Interesting, or should I say "worrying" conversations.

Lilsis

Lilsis

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I've met up with two different friends groups this week and being ladies of a certain age the conversation turns to health and ailments.
In one group we have someone who is living with terminal cancer and another who is living with MS. Both groups know that I have T2 diabetes.
In both groups some of the ladies have been told they are prediabetic. Both groups feel "they just tell you that to scare you!" One person told how someone they know can't possibly be prediabetic as they have been told, as they aren't fat and are sporty.
Another person feels, they tell you all these side effect (their words not mine) but they aren't real and once again, "they" just tell you that to scare you..
I tried to answer their points the best I can as someone living with T2 but I know they weren't listening or didn't want to hear, even when I said "you have been given a chance to stop yourselves getting T2 all you need are a few changes to diet and exercise and no, you don't have to take out a gym membership or take on a marathon."
The friend living with cancer said " you can't think about it all the time" and she's right but when I asked, "if you were told just a few changes and you could prevent yourself getting terminal cancer, would you not take that chance?" Her reply was "well I still vape....."🙄
I don't think there is much point to this post, I just needed to vent.
 
Vent away, we are all of like-mindedness here with regards to preventing type 2. Well done for trying to get the message across! :care:
 
It’s annoying isn’t it, but ultimately you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. Well done for trying anyway. Just try not to say “I told you so” if they get diagnosed! I don’t mind people asking questions about my daughter’s medical conditions if I think they are genuinely trying to understand, but some people just think they know it all already and won’t listen, and you’re wasting your breath with them. It’s their life, concentrate on keeping yourself healthy 🙂
 
But it's good that you care, @Lilsis, enough to feel you need to vent about it. It's been a few weeks since you last wrote; good to hear from you again. As said above, look after yourself.
 
It's unfortunate that there's a general belief that if anyone gets diagnosed with T2 then it's all their own fault, eg for spending too much time on the sofa with a pizza in one hand and the tv remote in the other. That wouldn't explain my T2 though, but the fact that my mother had T2, and my sister has been pre- for some years, means that I was always at risk.

When I saw my DN for the very first time, one week after diagnosis, the first thing she said to me when I walked in was 'Oh, you're quite slim" so even she seemed to be expecting someone who fitted the common perception. Maybe that's the sort of patients she usually sees.
 
Martin.A said:
It's unfortunate that there's a general belief that if anyone gets diagnosed with T2 then it's all their own fault, eg for spending too much time on the sofa with a pizza in one hand and the tv remote in the other. That wouldn't explain my T2 though, but the fact that my mother had T2, and my sister has been pre- for some years, means that I was always at risk.

When I saw my DN for the very first time, one week after diagnosis, the first thing she said to me when I walked in was 'Oh, you're quite slim" so even she seemed to be expecting someone who fitted the common perception. Maybe that's the sort of patients she usually sees.
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You got the polite nurse. Mine greeted me with "Oh, you're not fat"
 
Martin.A said:
When I saw my DN for the very first time, one week after diagnosis, the first thing she said to me when I walked in was 'Oh, you're quite slim" so even she seemed to be expecting someone who fitted the common perception. Maybe that's the sort of patients she usually sees.
Click to expand...
It's sad these opinions don't change.
Twenty years ago when I was diagnosed with diabetes, they didn't use anything sophisticated live c-peptide or GAD tests to determine which type. I was just told, "You're too slim to have type 2 so it must be Type 1, despite your age". Ok, so the diagnosis was correct but as I quickly learned, the way they got there was flawed.
 
It's sad that your friends were so negative when you were trying to put your message across about T2D @Lilsis..but the opinions of some people can never be changed.
 
Martin.A said:
It's unfortunate that there's a general belief that if anyone gets diagnosed with T2 then it's all their own fault, eg for spending too much time on the sofa with a pizza in one hand and the tv remote in the other. That wouldn't explain my T2 though, but the fact that my mother had T2, and my sister has been pre- for some years, means that I was always at risk.

When I saw my DN for the very first time, one week after diagnosis, the first thing she said to me when I walked in was 'Oh, you're quite slim" so even she seemed to be expecting someone who fitted the common perception. Maybe that's the sort of patients she usually sees.
Click to expand...
My DN nurse said to me, healthy BMI, very active with healthy diet, you’re just unlucky. She told me she’d seen a patient the previous week, who was a triathlete. Again just unlucky. I was very upset and shocked, and she never made me feel it was my fault.
 
Lilsis said:
I've met up with two different friends groups this week and being ladies of a certain age the conversation turns to health and ailments.
In one group we have someone who is living with terminal cancer and another who is living with MS. Both groups know that I have T2 diabetes.
In both groups some of the ladies have been told they are prediabetic. Both groups feel "they just tell you that to scare you!" One person told how someone they know can't possibly be prediabetic as they have been told, as they aren't fat and are sporty.
Another person feels, they tell you all these side effect (their words not mine) but they aren't real and once again, "they" just tell you that to scare you..
I tried to answer their points the best I can as someone living with T2 but I know they weren't listening or didn't want to hear, even when I said "you have been given a chance to stop yourselves getting T2 all you need are a few changes to diet and exercise and no, you don't have to take out a gym membership or take on a marathon."
The friend living with cancer said " you can't think about it all the time" and she's right but when I asked, "if you were told just a few changes and you could prevent yourself getting terminal cancer, would you not take that chance?" Her reply was "well I still vape....."🙄
I don't think there is much point to this post, I just needed to vent.
Click to expand...
Raising awareness of health risks is complicated and difficult, isn't it? I still find it startling when I watch episodes of 1970s TV shows and everyone's smoking! We seem to have done well as a society at reducing the use of cigarettes fairly drastically - although I still scowl at anyone I see smoking in the grounds of a hospital. Hopefully vapes are less dangerous than cigarettes. I get the sense that obesity is our next urgent health issue: kids don't walk to school (or anywhere else) any more and they have daily access to high-fat foods that were occasional treats when I was growing up.
 
Lilsis said:
The friend living with cancer said " you can't think about it all the time" and she's right but when I asked, "if you were told just a few changes and you could prevent yourself getting terminal cancer, would you not take that chance?" Her reply was "well I still vape....."🙄
Click to expand...

Not sure I would have said that to someone living with terminal cancer, my guess is that worrying about a prediabetes diagnosis is least of her worries.

Sorry to point this out but get the general idea of your post.
 
nonethewiser said:
Not sure I would have said that to someone living with terminal cancer, my guess is that worrying about a prediabetes diagnosis is least of her worries.

Sorry to point this out but get the general idea of
Click to expand...
 
I get where you are coming from but we've been friends for a good number of years and she's very open about her condition. We have very frank discussion about what is going on in her life. If she had a problem with what I said, she would have told me in no uncertain terms.
 
Good grief.
I've heard a lot of people with pre-diabetes say 'Oh, I just had a lot of sweets last week, that's why.'

The value of 48 was chosen as this was the point at which risks of eye damage start to increase.
Even at 42 or above there are higher risks of cardiovascular problems, and it's likely that the beta cells in the pancreas may have already started to give up.
 
nonethewiser said:
Not sure I would have said that to someone living with terminal cancer, my guess is that worrying about a prediabetes diagnosis is least of her worries.

Sorry to point this out but get the general idea of your post.
Click to expand...
Yes, when my dad was dying of oesophageal cancer and couldn’t take his medication, his blood sugar was really high, even though he could hardly eat. And tbh they just ignored it in the end, because it just didn’t matter
 
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