Well, that really set the cat amongst the pigeons didn?t it!
Firstly, thank you to everyone who chose to reply to my original post, whether you were with me or against me. It seems that I made a mistake in believing that this site was for everyone with diabetes, in all it?s forms, to have their say and voice their own opinions.
It is, which is why we replied to have our say and voice our opinion.
I?m not going to apologise for having my own opinion, and for saying what I feel and think, nor am I going to apologise for MY thoughts on how MY diabetes has affected ME, or not as the case may be. If my first post offended you then perhaps you?d better stop reading now before I offend you again, because I probably will.
I guess it's fair enough that you don't mind offending people, I shan't worry about offending you in future, as long as I'm speaking my mind.
I?m not going to answer ever responder, but I feel that I do have to answer some of the comments made, and in no particular order.
1) I?m not going to use the cop out of the written word having no tone or emotion.
You probably should.
2) It was not aimed at any specific type of diabetes, but see my comments later.
3) One of the apparently contentious phrases I used referred to people ?stabbing? themselves. These were not my words but those of someone I know quite well.
Maybe because you do not inject yourself, you should have thought about the feeling's of those who do and how it might sound coming from somebody who does not...
4) I never said I wasn?t concerned about eye problems, what I said was that I haven?t got any.
You haven't been diabetic very long, why list problems you don't have but it's very possible you could develop? Especially when there are probably lots of people on here who do have these problems. To me it comes across as a little boastful!
5) ... I?m more likely to be offended at someone getting personal because she disagrees with me, and a ?Senior Member? at that, tut tut!
To be fair it is your username 😉
6) I wasn?t bragging about my lack of symptoms, I was merely stating fact. I know I am lucky to have been diagnosed early, (I had none of the indicators at a health check 18 months ago), and not to be suffering any of the possible downsides to the condition. But I?m not going to worry about what might happen in 5, 10, or 15 years time. Who knows, I might get knocked over by a bus tomorrow, but I?m not going to let it worry me.
You're completely right not to be worried, I couldn't agree more! I am a bit worried about going blind though as I have some initial background Retinopathy, control my diabetes as well as a possibly can at the moment and have only had type 1 for 5 years... So obviously these things are a bit of a worry, but i'm not going to let it get me down. All I can do is keep my control as tight as possible. Although I was told by the professionals I do not need to watch what I eat, I have come to realise that I obviously do, if I don't want to go blind that is!
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9) I?ve been accused of lumping everything together and calling it diabetes, but isn?t that what people do? They hear the words diabetes, or diabetic and jump to all sorts of conclusions, ?I?m going to have to test x times a day and inject y times a day?, ?I?ll have to give up eating this or that?, ?I?m going to go blind?, ?I?m going to have to have a foot, or a leg amputated because my circulation is shot?, And that?s all they can see for the future. Not necessarily, and hopefully not tomorrow. Yes, by all means, keep these things in mind, but worry about these things if and when they arise, don?t worry yourself into an early grave.
Unfortunately some people are worriers. You saying 'don't worry' probably isn't going to help them.
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11) ... Some of the people I have spoken to jumped to the very conclusions I mentioned earlier and had a horrendous time until they had had time to think about it and take everything in.
Think about this situation. Your child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 8 and is told they have to inject insulin for the rest of their lives. Wouldn't you be not only initially worried and upset, but then constantly worried until (and probably well after) they were old enough to look after themselves? I don't think it is about jumping to conclusions, it is a serious life-long condition.
12) One responder seems to be telling me to Test, test, test, but who do I believe, you, who I don?t know from Adam, or the trained medical professionals who are guiding me and telling me not to worry about testing for now.
One thing I will say is that if you do some of that research you advised others to do, you will find that ignoring the professionals occasionally just has to be done when it comes to diabetes. Most diabetics know a lot more about the condition than so called "trained professionals". Not that you should ignore professionals completely, but definitely do some research and make your own mind up about certain aspects of your care.
I'm not sure anyone can deny that you need to test at least occasionally 😱 Unfortunately doctors have certain budgets they need to stick to and test strips are very expensive 😉
Believe me, I am taking this thing seriously, I know it?s with me for the rest of my life, I know it?s incurable, at the moment, I know it?s serious and can lead to all sorts of complications, but I?m not going to sit in a corner worrying about it. It?s not in my nature to get down and depressed, despite the Practice nurse, and Peter C?s, attempts to depress me.
I think the practice nurse and Peter C were just trying to help you to see that this is serious, even if you are currently doing excellently with your control and management! I am personally VERY laid back and as ive said, I dont worry about things too much until I have to... but what really made me think I need to be really strict (and even restrict food I was told I could have) was my doctor saying 'I don't want you to walk in here in five years time and have me say to you ?i'm very sorry you have gone blind?'. Only since then have I been thinking about my diabetes on a daily basis and testing ALOT more than I did before ? because I know that he was right and it is a real possibility. I didn't really depressed because he said that to me, I felt a bit sad for about 10 minutes and then though i'd do something about it.
Judging by one responder, it can even be a good thing, one of you commented ?I'm now in better physical shape that I have been for a long while??. Surely that?s a good thing, rather than knocking years of her life, the changes required to deal with being diabetic may have actually added years.
Yes it can be a good thing, if only people were more worried about their own health before developing a serious condition!
The aim of my post was not to knock being diabetic, not to be disrespectful as someone else has suggested, but to try to give some perspective to being diabetic. I was trying to show that there is a life after diagnosis. To try to offer encouragement and hope to people like a recent new member who said ?Hello..I am still in shock after being diagnosed the other day..?
This is the bit I'm struggling with. What was the aim of your post? You say you were offering encouragement, but I truly feel it came across as a brag that you have attempted to rationalise in some way so that you don't feel bad about it (or just so that you don't feel the need to apologise for upsetting anyone).
The only thing I can think you were trying to do is explain to newly diagnosed people or people new to the forum that diabetes isn't the end of the world. But why did you feel the need to write things such as: ?Injecting ? Nope, not me.?? Yes that is because you are a newly diagnose type 2, what is your point apart from to upset people who are young and injecting?
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