Classmate: what did you think of the diabetes lecture?
Me: it was awful. I tried to be polite but it was really, REALLY hard.
Classmate: it seemed pretty good on the pharmacological portion, but everything else was a hot mess.
Me: I'm so glad you realized that. I was afraid no one was picking up on it.
Classmate: what did you think about his opinion on the insulin pump?
Me: him saying "you're a really bad diabetic if you're on a pump" was total crap.
Classmate: I couldn't tell if me meant "bad" in the noncompliant sense, or "bad" in the having complications sense.
Me: either way, he was wrong. I don't have a pump, but my boyfriend does, and he told me you usually have to have pretty good control before your endo will switch you from MDI to pumping.
Classmate: aww your boyfriend has diabetes, too?
Me (blushing): yeah, he does.
Classmate: awww did you guys meet at diabetes camp?
Me (laughing): no, we were both too old for diabetes camp when we were diagnosed.
Classmate: well that's awesome. You guys were just meant to find each other.
I agree <3
Great recap of that conversation. And you guys did meet at camp. The DOC is the biggest virtual diabetes camp around. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think we (the DOC) should help you document some info for the instructor who said that 'bad diabetics' use pumps. Maybe we can include some info like...our A1Cs? A lot of us have super A1Cs with the pump! I don't even know the guy and wasn't even there...and I'm offended that anyone would think that because I (or others) have a pump, I'm a 'bad diabetic' (what the HECK does that mean?!). Whether you use MDI or a pump - diabetes is diabetes. It has to be dealt with, and we all have to deal in similar ways. No one is better or worse for how they manage it. Ugh. So sorry you have to sit and listen to lectures from uneducated fools.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I totally know the feeling of being *that* person in the lecture that is hesitating to correct the prof on their interpretation/discussion of a specific disease [in my case, asthma], but I actually had a prof once that was like "Kerri, can you just explain this part so I don't screw it up?" So good... she's awesome. I mean obviously your prof needs to know something about you to be able to do that, though.
ReplyDeleteBut, I love the conversation with your classmate that followed :].