Diabetic

[handsome]

Why do they call person with diabetes a "diabetic"?

It is extremely insulting! just because i have diabetes, that does not mean that i AM diabetes! I am a regular guy like everybody else that happens to have a common not functioning hormone called insulin, what they call "diabetes".

If someone has cancer do they call him a "canceretic"? If someone has any desease, that person does'nt "become" that desease!

Also, i was told in a recent post that keeping blood sugar as close as possible to normal will not nessesarily avoid complications. but i don't understand, if i am controling my diabetes, than i am like any regular person, so why would i have complications?

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

I actually answered your question about the misuse of the English language in calling us diabetics as a comment to your last question (about the term "diabetic") on Aug. 24, so please go back and read that one for a chuckle. We do this because we are lazy in our English usage, that's why. I sound like an English teacher here, don't I?

I also addressed the question of complications and good control in that comment, but will go into it more here. It is a good question, and one that we hear a lot from teen diabetics -- why should I bother if I am doomed anyway? The cause of all the complications is pretty much the same thing: high glucose levels, which actually sort of thicken your blood and certainly cause stress on small blood vessels that feed body tissues. It does appear that some folks are more likely to have complications than others, and it is THOUGHT that there is a genetic reason for this. However, none of the complications would happen if our glucose levels were normal all the time.

Even when we are tightly controlled, we occasionally will see a high number, and the insulin we inject or pump doesn't work quite as quickly on the carbs we eat as a non-diabetic person's insulin does, for we have to use insulin that goes through the mucles into our system rather than insulin that our brain tells our pancreas to make 24 hours a day and that perfectly matches our needs. Even with the great control that is possible nowadays, we occasionally are going to see a higher-than-normal number. So then we hope that we are fortunate enough to not be one of the people who seem to have the genetic predispositon for complications, for those folks have more trouble avoiding complications than others who seem to be able to live wtihout complications even when poorly controlled. Since this question of why some people tend to have more trouble than others is not really understood fully by the medical community yet, we have no real 100 per cent assurance that our tight control will completely protect us.

BUT, ALL the studies that have been done on complications and tight diabetic control have proven that tight control dramatically reduces the possibility of complications. So we don't have control over what our gene structure is, but we DO have control over how carefully we monitor our glucose levels. I like to think of it by comparing it to a person whose family has a history of heart disease. Rather than assuming that this person will have a heart attack because other family members have had heart troubles, we opt to encourage that person to do the best with what they CAN control, and of course this lessens the danger of the heart attack. We of course cannot say with 100 percent accuracy that we know that exercise and a low-fat diet will prevent a heart attack in this person, but we do know that his chances are much better of preventing heart problems (even if genetically prone to them) by taking proper health measures in his lifestyle. Can you see the similarity here?

So while we cannot make guarantees, we do know that good glucose control makes the body's recovery operations work better if a slight hemmorhage does happen in the eye and that good glucose levels can improve nerve damage in people with neuropathy. We also know that many of us who have lived for many years under as tight control as possible do not suffer from complications. The recent studies linking tight control to lack of complications seem to prove that this is a wise thing to do.

While diabetic care has changed so much in recent years that we don't really have records yet on people who have been well-controlled for long periods of time, such as a lifetime. For although I have taken insulin for 35 years, we really did not have the means to lower those glucose levels when I was a teen and young adult, so I feel certain that my glucose levels were too high then even though I did the best I could with the medicines and tests that were available. But now we are seeing a whole new generation of kids who are growing up with glucometers and pumps and new insulins that very closely match digestion times of foods, and I suspect that we will see fewer complications in your generation than in mine as a result. Stay tuned and read about it in another 15 years or so!

[jdrf team dm]

Dear Handsome,

I do agree with you about the term diabetic. Unfortunately, it has been used for a very long time. My son has had diabetes for 20 years and when I came to JDRF a wonderful fellow volunteer and I had long conversations about this. I have even found myself slipping once in awhile, but for the most part I try to avoid the term. When it is used by physicians and everyone else, people use the terminology that they have learned. Please understand that no one is trying to be insulting or disrespectful. I appreciate the fact that you have started a thread that will inform others about your feelings about this. I have arthritis and am sometimes described as arthritic.

You have also been given some very invaluable advice about care and complications from everyone else. These people know what they are talking about. Take heart that new methods dealing with possible complications are advancing at a fanstic rate. JDRF funds this research as well as funding research for a cure. Please take care of yourself so that you can take advantage of the medical advances being made.

Regarding telling your friends about your diabetes, I know they are well meaning and worried about you. This is up to you whether to tell or not, but in my son's case his friends have been able to help him with a low bs because they knew about his diabetes. Just a thought to keep in mind.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

dm

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Hi again, Handsome --
I've coined my own term -- at least I *think* I've invented it.  I use the term "DMer" much like someone might say a person so runs is a runner; a person who jogs is a jogger.  We who manage our diabetes mellitus are DMers in my vocabulary.

I use DMer with fellow diabetics because, for the most part, we all understand the acronym "DM" -- for the lay folks who only know the word diabetes or diabetic, DMer won't necessarily "click" with them.  OTOH, it could be an education to help them distinguish between our type of diabetes (diabetes mellitus) and the "other" type ... not Type 2 DM, but diabetes insipidus -- a completely different & rare disease of the kidneys.

Good luck managing your diabetes.  I hope you'll continue to read & post here.

[venustiana]

Hi, I've been diabetic for 45 out of 46 yrs of life. My suggestion is not to take it personal. I have never seen it as an insult. Is the same thing as saying you are a man or a woman, tall or short, heavy set or skinny, christian or something else. They are just words (characteristics) that describe you. You may have a low self esteem or maybe you are having a hard time accepting the fact that you have this condition, you may hate it, you are mad about it. I think a lot of people go through those feelings, it takes a while to get use to it and become a normal part of your life. My suggestion is to take care of your health so you can live longer BUT make sure you have fun, you can have a normal life. Don't let this put you down, don't feel sorry for yourself. Go out and have fun, it is possible. Also, I would tell my friends so they will know what to do in case of an emergency. REMEMBER is all about attitude, BE POSITIVE, you can do it!!! God bless you, we care.