Would you swap types if you could?

[Inka]

I wouldn’t miss diabetes at all if there was a cure. It’s not really a companion - more that annoying person who won’t leave you alone at a party. I’d be heartily glad to see the back of it.

 

[helli]

Is it though ? - Patti's already told me it's weird getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and having a little almost panic when she can't find her pump ..... both of us have always let our pumps roam free in bed.

I can get used to not testing and not having the hypos and not having the highs and not attending the hospital appointments and not having all the blood tests.
I quickly got used to not injecting when I had my first pump and very quickly got used to not being tethered (not that I let my pump roam free as it always roamed under my boney hip if I let it) when I got my patch pump.
I am sure I can just as quickly get used to be completely pumpless.

 

[Stuvart]

Would I swap types,(as getting rid totally isn't an option) being a t2 sometimes I think yes as a t1 has at least a visible sign and equipment (wether pump/insulin pens etc) of the condition and would seem to be perceived as a 'real' illness where as a t2 (in the majority of my experience of people without it or even knowledge of it) is treated as something less as every one seems to know someone who cut out chocs etc and are fine, it gets depressing now and then.
We on here KNOW thats not the case but the stereotype persists.
But would i swap a couple of pills a day and certain restrictions on food for the hassle and planning etc of a t1 no I don't think I would.

 

[pondita]

Just a little hypothetical ponder on my dog walk this morning.

We have had a few members join recently who have been diagnosed as one type, then had their classification swapped, and in some cases subsequently swapped back!

I believe all types of diabetes are equally serious (and equally annoying), but I found myself wondering if I would switch brands given the chance by the DiabetesFairy Godmother.

Discounting the chance of getting T2 into remission (since this isn’t possible for everyone) - just on the basis of the day-to-day experience and management…

Would you swap if you could?

Note: Be kind to each other. This isn’t intended to be a ‘my type is worse than your type’ thread, more an exercise of putting yourself in someone else's shoes and acknowledging their challenges.

Thank you for this post. It's been helpful for me in more than one way. I've been Type 1 for about 14 months now, have gone through the "novelty" phase, and am now into the phase of "I miss my pancreas". 🙂 So it's good for me to see how Type I can be relatively good, per se, all things considered. I never had diabetes of any sort before going into DKA, at least I didn't know it if I had Type 2 (although I probably did). So it was like going from healthy to Type 1 overnight.

So to answer your question, I'm still straddling Type 1 and Type 2, with my being a Type 1.5. LOL Ok, I had to say it ! LOL I feel like my pancreas acts like a 2 cycle, putt-putt engine, some times working better than other times, sometimes giving a big backfire.

I agree with @helli about the costs in America. I have a long time Type 1 friend in Texas who is struggling to get insulin. He says the out of pocket cost of insulin, even with insurance coverage, is about $350 a month. I'm so thankful that the NHS understands to give diabetics the meds and equipment they need to maintain the best lifestyle they can manage. That without that, NHS costs to treat complications would be, well, stupid money.

 

[pondita]

One thing I do really resent about Type 1 is the amount of time it takes and the amount of brain power. It really is like having another job. Not great when you’ve already got a job and a family to look after. Sometimes I do feel it’s taken over a chunk of my brain that could be used for something else. Some days I get so sick of the constant thinking, counting and planning, and the endless chores - testing, changing my cannula, adjusting my basal, deciding what kind of bolus to have and when. When I’m ill, I find it particularly soul-destroying not to just be able to sleep but to have to test, test, check for ketones, check again, etc etc, all with that constant fear of something going wrong.

Would I swap? If you’re talking solely about the diet side, yes I would. Even though I like my carbs very much, I’d rather stick to a lower amount and not have to lug round half a pharmacy for a week abroad or have to count my cabs accurately and calculate insulin. No more fridge full of insulin, no more needles and cannulas, no more staring intently at food in restaurants to calculate my bolus while others tuck in enthusiastically and chat away, no more not making new recipes because I can’t be arsed to work out the carbs, no more stress before dinner when I realise I’ve forgotten my bolus in all the chaos. No more head taken over by the constant bloody calculations!

Hi Inka. This is one reason why I like to read the Forums from time to time. You've put into words exactly what's been on my mind lately. Thank you for that.

 

[BlueArmy]

Can I swap my T2 for Gestational diabetes as I am man and unlikely to get it - if so, i'd love to swap!

Seriously though - I think both are harsh and come with their own problems. T1's have less stigmatism to deal with and it does boil my blood when I hear it but T2's have hope of control / remission some T1's no doubt would love to have an option for.

I think the important thing, is whatever type you are, its recognised it sucks and it's not your fault.

And from a pharmaceutical perspective, some T2's use insulin etc, so I also guess it depends on what stage your at as a T2. If your T2 and getting the stick for it being self inflicted and your having to go through the endless calculations and thought processes and pharmacological issues T1's have, then i'd prefer to swap to T1 and at least remove the stigma.

 

[rayray119]

hmm, interesting well I'd like the idea of not having given myself an injection every time I wanted to eat something. I do like food and working on not being scared to eat the food I like. and know I would be limited if I was type 2. however the positive of having getting this is I no longer have a massive fear of needles which I did before being dianoseged.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

As a T3c, I'm not really eligible to answer this exam question! But thank you @everydayupsanddowns for setting this thread up. It's both informative and reassuring to find that I'm not alone in experiencing some of those things that others feel bad about.

My late brother was T2, diagnosed on his 60th birthday and he spent 11 years trapped in his wheelchair or bed, having surrendered both legs (the first above the knee and second one just below) to this disease. He died 2 months before I became T3c and he rarely spoke about his challenges, but it was extremely clear that every waking moment was challenging, gruelling and deeply limiting. Would I rather have his T2 or my T3c - no contest. I may have certain problems, but I can walk, or drive, away from them.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

This is an interesting thread, Mike, thanks for starting it.

When I was first rushed to hospital and told I had diabetes I was so worried it would be type 2 - and so relieved when I was told it was type 1! And this despite being needle-phobic! I have multiple food allergies/intolerances - there are more foods I can't eat than foods I can eat - and I eat a lot of carbs, so if I'd been type 2 there would have been hardly anything left I could eat. Also, about 18 of my 20 favourite foods are fruits, or fruit-based deserts like summer pudding (and the others are carby as well). So as well as being left with not much I could eat - and probably ending up chronically underweight - I'd also have been left with hardly anything I really like to eat.

After 11 years of type 1, even with the insulin sensitivity and the huge numbers of hypos and the limited hypo awareness and the general time-consumingness of it all - and the needles! - I'm still extremely thankful I'm type 1 and not type 2.

The other thing I sometimes think, living with multiple medical conditions, is - if I could get rid of one of them, which would it be? And if I could get rid of all but one of them, and had to keep one, which one would I keep? I'd get rid of the MCS first, it makes life far too complicated being allergic to everything. And if I could get rid of everything else but had to keep one I'd keep the diabetes - without all the other things I could live a more or less normal life with that.