


Roxanne wrote:
>I also find it very insulting that news professionals refuse to distinguish
>the difference between the two very different forms of our disease.
>do[n't] have this disease because of lack of exercise, couch-potato syndrome, and
>obesity and that we have absolutely no control over the fact that we have
>this disease.

I don't mean to jump on you, Roxanne, but this really pushes some
of my buttons. And maybe I'm misreading the implications of this.
If so, my apologies.

Warning: rant ahead.

When I was first diagnosed, I was pretty overweight. I was 33. My 
doctors assumed that I was type 2. After nine months, they finally 
figured out that I was type 1. (At that point I'd known that something 
was deeply wrong for at least 5 months.)

When I was rediagnosed type 1, one of my first reactions was relief:
it wasn't my fault that I had diabetes! Why would I react like that?
Here's an example of the way I was treated. A few months after I was
diagnosed, when it was clear that diet-and-exercise wasn't working, I
went to see my doctor. I told her about all the trouble I was having.
Her first response was "Have you gained weight?" Actually, I'd lost
about 15 pounds since the last time I'd seen her, six weeks before.
I got on the scale to prove it. Then I burst into tears. She sat me down, 
gave me a pep talk, and prescribed tranquilizers. But she wouldn't 
prescribe oral diabetes meds., and certainly not insulin. (A couple of 
months later when I went in with a bg over 300 and spilling ketones, 
she *still* wouldn't give me insulin.)

Am I bitter? You bet.

But, more to the point, I know how the other half lives. I really hate
to see type 2s stereotyped and belittled as gluttonous couch potatoes.
The truth is much more complicated. 

I have a co-worker who's an ordinary-looking middle aged woman
with type 2. She's not noticeably overweight. She's Latina; she has a 
history of type 2 on both sides of her family; all of her mother's 
siblings had it. Does she have "control over the fact that she has 
diabetes?" I don't think so.

Yes, I'm concerned about the poor eating and lack of exercise that lead 
to serious health problems, including diabetes. But I think the image 
of type 2s portrayed by the media is really counter-productive. If 
people feel lousy about themselves, they have a hard time believing 
that they can change their habits, or that it's worth it. It disturbs me
to see type 1s appearing to join the throng of people blaming type 2s
for their situation. I'd rather see more of an effort to educate everyone
about what can be done about all kinds of diabetes, in terms of pre-
vention, management, and cure. Let's make the soft drink industry, 
the fast food industry, etc. take some of the heat. They bear a lot of 
responsibility for the fattening of America.

/Janet L.

P.S. Between this and the dentist thread, I feel that I'm doing a lot
of complaining about how I've been treated by medical professionals,
and that this may be straining my credibility. So I'd just like to say
that I *have* had good interactions with doctors -- most recently
a very nice neurosurgeon who actually allowed me to remain com-
pletely clothed during our consultation, and only made me put on a
gown when it was time for the actual exam -- a courtesy I very
much appreciated.

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