Ignorance and Insanity: One Solution is not Everyone's Solution:

I have Diabetes Type I.  I have had it for over a year and a half now.  Like most people who have had it that long, I know how to deal with it in a way that works for my body.  My doctors were surprised at how much of a change (13.8 a1c at the ER to 6.1 a1c in 8 months and only up by 0.1 a1c 5 months later despite needing to increase my insulin usage) that I was able to make without backsliding on it.  Yes, my cholesterol read higher, but that was somewhat to be expected with more protein (eggs especially) in my diet than carbs as I had before.  I'm overweight for my height, but it's still within acceptable limits currently, and I am working on losing it at a slower pace than I had previously while on a self-disciplined diet.  Many years back I had put on more weight than I have now, and took off 70 pounds in 7 months.  As I had let it slack a few years later, I put it back on, but lost it once more in 7 months, using 'The Hacker's Diet', which really does work well...  If you're not at risk of hypoglycemia from massive calorie cutting while still exercising.  As taking that diet on as fiercely as I did before no longer is viable, I'm working on other avenues, or a modified version of it, something which will also have to incorporate low-carb meals and snacks, and a lower cholesterol diet.  All in all though, I know how my body functions well enough to take care of it.  Aside from the trip to the ER for high blood sugar and finding out I have diabetes, I've only missed 3 days of work in seven and a half years at my job.  Those were all due to food poisoning from our local Arby's, which I used to eat from a lot during high school, but unfortunately either their employee washing or food quality control went to hell, so I no longer risk it after the three consistent times of illness the following day.  I sleep four to five hours a day on my work days, and six to eight on my days off, and I typically feel perfectly fine, or only a little groggy for a short period.  While ideally I should be sleeping more, my body and mind are able to get by on that amount, allowing me to better utilize time I would otherwise be sleeping for writing, research, reading, or other forms of entertainment.  I know how to rub certain pressure points and nerve clusters in order to make my muscles relax when tense and even make some numbness or stiffness fade rapidly without merely walking it off.  Overall, I know my body.

That long paragraph said, the crux of today's post.  Last Thursday, a woman who heard I was a Type I Diabetic asked if I was considering going on the pump.  When I replied that not only would I not be needing it, but that it wouldn't really help my diabetes any, she insisted that it would help, and that she as a mostly Type II Diabetic was using it and she didn't have to worry about anything.  That I should really get it, especially as it would help prevent the possibility of my fainting if I were to overexert myself without ingesting more carbs.  Thankfully the woman soon left, as not only am I not paid to talk about my diabetes, but she was being ignorant and insane.  Diabetics can be Type I, Type II, or both.  Type II Diabetes means that one's body is resisting the insulin it naturally produces (or is being injected with).  Type I Diabetes means that one's body is not producing and regulating diabetes properly, but not necessarily resisting it.  In my case, if I don't have enough carbs, my diabetes will not regulate the release of energy from fat properly, instead dropping into hypoglycemia, and I might feel faint, pass out, or slip into a coma.  If I have too many carbs, I may have a headache, feel dizzy, have my heart racing when doing minor tasks, or have a heart attack.

In the case of the pump, it allows one to set a specific amount of fast-acting insulin to be released throughout the day through a catheter inserted into the abdomen.  The user has to measure their blood sugar levels 4 times a day, and input into the pump how many units that they wish to use.  This is in turn fed by a small vial reservoir.  Having used both those vials and drawing the insulin out manually, and using flexpens which are already loaded and ready to dial to the correct amount, I decided to stay with my doctor's original suggestion and use the flexpens.  Why?  Because for the cost I get 40% more insulin, I lose less of it to air bubbles and the angle of the insulin in the bottle versus the pen having neither problem, and they're already set to go.  I don't have to measure my blood sugar and input it four times a day (blood sugar test strips don't last as long as insulin and for testing it 4 times a day it ends up being half to four times more expensive than the insulin!  And it isn't covered by my insurance at all!) into a pump, letting it work out how much I need to balance that and my food choices.  I can work out how many carbs I'm eating, judge if my blood sugar feels high or low, and test it once a day, or even less if I'm eating the same things over and over.  Using the pump works for the customer I met last Thursday, but for me it'd be stupid!  This particular customer was ignorant of my situation, and that is perhaps understandable as it a different situation from hers.  However, once I had told her simply that I would not get the pump and it wouldn't work for me, she continued to say I should reconsider it, even after I said I had already and wouldn't be getting it.  That goes beyond ignorance to insanity as she was repeating herself as she walked away.  Her solution is not my solution.  My solution is not her solution.  People who don't get that either are ignorant or insane.  Ignorance is tolerable to me as it can be remedied with education, such as what I've given here to those who didn't know.  Insanity, on the other hand, isn't something so easily escaped.