Are you Diabetic or diabetic? Work with me on this one...!

[amdram]

We're not just T1 or T2. I used to think T1s used insulin and T2s used diet or tablets. I'm aT2 insulin user and test several times a day and inject four times.

 

[RuthW]

Yes, we used to say IDDM or NIDDM - insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. But fashions change.

Still, T1 and T2 have some validity in that people in each group have different tendencies. So T1s start with an autoimmune reaction and may progress toward insulin resistance as well. But they can only reverse their diabetes temporarily (LADA or honeymoon phase). T1s can live their whole life without any dangerous level of Insulin Resistance if they are careful.

T2s start with high insulin production and insulin resistance. Some of them can reverse it by getting rid of insulin resistance and/or adipose tissue (not all T2s are overweight but they all have IR). But some can't reduce their IR and eventually their own insulin fails and they have to inject. T2s on insulin are often worse off than T2s because of their IR.

And then there are the MODY, Type 3, etc, etc.

The labels are useful, though, because obviously they affect treatment and which conditions are likely to co-occur.


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[Janet_rabbit]

Generally for me it's diabetic - with a small d but perhaps in bold type - omnipresent and never able to be ignored! It is very much part of my life and has been for 40 years - it makes me take more effort to keep fit and healthy in every other way (and so maybe I'm fitter and healthier than I would have been if I hadn't ever got it! Who knows?!) The capital D brings back happy memories of the great logo the BDA had (pre Diabetes UK) of the wee face with a balanced triangle hat which I had on a t-shirt when I was wee, so I've nothing against it with a capital letter. On a less positive note the d also becomes a capital letter when my Hba1c result is rubbish, when a blood test or jag hurts more than usual, when I can't go for a run or cycle because my sugar is too low, or when my blood sugars are raging out of control, as they frequently do! Great question!

 

[NinaB73]

I'm a swinger! When I feel guilty (and not doing so well) I'm Diabetic and pull out all the stops, the rest of the time I'm a small 'd'! In my teenage year I wasn't even a 'd' of any description! I didn't want it and didn't own it, just jabbed and hoped for the best! I hasten to add it has come up to bite me! hence the swing between big D and little d!! It however does not define me and I rarely tell people, people's reactions over the years probably have made me that way!
Interesting post!

 

[6cats]

4 months in and drill very aware that I have Diabetes. Some days it scares me to death other days I live with it. It does not define me but it has altered my outlook and my life. Some if it in a very positive way in other ways I find it limiting g and a bloody nuisance!

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[littlelin]

One thing that used to really wind me up was that my Mum saw me as her Diabetic daughter first before seeing me as her daughter in so many things...
I'm a small d however, I do think that being OTT with looking after myself has enabled me to say a small d..

I've recently had so many consultants say to me that I am a "role model" patient but they don't really see what I do to try and look after my health. Unfortunately I do have more health issues now than D and being appreciated by my consultants is great but sometimes I do wonder what else I would do with the time I would have extra from not having these blooming illnesses.

However, on the positive side having these illnesses has enabled me to be more aware of health issues and I have met some fantastic people along the way through my journey woth the illnesses. If I hadn't had them I would never have made these friendshipsn.

It doesn't define me either... At least I know amongst froends that they love me for me and never mention the D...

 

[littlelin]

And I,ve also met the "friends" who say...." well we Would ask you for a meal but YOUR difficult...."
Well sorry.... dont see them much now!
But good note to end on... as I,m a c.. coeliac and ...d diabetic thought I would pass on
At Last a praise from my gp that both are under control. HE did look pleased with himself BUT
I thank you all very much for your information and helpxx

 

[littlelin]

I cannot be the only one who when diabetes was diagnosed I was relieved, there was medications I could take. My body was trying to destroy itself, it was one less organ to try worry about. I'm just a person with some medical complications that I live with, none define me as a person.
I like to think I'm still the stupid slightly perverse oddity I've always been

Love this... my family have always said I,m only 80% sane, thats how we all should be

******Get off the medical train and smell the flowers*******

 

[Teresa9584]

At times I'm Diabetic, other times diabetic and other times Deny-abetic. Good days, bad days but other stuff stops me doing what I would like to in life, diabetes is just a nasty add-on.

 

[TJR56]

What's been fascinating about this question is that the majority of commenters so far have been T2s (in a kind of referendum way - 52%). And the overwhelming response has been diabetic (or person with diabetes, a diabetic, etc.) rather than Diabetic (and all its other connotations).

If I break this out from the comments, what I get is that 87.5% of the T2s consider themselves diabetic while only 57.1% of the T1s that commented consider themselves to be diabetic.

