Am I to Blame for My Diabetes?

This is a topic that just won't go away, especially when doctors blame them for their diabetes. Jason called Max and I to come to his house last evening as he had a fellow that was blaming himself for his diabetes. We both arrived and when introduced, we could understand why Jason had chosen us. The fellow was definitely overweight, but not obese.

Jason asked Max to explain how he handled his diagnosis of diabetes. Max said self-blame was easy because he was obese. He said his doctor had not blamed him and actually wanted to help him. Next Jason asked me the same question. I said that self-blame was on my mind, but since I knew many relatives had type 2 diabetes and my brother had type 2 diabetes, self-blame did not last long.

I added that my biggest problem was moving out of the past and living in the now took several months. I fortunately, at the time, had a neighbor that was a nurse and she would call occasionally to inquire how I was changing my food plan and telling me to keep a positive attitude. This really helped and caused me to do a lot of research and find books I could really rely on to help me.

Next, I asked the fellow why he was blaming himself. Albert said because his doctor had blamed him for developing diabetes. He then added that he had a sister with type 2 diabetes and several other relatives with type 2. Albert then thanked me for reminding him of this and now he would be able to move on and stop blaming himself.

Albert then asked me what I was talking about when I said moving out of the past and living in the now. Max stated that many of us experience this. We deny our diabetes or accept it but still try to live like we had been living, figuring that the medication will meet our needs. I said this is accurate and you can add fear of the unknown future when you are told little about what you need to do to manage diabetes.

Albert said that should not affect me as my doctor has been giving me a lot to read on the Internet and book titles. Jason asked why he had not mentioned

much of this earlier. Albert said he wanted to hear what we were thinking. He admitted this was part of his way of learning what others had to say about diabetes. Jason then told him to start with what he has learned before meeting his two friends. Albert said he had learned about the low-carbohydrate, high fat

(LCHF) food plan and managing his diabetes with insulin. That by following this his insulin needs would be considerable less than following the ADA food plan or the recommendations of the registered dietitians.

We all agreed he was on the right plan and if his doctor had him on insulin, we needed the name of his doctor with the advice he had received. Jason said he would let us know later, but he felt satisfied that Albert's self-blame would stop shortly.