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Diabetic Girl.

MermaidsRreal

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I asked my friends to describe me using only one word. They all said Diabetic, apart from one who said Robot pointing to my insulin pump... I don't understand why people label someone over an illness. Would say jealousy, but who would want a love/hate relationship with needles?!


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Same thing is happening to me now. Newly diagnosed but there's a bunch of new stereotypes and labels. I don't mind being nicknamed cyborg by friends who care but then you have the "friends" who don't know anything about diabetes and just assume you can't have sugar. So frustrating. >_<

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Hi @MermaidsRreal and welcome to the forum. People like labels. It makes it easy for them to put people in categories. You are diabetic so it's an easy label.

The simple answer is be you and ignore the label. If you do that, people consider you for what you do and who you are and little by little, the diabetes becomes just a part of @MermaidsRreal, rather than what she is. Get on with life, do stuff and enjoy it and soon enough you will be the hockey player, or the pianist, or the artist. Or the one who sneezes loudly.

Sometimes we just have to shrug our shoulders and let people do what they want while we get on with our lives.
 
it is a real shame that this happens and even the medical people do this to us as well.
they start by saying -- you're a diabetic
well my response is "actually NO I am a person first "

Diabetes does not define us !!!!
what we make of our lives does !!
 
Someone described me as 'diabetic' when asked the same question years ago, I was annoyed at first but then thought if their first thought of me was to do with me injecting etc then surely what they really mean is their first thoughts are how tough I am! Don't let it get you down, and remember...




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Being called a diabetic is just a word and describes the condition we have. Being diabetic or having diabetes is all the same thing it does not make us less of the person we are but may be some do feel that it does for them which is a bit sad. I have better things to do like getting on with my life than to let something as trivial as being called a diabetic bother me
 
I think when asked to describe us people choose to focus on the ways in which we are different from most other people. Hence for you the word diabetic was to the forefront of their minds. For me as a young teenager it was "has a broken black tooth" it didn't make me feel great either since my dentist wouldn't put a crown on it until I was 16. Like others have said don't let it worry you - you are so much more than merely 'diabetic'.
 
Recently, I was telling my 15 year old brother to get off of the PS4, and as he was online talking to his friends they all started moaning about it. I then overheard him say to them "don't be mean to her, she's diabetic."
I didn't know how to feel about it because I know that was him trying to defend me, but at the same time I don't feel like people should think of my differently because of it. Tough one!
 
This is one of the best ways I've seen this worded.

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I know what you mean. When I was diagnosed my brother tip-toed around me for two months. Avoided me taking injections, asking if he could get me anything (which I may or may not have abused
) and generally treated me like I was fragile.
It was weird and I held off on telling my friends because I didn't want them to treat me the same way. Eventually I told them and most didn't. I do have to deal with the occasional stereotype from one of my friends though because he was the only one who didn't bother to read up a bit.

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I have had Type 1 for 49 years and I have never let being called a Diabetic bother me. It is infrequently mentioned.
 
don't bother me either type 1 50yrs. just want a pump to get better control. So unfair
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cathn61may said:
I have had Type 1 for 49 years and I have never let being called a Diabetic bother me. It is infrequently mentioned.
Click to expand...

That's good then
I'm 16 so you would think people wouldn't be so immature! But the college lot seem to think it's a joke.. oh well life goes on thanks to insulin aha
 
MermaidsRreal said:
Good things come to those who wait! I'm sure you will get one soon enough, best wishes
️
Click to expand...
reckon 50yrs is long enough If I wait any longer no point in bothering as from what i have read life expectancy is 67
 
The only labelling I seem to get is that the people at work who know I have type1 seem to make an instant judgement that "You can't eat that" but it's not a big deal.
 
Well you are diabetic and u did ask people to describe you. Embrace it. You are u and personally robot is a cool name. When I had my libre patch my daughter thought I was turning into a robot. Finally don't worry what others think of u. You are awesome
 
Sometimes it can be an awkward question to answer so it's easier to choose a fact about you rather than giving an opinion - it may just be that. It's also easier to say the same as the first person rather than thinking of something different!

Unfortunately it is something that will always make us different to the crowd but I'm sure they would be horrified if they knew how it upset you so try not to dwell on it x
 
Meant also to say that when I was 11 I met some school friends of a girl I lived near (different school though). Turned out they were all quite excited to meet "DiaBeccy" as they had come to refer to me!
I really wasn't sure how to take it at the time but have realised that it's something that happens often, with many characteristics - when i was at Uni there were 2 guys named Dave in our group - one was always referred to as 'Tall Dave', and now I have a friend referred to as 'Granny Helen'.

If your friends thought being diabetic was a negative thing about you I'm sure they wouldn't have said it - like if somebody obese asked the same question any friend would avoid saying 'fat' I'm sure!
 
50 years a diabetic and everyone forgets I'm diabetic, even my own mother. Or maybe it's just her age!
 
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