It leads on to the question, is it that for the most part, T1D requires a great deal more micro-management than T2D and therefore people find it intrudes in their life a great deal more?

T1 long-term little d. I suspect so, Tim. How do I go about getting a pump? Just turned 60 (57.5 years T1). Would that rule me out?

 

[Squire Fulwood]

(Before anyone says, neither or "I'm not Diabetic I'm a person with diabetes, if you consider yourself the latter, the same logic applies)

I thought I understood the question (I just read the OP's post some days late). I need someone to explain what the above means since it makes no sense to me.

By the way, I think I am a big D purely because I have the ideal circumstances that help to control it and I love using it as an excuse when I don't want to do something that someone else has planned for me.

 

[Bapuboy]

I used to be Diabetic and was good at it; I lost weight and had low numbers. Then I got too good at it and fooled myself into becoming "deny-abetic", and my weight and numbers went very high.
In order to stay in one piece, and off insulin, I am firmly DIABETIC .

 

[susyross]

Lower case.


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CONGRATULATIONS... I am happy for you and that you took the warning seriously, what a great example you are to others

 

[susyross]

I have always considered myself as having diabetes... I did not wand to be defined by my condition... then I became defined by my beeping monitors LOL... but now I have had a successful pancreas transplant and no longer have the symptoms of Diabetes Mellitus ( Yes the correct name has capital letters!) however, medically I am considered to have Diabetes treated by a transplant!! I ham a proud and grateful transplant recipient. But regardless we are all PEOPLE please do not define us by the condition we have to deal with, we are all still people having Diabetes does not define who we are)... it just makes us have to work harder at staying healthy!

 

[Marmite-lover]

At the moment I am definitely Diabetic. I've had diabetes for over 20 years and being diagnosed as a teen was not great timing for me. As a result I have had lots of problems with denial, guilt and poor control over the years and only recently managed to turn things around. Finally having a supportive team who don't make me feel judged has made a world of difference but unfortunately I do have complications of having had a lot of eye surgery, autonomic neuropathy and kidney problems. Aged 33 now I would love to start a family but not sure if my health is good enough. Diabetes is constantly with me and I can't ever imagine being a lower case d.

 

[mikej3252]

I had a clinic appointment this morning as a follow up to getting the 640G (as it's required), and the DSN was massively impressed with the numbers and the CGM traces. We were discussing how one opts to deal with T1 and one comment she made was "I wish some of our other patients were more positive about it!". It raised an interesting point about how we think about ourselves.

It set me to thinking. How do you think of yourself?

Are you Diabetic with a capital D. It defines everything you do, how you live your life and stops you doing things, or are you diabetic with a small d, where you have a life, and diabetes is just one aspect of the characteristics that define you, and not the overwhelming one?

(Before anyone says, neither or "I'm not Diabetic I'm a person with diabetes, if you consider yourself the latter, the same logic applies)

I consider myself as a diabetic with a small d. Even though I have had this lovely condition for 34 years, it does not define me. It lives with me, not the other way around. I have had a 745 for two and a half years, But I don't have a CGM. My numbers are perfect. My A1c is 5.8 at the moment. I am more restricted by other medical problems I suffer with. But again, they do not define me.

 

[tinyfilosofer]

Cap. Raging fanatic controlling bg to the decimal, training service dogs for other diabetics, supporting the community, working hard on achieving big stuff at work, changing the world with technology, fighting it to the end.
Nature has marked me for the grave. Medical knowhow keeps me alive. Every minute alive is hard earned and I'll spend it wisely doing REAL things.

 

[AstraeaStar]

I had been Diabetic for years, I first got it when I was very young, and everyone drummed into me how important it was for me to understand this. Over the years I become more relaxed with diabetes even though now I have many of the complications and reckon I maybe have 10-20 years left to exist, so I no longer say `I AM DIABETIC`.
Even though it doesn't define me it is still a major part of my life because you can never fully forget about it as it's always there and testing, injecting, weight watching, and exercise is a huge part of everyday life.

 

[MargJ]

I am diabetic and as a result I look healthier than I have for years. At a social event this weekend, several people commented on how well I look- no excess weight now and far less problem with arthritis. Two positives results of having to watch what I eat now this beast has reared it's ugly head. Yes it has a massive impact, constantly thinking about diet etc. but up to now medication free and HbA1c of 42 make it worthwhile!

 

[tinyfilosofer]

Apparently cannot call people diabetic. It's rude. Have to say they have a diabetic condition. Really? I don't really care too much myself.


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