To put it simply, type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease that currently has no cure. It happens when your immune system decides to straight up murder your pancreas. Your pancreas makes insulin, which is the only thing that lets your body accept the nutrients you get from food. So without it, you die (obviously). I have had type one diabetes for two years now, and have received comments about it that either make no sense or are just unnecessary. So, in order to help out the general public, here are some of things you definitely should not say to someone with diabetes.
1. “Should you be eating that?”
This one is probably the most common. No matter how many eye rolls you give, people won’t stop. Honestly, no, I should not be shoveling three donuts down my throat, but hey, this is my business. You probably shouldn't be caking on mascara to the point where you look like Yzma from "The Emperor's New Groove," but I like to stay in my own lane. Insert tea-drinking Kermit the frog here.
2. “At least it’s not cancer.”
Seriously? You find out someone has a lifelong, incurable disability and this is your response? This comment is like if someone lost all their belongings in a house fire and you walked up to them and
- Heart disease
- Nerve damage
- Kidney damage
- Like, honestly, your body just hates you
- Eye damage
- Pregnancy complications
- A whole mess of other autoimmune diseases.
3. “Oh, hey, my grandma has what you have.”
A. No, she probably doesn’t. B. through Z., I didn’t ask. Type two (what your grandma probably has) and type one (what I have) are VERY different. If you’d like to learn how, go here.
4. “Ha ha, I ate so much chocolate last night, I probably have diabetes.”
Ha ha, oh really? What kind do you think you have? Because I have the kind where I have to shove needles into my body for the rest of my life and I definitely didn't get it from eating chocolate.
5. “Hey, if you don’t take care of yourself, I heard you could lose a foot.”
From my list above, you can probably deduce that, yes, you could potentially lose a foot. But I’m not in a doctor’s office, and you’re not a medical physician. Also, I'm a fan of having my feet attached to my body, so you can bet I'll take care of myself.
If you’re one of my fellow diabetics, you know exactly how annoying these are. If you aren’t, just know that someone you know and/or love might be diabetic. And they have a lot more to deal with than to listen to your terrible remarks.
