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 will very likely develop type 2. It’s followed on from having PCOS and not a bad lifestyle.

it’s also serious. In a different way from type 1.

it’s not a competition

Also happens with MS. People think it’s ME.

Yes, the implication is that having type 2 diabetes is your fault for a poor lifestyle. People generally have a poor lifestyle for a reason, it isn’t a case of being lazy or morally bankrupt.

I was going to say this - I don't know anyone with it but I know slim and fit people get type 2.

I see pps have also confirmed my belief that there were more than two types.

@TIDMum - I would respectfully suggest you consider the effect your complaint may have on the Sky man’s entire livelihood. He won’t be given a quiet word. Chances are if he’s on a zero hours contract he will just not be used again.

The side effect of shit things happening to you is you become an expert on them. He’s lucky not have had to do so. Forgive him his luck, and move on.

Agree.

Tell me you don’t understand what it’s like to live with T1 without telling me…

And even if it were, it's still between a patient and their doctor.

I'm just surprised that so many people don't know the distinction because for a long time it was well known as it was the metric used by twats to determine whether they had a right (in their twat eyes) to be twats.

You are also being judgemental. Type 2 diabetes is not always caused by lifestyle.
A family member has just been diagnosed with it. She eats healthy, rarely eats anything sugary. Walks everywhere as doesnt drive but still developed type 2 diabetes.

Why?
All types are serious and everyone with any type of diabetes deserves sympathy and understanding

Surely you see the contradiction in your first and third paragraphs here op! 😂

I have a husband who has had diabetes and other serious conditions for many years. I wouldn’t expect the Sky engineer to have in depth knowledge of different types of diabetes or any health condition. I might well explain the situation, I wouldn’t put his livelihood at risk!

Someone in my family was boderline pre diabetic (type 2 of course) and had a phone call lecture from the practice nurse telling then they must lose weight and they must exercise. Relative had to point out that they could had never met them, had no record of their weight and had to inform them they weighed 8 stone (and are 5 ft 6) and took 2 ballet classes a week. So there some people do think it type 2 is all down to life style, sitting around all day drinking pop and ordering take aways.

So you are angry at the thought of your son being judged but are very pompous and judgy about type 2 diabetes. My middle son has type 1 so i sympathise with you but I don’t judge other people for having type 2 as it can also be genetic. You need to calm down

I have a terrible lifestyle due to MH issues and consequently I am now pre-diabetic which could be said to be my fault. However when I attended the NHS diabetes prevention course the majority of other participants were slim and appeared to live healthy lives so I think that there is also genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes too.

Most people havent and just going by this thread its evident a lot posters think there is only type1 and type2

I have T2D and it’s not lifestyle related. So yes, you’re being unreasonable.

I hope this is a fake goady post because Type 2 is NOT correctly described as being lifestyle caused.

What a nasty stigmatising thing to write…shall we say the same about cancers …knowing nothing about exact causes like all lung cancers are caused by smoking.

The treatments may be the same for both type 1 & 2 depending on the patient and the risks and concerns are super similar. Just yuck to this attitude to ill health and stigmatising people.

My heart goes out to you @TIDMum you must never get a moment’s peace. My sympathy also to all the other posters on this thread who are suffering or have a family member suffering from illness.
My feeling is that we are bombarded by so much called ‘health’ information from lots of different sources. Some people think that makes them experts. Some of this information also seeks to ‘blame’ individuals for whatever illness they develop. This then gets confused in some people’s minds.
I think much of this is due to how inadequate our NHS is in treating patients promptly and efficiently. It’s easier to blame folk for getting ill.
Yes people have to be responsible for their own health but in many cases getting ill is purely down to bad luck.
Really it’s better to keep quiet about any health conditions that you don’t fully understand. This is what the Sky guy should have done @TIDMum

My DS has T1D and has encountered confusion in the past when he became hypo at school and one of the LSAs told him he needed insulin which of course would have been dangerous. She couldn't get her head around a diabetic needing glucose.
My DM is T2 after a brain injury. She's always been tiny.
But honestly this sort of simplification isn't just diabetes. My friend has type 2 bipolar. Same thing. At the end of the day, who is that bothered. Just explain if you can be bothered and move on.

I get where you are coming from - my daughter died at birth and the amount of people who had miscarriages and knew how I 'felt', even one telling me how lucky I was as she never got to see her baby or even know the sex of it!

But, I think that you are showing how much it has hit your sore spot and you are being a little hypocritical.

You are wrong to say the 'vast' majority is due to lifestyle and can be 'reversed' - for a lot it is, but by no means all.

Type 2 diabetes is a major contributing factor to premature death.

It has very strong genetic factors, certain races have a far higher risk of developing it, and that is not due to how they eat, not all at least.

People with PCOS are also at higher risk, due to increased insulin resistance.

People with T2 also suffer from amputations, vision loss and kidney failure.

A lot of them do change their diets, but it is not as simple as that.

I eat KETO because my siblings and dad had it before the age of 30 (I am 56 btw). Whilst I haven't got it, my HbA1c went up slightly, which made me cut down to less than 20g carbs a day. If I now get it, then there is no way that it is down to lifestyle or my diet, it COULD NOT be down to diet.

I also have family members with T1 and appreciate how fucking hard it is for kids to deal with. It is brutal and unfair.

I

I hear you as the.partner of a type 1 with serious complications. He says the attitude is getting worse re uneducated people. He has a closed loop system and every time he meets a healthcare professsional he has to educate them not only on type 1 but on the system. On his last admission for daycase treatment they tried to remove his pump as his background insulin would controll his glucose. ( u dont have anu on a pump). He refused , thet changed thier mind on removal following the arrival.of his very irrtiated diabetic nurse who read the team the riot act and provided them with alot of info. He said it was quite ammusing in the end!

Absolutely agree with your second point. However, to state that on a thread about a teenager diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and all that keeping said teenager alive and well entails is strange isn't it? T1 and T2 are not remotely comparable in that situation are they?
I don't understand the desperation for people to agree that they are equally as dangerous. They aren't.

I agree OP, but some medics used to use the term 'type 1' to refer to anyone needing insulin, whether that was 'true' type 1 (autoimmune diabetes) or type 2 (insulin-resistant diabetes). I think the 'type' terms are confusing, and it would be better if they both had completely different names. Plus there are several other types of diabetes that have been discovered now, all with slightly different characteristics.

Another one in the illness Olympics. Gold medal for ignorance too, as not all IBS cannot be fixed by dietary changes.