Why I'm Proud To Be A Diabetic

[Catwoman76]

Provocative article from the Express. Some good points, but he probably needs to read this forum to learn about how care can vary up and down the country, how some people get conflicting or even wrong advice, how many Type 2s are denied the means to manage their diabetes well by adequate privision of education and test strips. As a Type1 and now a pump used he is in a very privileged position at the top of the pyramid of diabetic care - he needs to appreciate that, whilst it is true that people need to take responsibility for their own health, they also need adequate levels of care from those charged with delivering it. He should also be aware that many people develop complications because Type 2 can develop slowly and damage may already be done by the time a diagnosis is made.

And did he really spend 'weeks in hospital' after developing DKA from one missed long acting injection? Seems unlikely to me, and possibly an exaggeration for dramatic effect.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/300527/Why-I-m-proud-to-be-a-diabetic

Well I won't be going to any diabetes talks that he is involved in. What a small minded man he appears to be. In hospital for several weeks, nearly dead, body wasting away, it was wake up call. good god I feel so cross right now, but I musn't get too upset or stressed as this will probably cause another background bleed in my eye which will probably need treatment and cost the NHS money, even though my BS control over 22 1/2 yrs has been pretty good, at the moment, I am finding it hard with a few highs and then the horrible lows . I for one, have never been admitted to hospital since diagnosis this man seems so far up himself, I'm surprised he managed to find his way out............. to write the article🙄 That's how I see it folks. Sheena

 

[FM001]

He certainly has a high opinion of himself and his criticism of others with the same condition does come across high-handed, he is not someone I would want representing diabetics and very surprised duk are using him.

 

[Copepod]

Thanks to all those who responded to my search for type 2 input.

As he is an ambassador for Diabetes UK, which represents people with all types of diabetes, I feel it's really important to get the widest possible range of views. Surprised at low level of comments on Express website - when I looked this morning, there was only one.

 

[trophywench]

Well I tried to 'post a comment' and it took me some 'other' website.

 

[MeanMom]

Pride comes before a fall. Even the best controlled most optimistic complication-free T1 will have days/weeks/months of struggle, burnout, frustration and all that comes with that.

Though I can understand some of his frustrations in those who take no care of their own conditions and then cry 'Poor me, poor me!' when complications arise I really didn't like the tone of it and found it sneery and negative in what should have been a positive 'living with D can be done' story.

Well put Mike🙂

If I see one more thing in the press implying that you only get complications if you have poor control and that it is 'easy' to have good control I think I will go mad!😡😡

My daughter didn't have poor control, she had NO control because her GP didn't recognise the signs of diabetes and do a simple blood test even when he was testing her blood for other things. Consequence? Cataratcts and 13 year old who can't walk down the street at night without hanging on to someone elses arm.

And one missed long acting meant he ended up in hospital? For weeks? How? Why? K has missed her Levemir (once) and she was fine. He should tell the whole story or not at all. Any thing else is patronising at best, sensationalism at worst.

Angry of Bournemouth 😉

 

[HOBIE]

I seriusly HAVE NOT bought a news paper since 16yr old. Think about it someone elses point of view !! 😱 Keep my money in MY pocket 😎

 

[Abi]

I think he needs to ask himself why some of these people refuse to take responsibilty for themselves
Some people have c**p care. I worked at a clinic once which was supposed to be a well known and respected centre but one of the consultants did not appear to understand the difference between type one and type two ( he was giving a talk on "fatty liver" which can occur in association with diabetes and said that it was even occuring in adolescents. I asked a perfectly pertinant question asking whether this was occuring in type two's mainly and he answered " type two only occurs in older people" or words to that effect- patronising useles sod)
One of the DSNs there said she was dreading started their structured education/ carb counting course. But this is suppsed to help normalise people's lives- so if she's not interested in heling people with D why bother being a DSN
Most people in the clinic refused to acknowledge that lantus does nt always last 24 hours and sometimes needs to be split
I suppose at least they were coming round to the concept of carb counting and realised people on insulin occasionally need to test
But that's nothing compered to in some areas- people being denied enough strips to manage their condition safely let alone a pump- or being told they can only keep the pump if HbA1c drops below a certain level regardless of whether blood glucose fluctuations are reduced

