I'm slightly surprised by many of the posts on this thread where friends and family aren't aware. I might understand this when on just diet/tablets but when on insulin it is difficult to avoid friends and family knowing. I often inject at the restaurant table and if the people present aren't aware of me needing to inject and might see then I will quietly ask 'if it's OK'. I will let first-aiders know in my employment or volunteering and also close family in case of hypos. I will try influence anyone who is still on the low-fat/carbs are OK regime if I think they might be receptive and are perhaps overweight and at risk of T2. I try not be a bore. More importantly I don't look for sympathy. Being on insulin is dead easy for me and manages the diabetes. There are so many other diseases and illnesses that can't be easily controlled whereas diabetes can be. So, I consider myself lucky that I have a manageable illness and not cancer or whatever that too many friends have had.
I'm not surprised at all, just saddened that so many of us have had to live with a condition that affects everything we do, and the simple life-sustaining act of what we can eat and drink whilst those immediately around us prefer to just switch off or glaze over or roll their eyes, etc. etc.
But I guess that's a great part of the ignorance of this condition: if you have no other issues, people look at you and say: "there's nothing wrong with you" or even - to quote one member on here - "you're not ill, you have diabetes".
Well, and I suppose this is
my take on it, I am ill and I live with a chronic, life-threatening, metabolic-condition that has prevented me from pursuing a variety of career ambitions as well led to the development of complications owing to a gross misunderstanding of diabetes, diet and exercise (that I am now redressing - mostly thanks to this site and the many members on board).
To be quite frank, much of my hard time with diabetes links intrinsically with an unstable childhood and lack of family engagement and support with it, so it is with that experience in mind that I cannot stress the importance of 'loving' family and partners to get involved and share some of the journey with the diagnosed; if it weren't for the love and strength of support I've had from my wife I'd have probably died of dka or hypo-induced heart failure a fair few years ago.
I do agree with sentiments that we should not bore / overdo it, but I also feel that parents and partners particularly should take much greater interest than it seems many do; diabetes may not be cancer, but the long-term effects of poor control can be as insidious and debilitating as many types of that disease.
