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What is brittle diabetes?

The linked article was interesting. I've been called 'brittle' but most of the factors mentioned don't apply to me. By 'brittle' my doctors seemed to mean 'uncontrollable'. In fact, I'd been given some wrong information, they hadn't found the right regime for me, and hadn't recognised how sensitive I am to small dose changes, different insulins, and hormonal changes. After 30 years of struggling I did DAFNE and my HbA1c went down from around 9 (which was pretty good for me) to stable 6.6, without severe hypos :)

Some doctors seem comparatively keen to label people as brittle, without defined criteria. If I was truly brittle, DAFNE wouldn't have worked. For people like me it's a question of identifying the factors invoved and being able to make small enough adjustments. I'd call us 'sensitive' rather than brittle.
 
LittleSue said:
Some doctors seem comparatively keen to label people as brittle, without defined criteria. If I was truly brittle, DAFNE wouldn't have worked. For people like me it's a question of identifying the factors invoved and being able to make small enough adjustments. I'd call us 'sensitive' rather than brittle.
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Well said. I've been reading some textbooks for my study where the phrase 'brittle diabetic' is sometimes used in a very meaningless, often quite derogatory way. Some have even said that 'brittle diabetics' are just lazy and manipulating their doctors, which I personally find very offensive (I sat there reading the book going red in the face with rage!) I think you've hit the nail on the head, LittleSue, it's to do with understanding all the factors and realising quite how many things affect blood sugar.
 
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