"MARCIA,MARCIA,MARCIA!!!!!!!!!!"

Introducing a Post on the "New Type 1 Diabetic." Not to be confused with her more popular sister Type 2 Diabetes

Sometimes having Type 1 Diabetes makes me feel like Jan Brady.

The neurotic Brady sister #2 who was just as smart (some say smarter), just as pretty (some say even prettier), just as annoying (I say MUCH more annoying), and just as much the fashion victim as her "Golden Girl" sister Marcia. But,alas, poor Jan always spent each episode living in the shimmery shadow that the glorious Marcia cast.

Right now, you might be saying to yourself, "Kelly - your nuts, what the heck do you mean?"

Well dear Diabetesaliciousness reader, sometimes (and by sometimes I mean most of the time) I feel that Type 2 Diabetes gets all the "glory" in our Diabetes Brady family.

All, or most of the articles I find in my "research" regarding Diabetes breakthroughs, studies, etc always seem to have a T2 spin to them. Even today, April 1, 2008, on my very own blog's Diabetes News Feed, all 4 articles featured are for type 2 Diabetics. It's really great that Australian researchers did a study on the Ti Chi benefits for T2 diabetes. BUT, wouldn't Ti Chi help me? For your local Philly/Tri Stater CN8 watchers, (WHAT IS TI CHI?)
Why was the study just done on T2's?

I get all excited when I see the headline for a new diabetes breakthrough, and then I realize it's all about "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia." Or in my case, Type 2 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes.

Sometimes it seems that only when a T1 tragedy strikes, does Type 1 make the news.
Then our hearts our broken and are tempers flare because we know that the tragedy could have been prevented, had the proper authorities been notified, and the proper info regarding T1 had reached the public.

Instead, T1& T2 causes, symptoms, & treatments are all lumped together, when in actuality they could not be more different. They are in fact, two very different diseases, who happen to have some characteristics and a name in common.

What about T1's? Are not we "Jan Brady's " of the Diabetes family just as important as out Marcia Brady T2 Diabetic counterparts? We my be a different branch of the family, but we are just as important.

Where's the love, where's the money for the research, and where the hell is the cure?

I don't blame my T2 compadres, they have their own issues and I feel for them, I know they get discriminated for other reasons that I don't have to contend with.

No, I blame the media for lumping us all together, not differentiating between the two, and printing information that might help t2's, but could really harm t1's. For example, every media outlet Printed Halle Berry's statement regarding her switch from being a t1 to a t2. You know the one, where she said something along the lines of "I used to be t1 but now I consider myself a t2, and I weaned myself off insulin through diet and exercise." You remember the brew ha, I'm paraphrasing and I won't bore us by replaying ,reprinting, or linking the video and various articles regarding said statement.

Maybe I'm just tired of having to explain my disease to people who continuously confuse it with the other more flamboyant member of my Diabetes family.
At this point, I'd settle for John Q. Public knowing the difference between T1 and T2, and never, ever having to hear some none-diabetic say to me, "Your on the insulin pump, you must have diabetes real bad!" How freaking "groovy" would that be!

Yo Dude, I'm a P-E-R-S-O-N.....Or Dude, Learn From The Good Dr. How To Actually Be A Good Dr.

So I went to my Endo Dr. J this morning.... But my labs did not.
The lab was called, the paperwork was found and faxed to the office 10 minutes later.

Next I was weighed -I’d lost 4 pounds.
My blood was tested. It was 107 - I’d had breakfast just an hour and a half earlier so I was pleased.

Then I was led to the exam room, where I was left to my own devices.

OK, I was dying to go through the cabinets and drawers – I didn’t of course, but who could blame me if I did? I was bored and nervous and needed something to occupy my time. There were no magazines and I’d already written my list of questions for Dr J.

So I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I was nervous and I started to pace.


INTRODUCING.....THE DUDE

Finally, the Attending Intern (that's what you call the student Dr. in training right?) walked in and introduced himself, and quickly started to ask questions.

Right away, I could tell he hadn’t look at my chart.

And how did I know this? Elementary my dear Diabetesaliciousness reader.

1. Dr. Dude asked me how long I'd been a diabetic and if I was a type 1 or a type 2.
2. Dr. Dude didn’t know what meds I was taking.
3. When I told him I was only taking a short acting insulin; he did quite “get it.”
4. A.K.A. –Dr. Dude had no ideal I was on the pump, & between u & me, I don't think he actually knew how one worked.
5. Finally, Dr. Dude asked me if my family had a history of diabetes - In my head I thought,"Your kidding right?" This was the final huge tip off that told me he neglected to read my chart.
   

If he had read the chart, Dr. Dude would not only have known the answers to all of the questions above, but he would have total realized what medical oddities my family & I are.
"HELLO," half of my immediate family are Type 1's, not to mention a boatload of Aunts, cousins, and a nephew!

Had Dr. Dude read my chart, he probably could have written a kick-ass paper about us and maybe even be quoted in some medical journal. He could have been considered a Rock Star among his peers, and maybe even picked up a few babes in the process. But, in his eagerness to learn and impress my Endo, Dr. Dude had dropped the ball by neglecting the simple (my medical chart,) and became just another nameless Attending Intern.

Look, D2 was a really nice guy and someday he will be a good Doctor.

But, Dr. Dude needed to work on dealing with the patient as an individual. Not as a number, or some medical chart that he needed to update quickly before the real fun could begin.
Not only was I a person who had a medical issue, but I was a person who "had issues" with her medical issue. Are you following me?

I told Dr. Dude what concerns I had about my diabetes .
And to his credit, he took copious notes and was extremely polite.

He then excused himself & went off to talk with my Endo.

PART TWO - INTRODUCING THE 'ROCKIN' DR J,

A few minutes later my Endo came in - followed by D2, who was looking very serious.

Dr. J gave me a big hello and wanted to know how I was doing.
Instantly I was put at ease and I hoped that D2 was paying attention.

My Endo Dr. J is awesome! He was so on was on point and not just about my numbers, but on all issues related to Kelly K and her diabetes. He knew my concerns. He remembered my family history, my fears and all the idiosyncrasies that are part of the wonderfulness of being me.

Dr. J was genuinely happy with my numbers, and wanted to know what I'd been doing to have my A1C drop to 7 from 7.6.

He also wanted to know how I was able to drop cholesterol by 24 points, now it was well below normal. FYI - On my last visit and for the first time EVER, my cholesterol had been high by about 12 points, and it freaked me out. So I made a few changes.

To be honest, those changes were simple – I just ate more legumes; whole grains, fruits,veggies, and fish, while eating less meat. I also upped my fiber, can you say WHOLE GRAINS? It worked for me and I was both relieved and glad.

Dr J also fine tuned my Altace by 5mgs and gave me a boatload of insulin samples. YES! That man knew how to make a girl happy!

When I asked him about any upcoming studies that I might be eligible to get in, he told me that my A1C was to low to be eligible for any upcoming studies– which was a good thing.

My Endo, while being incredibly book smart, is just as incredibly people smart.
He can talk me down off my "diabetes ledge of what ifs," update me on all the latest and greatest, and never treats me like a bad diabetic.

We talked a bit more and set some goals for my next visit.

Dr J didn’t want to see me until the summer and I left feeling happy.

I was a person (one who felt happy and healthy, knock on wood,) who happened to be a patient, and that’s just how my Dr. treated me.