AIBU diabetes not a big deal

[Fluffyscrubberdo]

Does anyone else have a child with type 1 diabetes and get annoyed at the people who don’t have it but maybe know an adult with it and therefore insist on always claiming it’s really no big deal to manage only based on their very vague connection to it??

It also enrages me that so many people don’t understand the difference between type 1 and 2 and still try to claim a toddler has it due to diet.

Do you have a dependent child with type 1 and think it’s no big deal and makes no difference to your life??

That is a shocking and very sobering observation. It's basically life versus death. That's what many people don't understand.

Incidentally, I was reading a brief biography of the chap who appears as Count Binface. His adult brother was found dead in his flat after relatives became worried and called the police. A post-mortem found he had been undiagnosed Type 1.

Its a sobering thought isnt it
My son was diagnosed in DkA he was very unwell
Fortunatley he collapsed in front of his Dad who and he shouted downstirs to me to phone 999
I say fortunatley because if he hsd gone to sleep i dont think he would have woken up.

That must be so upsetting. I am often amazed by what people say to/about others.

could you say ‘I don’t find that very supportive, but I imagine you are trying to be reassuring’? Or is it better to blank it?

It's a massive big deal! Even as a nurse I had no idea what was in store for me as a parent with a newly diagnosed 7 year old. I actually had to give up work to provide the amount of care he needed 24/7. We did a research project over 6 months when he was 9 which meant kids were then able to access faster acting insulin which helped his control a lot.
Everything was geared around his medical needs at home and I never knew what the day might bring. School were pretty hopeless.
I was still getting up regularly in the night to him at secondary school because he did a lot of sport which caused hypos when he was asleep. Control is particularly hard due to growth hormones in the teens. Illness, surgery or dental work needs much more planning.
He is a dad now and has a career in science but it's a lot for him to keep on top of when the kids bring home nursery bugs and it affects his blood sugars. It's great now that he finally has a continuous blood sugar monitor though so he isn't pricking fingers more than 5 times a day.

As a type 1 diabetic for over 25 years. It’s a huge deal. It takes over your life. My work colleagues can be quite dismissive about it & act like it’s no big deal, I don’t say anything but it pisses me off. The not understanding the difference between type 1 & 2 makes my blood boil. I explain it that type 2 is a grass snake and type one is a 20ft anaconda 🤣

Have you been on a DAFNE course I found that really helped my mum & I when I was first diagnosed.

Hope it gets easier for you and your little one.🤗

Oh my goodness yes yes yes yes I can relate! My 4 year old was diagnosed few months ago, apart from the whole, she could go into a coma if too low or get keytonacidtosis if too high, it's also traumatic watching your child petrified of you coming near them to change a pump, insert a needle, do a finger prick test. Not to mention the constant sleepless nights where the alarm is non stop. There is so much I could say but you already understand so I don't need to. People are ignorant. But I try not to let them make me mad. I do educate them on the realities of it when they decide to make some smart remark like "I have type 2" when 1, it's not the same and 2, you're a fully grown adult so I'm guessing you don't need a freaking carer and you've grown a pair and decided you're not petrified of needles anymore. People are ridiculous. Honestly 😂

Pumps can be even more traumatic. My child asks for the injections! She has to have the pump unfortunately as it's more accurate for her size and needs (she's only 4) but even the pump is a needle and a cannula and changed every three days. Plus the sensor ever ten days. ☹️

When I was at school, one girl developed diabetes. As part of an English project she gave a talk about it to her class. The talk was so good they asked her if she would go into other classes to educate us. I think she was very brave to do it, and I hope it stuck with others as much as it did with me. Sometimes I think kids take things in better and have more empathy than the grown ups.

It’s a huge deal. T1 people should die every single day, but are artificially kept alive through an endless series of calculations and interventions.
My own wonderful T1 daughter (16) is amazing. She plays a contact sport at a very high level, is expecting great GCSE results and has a wonderful social life. But she’s also constantly exhausted, weepy and has developed OCD as a result of the endless focus on health and cleanliness. Nothing is easy, even though she makes it look as though it is.

Our son died from it age 31.

It sounds incredibly hard OP. I don't think for one minute I ever thought it was easy though.

When I was a young teenager there was a popular series of books which tried to normalise type 1 (The Babysitters' Club). I think where were a few other cultural representations around that time too - all trying to show that you could live a normal life with type 1. I wonder if in trying to remove a stigma they have created the false belief that it's not a big deal.

Im so sorry thats tragic
My son waa in intensive care for three weeks
It can be an extremely difficult to manage condition .

I'm not diabetic but I understand it's a huge deal. A family member died due to complications from type 1. She left behind a young dc.

They have a tv show now which shows it.

there is also a barbie who wears a pump.

Stacey. I learnt a lot about diabetes from that character!

Yes the manufactors of Barbie get a lot of criticism but i do like that are trying to be inclusive .

My son doesn't have diabetes but he needs parenteral nutrition which caused havoc with his blood sugars to the point he was actually under the diabetes team for a while and had dexcom. It stabilised eventually and he hasn't had any further issues but because of that, I know that diabetes is most definitely a big deal.