Checking out of the grocery store today the cashier commented on the 6 packages of juice boxes I had, asking if they were for a school party. I don’t normally volunteer Diabetes information – wait yes I do. Anyway I replied that I had two kids with Type 1 Diabetes and juice is medicine in my house. The young man bagging my groceries asked me when my kids were diagnosed. I shared their ages and he shared he was diagnosed when he was 13 months old. Wow that’s young. I noticed he wasn’t wearing any emergency alert identification and pointed it out. He said his always broke so his mom stopped buying them. That made me sad. Then I asked if he was pumping. He said “No I do the daily shots, my Endo says my diabetes isn’t bad enough for a pump.” HUH WTH? An endo said this? A person with Type 1 believed this to be true – that the pump = the bad diabetes? Up till this encounter earlier today I thought only non-diabetes educated people viewed the pump as a last resort for the bad diabetes. If we can’t educate PWD properly how can we hope to educate those with no connection to diabetes properly.
I didn’t (or hope I didn’t) let on that his words stung. I just told him that both my kids use insulin pumps because it makes managing diabetes easier for all of us but that many PWD prefer MDI. I told him that I believe it is about personal choice rather than good/bad diabetes management.
I was just surprised to hear that an endocrinologist would tell a patient that an insulin pump is prescribed to patients with poor control or the “bad” diabetes and also that a person with diabetes would believe it.
Stick With It Sugar 
OOOOHHHH this makes me SO MAD! I was just having this conversation today after reading a news article that mentioned how someone’s diabetes was “so severe” that they required an insulin pump. It’s infuriating enough to hear it from a news source, but even worse in this case to hear that an Endo is saying it!
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There are still, sadly, lots of old-school endo’s who haven’t caught up with the times. What worked 20 years ago still works the same, but today’s methods are better. I wonder if this kid has sacrificed freedom and flexibility in order to get good lab results.
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Hi, just stumbled across your blog and I love it. So I’m reading all the posts now…. I hope that’s not creepy?!?
Just to say, in the UK pumps are like gold dust. I want one so badly, but since I maintain an A1c of 6.1 I’m “not a suitable candidate”. Pumps are for kids and people with poor control. I was diagnosed at 23 so I’m not allowed one.
So yeah, serious pump jealousy over here!
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Kim – so glad you found my humble little spot on the web. It saddens and angers me that pumps are ever thought of as a last resort and that not every pwd has access to them. Keep fighting for one if its important to you. Not that pwd can’t do great with MDI but there should always be options and a pwd should not have to create poor control to qualify (Ive heard of others letting D management lapse to get approved for a pump or CGM). Its sad when the health care higher ups create a situation where people put themselves in danger to get the gadgets they want to do better.
Will be hoping you get what you desire soon. Hope you’ll visit again. Cheers.
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