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.

I was diagnosed with RA a few years ago. I also have OA and the referral for RA was delayed for quite some time because my GP didn’t know the difference !!

I think that you're getting a lot of unnecessary flack here @TIDMum .
I'm 15+ years into keeping a T1D child alive so completely get it. I've had to send the diabetes team into primary school, secondary school and 2 colleges because of diabetes ignorance and a need to educate staff quite a few times over the years. We had incidents including a teacher making them spit out biscuit that they were eating for treating a hypo and another sending hypo-ing DC to the medical room on their own and they got lost for 2 hours - that one was bad because I had to get on a bus and go to the college to ask where my DC was because they had no f**king idea and weren't answering the phone.
I'm T2 now but that's been caused by chemo & immunotherapy during cancer treatment and to be honest it's the least of my problems because both the cancer and diabetes are now incurable.
Like you OP I have had to educate people on the differences particularly with T1. So many people think that T1 & 2 are the same and that I caused my DC's condition with poor eating habits whereas because I got T2 through cancer then it is no way my fault and that's ok

I know people who have died from T2 and some were just unlucky but most died because they didn't look after themselves. We have a friend who will be having both feet amputated soon but will they take insulin or watch their diet or stop excessive drinking? Nope. Do I have sympathy? Nope.

Since my DC was diagnosed I have not had a day's peace and until you face this day in and day out then leave the OP alone. It is a daily battle that never ends often made difficult by twats who think they 'know' all about it. I actually tell people that they're being ignorant and explain why. It's heart breaking to have have your precious child make the same wish every time they blow out birthday candles - "I wish my pancreas would work again, please" every year 😔

I don't even understand what you're saying. I have repatedly said both T1 and T2 are terrible diseases with awful consequences.

I came here to say this.

Tell your child that Crushing t1d is ensuring that happens. Look them up.

OP you'd be happier if you just accepted that most people are really thick.

@TIDMum do you realise how aggressive your posting style is? It is not promoting an open discussion at all.

OP I fully get it - friends actually lost their 12 year old daughter who had brittle Type 1 diabetes. She collapsed at school and sadly went into organ failure in hospital and died.

And bluntly, some people with T2 diabetes would be able to reverse it with the appropriate lifestyle changes, there's no lifestyle changing your way out of T1.

Sir Steve Redgrave got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes - which of his lifestyle choices would you say brought that on?
He was 35 and training for the Olympics.

My husband is T2, is on insulin and had a series of sudden crashes in his blood sugar last year despite following all medical instructions. T2 runs in his family. One crash was overnight and I couldn't wake him because he was in a coma. If I'd slept another half hour he would have died/had brain damage, luckily I'm an early waker and was calling an ambulance at 6am. It took several weeks of tinkering with his meds before he was stabilised and now he's on the monitors. You are in no place to judge as your knowledge of T2 is as bad as the Sky engineer.

Woah,imagine getting that deep into a conversation with a technician coming to sort out your Sky TV.

Maybe I am not as friendly as I thought..

If the implication that a 16 year-old's illness is due to sweets and alchopops, the implication is that the OP is a terrible parent. Add that onto the anguish the OP feels about her child having a life-threatening condition that needs constant monitoring and I think we can give her a break on feeling pretty pissed off about how unfair things feel. It's easy to say "it's not a competition" but everyone engages in judgement when it comes to parenting, health and lifestyle, whether they admit it to themselves or not.

As someone with Type 2 diabetes, I'm offended that you're essentially saying people with Type 2 have all brought it on ourselves. It runs in my family. I won't pretend I had a great diet before my diagnosis, but neither was it as bad as many others who never develop diabetes. Nor was I obese. It's annoying when people make jokes about sugar causing diabetes of any kind.

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'.

So the Sky guy said he blames his wife's cake & alcopops habit for her diabetes.

YABU to imagine he accused your DS of necking too many alcopops (he didn't).
also
YABU to be angry that people don't have as much medical knowledge as you'd like. He's a telecoms engineer, not an endocrinologist.

Have a cup of tea in the garden, it might help you calm down.

What like the Sky man who is going to get a complaint made against him, trying to make small talk whilst doing his job?
It seems that he saw that there was a diabetic person in the house and used that common ground to converse with OP.
I would imagine that his comment about alcopops etc were aimed at his partner, but don't know that for sure.
I think in the world we live in, I couldn't get so wound up about this.
My good friend is T1 diabetic.

It’s covered in GCSE biology. Even for those that do double science.

You know what the sky guy was an arsehole anyway. Imagine if his wife heard him saying it was caused by alcohol pops and diet. I bet she'd be divorcing.

Indeed! My partner was diagnosed "pre-diabetic" three years ago. Despite the fact that we've eaten almost exactly the same diet for 27 years - except I eat more sugar than she does, though not very much in any case - I am not pre-diabetic.

She reacted to the diagnosis by attending the almost year-long course the NHS referred her to and drastically altering her diet to a keto one. It has made no difference, she is still "pre-diabetic" - I suppose if she hadn't done it, she might be fully Type 2 by now.

She is regularly pissed off by people who tell her "I just cut out the donuts and fizzy drinks (none of which she was consuming in the first place), lost two stone (her BMI is 22 and was never more than that) and came out of pre-diabetes in a year. You should do that!"

They really ought to have different names

No offence but a good friend is not the same as your child being diabetic. Not at all.

This feels very much like the anorexia Vs bulimia debates I used to end up in, as one was all self control and lightness and the other shameful and uncontrolled...

Both are terrible, both have repercussions, both require treatment, just educate and move on

Try having a child with a rare condition, I mean at least most people are aware of diabetes (even if they cannot always differentiate the type).

I'd rather people had heard of my child's condition / have some general level of awareness as opposed to having to explain it almost daily.

You are well within your rights to correct people @TIDMum and to educate them about T1. It sounds like the best way forward will be to prepare your DS with an easy, informative and simple way to explain things himself. People only become knowledgeable about T1 (or rare conditions) once it directly affects them.

Although to be fair if you have someone close with T2 then you should know it's not T1.

But she is going to make a complaint about this guy!
That really is OTT.

I understand your frustration. I thought most people knew the difference. Apparently not.
If anything people with a diagnosed of type 2 they’re met with judgement not compassion.
T2 can be reversed or delayed by changing their lifestyle, for other people with T2 it isn’t that easy.

@SnappyPenguin
Sorry but how is that relevant here? I've been listening to JDRF saying much the same for nearly 2 bloody decades. The fact is that the only cure for T1D is a transplant that rarely works which is why it's not done.
We would rather see progress on pain free, fuss free insulin administration and management. That's been the biggest cause of depression and burnout for my DC is the pain of having T1. The relentless injections, finger pricks, scanning and understanding how much carbs are in each item of food is so sapping and if you add AuADHD on top? It's a shit show.