Today’s guest post is from Rebecca Thomson.

Let’s get right into it.

Myths and Legends

Urban legends – we’ve all heard them. Chant ‘Bloody Mary’ three times into a mirror, and she’ll appear behind you. The girl whose boyfriend goes out to get fuel for the car, and is found dead on the roof the next day. The list goes on and on. They’re stories to scare children, disturb adults, and share via those annoying chain emails that everybody hates. But most people know that they’re not true.

Diabetes is no different, when you get down to it. As a disease, it’s surrounded by so many myths and legends that are completely ridiculous. These are the things though that sadly, Joe Public on the street believes to be true. There is so much ignorance out there that it can be frustrating/saddening/infuriating/blood boiling. Choose as you feel appropriate. For me personally, I often find myself split between any of the above. It can depend on what you come across.

I’m very fortunate really, in that in my social circles, I don’t tend to come across that much ignorance. That’s not to say that I haven’t come across any, because I have. I’ve been asked whether I have ‘the one where you’ve got too much sugar, or the one where you haven’t got enough’, and I know my mother had to field off questions from a cousin about how long I was going to have diabetes for, and when it was going away. I was told to ‘call back when (I) came off insulin’ in regards to donating blood. But on the whole, I’ve been extremely lucky that when someone I’m with doesn’t understand a thing, they’ll usually listen to me when I try to explain. Which is great. But I know that unfortunately this isn’t the norm.

You can catch diabetes. You get it from eating too much sugar. Children grow out of it. You’ll go blind/have your legs cut off/die young. You have to eat special ‘diabetic’ foods. You can’t ever eat chocolate. Note – none of these are true. Yet they are all things that you hear people saying, or come across online. Then on the reverse, it’s not exactly uncommon to hear or read things like ‘diabetes isn’t serious’, or that insulin cures diabetes. And let’s not get started on the ‘snake oil salesmen’ that are ten a penny. Though should you feel that some magic berries, grass juice or similar might be fun for a laugh, you’re probably sorted.

The media makes a mistake in an article. People read and believe the media. That becomes generally accepted information – ‘it has to be true because I read it in the Daily News!’. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI – don’t feel you have to link it, but it rather proves the point, I think! ) Why would they lie? But whilst they’re not giving you the right facts, I’m not convinced that it’s outright lying.

What can be done about it all though? That’s the million dollar question. Shoddy journalism by the mass media doesn’t help. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s just a general lack of education. If the writers of many articles were to spend two minutes fact checking with someone actually knowledgeable about diabetes, perhaps the continuing cycle of misinformation could be avoided. There are plenty or reputable sites and sources out there for fact checking. Major diabetes charities have good basic summaries of both types of diabetes on their websites, for a starting point.

I can empathise somewhat with large scale education campaigns only tailoring to one aspect of diabetes. Educate about Type 2, then there’s the risk you’re spreading misinformation about Type 1, and vice versa. Diabetes is a broad and complex disease, with so many different types, variations, treatments and so forth. It’s a lot for someone who might know nothing about it to wrap their head around. You don’t want to overload a person to the point where they’re no longer interested. But there’s got to be a middle ground, surely? It’s just where to find it.

Today’s guest post is from Michael Hoskins.  You know him from The Diabetic’s Corner Booth.  Here ya go:

A recent guest blog post by Cherise about job interviews and diabetes made me think about how our common chronic condition applies on the job, once we’re actually doing whatever they hired us to do.

Who do you tell? When do you tell them? How do you prepare for regular daily activities and those special instances, and what is the response if diabetes interferes? How do you respond to those who may witness a Low or have to fetch candy or juice in response?

The Working D-Life can present any number of issues depending on the type of business or industry one works in, and how often they’re exposed to that role. For example, an office worker sitting in front of a computer or on the phone all day will likely face different issues and hurdles than someone who works retail and stands all day at a cash register or outside doing yardwork.

I’ve had my share of High and Low D-Experiences on the job during my life, in various positions. From hectic newspaper jobs, stable office positions, active retail roles in grocery stores, banquet hall server, and outdoor landscaping. Each has presented its own nuances in dealing with diabetes on the job. Most of my employers and co-workers have been understanding and willing to work with me. Haven’t experienced any discrimination or unfair treatment that I’ve heard others have had in their own lives.

Professionally, I’ve been sitting in front of a computer at work when without warning my blood sugar dropped dangerously Low – leading me to get tired and put my head down, resulting in my passing out on the floor and having my coworkers call the paramedics. That position didn’t last long, but it wasn’t specifically because of that experience that did create embarassment and guilt in my time afterward.

I’ve also worked in retail positions in my younger years and as a restaurant server, and it just meant being more diligent in testing and making sure everything was OK to work. Outside landscaping presented some interesting issues right after my high school graduation (before insulin pumping), but again it was all manageable and just meant having some candy or quick-acting carbs on hand just in case. Of course, fleeing from the bees and wasps presented an entirely different and more concerning challenge!)

