Some of these food mickey people think they are doing you a favor because in your sugar or salt quota, the artificial stuff displaces some of the real stuff you ate and so the artificial stuff winds back the disease a bit.
I lost 25 pounds in 2 weeks, when I first became diabetic, but, yeah, everything else…
I’m 19 days away from a gastric bypass, and my surgeon likes to stop diabetic patients cold turkey from their oral meds. When he does that to me, I intend to throw my Medic-Alert in the trash with a whole lotta fanfare…
Even if I have to go back on orals, I’d need a new necklace anyway because this one is out of date…
I once worked at a place for 4 years without telling anyone about my diabeties just to avoid the comments.
There’s the “Do want a piece of cake? Oh wait sorry, you can’t have that”
or the food police “Are you supposed to be eating that?” This woman who used to work here was famous for that. She yelled at me for drinking (get this) DIET grape soda. She thought because it was grape, it had sugar in it. She also once saw a cupcake that someone else had left on my desk (we’re a 24 hour operation so 3 people have each desk) and came down on me about it. When I tried to tell her it was none of her business, she said, “I’m making it my business” It was getting to the point where I was going to report her to HR for harrassment, but she quit anyway.
Trying to explain to people that ANY carbohydrate can raise your blood suger is painful. Yes, bread will do it, yes noodles will do it. It doesn’t have to be processed sugar.
And when I’m having a low blood sugar due to my insulin I HAVE TO EAT OR DRINK SOMETHING SWEET TO COMPENSATE!
I think one of the worst things about it is that it affects everyone differently. So there is no one-size-fits-all way to deal with it.
My former boss was used to insulin-dependent diabetics (so to speak). She (coming from a culture where food is an extremely important part of social interaction) was mortally offended when I could not eat the greasy, sugary stuff that was commonly served at staff parties (I was not on medication at that time and had to be very careful about what I ate).
One staff party, there wasn’t even any diet soda purchased. I ended up with a dusty, warm can of Diet Pepsi that one of the supervisors scrounged up from God knows where.
I did my best to explain my dietary restrictions, but eventually just gave up. At only one party was there any effort made to serve “healthy” food. Then it was back to grease-bomb city. At least they remembered to buy diet soda.
Yeah!!! All I want is something classy to wear. MedicAlert charges so much for their silver and gold versions you’d have to be an oil sheik to buy one.
I wish they’d make a gold-colored titanium pendant that could be worn on one’s own gold chain. I bought the titanium and stainless/titanium stretch bracelets and the stainless-and-titanium pendant, but that comes on an industrial-strength stainless steel chain. I just try to wear whichever emblem will be least obtrusive with the other jewelry I’m planning to wear for the day.
Hate to break it to ya, but gastric bypass patients are advised to wear medical tags too. Don’t throw yours away–you’re gonna need that account number to tell MedicAlert to engrave you a whole new necklace.
Ooh, thanks, Little Bird. I see a duck on my wrist next semester. Or a bunny or cat. But not a clunky, ugly thing. Oh, no.
I hate the “no cake for you!” thing, too. I budgeted for this cake, damn it, and I’m going to eat it. In front of you. With an arrogant air.
Oddly enough, I don’t mind it when people do it because they’re genuinely concerned for my health. When friends do it, I’m actually glad to know that they care enough to make sure. But if someone does it because they can’t keep their nose out of anyone’s business and crosses the line from Mother Hen to Mother T-Rex, then they better keep an eye on my spork, because there’s no telling when my mastery of the art of combative sporking will assert itself.
You’re diabetic?
But… but… you’re a doctor - didn’t you know better?
[/snark] 
(we always knew you were sweet 
)
When someone gives me the “I hate needles” bullshit, I tell them with a straight face: “Me too. That’s why I chose to have Type II diabetes so I wouldn’t have to do that.” People (read ‘idiots’) actually nod their heads sagely. For what it’s worth in the heredity department, my great-great grandfather died from it and so did my grandfather, and my brother is now Type I.
I’ll emphasize the “Out of Date” part of my quote: It references an old address, phone number, and doctor that I haven’t had for 2 years now. Damned if I know where the old information is, so I can’t easily revise anything.
It will be easier to get a new one, and start over.
Been to the MedicAlert web site lately? Just sign in, change your information to the current doctor, etc, and then if someone finds you on the sidewalk and gives MedicAlert your tag number, they’ll get the current information in response.
That’s why you don’t throw out the tag–you need your account number on it. You don’t need to get a whole new tag unless none of the medical conditions engraved on it is correct.
Mine has my name, old address, and old phone number stamped directly on the medallion. I do not know if whay I have is MedicAlert by brand name, but I NEED A NEW NECKLACE.
A lot of folks are indicating that both run in their families. Is there a strong correllation between the two diseases? I had always sort of assumed that they were completely separate.
Perhaps the most daunting part of the time we were in the hospital when my son was first diagnosed (after his 600+ blood glucose reading had resolved), came on his first full day in the hospital, before we had received any real education. My brother’s girlfriend, an experienced nurse, informed us that because of his diabetes we would need to learn how to make all of our own food from scratch (including pastas and breads), but that it would be okay for him to have fruits and such. She told us that he couldn’t have diet beverages because the sugar substitutes, like NutraSweet, cause cancer.
This from an experienced nurse. We were naive back then, but in a rapid succession of events, in regards to my son’s health care, were quickly disabused of the idea that people in the medical profession couldn’t also be dangerously dumber than a box of rocks.
