5 Things You Know About T1D – That Aren’t True

It’s hard to understand something until you actually experience it. Like many people, before my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I didn’t know anything about it. Most people don’t. But that doesn’t stop them from telling me everything they know about T1D.

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Think about this: “We don’t know how much we don’t know” (Brain Games – check out the show, it’ll blow your mind).

When we don’t know about a topic, our brain “fills in the gaps”. We don’t like the feeling of not knowing EVERYTHING. So, we make it up.

Television is most people’s information source about diabetes. And television is wrong.

I try to keep this in mind when I tell people that my son has diabetes, because most of them make assumptions about him (or us as parents) and some even go so far as to tell us what we should be doing to “fix” it.

5 things you think you know about T1D:

1. They brought it on themselves, diabetes is caused by overeating and not exercising.
2. Only old people get diabetes.
3. You can recognize a diabetic by their appearance.
4. Diabetics can’t eat sugar and candy.
5. It’s no big deal. Kids grow out of it.

5 things diabetics know about T1D:

1. The cause for T1D is not fully understood. We do know that it is genetic and autoimmune. It is not caused by anything the person did or did not do. While we’re at it, type 2 is also largely caused by genetics. Many people with type 2 diabetes eat healthy and exercise regularly.
2. People of any age can get diabetes.When my son was in the hospital once (not diabetes related), a nurse came into our room to check him and noticed the SPIbelt he uses for his pump. She asked what was in his fanny pack and Jordan told her it was a pump for his diabetes. She replied, “but you’re too young to have diabetes.” His brow furrowed, looking almost offended and he shot back, “no I’m not. I’m FOUR!” Generally, T1D is diagnosed in children, but more and more diagnoses are happening later in life as well.
3. Diabetics come in all shapes and sizes. I guarantee you, if you were given a picture of a group of people and told to pick out the diabetic, you couldn’t do it (unless you spotted their pump or cgm). Diabetes is an invisible disease.
4. People with T1D can eat anything you eat. Some choose to limit their carb intake (many non-diabetic people do this as well), but they are ABLE to eat whatever they want. In fact, sometimes diabetics require sugar to avoid life threatening situations.
5. Type 1 diabetes is a life long disease. The pancreas has stopped working and will not start up again (unless a cure is found). No one ever grows out of T1D. (And by the way, it is a big deal).

Admit you don’t know everything about T1D

Most people with T1D are happy to share their knowledge with you. They are willing to explain their disease and encourage questions.

What they don’t like is when people Think they know about T1D. When people make assumptions and start telling them all about the disease they live with 24/7.

Even when corrected, some people will argue that the type 1 diabetic doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

Don’t be that person. Listen, be willing to change your misconceptions into truths.

They deal with it every day. They know what it’s all about and they know how to manage their diabetes.

And if all this is too much trouble for you:

“If you say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” – Yes, I quoted Thumper from Bambi.

Happy Carb Counting!

~ Leah

If you enjoyed this post, you might like these as well:

The Hidden Danger of Kids and Remote Meters                          If You Give a T1D a Slice of Cake – Real Diabetes                                                                            

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