Type 1 vs Type 2 uncivil war

[Ralph-YK]

There is an element out there who dismiss T2 as something not to be bothered or do anything about. I've even met diabetics who've said theres no reason to manage D until you start losing your sight & feeling in your feet.
People are quite dismissive about having T2.

 

[Deleted member 25429]

I am type 1 ... a type 2 once said to me it’s ok for you , you can just inject to sort your sugar levels out . Not a very sensitive comment it’s not like anyone enjoys injecting and having the risk of hypos .I wouldn’t wish diabetes on anyone but it’s a card with been dealt and we all have to control it as best we can and take personal control of our condition . This same individual wasn’t interested in helping himself he wanted drugs to sort it out for him

 

[grovesy]

All types have their own different challenges!

 

[rebrascora]

All types have their own different challenges!

I think that is the benefit of a mixed diabetes forum like this in that we can all read about each other's experiences and challenges and appreciate both situations and that each is difficult and requires it's own set of routines and disciplines to manage it well.
Many Type 1's here freely admit they would struggle with the restrictions of a Type 2 low carb diet and many Type 2 members who use diet to control their condition find the calculations required by Type 1 diabetics and the more dramatic fluctuations possible in their BG levels daunting, so I think this forum particularly brings us together with mutual respect for each other rather than dividing us.
Having been initially misdiagnosed as quite a few other Type 1s here have, I feel like I have a foot in both camps and am happy to consider myself so. I have certainly learned a lot of beneficial info from both groups.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I think that is the benefit of a mixed diabetes forum like this in that we can all read about each other's experiences and challenges and appreciate both situations and that each is difficult and requires it's own set of routines and disciplines to manage it well

Completely agree Barbara!

 

[Frank87]

@BlueArmy

Last year I also had a civil conversation with a type 1 diabetic in a nightclub about diabetes for about 20 mins after I noticed her glucose monitor and got chatting about it, until I told her I was type 2 at which point she verbally attacked me with the most vile statements me personally and type 2’s in general. I don’t feel like i have done it to myself as every male in my family has it.

That type of experience happens sadly.

I remember the first time I encountered someone with Type 2, my response and mind set at the time was something along the lines of, and I said this out loud "I have Type 1, what is Type 2 ? is that worse or better ? do I get 2 after 1 or something S**t ?". That was the start of a good friendship, one I still have today.

The real problem between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is that neither are properly educated about the opposite Type.

In my 24 years of being Type 1 I never been educated by any medical professional between the 2. I am fortune to have some close friends including one of my best friends that are Type 2. This has helped me understand Type 2 to a degree over years.

The thing I found over the years with Type 1 diabetes and younger people is that becoming Type 1 from no obvious genetic line is extremely hard to understand and accept. (it took me about 10 years to really take mine seriously and get to grips with accepting it and get on with life without the chip on my shoulder). The way someone with Type 1 would look at someone with Type 2 would be in a judgmental way, namely seeing it as self inflicted condition. (As I understand it, this is not solely true as it is also genetic, but is in some cases). The latter is definitely where the uneducated hostility comes from.

Now the friends I have, have all had problems with diet and weight over their Type 2 lives, and manage their diabetes completely different to my Type 1, and between us as friends there is banter 😉 we wind each other up now and then ect as friends do regarding the Type's we are, but I will happily chat and pass on my experiences with others, be that Type 1 or Type 2 as will those here on the forum.

 

[trophywench]

On first meeting the chap I subsequently married's elder daughter who had via her dad invited me to Xmas lunch at their house and my thanking her and said I hoped it wouldn't be too much trouble (usual things you'd say) I burst out laughing when she denied it was any trouble and not like her Grandma cos she's Type 2 so I have to low carb everything else she can't eat it!

Her Grandma wasn't all that awkward at all really as far as her T2 was concerned - but turned out she also had terminal bowel cancer to contend with and that meant she was also wiser to avoid eating all sorts of things that wouldn't immediately occur to me at the time. Whereas my elder step daughter is a classically trained chef and cooks everything properly from scratch, married to a rugger and cricket mad husband and 3 kids at home - so cutting down on good food of any kind is more than somewhat of an anathema to her natural way of thinking! 🙂