Please be careful of what you say about complications

[AJLang]

I may be being sensitive but I’ve noticed that there sometimes there seems to be a tendency on this site of people sometimes assuming that it is an individual’s fault that they have diabetic complications.
Obviously it is very important to focus on controlling diabetes but there is not always a causal relationship with the development of complications and diabetes control. Various examples have been on this forum of people with excellent control getting complications early on (I’m not talking about those who were undiagnosed for a long while).
Often, again not always, complications are a result of long term diabetes. Again not all long-term diabetics have complications.
I guess I’m just saying please consider the views of those of us with complications when making specific or general comments.
I’ve noticed that although medics expect the majority of diabetics to have some form of complications 25 years after diagnosis, there are relatively few members on the forum with complications that comment and I feel that needs to change.
I’m speaking as I head towards my 54th diabetes anniversary.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Hello @AJLang . Thanks for your post. Feels like an echo chamber in here, sometimes.

 

[silver minion]

A timely reminder @AJLang that there are no guarantees that complications won't develop, regardless of how well you manage your diabetes.
It's a fine line between acknowledging the serious complications that may happen and reassuring Newbies that many people can still live a full life with diabetes.

 

[Pollyanna]

I may be being sensitive but I’ve noticed that there sometimes there seems to be a tendency on this site of people sometimes assuming that it is an individual’s fault that they have diabetic complications.
Obviously it is very important to focus on controlling diabetes but there is not always a causal relationship with the development of complications and diabetes control. Various examples have been on this forum of people with excellent control getting complications early on (I’m not talking about those who were undiagnosed for a long while).
Often, again not always, complications are a result of long term diabetes. Again not all long-term diabetics have complications.
I guess I’m just saying please consider the views of those of us with complications when making specific or general comments.
I’ve noticed that although medics expect the majority of diabetics to have some form of complications 25 years after diagnosis, there are relatively few members on the forum with complications that comment and I feel that needs to change.
I’m speaking as I head towards my 54th diabetes anniversary.

Take your point, (I do try to be tactful and not give an impression that is negative, I'm only ever trying to help)...and I can give an example of your point.
In my mid twenties a few decades ago now....I was involved in a serious car accident...won't go into great detail but I was carried in an upside down car up a very steep embankment, by a truck load of army lads who witnessed the accident, in order for me to be cut out by the fire service.
One of the serious injuries was to a kidney, a brilliant team of surgeons did a great job at saving it.
Diabetes diagnosis came about because that kidney was struggling and still does on occasion so is a complication in and of itself and not due to the diabetes but aggravated by, but is often seen to be when taken to A&E on occasion.
If I've offended my apologies.

 

[AndBreathe]

I think it is also worthwhile remembering that not all things that crop up, that could be attributed to diabetes (like CKD, for example) are diabetes related. Sometimes, as we find ourselves with a few miles on life's clock, "stuff" just happens along our way.

I only cite CKD because we had a fascinating talk at a local DUK meeting a few years ago where the Doc delivering it (who was actually an Opthamologist) gave a percentage of those of around pension age who had some form of lowered kidney finction that could be classified as CKD.

We just get to know about some of this "stuff" because we have regular checks and tests.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for the reminder @AJLang

It is one of the great unfairnesses of diabetes that two people with very similar glucose profiles and durations of diabetes can end up having very different experiences of the development (or not) of complications.

We all try our best to manage our diabetes, find balance between those management strategies and life on general, and aim to reduce our risk as much as we can, but it’s risk not certainty.

A one in a million chance thing can happen, and a 50:50 thing might not.

One thing is for certain - no one deliberately sets out to get diabetes, nor ‘deserves’ complications from it.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

A one in a million chance thing can happen, and a 50:50 thing might not.

😉

 

[CliffH]

I may be being sensitive but I’ve noticed that there sometimes there seems to be a tendency on this site of people sometimes assuming that it is an individual’s fault that they have diabetic complications.
Obviously it is very important to focus on controlling diabetes but there is not always a causal relationship with the development of complications and diabetes control. Various examples have been on this forum of people with excellent control getting complications early on (I’m not talking about those who were undiagnosed for a long while).
Often, again not always, complications are a result of long term diabetes. Again not all long-term diabetics have complications.
I guess I’m just saying please consider the views of those of us with complications when making specific or general comments.
I’ve noticed that although medics expect the majority of diabetics to have some form of complications 25 years after diagnosis, there are relatively few members on the forum with complications that comment and I feel that needs to change.
I’m speaking as I head towards my 54th diabetes anniversary.

Great points: there can sometimes be a risk of posts on here giving the impression that the poster's thinking, "How can they be so stupid?!" when an individual (either a person on here or someone in the public eye or on social media) reports doing something that isn't medically advised. However, there are many reasons why someone may make what's known legally as 'an unwise decision' and it's their right to do that, as long as they have capacity to make an informed decision.

Also, 'wellbeing' is holistic: sometimes I may (for example) eat something that isn't advisable in terms of my diabetes - but perhaps the psychological boost that it gives me outweighs the physical harm that it may cause me. I notice that people aren't usually brave enough on here to talk about their smoking habits - and I don't blame them. I hope though that, if and when people do acknowledge that they smoke, they'll receive sympathetic and empathetic responses - including from those of us who have never smoked.