November 15, 2009

Lesson to be learned

Before doing this, I had to do some hard thinking and get back to my positive side.  If you are interested, please read a post by Dr. Bill Quick at My Diabetes Central.  He did an excellent post correcting information put in the public domain by the American Diabetes Association.  This information was, to say the least, poorly thought out and not the full truth.

I must thank Tom Ross for his blog of Nov 9, 09.  I agree with his analysis of a common concern of newly diagnosed people with diabetes.  Most do seem to want the "rules" that they can follow to be able to be compliant with their doctors' orders (if indeed the doctor ordered anything).

I belong to a couple of forums about diabetes and this repeats itself very often.  All are searching for some simple rules to get their blood glucose under control so they can return to living.  They do not realize that diabetes is a 24/7 problem they must deal with.  Many, but not all, do not want to hear what they are told and never post again.  Others take a different tack and reposition their question to elicit a response more in their favor.  Failing with this, they post the same or similar questions on several forums.  A few wake up, pay attention, and proceed to ask the real questions.  They are receptive to the variables and the idea that the "rules" are the ones they discover about their own situation and body chemistry.

We can tell people that "what works for me, may not work for you", but many do not listen.  When something does not work, they blame the forum and its' members and do not return.  They keep looking on other forums for answers, but do not find them and never post again. 

I may be wrong, but "rules" and "quick fixes" seem to be at the top of a list of what these people are looking to find.  Few are type 1's, but the majority are type 2's.  Many, unfortunately, do not have insurance and are unable to do everything they should to test as frequently as they need to for determining what foods their body is capable of handling.  Controlling their blood glucose now becomes a problem which the doctor often can not help.

Since November is diabetes awareness month, there are many bloggers putting out some excellent blogs for diabetes awareness.  Hopefully they are reaching more than just fellow bloggers.  I am listing several that have something to say.  Amy Tenderich has an excellent blog on Nov 13 about some interesting technologies on the horizon (and in the near future I hope).

The over commercialization of diabetes and the attempt to take advantage of people with diabetes is the subject of posts by Janet Rulh on Nov 8 and Scott Strumello on Nov 13.  They both make valid points that must be considered and expose some of the shortcomings of diabetes awareness month and diabetes day (Nov 14).  I admit that I was unaware of what happened during diabetes awareness month other than it was a month on the calendar.  I had never heard of diabetes day.  Some bloggers are doing a lot within the diabetes community, and a few are actually channeling their efforts outward to the public to make them more aware of the truth of diabetes.  This is where I hope to make some effort next year. 

I appreciate Scott Strumello's blog about dogs for the hypoglycemicly unaware.  He listed one supplier that is being sued by the State of Missouri for violations, but otherwise the blog was good to put in front of the people.  This is a repeat for a previous post.

George Simmons took a different view of veterans's day.  Since he is unable to serve his country in the military, he has chosen to view himself as a veteran in his war on diabetes.  Good interpretation and a worthy cause George.