Type 1 Diabetes is NOT the same of Type 2!! It is a SERIOUS medical condition and is NOT caused by lifestyle!

[TIDMum]

Just had the Sky guy here to upgrade internet speed and he asked about DS's glucose monitor alarm going off so I said he's a Type 1 diabetic. He was asking if it was a care alarm then said 'oh so not that serious, just for the blood sugar reading'.

He then said that his wife was Type 1 and we had a little discussion about her GM and what type of insulin pump she's on (which she doesn't actually have!) and he then said 'I blame diet and alcopops really'.

It then became clear his wife was Type 2.

I said 'oh right, I blame COVID actually because you know it's an autoimmune disorder?' He said 'oh right' then was quiet while he finished his work.

DS (age 16) heard this as he was walking past.

DS said he's an idiot but this really annoys me.

I can't count how many times over the last 4 years since his diagnosis, people have started talking to me about their sister, aunt or neighbour having 'Type 1' when it's actually Type 2 they're talking about. He had the teasing at school about too much sugar as well.

I really think if you don't know what Type 1 diabetes, shut up and don't talk about it tbh.

AIBU to get pissed off about this? I can't think of any other serious medical conditions that are mistaken like this.

Exactly my thought's. I have taken similar complaints. 😀

Your DS is dealing with this in a way more mature way than you, and HE is the one going through this and will do for the rest of his life, not you. Says he is an idiot and move on. Well done DS. You sound very reactive.

SeriousTissues
I'm glad you think so too. Do people really act like this?
When people are struggling to feed their family and worry about paying next months rent or mortgage?
My god, I wish this was all I had to worry about.

No, she is vile. She has been vile to other posters and some of her comments have been removed because of it. Then to complain about a guy to his employer for making small talk. Vile.

I dont know how to reply to individual posts..sorry , but in response to the poster who said her son was seriously ill with type 3c..I posted earlier to say that im also type 3c following pancreatic surgery ...Im treated as type 2 because the surgery computer doesnt even recognise it ...Im told after every A1c that with a level in the fifties that im in remission .It's a biological impossibility to be in remission with this type of diabetes but I wouldn't be in remission at this level if I was a type 2.

Why would you complain to his work? Jesus

To be spiteful. I bet the OP complains about people not currently employed too.

And has zero empathy or understanding for other conditions, or even people with loved ones suffering the same condition as her son!! Yet expects 100% understanding and kindness from everyone else...

That was me it destroyed his pancreas so hes treated as type1 as his body obviously cant produce insulin with no pancreas
Most people have never heard of it
He was only 16 when it happened and the Doctors have no idea why it happened but three years on hes doing well thankfully.

Same

A close relative of mine has type 2 diabetes. She has diabetes induced neuropathy and cannot walk and is not fully continent. She may also have problems with her eyes. She is not overweight and has eaten quite healthily (but not 'perfectly'). Type 2 diabetes can be serious

Really? When was the last time you had to literally save your child's life at 3am?

The OP hasn't been great but unless you've been there, you have no idea. It is a life threatening condition continually. It's exhausting for all concerned.

On this occasion the OP has been very OTT. I'm sorry but she has. My brother nearly died as a baby, admittedly not due to diabetes. He had to have life saving surgery and still suffers now. I wouldn't complain to Sky if a guy who was employed by them didn't understand my brothers illness. Why would he?
And I agree it's a life threatening condition, no doubt about that at all.
From the first post I feel sorry for the son.

You’re going to complain about the sky man because he isn’t informed about diabetes ? Omg you sound such hardwork.

I agree with you. Seems like she’s taking her frustrations out on the poor sky bloke. Op, get over yourself, you’re not the only one having to look after an unwell child.

Type 2 runs in my families genetics. Its not always caused by bad diet etc.

My dad is insulin dependant and has always followed everything, attended all appointments and treatments but is still suffering the effects of 25 years as a diabetic. He is at risk of hypos etc and skin problems /neuropathy/eye issues.

It’s not all just stop eating crap and it goes away. Type 2 can still cause medical issues long term.

Im not dismissing the Type 1 complications. It’s awful and life changing but Type 2 is often dismissed as fat and lazy people get it… Diabetes of many types are more complex than that.