(Just as an aside, one of the biggest such events was during my son’s onset. He had been becoming increasingly irritable, was frequently urinating and demanding fluids constantly. I knew that something was different because he was even accepting water, whereas before he would not have been satisfied without kool-aid or a juice or some such. My wife’s telephone conversations with his pediatrician’s office (fielded by a nurse there, as I recall) resulted in her being told that we should not bring him in to see the doctor; my wife was simply encouraging his irritable (read: willfully defiant behavior problem) behavior by giving in to his demands for drinks. He suffered terribly through that night before we demanded to be seen and then rushed him to the ER to be admitted.)
Sorry for the thread tangent. The bottom line is that people who know jackshit about diabetes should keep their mouths shut, especially if they are in the medical profession.
Not a medical professional and am woefully ignorant. However, my brother was controlling his diabetes with meds and now is having to do injections.
Insulin injection is not uncommon with Type II diabetes. It doesn’t mean it turned into Type I.
Type I diabetes: Absolute insulin deficiency from the pancreas no longer making insulin. the only treatment to lower blood sugar is insulin. Used to be called Juvenile diabetes or Insulin dependent diabetes, but these are not really accurate terms, so have been retired.
Type II diabetes: The body becomes resistant to the insulin the pancreas produces. Treatments include weight loss, diet, exercise, and various pills, which can make the body more able to use the insulin the pancreas makes, or encourage the pancreas to make more insulin, or both. But many times insulin injections are needed here too. Used to be called adult onset diabetes or Non-insulin dependent diabetes, but these aren’t accurate terms either.
Wow. Just. . .wow.
Too, thanks Qadgop the Mercotan for some lowdown on the differences. A friend has Type II, as did my Mom, but I never knew the specific differences. Just that diet and exercise levels changed, which seemed to make a difference.
I was diagnosed with type 2 when I was 27. I’ve been diet-controlled for 5 years with excellent results.
Before diagnosis, my doctor had been annoying me about my weight, so I had been making myself miserable with the best diet that I knew how to put together (which wasn’t that good - I didn’t know much about nutrition at the time. Worst of all, I didn’t know that I didn’t know.)
He was looking at my test results, and asked what my typical lunch was. I told him (cottage cheese, water and 1/2 a grapefruit) and he shook his head.
“Well, that’s going to have to change - It looks like you’re diabetic, so you won’t be able to eat fruit anymore. Maybe try some chicken. I’m sending you to a dietician.”
That’s how I found out that I had a problem - by being told that I could never eat fruit again.
The dietician was an extremely skinny woman who made it abundantly clear that she didn’t approve of my eating patterns, weight or, basically, me in general. She gave me my glucometer and showed me how to use it. She scolded me about how bad my fasting bloodstick of 160 was - when I hadn’t been given any instruction up to this point on how to eat. She told me what I needed to know to start a controlled-carb diet, then told me that I would also have to cut out as much fat, salt and sugar as possible. She wanted me to start it all at once. At the end of the hour-long appointment, she said that she was making a follow-up for me with the other nutritionist on staff at the hospital, because she was ‘more like me’.
I was so overwhelmed and frustrated when I got out I just sat in the car and cried. I didn’t think I could do it.
My mom was very, very angry at that nutritionist when she finally found out what was wrong. She helped me break the controlled carb diet down into simple chunks. Told me to forget about the fat and salt until I got the hang of the diet that I needed first. My very second reading ever was after lunch that day and it was 190. I was home alone and I just sat down and cried in frustration again. My most useful info I found for myself on the internet, as the nutritionist had just basically outlined exchange tables, but hadn’t really gone into any depth about it - hence my eating a curry with potatoes in it over rice for lunch that day.
In two weeks, I had the follow up with the other nutritionist, and saw what the first one had meant immediately. Where the first woman was stick-thin (unhealthy looking, really) this one was plump - probably a size 14 or so. I’m fat, but apparently the first woman thought that plump can relate to fat much better than skinny can.
The new woman went over the diet that I had made with help from the internet, and heartily approved. She said that I was doing everything exactly right, call her anytime I had questions and she’d be happy to help. She emphasized that my insurance would pay for as many as 2 appointments a month with her with no charge to me, so I should take advantage of that if I was feeling unsure about anything, and that it this didn’t work or even if I just wanted one, she could arrange a referral to an endocrinologist - and that insurance would pay for that, too. I liked her much better.
When I went back to my doctor for my first HB1C, I explained the controlled carb diet and told him that fruit was okay, it just had to be counted. I gave him a handout that I had made that quickly - with pretty clipart - explained the diet. He apologized and said that he would have to look into it so he didn’t make more mistakes. I gave him the name of the good dietitian and told him not to use the other one with fat patients if he could help it, and briefly explained why.
The next time I went in, he brought me into his office and showed me the case of binders he had just bought from somewhere that explained diabetes, its long term effects and diet and nutrition in detail. He offered me one if I wanted one, but said that he didn’t think I needed one.
A month after I was diagnosed, my mom called to invite me out to eat. I told her that I wasn’t comfortable eating out because I didn’t think I could count stuff right yet. Ten minutes later she showed up with my two sisters and literally dragged me out the door to go out to eat.
Everything was downhill from there. My family is nosy enough that they kept asking questions until they understand things much better than do some other diabetic that I have met. My biggest problem with control is when I don’t realize that I’m low and get irritable or stop being able to track conversations. They recognize it much earlier than I do, and point it out so I can fix it.
I’m pretty sure that everyone at work has completely forgotten. Funny thing, though - last work potluck, the only drinks that anyone brought was diet soda (3 kinds) - lots of people are drinking diet soda and water now, so pretty much anywhere I go will have one or the other available. So, I’m content and happy.
I’ve got a good life.