Being Diabetic is your own fault?

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Permalink Reply by Randy Wood on August 9, 2008 at 2:19pm

I watched my mother struggle day in and day out with diabetes for years. I was there for her amputations and such. You know, she never even stopped living for us or giving to her community in ways that I will not go into here. She took care of herself and she fought us to take care of us because she didn't want the same for us. She passed at 56 with her first heart attack. I have diabetes today and so does my brother.

Does everyone behave responsible? I would say no. Have I been responsible... I would say I am like all other humans and say yes and no. Yes, I believe medical insurance should cover all diabetes related illnesses without a doubt. That's why we pay them.

Randy

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Permalink Reply by Jovanni de Jesus on August 13, 2008 at 8:37pm

I don't think of any good reason that you have to blame anyone for having this type of disease. I understand that we may have not (for some, including yours truly) taken good care of ourselves previously. But blaming us now would not really solve anything. Yes, it may give a stern warning to those who seem to be heading our way, but what a lot of them out there fail to note that type 2's are the ones who are most likely to lead productive lives, comparable, if not better, than those diabetes -free.

To all of us, it is, it was, and it will never be our fault that we had this disease.

Just my two cents.

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Permalink Reply by Mz Aubrey on August 15, 2008 at 9:12am

I agree to some extent about personal responsibility. But do I feel like it's my fault I have this disease - No, not totally - not even mostly. There are some things I could have done better, but I also think that all the misinformation about diet that we, as a nation, have received over the decades, starting with the previous food pyramid, has contributed to our undoing. My goodness, all those starches, touted as "good" carbs. And has anyone read that those "good" oils - corn and other vegetable oils, may actually be contributing to the diabetes that is sweeping the nation and even beginning to affect elementary school children. In these instances we all thought we were doing the right things, switching from butter to margarine and from lard to corn and canola oil. Not to mention the consumption of juices loaded with sugar that we were told we should be drinking AND giving to our kids. And now diabetes is a billion dollar industry with all the meters and expensive strips, new and expensive drugs, doctor's visits and diabetes education, etc., etc.

I think there are just too many other factors to this disease to blame Type 2"s for their condition, especially when you factor in genetics. My mother's uncles and aunts had it, she had it, my sister had it, some of my cousins have it, I have it, a couple of my nieces have it, my son has it. My mother's uncles and aunts ate generally good diets and were not overweight. I, at one time practically became a vegetarian, cutting out all meat except chicken, turkey and fish, eating lots and lots of veggies and also a lot of fruit - and I swear I believe that it was all the fruit I was eating that in the end, gave me diabetes or pushed me over the line. To have acquired diabetes eating like this is stunning, if what you say holds true.

Okay so then you get diabetes and the first my doctor does is hand me the ADA's diet (again with all those carbs) and tells me to follow it. I did and guess what - next step was medication - that caused such sever lows that I became scared to go shopping alone. And all the time the doctors kept telling me that no matter what I did, in the long run, the disease would get progressively worse. If I'd had a negative attitude, I could have thought than what's the use!

So although I will not take full responsibility for getting it, I do feel like I'm taking responsibility for trying to control its terrible complications.

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Permalink Reply by Danny Weems on August 15, 2008 at 1:13pm

I am going to make one last comment in this discussion.
1) type 1 is an autoimmune response usually initiated by an infection of some sort. One of the first signs is weight loss. T1 manifests it very quickly and untreated death follows relatively quickly.

2)type 2's have a genetic predisposition for diabetes. It is a recessive gene associated with the same gene for red hair. I'm sure there are other genes involve. In primitive times of cycles of feast and famine, this is a good gene.

3) NOBODY ate their way to diabetes, to say otherwise is just foolishness. T2 eat the same diet as the entire United States who do not get diabetes or become over weight. T2 manifests itself slowly and death follows relatively slowly. One of the very first signs of T2 is weight gain. Women have a more difficult time losing weight due to lower muscle mass and genetics.