I think also a major problem is society at large
I've ranted on and on about this before- the general attitude is all you have to do is take an injection and avoid sugar and you will be ok- if any problems occur it's your fault etc etc.
And problems people face in the work place for example needing a couple of minutes to treat a minor hypo ( not talking about999 jobs here) or people being obstructive about people testing/ injecting etc

I have encountered several people with shocking control over their condition in my line of work. Young type ones often with families, HbA1cs in the double figures and clinic defaulters. I suspect the cause of self neglect is far deeper than laziness

 

[Northerner]

...I think also a major problem is society at large
I've ranted on and on about this before- the general attitude is all you have to do is take an injection and avoid sugar and you will be ok- if any problems occur it's your fault etc etc.
And problems people face in the work place for example needing a couple of minutes to treat a minor hypo ( not talking about999 jobs here) or people being obstructive about people testing/ injecting etc

I have encountered several people with shocking control over their condition in my line of work. Young type ones often with families, HbA1cs in the double figures and clinic defaulters. I suspect the cause of self neglect is far deeper than laziness

Hear hear Abi!

 

[Freddie99]

And did he really spend 'weeks in hospital' after developing DKA from one missed long acting injection? Seems unlikely to me, and possibly an exaggeration for dramatic effect.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/300527/Why-I-m-proud-to-be-a-diabetic

Depends how far advanced the DKA is. You can quite easily end up in ITU. It's a case of getting your body chemistry back to normal. Trouble is, it's not just getting rid of the ketones and reducing the blood glucose. There are many other aspects to consider.

 

[cherrypie]

Awaiting any input to this thread from someone with type 2 diabetes....

I think the man in the article is minimising what can happen to anyone with or without good control. It is the luck of the draw as to whether you get good care/education and he obviously has. Tell that to the Type2's who are given a diet sheet, told no need to test and see you in three months. Many Type2's do not get diagnosed for up to 10 yrs and they may already have some complications.

 

[Copepod]

For what it's worth, I think the underlying problem (remember the man in the Express article is an ambassador for Diabetes UK) is that DUK tries to represent people with all types of diabetes.

As others have stated, there are different issues between types 1 and 2 eg many people are not diagnosed with type 2 diabetes until many years after symptoms start and often after complication have started to develop - not diagnosed either because people don't go to GPs with symptoms or because GPs (generally first point of contact) don't follow up with the right investigations. Then there are issues of misdiagnosis, particularly of "non typical presentations" eg older people who get type 1, younger / slimmer people who get type 2, plus all the other types eg MODY, LADA etc.

Plus the problems of lack of education available to all types - even when I was diagnosed type 1 aged 30 years, about 15 years ago, I was only given a diet sheet, no information about adjusting insulin according to carbohydrate intake and only discovered basal bolus regime because a friend's mother, a pharmacist in Tasmania posted a photocopied article from an Australian pharmacy journal. I still haven't been able to get on a DAFNE course. I realise that at least DAFNE exists for type 1, and it's worse that comparable courses with carbohydrate counting don't exist for type 2, whether on oral medication or injectables or insulin.

 

[fencesitter]

Also found aspects of this article disturbing ... but then I remembered, it's in a newspaper! So chances are the journalist has hacked away using his/her notes to his/her own ends? They love sensation and getting an angle and rarely quote people verbatim. If that's the case, maybe the subject will get a chance to come back and put the record straight ... here's hoping anyway 🙄

 

[margie]

I think a while back he featured in an article about how good his DSN is - so it may be that he assumes all HCPs are of a similar standard.

Maybe someone could suggest he joins the forum and that may broaden his knowledge of what factors can affect the ability to control your blood sugars.

Female hormones
Coeliac disease
Thyroid Issues

to name but three.

 

[karinagal]

I found the article self serving and condescending.. Maybe Northerner should acquaint him with the mantra - Your Mileage May Vary..