My last reporting position at a daily newspaper was anything but conducive to effective D-Management for me, and it only lasted a couple rocky years in large part because of my suffering health. This wasn’t a role I could be lax in working, and work from a home office or take it slow when feeling Low or High. Always on deadline and on the go, and it was brutal on my body. Thankfully, I found what I describe as a perfect job at a legal newspaper that publishes twice a month and allows for MUCH more flexiblity.

Working with a small team of five people (my boss, a managing editor, and two other reporters), everyone is aware of my health issues and they’re extremely understanding. I told my boss and supervisor up front about my health issues (second interview, if I recall correctly). No one hesitates to help or support or give me flexibility whenever needed. My boss doesn’t step overboard in sometimes “acting like a mom,” and I can’t stand that it sometimes is necessary, but she makes a point to know my schedule just in case I don’t appear as normal. I write down all my interviews and meetings on my desk calendar or let someone know in advance if there’s a change, and if by chance she can’t reach me we have the emergency contact (my wife) on hand to jump into action. My boss is about the best I’d ever be able to find, and loves learning more whenever there’s time and I care to share aspects of my D-Life.

That flexibility and work support is something you can easily take for granted, but it makes all the difference in creating a place you want to come to everyday as far as having that great quality of workplace and achieving a balance between health and job duties.

With all of the great blogs that are out there, I decided to run a guest post week.  I want my readers who are not your readers to become readers because I know how great your blogs here.  Well, let’s get into blog week.

First up is Lorraine, mother of Caleb.  Her blog is This is Caleb.

The Power of Perspective

When Caleb was diagnosed, I assumed I would handle the challenge of his diabetes as I had handled countless others in my life – independently.

“Strong”, “responsible” and “independent” are words used to describe me for as long as I can remember.  My presumption was therefore that I could, and even should, handle this by myself.

It took several months for me to reach out to others.  I joined a few online forums, mostly geared toward parents of PWD.  These people were a treasure.  Whenever I had a question, they not only had the answers, and had them quickly, they had the perspective I needed and did not find in friends, family or even doctors.  These forums became a lifeline for me.

But my questions became very specific and I had to figure out all the little Caleb nuances on my own.  I found myself on these forums less and less as I was spending my time on charting, tracking, evaluating, and analyzing Caleb’s numbers.

I became so engrossed in figuring things out, I isolated myself from the support system that had been holding me up, and I didn’t even realize it.

Then I came upon the TuDiabetes community.  Although within this community there are parent groups that I value, the variety of diabetics is broad.  I had entered a whole new world of information and experiences from which to learn.  I followed discussions and read experiences of the adults that live and have grown up with diabetes and found these views very informative and valuable.  It provided a new comfort.  I was getting a glimpse into Caleb’s future that until then, was very uncertain to me.

It was a new perspective.

This led me to join Twitter to follow Team Type 1.  Almost instantly someone I didn’t know was following me.  How does this Twitter thing work and who is this Scott Johnson guy and why is he following me?  It was days before I took the leap to follow him back, but soon the floodgates opened and I was following and being followed by lots of people in the DOC.  I was reconnecting with parents and getting that much needed support back, but I was making new relationships too.

To that point, I viewed parents of PWD as distinct and separate from PWD themselves.  My mindset was born out of respect for people who live with this responsibility every day.  As much as I understand and as much as I bear the responsibility for Caleb’s diabetes management, I am not the person living it.  As such, I never expected someone with diabetes to have any interest in anything I had to say about it, because really, what do I know?

I was wrong.

Although I did not literally have arms around me, I was most definitely embraced.  I was talking with people about diabetes and lots of other things.  I was being included in discussions and it was uplifting.  Scott is actually not a stalker.  He is a diet Coke-drinking, iPhone-using, basketball-loving, mega-blog-commenting super great guy, dad and husband.

The connections I have with PWD give me a view into Caleb’s mind, or at least the closest thing to it.  I sometimes see the wheels turning inside his head, but I don’t know what he’s thinking or feeling. Talking with the people who live this, and have grown up with it, helps me understand and empathize and thus make decisions not only in Caleb’s daily care, but in the big plan: the plan for him to gradually assume the responsibility for his own diabetes.

Just a few weeks ago, Chris himself shared some perspective – perspective regarding a mom’s worry about her adult son.  Thank you for that, Chris.  That little nugget is one of several that you and others have given me that will stay with me for years; probably forever.  I will never be able to repay you for that.

There was a time when I thought I should handle Caleb’s diabetes by myself.  I suppose I could, but I am glad I don’t have to.  Thank you, all my adult PWD friends.  You have given me, and therefore Caleb, so much.  You have welcomed me into your world, and I respect that I am just a visitor to a certain degree.  It gives me great comfort to know that when Caleb is ready, you will be there for him, and I am confident that he will be there for you.

I wonder if you know the power your perspectives have on me and other parents of KWD, and how sincerely we appreciate them.