Mr peachy reminds me of the advertisements that that offer the cure for diabetes Doctors don't want us to know. All for the low introductory price of $99.99......
To all the overweight people out there I send my hugs and good thoughts

peace
danny

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Permalink Reply by Judith on August 15, 2008 at 1:43pm

Bless your heart, danny.....

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Permalink Reply by Misty on August 20, 2008 at 7:56am

I do feel like that. :( I have a ton of guilt about it. But my doctor tells me that insulin resistance (pre-diabetes I guess) makes / made it extremely hard for me to lose weight. So it's a catch-22. But I still have guilt that I caused it. It doesn't feel the same as type 1 where you have no "choice" about it. It's really a terrible feeling.

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Permalink Reply by Noturningback on August 20, 2008 at 1:07pm

Danny & Aubrey - I'm with you 100%

I'm not suggesting placing blame completely on the medical community but, I have had a weight issue my entire life and I didn't sit on the couch shoveling doritos in my mouth night after night as portions of the media would have you believe. I blamed myself for years thinking I was abnormal and couldn't control myself even though I watched my non-diabetic friends eat twice as much as myself. I've been low carbing and brought my BG levels down and now, with no exercise due to a bruised femur, I'm losing a pound a week. Hopefully that will continue for awhile. As someone mentioned it's a catch 22. IR causes hunger, carb cravings and weight gain. Weight gain exacerbates the situation until you've dug a hole 3 feet deep. By the time the medical community gives you an accurate diagnosis, and quite often the wrong tests are given to catch this disease early eanough - IMHO, you are struggling to refill that 3 foot hole in hopes it doesn't become six foot deep. I'm not suggesting that one doesn't take responsibility for their health but, there are many good people doing what they believe to be the right thing and unfortunately have been misled or overwhelmed by the amount of contradictory information. Where is the first place many people turn to for valid advice on proper dietary requirements? The ADA and we know how well that has turned out. For a type 2 that diet could be deadly. There is no proof that a low fat diet is the right diet either. The most promising seems to be a low carb/high fat diet but, that isn't true for everyone. So, again we have conflicting information when all anyone wants is to have a long healthy and happy life. Diet is only one confusing aspect of this condition. We could go on and on. We need to be there for each other, stand up and show the, mostly well intentioned, medical community that "this" isn't working for us. Breast cancer survivors and family have made great strides. I believe we can too.

~Danielle

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Permalink Reply by Denise on August 24, 2008 at 9:20am

Tell the 17 year old cheerleader that eats well, exercises more than most and that is type 2 that she brought it on herself...no no other family member they can find has had it....

And what about all those obese people out there who don't have any kind of diabetes or hypertension, or clogged arteries... (yes they exist)

The skinny people who eat everything and anything and can't gain weight---maxed out carbs, and try to limit exercise so they don't loose weight...

The obese t1's that almost die becasue of ASSumptions....

Medical Science does not have all the answers, manynow beleive that obeisity itself can be caused by infection and by genetics,since not all people who eat the exact same diet and do the exact same exercise, have the same reslut.

Blaming is not the answer...medical help is what is needed, period. And hopefully that medical help is up to date, as in not like the drs that still exist who tell diabetics that a fasting of 200 is acceptable and that insulin use is a death sentence.

Sorry for the rant, but the Blamestorming game has me seeing red in many spaces,espescially this one.

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Permalink Reply by debb on August 24, 2008 at 9:58am

thanks denise,
you said it just the way i would have if i could have found the right words. somehow when i go to say that,everything under the sun comes out except for what i want. i do tend to ramble and go off on tangents. maybe that's why. again thank -you for saying what was in my heart.

