Please be supportive to others

Lemonie said:

I've been away form the forum for a while and have come back since Covid-19 to get some advice. People are posting on here because they are genuinely frightened about there health and life. You may not agree with that but some of the threads have turned a bit sarcastic with the replies and it doesn't sit well with me.

This is not about are T1's worse than T2's or whether you are righteous that you have a low HBa1c, it's about supporting fellow diabetics at a difficult time. I am previously someone with a Hba1c of 21 and superfit. I had 3 injuries in a row which meant I couldn't exercise and became depressed and I find myself at the DN before this all started with bg's of 12 -18. I am low carbing like it's my job but I am still scared as are others. There's no need to mock people for their concerns.

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Hi,

These are interesting times. We are all making "this one" up as we go along..
There is some relatively comprehensive government guidelines to follow.
The current moderator team are doing a great job sharing the latest resources on information regarding COVID 19.

However, if you see any breach in the forum ethos rules? Please report it to them..

I agree this is a health support forum for diabetics.
But the risks from COVID are just as serious with those in the age catagory & other conditions too.

Best wishes.

If members are hostile, intolerant, or try to score points about different statuses, then please report the posts, and those members will soon learn that their attitude is unacceptable.

The forum rules are very clear that this is not a place for rudeness, intolerance, misinformation, typeism or 'us and them' in any form. Facts and information, personal experience and personal opinion are all welcome within the forum rules.

Those who find controlling their health 'easy' and who have been doing this for years, often forget what it is like for others, so compassion would be a useful thing for us all to apply here and elsewhere.

I probably missed any distinction between tyoe I & type II when it comes down to a compromised immune system. That in itself is going to depend on the individual rather than being one type or another. I recently had a massive leg ulcer and the DN made three appointments a week for 4 weeks. What they couldn't understand was that my circulation was excellent. Pleased to say it cleared in 10 days. Good immune system? Well poor immune system delays healing. So who knows how this virus will do with any individual?

I have a message from a doctor at Frimley Park Hospital who has been re-roled to work in the ICU. Too gloomy to repeat.

I don’t think people are trying to be discouraging. It’s just that its very frustrating when people tend to put us all in the same category when in reality it’s two completely different conditions. Us type 1’s have an auto immune conditions, and if we were to contract COVID-19 it would probably affect us a lot worse than someone with type 2. As a nursing student I really don’t think we should be given the same advice as type 2’s in general when it comes to managing our condition. I see this alot on this forums , where type 2’s tend to make it seem like we have the same condition, which can sometimes confuse people too.
I think we should all be respectful but at the same time please don’t make it seem like we have the same condition, as the advise given can be dangerous and confuse people.

Amina9191 said:

Us type 1’s have an auto immune conditions, and if we were to contract COVID-19 it would probably affect us a lot worse than someone with type 2.

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I'm not so sure about that. Illness can wreak havoc with any diabetics blood sugars, regardless of type, and high blood sugars can make us all very ill. Us T1's at least have insulin to help get it down.

Antje77 said:

I'm not so sure about that. Illness can wreak havoc with any diabetics blood sugars, regardless of type, and high blood sugars can make us all very ill. Us T1's at least have insulin to help get it down.

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I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Type 2’s at least have a functioning pancreas and have the option of reversing their condition. If only we had that choice

Prolonged high blood sugars weaken the immune system and that is true for T! and T2 and in fact any diabetic.

This is one time the saying we are all in this together is true.

Amina9191 said:

I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Type 2’s at least have a functioning pancreas and have the option of reversing their condition. If only we had that choice

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Please look into the condition further before stating "Type 2’s have the option of reversing their condition."
It isn't that simple for many.

This 'reversal' you speak of is seen mostly in people who keep a very strict diet for years and decades. If they 'fall off the wagon' it often means indulging in just a few simple things like a sandwich or some mashed potatoes at dinner, making their bg rise to diabetic levels again.

When a T2 gets ill with an infection or flu or such their levels may rise just as it would in a T1. Except they can't do anything but sit it out and drink water until the illness passes.

Amina9191 said:

I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Type 2’s at least have a functioning pancreas and have the option of reversing their condition. If only we had that choice

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You can't reverse your T2 overnight!
Not everyone can reverse it anyway.
If my BG is high despite my meds because I am ill all I can do is drink water, go for a walk and hope.
As for T2 being "minor" I think that is noth hurtful and unfair.

Amina9191 said:

I’m sorry if my comment offended you in anyway. The reality is that you wouldn’t be in this situation if you had led a healthy lifestyle to being with.

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This is a typical comment from a uneducated person regarding T2 diabetes.

Amina9191 said:

I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Type 2’s at least have a functioning pancreas and have the option of reversing their condition. If only we had that choice

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On the subject of COVID 19. If only cancer patients had our choice. For that matter, the elderly was 28 again?

Talking of being "28 again,kiddo. I hope you don't feel you "champion" me?

Thanks, but not in my name...

Several posts have been deleted from this thread for exactly the sort of intolerant, judgemental, uninformed comments that the original post asked people not to make.

