Welcome! And Things Diabetics Are Tired AF of Hearing!

Welcome to Dead Pancreas Society!  The name of this blog came to me through an online conversation in which a fellow Type 1 Diabetic called for unity among the Dead Pancreas Society and I fell in love with it.  Maybe because Dead Poet Society is one of my favorite movies.  Maybe it's because I enjoy punny humor.  One thing is for sure is that I aim to be a blog where all things about diabetes (both types because we don't discriminate around here), both negative and positive, can be discussed honestly.  I hope to put forth my view in a supportive, yet humorous and sarcastic way.  Stick around, get to know me a bit better, and hopefully we learn some things about getting through this one finger prick at a time. 

That being said, we have all encountered some really crappy things being said about us as diabetics and diabetes in general.  Nasty things, dumb things, and insensitive  things.  Some of it is naivety.  Some of it is general lack of knowledge.  Some is an unwillingness to learn.  Either way, I'm sure there are things we are really, really, really tired of hearing because it is so common that we could correct them in our sleep.  In fact, I am sure I have dreamed of these things being said and woke myself up from rolling my eyes so hard.  I give to you:

 Things Diabetics Are Tired AF Of Hearing: 

Is that the bad one?   First of all, shut up. Second of all, there isn’t a bad one.  They are both bad, but neither type 1 diabetes nor type 2 are a personality flaw.  They are a medical condition, brought on by several factors.  Type 1 is never, ever preventable.  I am a strange case of type 1.  I was born with a pancreas that never developed correctly and never produced insulin.  I have been a diabetic literally since birth.  No, my mother didn’t have a way of knowing that or preventing that or helping me to grow and she did nothing wrong.  Type 2 can be caused by genetics, life style, old age, etc.  So, while it can be preventable for some people, for some people it isn’t.  

I could never give myself a shot.  Yes, you could.  If it meant you died if you didn’t, you would suck it up and give yourself a shot.  We’re not unicorns who upon diagnosis magically know how to give ourselves insulin and want to do so. We learn, we adapt, and we do what we think we could never do, to survive. 

All you have to do is take a shot and you’re okay.  No.  No, not at all.  Insulin isn’t a cure and it isn’t the only thing diabetics rely on for saving our lives.  It is the main tool because it is what our bodies lack to live, but we also have pumps, insulin pens, syringes, CGMs, carb counting, insulin ratios, blood glucose monitors, and multiple other things that we use on the daily (including our brains and common sense) to make decisions on how we manage our blood sugar levels.  Not enough insulin can kill us.  Too much insulin can kill us.  Math is our friend. 

So, you can’t have sugar, ever, right? Yes, I can.  Trust me, after 33 years as a diabetic, I know what I can and cannot eat.  Besides, food isn’t even the only thing that effects my blood sugar.  Hormones (because insulin itself is a hormone), exercise, illness, infections, time between meals, and food all effect it in some way and the right combo of those can either shoot me sky high or put me in the tank.  For some people exercise can lower the blood sugar.  For some, it can make it higher.  Sometimes, it depends on how long since the last insulin injection when you exercise whether it will bring your sugar up or down.  

My mom’s aunt has diabetes, I know what you’re going through.  No, honey, you don’t.  I’m sorry about your great auntie, truly, but her having diabetes does not show you even a minute of the struggle of having this.  You seeing her every other holiday does not show you how she lives every single day, but it’s sweet that you try understand.   

My dog has diabetes, I can get their insulin for $25! Yay!  Chances are that $25 insulin works great for your dog. Chances are that same $25 insulin would work for me in a desperate situation, but trust that it is not what me and my team of doctors has decided is the right insulin for me for long term management.  I take no less than 6 shots a day.  Maybe more if I am having a bad day and some of those shots consist of $1000/month insulin.  But I am super glad you don’t have to pay that much for insulin for your beloved household pet, because I wouldn’t wish the expense of diabetes on the worst person in the world.   

In short, if you don’t know, you don’t know.  Ask.  Don’t assume.  And for the love of Pete, don’t open your mouth and prove that old adage about assuming true.