 

[cherrypie]

Some earlier articles from the same man,

I thought insulin pumps were for lazy diabetics.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...zy-diabetics--Im-hooked-says-Steve-Dixon.html

Diabetes is not as simple as it appears
.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4190602/Diabetes-is-not-as-simple-as-it-appears.html

 

[Northerner]

Some earlier articles from the same man,

I thought insulin pumps were for lazy diabetics.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...zy-diabetics--Im-hooked-says-Steve-Dixon.html

Diabetes is not as simple as it appears
.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4190602/Diabetes-is-not-as-simple-as-it-appears.html

Thank you cherrypie. Apart from the fact that he says lows should be treated with chocolate, I was also interested to read this paragraph:

ronically, given his enthusiasm for his insulin pump, Steve admits when he first heard about them five years ago he was highly sceptical. Asked to interview a representative of INPUT, a voluntary group campaigning for patients to have easier access to pumps on the NHS, he was unsympathetic.
'I'm sorry to say I was extremely critical,' says Steve. 'I gave the guy a thorough roasting in the studio. I thought the people recommending them were being lazy. These pumps are expensive for the NHS and I couldn't understand what the big deal was or why they weren't prepared to test and inject like everyone else had to.
'But I feel bad about that now because having used one, I can really see the benefits.

which suggests that perhaps he shouldn't be so quick to make judgements in areas where he lacks the experience. Two years ago, pump users were 'lazy', now it is other diabetics who he perceives as not trying hard enough.

Of course, as Willsmum says, newspapers will often distort what is actually said and we are never made aware if this is challenged by the individuals. I would certainly welcome him here as a member - I know I have found it very illuminating reading other people's experiences and appreciating that we all have unique, complex lives.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

After reading the other articles, all I can say is no wonder he had poor control.
Does he not understand the use of insulin and matching it to the time food hits the system? He has had loads of hypos by the sound of it and was also injecting after eating 😱

Someone needs to send him a mirror and then get him to read out the rubish in the link Alan provided first of all. 😡

 

[Robster65]

Sadly, because he's a journo his claims about being representative of other diabetics and presenting himself as a model patient, he will be believed over the ordinary run of the mill diabetic.

His views carry a lot of weight, even though they're heavily biased towards his own experience and lack of proper education.

I'm sure there are many fine journalists, but there are also many who seem to be interested in nothing more than the sound of their own voice. It would be nice to see DUK respond with a press release but I dare say they don't see him for what he is. Oh well. We battle on.🙂

Rob

 

[Ellie Jones]

I think a while back he featured in an article about how good his DSN is - so it may be that he assumes all HCPs are of a similar standard.

Maybe someone could suggest he joins the forum and that may broaden his knowledge of what factors can affect the ability to control your blood sugars.

Female hormones
Coeliac disease
Thyroid Issues

to name but three.

He might be a member here who knows, he might have thyroid problems or other medical problems he will certainly have high stress factors due to his job to tackle...

I've got pretty much the same view point at Steve. and feel that some diabetic's who criticise the health care professional should walk a mile in their shoes...

How do you educate somebody when you don't know what the know, they won't listen to what being said.. How do you advise somebody about control when you have no idea why the control isn't there... How do help in anyway, when there's an empty chair sat in front of you, devoid of the patient who hasn't bothered turning up! How do you help somebody who's lying to you about food consumption or telling you they've taken there meds but haven't... How do you help somebody who won't help themselves?

As the above will make up over 90% of clinic time

I've seen diabetes from both sides of the fence, and like many other HCP's I probably spent more time banging my head against a wall in attempt to get through to individuals the need for them to take control of their condition, and not really on me to do it for them... Because I can't all I can give is idea's explanation what might be happening and explaining how things work... They've got to use this information to explore and learn how to manage their condition..

 

[Northerner]

You are right Ellie, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are just as you describe, but it is wrong to tar all people who struggle with control with the same brush. If good care is offered and ignored by people fully aware of what it may entail then they only have themselves to blame. However, if they find themselves in dire circumstances because of poor or inadequate care and education then they should not be pilloried. And they certainly should not be pilloried if they have tried their utmost to seek help or to control their blood sugars well and met with an indifferent response.