Good timing ‘betes! But is that a cop-out?
Diabetes can be so inconvenient sometimes - the low that pops up the moment you run out of glucose tablets; needing to test while your on a ski lift -you know - those moments where you go “Really diabetes, REALLY? NOW?” It can be totally obnoxious. But on the flip side, how awesome is it when you get low and it just so happens that your office had a potluck that was heavily weighted on the dessert side. I pulled a 52 after lunch yesterday which was annoying, but man was I stoked when I saw what was available in the kitchen!
You better believe I knocked back a cupcake to counter that 52mg/dL. It’s so awesome when that happens because it’s usually the opposite!
I kind of “got into it” with another blogger the other day. She had written that it was great when her diabetes served as an excuse to not attend a meeting, class, workout etc. that she didn’t want to go to in the first place. It annoyed me because using diabetes as an “excuse” for anything you’ve made a commitment to is a cop-out.
Don’t get me wrong - there WILL be times when you unfortunately cannot do something because of an inconvenient diabetes moment. If I headed to kickboxing class and got low right before it, it wouldn’t be safe for me to exercise and I wouldn’t go. However, if I had high blood sugars one night that caused me not to sleep well and be tired the next day, it would never be a reason for me to skip work. I don’t get that mentality. I would correct, be tired, have some extra coffee, and get on with it. Calling in sick to work and blaming diabetes (unless of course it was a life-threatening situation or other extreme) would only perpetuate the idea that people with diabetes are sickly or are held back by their disease. I don’t look for opportunities to further that public thinking.
One commenter in the blog discussion I had noted that he “played the diabetic card” every chance he got - he believes he deserves that because he has to deal with this disease. No doubt, we all deserve a break sometimes for dealing with diabetes, but “playing the diabetic card” in order to not honor a commitment or slight other people isn’t “payback” for having a disease - its a lack of integrity. And I might as well keep that since I don’t even have a working pancreas.
What do you think of using your diabetes as an excuse? Are there times its appropriate? Or is it for true emergencies only? Tell me what you think readers - am I being too harsh here?
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Comments
diabetics tend to be so damn melodramatic. we all have gone through our episodes of self pity but as an adult with type 1, GROW UP!
are you angry when halle berry says she magically transformed her type 1 into type 2? are you pissed when oprah doesn’t differentiate between type 1 and 2 on her giant special about the giant killer? well let’s do something about it. stop perpetrating the “diabetic copout” mentality. stop using the disease as a crutch to deal with the stuff that nobody enjoys dealing with on a daily basis. how do you expect society to understand the truth of dealing with diabetes when you are constantly crying wolf?
preach, alexis.
Of course I don’t think you’re being too harsh. I think those reading your blog are not likely to be inclined to use diabetes as an excuse. We naturally have a similar attitude to yours.
There have been times in my life when I wish I had a “do-over” for diabetes. I have had to tell people sometimes that I needed time because of a diabetic issue. However, I have never, and will never, cry “wolf” when there isn’t a real problem.
I don’t know if this is a diabetes issue, or simply a matter of integrity. My diabetes gives me a license to slack off? Or even worse, an excuse to lie?
I don’t think so.
Thanks for the support you guys - I didn’t think I was being too harsh either - but Jerry, you have a good point. Most people who read my blog are fairly interested in diabetes and motivated to care for themselves, which includes powering through the tough moments. Not everyone lives this way, but its good to know you guys agree - crying wolf sets all of us back!
Thanks Janine - I agree, I don’t want anyone to treat me any differently and at the same time, we need to keep our safety a priority. Your comment seemed to indicate that it was at past jobs/sports that you didn’t tell anyone about your diabetes - do you now tell someone at your work? I’m just wondering how you handle now, if its any different?
Well, I don’t usually tell people at work but I do bring plenty of energy supplies with me just in case I need them. I was discriminated once when I had to get a pre-job physical and the doctor said the factory wasn’t a safe place for a diabetic to work since we could lose consciousness at any time. Lost that job but got a lot of money thanks to the eeoc! I don’t play team sports anymore so no coaches to worry about. My athletic trainers in college knew because they would actually take each player aside and ask them about any health issues. Now most of my friends have found out about my diabetes because I started blogging after getting cancer and happened to open up about the d word.
Janine, thank you for sharing, I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis, I hope that things are going as well as can be expected. What is your blog, I want to check it out!?
You are not being harsh. I think people with diabetes need to be aware of the image that we as a group portray. With so many professional athletes competing with diabetes it is totally a cop out to not attend a meeting or day of work and use diabetes as an excuse.
Watching Celebrity Apprentice last week I was very happy that Bret Michaels who has Type 1 diabetes was on the show raising money for the ADA. The happiness almost became disappointment when in the middle of the challenge he stopped participating to because he was going low, so he stopped to drink a soda. The way the show was edited implied that he didn’t get back to work or rejoin the challenge. The good thing was after the incident he told his team that he would work on controlling his diabetes better so he wouldn’t have another incident like that. That is someone that wouldn’t use diabetes as an excuse.