There are certain phrases in the world o' diabetes that make me feel... something. Amused, annoyed, bewildered. We encounter these phrases from people who mean well, but aren't very educated about what diabetes is (or that there's more than one type), much less what living with it is like. And some of them just make me giggle.
"It's an extreme form of diabetes."
What does that even mean?
Because when I think of "extreme diabetes", my mind automatically goes here:
Also, here:
"My {insert name of friend, relative, person
they barely know here} had diabetes too, and they {insert name of complication, or death, here}.
Telling us that you know someone else with diabetes? That's totally cool. What's not cool is telling us all of the bad things that could (or might never) happen to us. It's unfortunate that your friend/relative/cat/long-lost cousin had complications from diabetes, but everyone's journey with it is different. And even if it won't be - hearing all about it doesn't benefit anyone.
"Diabetic Socks"
This is one of my favorites - because, really how can socks have diabetes?
What phrases do you hear about diabetes that don't make sense (if you try to take
them glitterally - er, literally)?
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Thanks to Abby and Brian for providing some inspiration for today's post. :)
Love Wilford Brimley skydiving!!
ReplyDeleteI can't help but laugh/scowl/harumph under my breath everytime I'm asked, "How's his diabetes been?" If you wanna know about his blood sugars, say that. But I'll probably roll my eyes for it, too.
ReplyDeleteOh. Oh. And when he's right HERE, don't ask me how he "handles having it", k? And DEFINITELY don't ask me about his life expectancy. I EXPECT his life will be WELL LIVED and void of the ignorance you display. Thanks for asking.
My favorite (and my responses) are as follows:
ReplyDelete- Oh, so you have the bad kind of diabetes? (Yes, and it's too bad because the good kind sounds just awesome!)
- But you're so active and not overweight! (I know, shocking. Because you only fey diabetes if you're a fat, lazy slob)
- Can you eat that? (Yes, the only thing I can't eat is cookies....made with poison)
- my Aunt Trudy had diabetes and she lost both her legs and her eyesight. And then she died. (Gee, thanks for sharing.)
- I coul never give myself shots (You could if your life depended on it)
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You crack me up!! I love this post & the pictures are fantastic. :)
ReplyDeleteOh My Gosh! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI personally don't like the diabetic pet comparison. Keep in mind, this comes from a girl whose puppy is her substitute child until someone figures out what to do with a T1 with PCOS. But... when your diabetic dog learns to give her own shots, deals with diabetes through puberty and mean girls, graduates from college, and manages her own blood sugars through the stress of daily life/being a housewife... we can START comparing notes. ;-)
HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete"Have her numbers stabilized?"
All I can think when I hear that is:
1) Do you even know what a "stable" number is?
and
2) No. It's been almost 6 years and the numbers still go UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN.
I've long hated the idea of "diabetic socks," but now I want to make some cycling socks with pockets for glucose tabs.
ReplyDeleteYou are seriously gifted with paint.
ReplyDelete"Brittle diabetes"- HATE that one!! I always think of peanut brittle... mmm.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome smile-inducing piece of artwork this is, Kim... Love it, and echo all the comments above. Thanks for advocating and keeping it fun, all at the same time!
ReplyDeleteKimface you are to much. I go back to my current pet peeve of of "(insert name here) has a bad case of diabetes". You know the kind that attacks and mugs you on the side of the road bad case.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorites are "(my so and so) had diabetes and they died." Really, because I seriously thought that having a dead pancreas meant that I, myself, would not die!
ReplyDelete"I'm sure that checking doesn't even bother you anymore..." yeah you know after the first month my fingers just stopped producing nerves and I never feel it. And there's this secret that when you get diagnosed time is magically added to the day so it no longer bugs me when I have to stop in the middle of what I'm doing for a moment to test.
"How do you like run and do sports?" Ummm I put one foot in front of the other
I LOVE the low sock. I think I might have peed when eras that!!
ReplyDeleteI hate the whole "Have her numbers stabilized?" question, too. Uh...NO. That's the beauty of a chronic illness.
Or...
"It's so good she got it so young. She'll never know any different.". Hmmmm.... She will never know what it's like to eat and not need insulin, never know what it's like to not think about her bg, never be able to not count carbs, never gona day withoutnseeing her own blood. Yeah, that's SO much better. D sucks no matter when you get it.
Or... "when will she grow out of it?". Ummmm... Never.
I could keep going... But i'll stop!
Ok, we keep getting the 'But he'll grow out of it'. Um no, its a chronic disease. Please dont compare it to asthma.
ReplyDeleteFunny post.
The one I hear the most is, "I could never do it." Ummm...if you had to, yes you could. Duh!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the smile. I can always count on you Kim!
Well, let' see... my childhood orthopaedist had diabetes, and I was told he eventually lost one leg, then the other, to its complications -- when he was well into his eighties, and had lived with diabetes for over 30 years, back in the 1980's before home blood glucose monitoring.
ReplyDeleteI later found out he lived to be 95. I hardly consider that sufficient to infer that diabetes causes premature death.
Oh and another! How about the sugar-free candy teachers always kept for me in school? No matter how I tried, they could NOT be convinced that I could participate in a birthday/holiday party like the rest of my class. So, I'd get a handful of SF candy... which we all know HAS CARBS! Also couldn't convince them that the main difference in SF and regular candy is that one of them will give me the runs, while the other one tastes good!
ReplyDeleteIt is good to laugh about this disease. I've had T1D for 37 years and I still hate it that people feel free to discuss my personal health problems freely over dinner or in social situations. To me it is private how I manage and not dinner conversation. I know they mean well but honestly I don't discuss their dandruff or hemorrhoids!
ReplyDeleteVery funny! It always annoys me when someone asks if it is the "bad" or "severe" kind. Hm...yeah..actually it is..always! The other is asking if it has stabilized. It is a always a question asked with sincere kindness and I always feel a little bad saying 'well, diabetes never actually stabilizes..it would be amazing if it did"!
ReplyDeleteI love the "borderline" comment. Either you are, or you are not. I ask back if a person can be "borderline" pregnant.
ReplyDeleteHa... I've had T1 for 37 yrs too... I detest hearing the phrase "bad diabetic"... you might as well say "bad dog" b/c that's the pic I get. A doc standing over the poor PWD who's crumpled on the floor wagging their finger at the bewildered person who can't figure out why her b/s skyrockets for no reason or bottoms out.. who struggles every month at "that" time b/c her b/s goes crazy & makes life generally a pain in the butt... who's doing THE BEST SHE CAN!! STOP SAYING "Bad diabetic" as if it's something in their control! ARGH!
ReplyDelete*ahem* 'scuse me. ;) That one just bugs the heck outta me! I also hate the "I couldn't do that". I always have to give them "the look" & say, 'Wellll, I'm thinking if you were going to DIE if you didn't give yourself a shot? You'd learn REAL QUICK how to do it.' *Dazzling smile - then ignore them*
I don't mind talking about & explaining stuff to ppl who are genuinely interested & don't say stupid stuff.. LOL! but those bonehead remarks just irk me no end! ;)
Blessings!
Regular diabetes isn't so bad with other people, but when people see my pump and then I explain what it is, I always get "WOW, you must have it really bad then if you have to wear that!". Yes, that's right. I was such a horrible diabetic that I have no choice but to wear this piece of equipment 24/7. I'm practically dead already.
ReplyDelete