to use. There was a “Language Matters” campaign that showed just how important it can be in terms of people being treated as individuals who have much more to them that whatever conditions they have going on in their lives.

Good to see you posting again @spell

Look after yourself.
 
I saw a Tshirt that clearly states 'like it is' to the reader because on the front of it, it said

I am that grandma.
Sorry - not sorry
 
I just drop the "a" so "I am diabetic" [adjective] because I have diabetes, not "a diabetic" [noun].

Agree with the OP on the syntax. Same with other adjectives, I am not "a lesbian" [noun], actually I'm "not lesbian" [adjective] either, cos I have Y chromosomes. But I'm also not "a homosexual" [noun] or even homosexual [adjective] cos I like females. Those were the most misused terms that occurred to me. Apologies if anyone offended
 
I don't care what people refer to me as to be honest. It doesn't change the fact that I have diabetes. I certainly don't get upset if someone asks if I am "diabetic", " a diabetic" or "person with diabetes". The answer is all of the above. I really don't see how it matters or honestly, how anyone could even get upset about it!?
 
chaoticcar said:
Some people tell me that I am not a diabetic because I am too thin!
Carol
Click to expand...
This and or too young.

Most of the time I don’t care at all. Sometimes it makes me rage ha
 
Being "a diabetic" defines who you are as a person, or actually not a person but a diabetic. You are not "a diabetic", you are a person who happens to have diabetes. You may think it's just semantics but is much more
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top