In my nine years living with type 1
diabetes I’ve learned a fair bit about myself. Not just my ability to calculate
the right amount of insulin for my meal or how exercise, sleep, hormones,
sickness or excitement affect my blood sugar levels. My biggest lesson has been
patience. I work really hard to keep my levels as stable as possible, but being
a diabetic means I had to learn to accept that despite all of that hard work,
sometimes I’ll still have elevated blood sugar for reasons beyond my
control. When people find out that I have type 1 diabetes they
tend to ask a lot of questions. I can’t say
I really blame them, I know that a lot of people genuinely mean well but
both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are still poorly understood by the average
person, meaning that people with diabetes tend to get asked insensitive
questions.
So….I
decided to create a short checklist of
things to avoid asking when you are talking to someone about their Type 1 Diabetes.
1. "Did you get that from eating too
much sugar?”
For the record, neither type 1 or type
2 diabetes are caused by eating too much sugar. Let’s go over type 1 diabetes:
It’s not entirely clear what causes the condition, but it’s thought that it
happens when the immune system wrongly attacks the insulin producing cells
in the pancreas. This causes damage and makes the pancreas unable to properly
produce insulin. Type 1 also may have a genetic component, although I
personally have no genetic history in my family. So no, eating too much sugar
as a kid has no affect on whether you develop type 1 diabetes.
2. My friend’s sister’s
cousin’s mother-in-law has diabetes, so I totally get what you’re going
through.”
No, you don’t. Maybe your friend’s sister’s cousin’s
mother-in-law gets it, but until you have had to wake up in the middle of the night
with low blood sugar, your whole body shaking, your heart pounding, and your
vision blurring while the rest of the people in your house are sound asleep you
can’t possibly understand what it’s like.
Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate
someone trying to relate to me by mentioning someone in their life who
specifically has type 1. But a better way to make a comment like this, if you
must, is to say, “I know someone with type 1, but I’m really interested to hear
about your experience with it if you’re comfortable sharing.” Then, I’m happy
to share some of my experience with you and you can better support your
friend’s sister’s cousin’s mother-in-law, too.
3. "Are you sure you can eat
that?”
The only thing worse than hearing this
question is hearing it just as I’m about to take a bite of whatever food I’m
enjoying. I know you mean well, but asking
this can make me feel alienated and center of attention. I am an
adult, so please trust that I can make my own food choices and that I already
understand the effect that my chosen meal will have on my blood sugar levels.
If you know a diabetic, just let them
refuse a cupcake if they want to and let them eat the cupcake if they choose. I
guarantee they know more about their diabetes than you. The truth is, a person with type 1
diabetes can generally eat what they want as long as they understand their
carbohydrate-to-insulin ratio (in other words, how much insulin I need to take
per amount of carbohydrates). But at my age and with my experience I can eat what I want
safely, so you don’t have to ask.
4. "Oh my gosh, you have
to take shots every day? I could never do that."
I guarantee if you had to give yourself injections to live,
you’d get over your fear of needles too. I’ve experienced some interesting
reactions from other people when I’ve taken my insulin injection in a public
place. Thankfully, most of the time everyone in my life has been kind and
understanding, but please remember that insulin is the only treatment for type
1 diabetes. I can’t go and skip my insulin injection, so I unfortunately can’t
plan my treatment around your squeamishness. If your friend doesn’t
think twice about testing their blood sugar or giving themselves an insulin
shot in public, then you shouldn’t either.
5. "You can’t have diabetes!!
You’re so skinny.”
This is my personal favorite because of
how much I’ve heard it throughout my life. Actually, Type 1 Diabetes can
happen to anyone regardless of what they look like. Also, uncontrolled diabetes
can typically cause you to lose weight because of high blood glucose. So yes, I
can be a diabetic and still be skinny.
Diabetes is a tricky disease that is
different for everyone. Each person has a private way to deal with their
particular requirements. I'm so thankful to be surrounded with
friends/family that are supportive and encouraging. I love the people who
make me laugh and who I can go through life with. These are the people
that make it easier to handle the yucky parts of diabetes.
Having a strong support system is
everything!
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