Luckily most of the people in my circles aren't that rude.  For the rest
I simply say, "Actually, no, that's not true." and walk away.

Priscilla

Chris,
I'm sorry you have to battle ignorance in addition to diabetes.  The best
way I have found to handle these types of situations is to become as
knowledgable about your condition.  Then you can enlighten them as to errors
of their thinking.  With diabetes on both sides of your family, and
especially since you have a sister with diabetes, I agree with you that you
have a predisposition to this.
When you tell a friend or family member that you have developed diabetes, I
think that it sometimes scares them.  They in turn start looking for the
"cause," in hopes that they can convince themselves that they "can't" get
it.  If they can find something in you that is different from them, then
they can comfort themselves to some degree.  Only patience, time and
knowledge will solve this.
Good luck, it is always tough to educate the masses.
Steph

    Always carry a gun?

    Or how about:   Test your friends.  Then, no matter what reading you
get, put a shocked look on your face and tell them that their blood
glucose is extremely high, that they're obviously diabetic and will die
soon, very painfully.  Be prepared to offer the name of a good attorney
to help them prepare their final wills.

   
    Type 2 Diabetes is a genetic disease.   T2 causes insulin resistance
which, in turn, causes weight gain and obesity.    Obesity does not
cause diabetes.  The proof of that are the million of fat people
(perhaps including your friends) who are not diabetic.  Eating junk food
does not cause diabetes.  If it did, everyone in this country would be
diabetic.   Worse, there are many people who got plenty of exercise and
ate nothing but healthy food who got diabetes anyway.   And lets not
forget that about 10% of T2's were thin and became diabetic anyway.
Some things, like plenty of exercise, can reduce your risk of diabetes,
but it can't prevent diabetes in everyone.  Genetics are too strong.

    It sounds like you are doing very well.  The exercise you're getting
from your walking and dancing is excellent.

    There's probably nothing you can do about your friends.  They're
reveling in their ignorance and people like that generally don't want to
change.   The only defense is a good offense.  Discover what diseases
they have or run in their families.   At the first mention of your
diabetes, shift the subject to their diseases.   Then point out what
they're failing to do or what they did to cause their own infirmities.
Offer irrational advice.  For example, if one friend has a bad back and
eats french fries, tell him that your doctor mentioned recent research
that proved some chemical in potatoes weakens nerves in the spine.
Then in your most sympathetic and helpful voice, offer to help him shop
for wheelchairs so he'll be ready when he won't be able walk anymore.
Do not be rational or fair when you attempt this.  They're not being
fair with you.

            E  (who's in quite a mood this morning)

Sometimes, it really is just bad luck and/or bad genetics that cause
diabetes, be it type 1 or 2.  I was training for a half-ironman
triathlon when I came down with it.  Although, in my case, it turned
out to be type 1.  The fact is that much is still unknown about the
causes of diabetes.  There are several people at my work and several
more at my church that are all fairly thin that have been diagnosed
with type 2.  Their ages range from 25 to 55.  Clearly, it is not
always lifestyle that causes type 2.  In some cases, it may even be
the same mechanisms as those which cause type 1, but it is thought
that these mechanisms act more slowly in adults than children.

That hasn't really happened to me.  My husband claims that I eat like a pig,
but it is him who eats like a pig.  To some people, it might appear that I
am eating a large volume of food because I tend to eat a lot of salads.  But
I eat them with no dressing, so there aren't very many calories in there.

I have had silly things said, such as the bowl of candy I used to constantly
keep on my coffee table was to blame for the diabetes.  And yes, it's true
that I had candy there.  But it wasn't candy that I liked and I didn't eat
it.  I just liked to have something colorful there.

I'm a former dance teacher, and just prior to my diagnosis with GD, I was
working at a golf course.  So I was very active.

Exactly!

Yeah, I've heard that one too.

Yep.  I'm part Cherokee on my Mom's side.  Have diabetes on both sides of
the family.