I mean, does it occur to you that parents of type 1 diabetics continually hear people who have no clue what it is to live with type 1 telling them
a) their child ate too much sugar (nope)
b) they just need to eat less sugar/more cinamon/less carbs (nope/nope/nope)
c) they need to manage the condition better than they are (we do our best, it isn't easy, it changes continually and is pretty much unpredictable)
d) their grandma had the same and never had to take insulin (nope, that was type 2).
e) your child cannot eat the cake/sweets/chocolate (yes, they can)
f) your child needs insulin when hypo (nope, too much insulin in the system which is why they're hypo)
g) your child just needs more exercise and they'll be better (nope)
h) they are disgusting for injecting in public and should do it in the toilet away from decent people (nope, it's life saving medication thank you)
i) your child will probably grow out of it in a few years (nope, lifelong, never stops, 24/7, 365 days a year, every year)
.....................and plenty more

It is constant. I would never presume that I know anything at all about someone else's health condition. I would ask questions, if appropriate, and take it from there. I
sure as hell wouldn't tell someone how they were very obviously getting it all wrong. Type 1s and type 1 parents hear this all the time. All the time. Absolutely all the time.

That's the same for pretty much any condition
I am constant being assured by people with zero medical knowledge that goji berries /mindfulness/ [insert miracle cure here] will magically cure my rate neurological condition that they can't even spell.
But it's utterly naff to raise awareness of one type of diabetes by perpetuating harmful and inaccurate stereotypes of other types of diabetes. There are several different versions of my rare condition (some genetic, some not)!and I am always wanting to raise awareness and break down misunderstandings about all the varieties.

Type 1 isn’t the only disease that people hear that about all the time though.

Thats not the sky mans fault though is it?

OP - I am with you as a Type 1 diabetic of 54 yrs standing.

It gets worse as you get older as one pig ignorant nurse taught her student, that I could not be a Type 1 diabetic as they died in their 40s, so I had to be Type 2. IT fecking infuriates me -I am now assumed to be Type 2!

They are different diseases and one is a heck of a lot easier to treat than the other. This moning I woke up with a BS of 16 - not eaten anything since 1900 the day before and by 0900 I was going low.

Type 2 has got a very big link to lifestyle choices so anyone who says otherwise is talking sh1t = also GLPs were developed because lsoing weight will often cure your type 2 but it sure as hell does not cure Type 1. there are variants which are not Type 1 autoimmune - post pancreatitis, steroid induced etc.

Thee are some drama statements on here aswell - without his insulin pump he would be dead - no he would not, he would be treated with regular injections and can still be alive and functioning. However, the ability to crash and burn in type 1 in a way type 2s do not understand is much harder to manage and makes living life more demanding.

But hey if the nursing profession think I should be dead at 56 then I must ahve type 2!

There is a stigma around Type 2 but the management of the 2 and the difficullties in controllling it and how you control it are very different.

You are being unreasonable because there is shaming in the tone of your voice. Yes they are different but type two is not a shameful thing. It can be caused by lifestyle, but not always. Shame around it is wrong. That’s the problem, not the misidentification of different types of diabetes.

Well I certainly know the difference. One of my best friends and a few others have type 1 and also some have had type 2 later in life.

Am i naive in assuming surely most people know the difference? Fair enough if you've never known anyone at all in life to have type 1 but for me this seems a bit incredulous.

Not quite - the management of T2 has quite a wide variation, depending on many factors.

My DP manages his (genetic, he's not hugely overweight, his diet is not mainlining sugar, but his mum and maternal grandma also had T2) via diet and metformin.

I manage mine with a basal/bolus insulin routine, counting carbs, wearing a CGM, trying to predict what the hell my BG will do depending on how tired I am, how hot/cold/stressed, whether I will have a period of gastroparesis or not. I can't tolerate metformin and many oral meds do not behave as expected due to the GP and various other absorption issues.

I do have Mounjaro as well now which has massively helped reduce the amount of insulin I need (thank fuck, because the huge amounts of insulin I needed to eat a healthy sub 1200cal diet were causing a build up of lymphodema, to the point where I had lymphatic fluid running down my legs), and I understand this is not of use to T1 diabetics.

But whilst my T2 does not have the same cause as T1, the management is very similar - multiple injections, CGM, constantly counting carbs/sugar, careful diet management and frequent bafflement at 'why the fuck is that happening' as BG does unexpected things.. like silent hypos in the night (I only know because the dog wakes me up trying to climb into my mouth, good boy!) or waking up with BG through the roof having not eaten a thing for 14 hours (again, thankyou dog!)

The assumption that T2 management is 'simply a matter of having a healthy diet' is not accurate at all.