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Diabetes Week 2019: I have lost five stone and feel fantastic

DCUK NewsBot

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This Diabetes Week, Diabetes Digital Media is redefining diabetes: redefining what people with diabetes can achieve, and raising awareness of the tremendous health transformations and success stories worldwide. A US man with type 1 diabetes who climbed Mount Everest featured in Monday's success story. Today we're looking closer to home - specifically, people on our Diabetes Forum who've made significant achievements, whether this be weight loss or regaining independence. It's wonderful when we get to report on people who've lost weight, reduced HbA1c levels and even put type 2 diabetes into remission, but achievements aren't just limited to clinical milestones. Milestones come in all forms, such as regaining mobility and experiencing improved mood following tough times. A few weeks ago we asked the 300,000 members of the Diabetes Forum for their achievements - no achievement was too small. We were delighted to receive responses from users worldwide who'd made gains towards improving their health, happiness and wellbeing. One user wrote: "I've gone from [type 2] diabetic to low prediabetic [blood glucose] figures, lost 18kg and reduced inflammation and other minor body niggles. I can join in with family activities more easily, run up the stairs and cut my toenails without my belly getting in the way." Reclaiming independence and feeling more energetic are among the wonderful benefits that making positive lifestyle changes can bring. It is these personal milestones that can give us confidence to go further and improve our health even more. Another user wrote: "I have lost five stone while following a low carb diet. I feel fantastic. I love the Diabetes Forum and have had lots of advice from everyone who understands what it is like to deal with type 2 diabetes. Excellent care from my medical practice, tremendous help from my husband and family and support from the Forum has helped me to achieve this result." The low carb lifestyle is helping thousands of people make lasting health change. Visit our multi-award-winning Low Carb Program for more information. At one-year, 26% of users are able to put type 2 diabetes into remission. Follow our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the week for special guest interviews, features and other Diabetes Week content.

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This is great but where's the same publicity for Type 1's and the importance of research and finding a cure?
So much emphasis is put on Type 2 diabetes - no wonder there is a stigma and bad image for Diabetes when its all that's put out to non-diabetics in the news.
 
Thank-you BeckiDover for saying what many T1’s are thinking!There is sooo much blanket coverage of T2 Diabetes in the media that T1’s constantly gets overlooked and ignored.Its very frustrating constantly having to explain to people that T1 is not caused by an unhealthy diet or being overweight.But many equate the two conditions as being the same so we get lumped in with all the negative assumptions about T2.There needs to be a clear distinction between the two and more awareness of T1 as I feel we’re not taken as seriously because there’s not as many of us.
 
The very first example given in this article was type 1. I understood the week was about all types. Certainly the other articles I’ve seen throughout the week have featured a good number of type 1 (probably more than 50% coverage for 10% of the diabetic population). You do deserve research and cures just to be clear on my stance and the publicity that will enable that to happen.

Do you mean the stigma and bad image is ok and deserved for type 2 but not type 1? If so you are buying into the false propaganda that type 2 deserve it cos we’re fat and lazy. Whereas because yours is autoimmune you don’t want to be confused with us? If you didn’t mean this what is being put out that creates stigma and bad image as I am confused by your statement.
 
Whilst i sympathise with your condition being misunderstood and your feeling of being under represented “lumping” all type 2’s together as being caused by overweight or unhealthy diets is also pretty misinformed. I too get frustrated constantly having to explain that, especially to fellow diabetics.
 

BeckiDover we are only a few days into Diabetes Week. As others have said, the guy reported to have climed Mount Everest was Type 1, and I must say, his efforts are a fabulous achievement, with or without diabetes. There will be other articles on other days, plus of course, the presence on other social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Of course it is very, very important that research is ongoing, with the aim of providing a cure, and ideally, prevention for all forms of diabetes, and of course T1 is core to that.

The harsh reality is that current statistics suggest 90% of people with diabetes are T2, however, whichever type of diabetes an individual developes, there is no place stigma. Stigmatising an individual is more a stick than a carrot.
 

The example of the man climbing Everest is a great example of and for type 1's - diabetes doesn't and shouldn't stop us from doing anything. But it doesn't really cover the subject of type 1 does it? As a type 1 it would be useful to me to see more news about dealing with exercise (as a type 1), carb counting, new technology etc etc.