I guess I'm lucky that I don't have many people who do that to me.

I think you tell them firmly to **prove** their claims with medical
evidence, they MUSTquote chapter and verse, or shut their ignorant mouths.
They are snide bastards from what you say, so take `em front on.

Al.

Chris wrote in message ...

  The technique which I learned, totally by accident is:

  a.  Learn quite a bit about Type 2 diabetes

  b.  Swing into a long, involved, passionate lecture about the topic as
soon as they bring it up.

            i.   Be sure to mention how much risk they face and offer to
test them
           ii.   Mention the disparity in research funding for diabetes and
other diseases
                       a.  If it is a woman,  mention the disparity between
breast cancer research funding and diabetes funding
                       b.  If it is a man,  mention the serious health risk
of the male-type pot belly and its tendency to cause Insulin Resistance
which in turn can cause heart attack with no warning!
                       c.  Mention that your health risks are identified
and thus you are eligible for life-saving drugs. . .however,  their risks
are not
                       d.  If they are Democrats,  mention that the
Democrats have "screwed" up the govt health initiatives in this area
                       e.  If they are Republicans, mention that the
Republicans have "screwed" up the govt health initiatives in this area

          iii.  Mention that Native Americans are especially susceptible to
T2.  Therefore,  we need to provide more funding for this aspect of the
disease.

 The details aren't too important,  the involved passionate lecture is
important.

Regards
 Old Al

You didn't mention if you are a T1 or T2. From anecdotal evidence in
your post you seem like a T2.
Diabetes is *not* caused by obesity, and or lack of exercise, as we
well know. If you are T2 odds are it is genetic. Other than just
trying to inform them of the truth, the only thing you could do, would
be to find an abstract on the causes, print it up, and say, "Read
this, then criticize"

5'9" and 180, and you are supposed to lose 40 lbs? Who is you Dr.?
Mengele? Wow, I'm 5'9", and 180 was a good weight for me, and that is
my target right now. I was 160 in High School, and not fat. But for an
adult weight, 180 would suit me fine. Criticizing them would be
counter productive, no matter how much satisfaction you would get by
doing it. It sounds to me, like you have a reasonably active
lifestyle. And Chris, one more thing, You are right, it isn't fair.

There is more wacko info out there than real info, it seems like at
times. One way to keep that to a minimum, is to ask where they got the
info, can they show you a printed copy, with double blind testing, and
a large testing base over a long period of time. Then say, when you
show it to me, I will consider it.

Given that, I would say that there is a definite genetic link.
Diabetes is also more prevalent among Native Americans,(proven
statistically) than the Gen. Pop. How do they explain your sister
being diabetic?

You are stuck in a shitty situation. The more they harp, the worse you
feel, and the harder it is to treat your disease. I know this sounds
like a cliche', but the longer you hear the BS, as long as you are
strong in your beliefs, the less impact it will have on you. Of course
that doesn't help you right now. It sounds like you live with your
extended family. Is moving, (or threatening to move) an option?
It to bad there is nothing called Di-Alon, like Al-Anon is support for
families of people with alcoholism. In Di-Alon, the significant
others, could be taught some diabetes basics, and how to deal with
you, and how to make it easier for you to deal with them.

Sleepy

========
COWBOY UP!
========

actually for me - diabetes does not come up unless i bring it up.
why should it? depending upon your will power.  but hey i still go out to
eat
i just eat like a human - time your carbs right so they dont all hit your
system at once.