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Permalink Reply by Danny Weems on August 24, 2008 at 11:11am

The reason T2 is sweeping the country is simply a matter of definition. It used to be defined as a GTT of 200 + after two hours. Now, it is 127 fasting because at this level of sugar long term damage to vascular and renal organs begin to occur. The damage accelerates when BS is greater than 140 and higher.
It is easy to blame the ill for their illness and more difficult to research the facts. What do you know?
peace
danny

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Permalink Reply by Pubsgal on August 29, 2008 at 5:20pm

First of all, reading this thread made me feel a bit sad, especially being a newbie Type 2 and new to the TuDiabetes site, with everyone being so welcoming and all. I got to thinking, "Gee, didn't all those nice folks notice that I'm Type 2? Or that (pre-D) Mai Tai in my hand? Or my exceedingly plump face?" I think this also strikes a chord with me, because I haven't told my parents yet, fearing both their worry and their unspoken, "well, that's what she gets for letting herself go...." *sigh*...yes, at age 40, I really do need to get over that, don't I? :-)

I don't think anyone deserves any illness or disease, regardless of actions. I wish our society was less fixated on blaming and judging others (or feeling like others should blame themselves), especially when based solely on appearance. For example, a passerby might look at me and think, "Whoa, she's one of those obese people who doesn't take care of herself! Shame on her!" Said passerby has no way of knowing from my appearance that I'd run 2 miles during my workout this morning, or that I currently eat healthfully.

That said, I do take some responsibility for my developing Type 2 diabetes. I made a lot of piss-poor choices regarding lifestyle over the past, especially knowing that I (1) had a family history ("But my grandma seemed so much OLDER when she got it...if I get it, I probably won't get it until I'm like 90 or something") and (2) had gestational diabetes twice and that it increased my risk (on insulin both times to manage...I even had started on my food plan at the beginning of pregnancy #2, hoping to avoid it, but female hormones will do the darndest things). I used to eat a lot...lots of healthy stuff, but lots of junk too. Got zero exercise. When I finally started to turn the ship by at least eating more healthfully and exercising some...too little, too late. Ugh, darn denial! But I'm trying very hard to suppress channel any anger and guilt into the fight.

"Proper diet" is kind of a confusing issue in the pre-diagnosis stage, even for a smart person in health-conscious Californialand. On the one hand, you've got the all the "diets don't work" news, which makes an overweight person such as myself think, "Well, why bother?" But on the other hand, you've got the advice to "lose weight if you want to avoid developing diabetes." After reading about people who receive diabetes diagnoses and care instructions by mail, how much support will people get toward weight loss and fitness? Will they be told to just get gastric bypass surgery? (I find the recent pushing of it by medical web sites and medical group newsletters rather chilling.)

I'm also not convinced that everyone can get things under control by doing the requisite changes only (or avoid developing it altogether if already determined to be pre-diabetic); not because I don't think people can follow the treatment plans, but because there are so many variations in how people's bodies respond to treatment. I'm sure if someone did a study comparing stats on people with Type 2 diabetes, they'd find quite a variation on the extent to which healthy eating, weight loss, and exercise can affect your numbers. For example, comparing my current weight and height with Craig's, I've got a WAY higher BMI; it sounds like we both did the needed non-medical changes, so how come he has to take insulin? Totally not fair. My husband, on the other hand, is similarly overweight, eats pretty much the same way I do and is moderately active, and he's got nary a trace of diabetes. Go figure. When diagnosed, I refined my healthy way of eating even more, started logging everything, and exercised more regularly (5 days instead of 3, per advice from my CDE). I lost 35 pounds and saw much improvement in my post-meal numbers, but I still needed to start taking metformin because of my @#$%^&* fasting numbers. I still don't have my fasting blood glucose within the fasting range regularly. And that makes me so frustrated. Don't get me wrong--I think it's so worth it to develop healthy habits. It's helped me; I feel better physically than I have in a long time--maybe even better than before diabetes developed in me, ironically enough.

Also, the whole diet confusion does not go away on diagnosis. Look at all the debate about ADA diet vs. low carb. (Personally, I think the ADA diet would have been pretty bad for my numbers if I hadn't done some other reading around the web--I'm especially grateful for Jenny and her Blood Sugar 101 site--and developed my own way of eating. I won't even get into the whole eating disorder topic, which can render it very difficult for people to eat normally.

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Permalink Reply by Judith on August 29, 2008 at 5:51pm

Well said, my dear!.....Judith in Portland....

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