Any further such posts will result in sanctions against the member to posts them.

Please immediately report any post like that.

I guess I'll admit to having a bit of a meltdown on Twitter for very similar reasons - "gurus" in the LCHF/keto space overreaching, pontificating and generally taking an almost smug glee, "I'm alright, Jack" approach. Using this pandemic to push the diet wars just as hard as any other diet camp, promoting their own "brand", building their "influencer" profiles or whatever the heck it is they think they're doing. After years of being in this space and being a huge supporter, I find myself pretty much disgusted by the lack of empathy and compassion. I'm unfollowing and muting people I've followed for years because of it.

It makes me value the practicising physicians on the front lines who know they're treating the patient in front of them even more than I did before. The real doctors, not the tone deaf "intellectuals yet idiots" acting like real lives aren't at stake and this isn't happening in real time in the real world. Playing armchair computer simulations or whatever it is they think they're doing. The people with true empathy and compassion are showing their true colours - as are the opportunists. I keep seeing a picture of Doctor Evil in my mind and getting a "let me plot how to win the diet wars and gain world dominion while I'm at it, muhahaha" vibe from it all.

Meanwhile, the real gurus with true compassion and a balanced approach in all things, thankfully, also continue to prove themselves as valuable as ever. It might be a really tough tightrope act to pull off - some are managing it, but others sure aren't. If I'm still alive after all this is over, I sure won't be forgiving and forgetting. They can go **** themselves.

/off my soapbox

Well said @Indy51

Antje77 said:

Please look into the condition further before stating "Type 2’s have the option of reversing their condition."
It isn't that simple for many.

This 'reversal' you speak of is seen mostly in people who keep a very strict diet for years and decades. If they 'fall off the wagon' it often means indulging in just a few simple things like a sandwich or some mashed potatoes at dinner, making their bg rise to diabetic levels again.

When a T2 gets ill with an infection or flu or such their levels may rise just as it would in a T1. Except they can't do anything but sit it out and drink water until the illness passes.

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Thank you, Antje. We have to be so careful about the 'it's their choice' mentality: there's always a way to blame people for their problems- you do get people saying T2's get their condition because they're lazy, but then someone could start saying T1's who suffer complications do so because they didn't manage their condition well - protein in the urine? Should have taken better care of your kidneys. It's a problem beyond diabetes too. Got coronavirus? Irresponsible. Money concerns? Worn out after work? Should have done better in school and got a better job. You can blame people forever, but it's easy to start falling into unhelpful generalizations when you do.

Amina9191 said:

I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Type 2’s at least have a functioning pancreas and have the option of reversing their condition. If only we had that choice

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That may be your uninformed opinion but many of us are "carbohydrate intolerant" and can only manage - not "reverse" - our diabetes by adhering long term to low carb diets. It's often no more possible for us to successfully stop eating this way than it is for you to stop using insulin. I would have hoped that a student nurse would have a somewhat better understanding.

My glucose levels certainly rise when I'm ill or in pain and there's very little (aka sod all) that I can do about it, low carb diet or not. And as a very elderly T2 I may well have to deal with a double whammy Covid-19 wise...

Tipetoo said:

This is a typical comment from a uneducated person regarding T2 diabetes.

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Amina.
I am reporting you for your crass comments.You are not sorry at all.
Its not up for discussion which type of Diabetes is "worse" and who made you God to deserve accusing T2 of causing it themselves.
You don't know me or my history. Don't you thonk the scare over thos virus is bad enough? I have genetic and various medical problems to contend with as well as Diabetes.
If people can't be supportive (which they have been in bucket loads in the past) them I won't be coming on here again.
Personal attacks are NOT OK.

Stuff just got even more real for me. I lived in a retirement village that has around 350 households within a gated community.

We have our first confirmed Covid-19 case within the village which is now in total lockdown awaiting Health Department advice.

Told to stay indoors, no outside visitors, no access to communal areas, etc, etc.

Further to the postulated theory that T2s have a fully functioning pancreas the following may be of interest.

"Pancreas is a doubled-entity organ, with both an exocrine and an endocrine component, reciprocally interacting in a composed system whose function is relevant for digestion, absorption, and homeostasis of nutrients. Thus, it is not surprising that disorders of the exocrine pancreas also affect the endocrine system and vice versa. It is well-known that patients with chronic pancreatitis develop a peculiar form of diabetes (type III), caused by destruction and fibrotic injury of islet cells. However, less is known on the influence of diabetes on pancreatic exocrine function. Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) has been reported to be common in diabetics, with a prevalence widely ranging, in different studies, in both type I (25–74%) and type II (28–54%) diabetes. A long disease duration, high insulin requirement, and poor glycemic control seem to be risk factors for PEI occurrence. The impact of pancreatic exocrine replacement therapy on glycemic, insulin, and incretins profiles has not been fully elucidated. The present paper is aimed at reviewing published studies investigating the prevalence of PEI in diabetic patients and factors associated with its occurrence."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393909/