180 i wish i was 180

And none of them exercise

seems like you are taking control :)

i dont know maybe you have rotten friends.
i actually had a friend 10 years ago whos wife ended up having diabetes.
it wasnt until after i got diabetes that i realized it was what happened to
her about 10 years ago.
her or her husband didnt tell anyone. no i guess they didnt have to - in a
way i kind of wished
they did say something - its a lot easier to realize it can happen to you
when one of your friends get it.

sounds like they are really given you a hard time about it.  why dont you
tell
them it bothers you and ask them to stop bringing it up - unless it is you
that always brings it up.

lol

for me i think it might be a combination of the 2. it was in my family and
and use to pig out alot - the last 10 years i have been very inactive.

i would no doubt tell them to shut the (edit) up.

shoot them

I never experienced such advice. After I was diagnosed, whenever I mentioned
my disease to anyone - friends or family - I'd get these narratives of folks
losing their toes and feet, going blind, going on dialisys, getting strokes,
etc. etc. Made me real happy. Only a couple of people told me such things as
"I know aunt Maude who had diabetes and lived till she was 99." The
similarity between your case and mine is that you soon find out who your
real friends are.

Henry

With meticulous management of your disease there is a good chance you will
outlive all or most of your "friends".

Henry

Well with freinds, most know nothing about the subject......so I damn
well educate them emphasising that they may also be at risk.

With family, well I am the only diabetic in either my family or my
wifes and so until I was diagnosed everyone knew very little. You can
be assured that is not the case now. Anyway, not to be hard on them, I
am lucky insomuch as they are supportive and genuinely interested. Now
their awareness is heightened the mystery has gone and it is now not
an issue. In fact I think everyone has forgotten it.

lol.........well that may be the case and really it is not a case of
being fair or not. This is not a competition or anything to do with
them. This is all about you. If its any consolation to you, there is a
good probability that if you work at educating yourself about your
condition and work at controlling your life you might very well end up
being a lot healthier than they are.  Well that is true for me and
there are many others who will say the same. I am healthier now and
feel better about myself now than I have for many many years and I
consider my condition to have been a positive benefit to me. Compared
to what might have been. There are also many who are very much worse
off and there are many reasons for that. I reccommend that you learn
about those reasons and then use that knowledge in your armoury to
help you avoid similar circumstances.

So what.......who realy gives a damn what is fair and what is not.
Never mind that. Complaining about being fair or not will in no way
alter the sittuation. It is as it is and you cannot turn back the
clock. So put that asside and get on with it. You must concentrate on
learning. The more you work now the easier it will become and the
quicker you will be more comfortable with things the way they are.
It's noemal for you to be feeling this way -denial -but get through it
and don't dwell on others. It's you that is important right now.

Being overweight does not cause diabetes. It don't make it any better
but loosing weight is not to get rid of some of the cause of diabetes
but to help your body cope with a reduced capacity.

There ya go - - - lack of understanding.

Seems to me honney that they are not in a position to explain anything
at all.

Diabetes is a genetic disposition except in certain cases. If you are
type 2 then there will be a disposition towards diabetes. So
essentially you are indeed correct.

It seems to me that they are afraid. Fear is often a result of lack of
knowledge and understanding. They might be blaming you for being a
diabetic because to do so is denying the obvious.....that there is a
genetic disposition. They might be frightened that the same could be
on the cards for them.

The only way you can deal with this from my perspective, is to learn
as much as you can. Change your eating habits to cope and keep a
regular exercise routine going. Often just doing things slightly
differently makes all the difference. Once you learn, have your body
under control then I am sure you will feel very much differntly than
you probably do now. Then you will be seen to be fit, healthy and
radiant. In fact you could actually look a damn sight better than they
do now!!! They will see that and the fear will go realising that they
were perhaps wrong and you will not get the hassle. In fact you might
get the reverse.

Once you have a grasp on the knowledge you need, gently and casually
in a gentle way, you can explain piece by piece to them. imagine how
hard this is for you to take in all at once. You have no choice but
they do they can block it out of their minds but only for so long.

I felt pretty similar to you when I was first dx'd and now I feel
absolutely OK!!! I hope you will fare as well as I.

Pete

Diagnosed 20/03/03 Type II D&E + Metformin + Gliclazide
+ Asprin 210 lbs at Dx to 170 lbs 02/08/03 target 161.