I'm not implying anything about type 2's here, i know first hand that type 2 isn't caused by 'being fat and lazy' (as you put it). But for example, this sentence used in the article "It's wonderful when we get to report on people who've lost weight, reduced HbA1c levels and even put type 2 diabetes into remission, but achievements aren't just limited to clinical milestones. Milestones come in all forms, such as regaining mobility and experiencing improved mood following tough times." As a diabetic, i know this is great but what message does that put out to non-diabetics? (The people that we want to spread awareness to this week) That we're all immobile and depressed and that's what caused us to have this condition? We put this stuff out there and then expect people to not have this bad view on it?
 
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DCUKMod said:
There will be other articles on other days, plus of course, the presence on other social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
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I would love to see more presence in main stream media.
How many non-diabetics look at Diabetes UK social media? How are we spreading awareness if the only people looking at the content are Diabetics?
 
Perhaps other articles this week will address those issues. I agree it would be good.

Ok I see the way you’ve read it now you explain. I guess my reading was that untreated and undiagnosed diabetes can give the symptoms of being unwell, overweight, immobile and depressed as opposed to those things causing the diabetes. And getting it under control is what has lead to the improvements in these symptoms.
 
BeckiDover said:
I would love to see more presence in main stream media.
How many non-diabetics look at Diabetes UK social media? How are we spreading awareness if the only people looking at the content are Diabetics?
Click to expand...
I’m seeing it all over Facebook and every time I like a post it has the potential to pop up on any of my “friends” wall. There have also been more diabetes based articles on my iOS news feed. Admittedly not always the most accurate in facts though. (Not dcuk articles I might add)
 

But we’re assuming there that those people who see it, then read on and further into it. I hope this is the case but, from comments I’ve had from people about my diabetes, it’s not always the case which is a massive shame.
 

I really hope this week, or in future, they do interviews etc with people who work in diabetes healthcare - such as diabetes specialist nurses, endocrinologists. They would be great for the diabetes image. The people working and supporting us everyday deserve some publicity for their hard work. (My diabetes team are absolutely amazing)
 
BeckiDover said:
But we’re assuming there that those people who see it, then read on and further into it. I hope this is the case but, from comments I’ve had from people about my diabetes, it’s not always the case which is a massive shame.
Click to expand...
Agree, many people know very little beyond the headlines. Tbh unless you or someone you know has it the level of interest is probably quite low for most people I think that’s exactly the problem the week is trying to address. Like you say it would be interesting to see who and in what depth the additional efforts reach.
 
The ones doing their job well do indeed and would be great. I fear the damage some of the less well informed and updated ones could do though!
 
HSSS said:
Agree, many people know very little beyond the headlines. Tbh unless you or someone you know has it the level of interest is probably quite low for most people .
Click to expand...

I’ll openly admit I’m a perfect example of this - I grew up with a gran who had type 1 and I was completely ignorant to the condition until I had it myself.
 
BeckiDover said:
I would love to see more presence in main stream media.
How many non-diabetics look at Diabetes UK social media? How are we spreading awareness if the only people looking at the content are Diabetics?
Click to expand...

Totally not being funny here, but it's not a sexy enough story. Raising awareness only gets so far (and that's probably buried towards the middle of the paper) but you can sell far more copies if you can splash 'NEW TRICKS TO REVERSE-' 'TRY THIS REVOLUTIONARY-' 'X SEMI-CELEBRITY REVEALS THE SECRET BEHIND-' across the top.

It epitomises everything wrong with newspapers nowadays and the Internet is just as bad with the click-bait problem (amongst others).

End result is consumers ending up with a momentary snapshot of these things and remember only the scary sentences warning of this consequence and that result if you don't do what the journalist is trying to say. People don't have time to hunt out the story behind the story and sift through the rubbish on the surface. That is how we end up with all the misconceptions and untruths in the world today (and it's reach spreads far beyond diabetes).
 

It actually scares me how often I get follow requests on Instagram from spam accounts like “reverse diabetes now” “Type2 Cure” - I just feel grateful that I’ve had good enough advice and education from my diabetes care team to know those things are a load of rubbish. But if it was a child who’d just been diagnosed? They could easily get drawn into those accounts and it could have a really bad effect on them.
 
BeckiDover said:
I would love to see more presence in main stream media.
How many non-diabetics look at Diabetes UK social media? How are we spreading awareness if the only people looking at the content are Diabetics?
Click to expand...

I think raising awareness is up to every single one of us. We all have a part to play in that. We did call out for folks a little while ago, in preparation for diabetes week: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...be-great-please-diabetes-week-related.164686/

If you would like to be a part of DCUK's efforts to raise awareness, you would be welcomed. If you just drop a note to forum@diabetes.co.uk, you would be signposted to the appropriate people.
 
That link doesn’t seem to work!
 
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