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 can understand OP being cross, but her reaction is out of all proportion!

I didn't say it was caused by lifestyle. My husband is on hormone therapy for prostate cancer and is pre-diabetic due to weight gain. He is a prime candidate for weight loss medication but cannot access it. His condition means he cannot lose weight easily - despite dieting and also exercising so he will likely develop type 2 in the future. Those I know with type 2 are mostly older ladies for some reason who are not overweight at all. I know that they tell me they have to watch what they eat as do type 1 diabetics. That is my experience of both conditions.

Ah well, you see, I don't really give a damn what other people think or how they view me so their opinion holds no sway over my emotions or actions.

The healthiest person I know has type 2. It can be genetic as well.

Absolutely gutted for them. Life really is very unfair

After I found that out I did some reading. Apparently type 2 has stronger genetic links than type 1. So the opposite way round to what people think.

https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/genetics-diabetes

Sometimes is missing there

Yes, this.

I mean he's showing his ignorance but so are you here.

Type 2 diabetes is not only caused by lifestyle there are many factors at play including genetics, ethnicity etc.

I am much greater risk of type 2 diabetes because I had gestational diabetes with DS2 for instance and have yearly diabetes check. Gestational diabetes isn't triggered by diet or life style (which many people think it is) it's the placenta. I remained a size 10 throughout pregnancy and DS2 was a steady 7lb!

My dad developed type 2 diabetes due to a undiagnosed genetic condition which damaged his organs (he also needed to have insulin injections in later life due to medical complications but he was still type 2 diabetic technically)

T1 diabetes is a terrible illness. Parents are on 24 hour watch. I can’t imagine the level of stress while trying to let them live their life.
I knew a family who lost their DS as he was at a party and didn’t get to his medication on time, his friends underestimated the seriousness of it, he went for a nap, that was it.
Children rarely if ever get diabetes t2 (I think) it is more manageable by the nature of the disease for an adult than for a child.
Are you part of any support groups OP?

My SIL got it as an added extra thanks to her Lupus condition.

I agree with you. I feel the same way about asthma, people with a little wheeze get inhaler’s but its not same as my son who life depends on the inhaler/steroid.

what do you mean, so-called? it is still a serious, lifelong condition and can lead to much the same issues that type 1 leads to.

And plenty of people get it because they are genetically predispositioned to it, not because they've been living a crappy lifestyle. They get just as upset at being dismissed as type 1s feel when the condition is assumed the same.

Type 2 is usually later onset and can be solved with a change of diet and lifestyle plus medication

No. Not solved. Controlled, as is type 1 (although I know there are plenty that will smile at that idea). Plenty of type 2s need to use insulin at some point. Lifestyle changes might hold it off but they don't cure it.

Even insurance companies are clueless. My mother had T2. I had GD. I have PCOS and I am overweight (working on it and injectionsare a lifesaver here because of the PCOS). So I am also at risk of T2.....

... my life insurance policy specifies that if I develop T1 diabetes they will not pay out. I queried it - seemed weird. There's no way to tell T1 is a potential issue but I AM at risk for T2. But no, they confirmed. T1 is the one they won't pay for. [shrug]

Can we just say ALL types of diabetes are serious and challenging, and as the OP has discovered , she doesn’t have an in depth knowledge of all of them!

Most people would be wrong then! T1 and T2 are the most common forms of diabetes, but there are others too - eg cystic-fibrosis related diabetes (similar to T1, not the same) and gestational.
T2 often has a lifestyle element to it, but there's also often a hereditary component too.

You are right that type 1 and type 2 are completely different diseases. They just happen to share a core symptom and hence many of the same complications.

You are right that in the majority of cases type 2 is caused by lifestyle, although cut a bit of slack to people who are predisposed to addiction when the substances they are addicted to are cheap, legal, ubiquitous and widely pushed.

And while you are right that type 1 is a serious medical condition - SO IS TYPE 2!!! You can get just as sick and dead from it, with a side order of fat shaming thrown in.

It is often possible to put type 2 into remission, with lifestyle change. But that involves HUGE effort and is often (usually) not successful. So yeah, we type 2’s got off lightly.

I've got type 2 and its not linked to lifestyle. I get a bit fed up with people assuming it is tbh.

Yep I have arthritis. Mine is psoriatic which is linked to autoimmune condition and once had occ health call me and tell me I was too young to have arthritis and ask for my actual diagnosis!

Nah, the OP is probably pissed off because to have your child diagnosed with T1 diabetes is bloody heartbreaking and it takes a long time for everyone to get their heads around it. It is also incredibly dangerous and honestly, takes an enormous amount of time and effort to keep stable, if stable is ever a thing with T1 diabetes.
I can imagine it is very annoying for people to be so flippant about a condition that could kill her child.

I get it @TIDMum and all the other posters with children diagnosed. My friends dd has recently been diagnosed and that was after my friend found her unconscious in bed. Her body was shutting down. She could have so easily died it doesn't bear thinking about. It has been heartbreaking and terrifying.

Who on earth does anyone think they are passing comment on another person's illness anyway. Some people could do with keeping their mouths shut.

I dread to think about the mindset of some of the responders on this thread. They despise anyone getting anything they see as special treatment, even when that treatment is keeping someone, a child no less, alive. Strange.

I have a similar problem ..I dont have type 1 or type 2 , 1 have type 3c which was caused by pancreatic surgery and totally different as it affects the whole digestive system and impairs both insulin and digestive enzyme production. When I told the diabetic specialist nurse that I wasn't type 2 but 3c her response was that I knew more than her because she'd never heard of it !!

It is frustrating when people seem to be dismissing a serious medical condition.

Most people are badly informed about most things that don't affect them.

Having a child with a life threatening medical condition is terrifying 💐 (and you're allowed to be a bit touchy because its your kids life, ffs).

"Only blood sugar"

The guy is a clown OP and you and your DS are spot on

Blood sugar for a type 1 diabetic is the difference between being conscious and completely unconscious.

I know you know the trouble is, others are not aware of the how blood glucose can fluctuate. They have no idea of the complexity, ratios, constant calculations for insulin doses and I could go on!

The lack of awareness is common because there are more people with T2.

I just tell people its a medical device, as I am a survivor of T1 diabetes since childhood.

Losing my mother to diabetes-related side effects, years after she'd managd to get it under control and was doing all the things she was supposed to do, has also made me a bit "touchy". I'm not downplaying OP's experience. I'm asking her to respect mine.

No.

I am really surprised people don't know this. For many years, if someone said they had diabetes, the immediate question was whether it was type 1 or type 2, because type 1 was "acceptable" but if it was type 2, that meant it was open season.

I wonder if maybe, in an effort to stop the shaming and haranguing of people who were type 2, people stopped making the distinction so much.

Have you got a child with a life threatening disease?

If so, congratulations on being so calm about it. Not everyone can manage that.

If not, maybe don't judge?