Don't Feel Guilty

Don't Feel Guilty

DON'T FEEL GUILTY

by Ed Bryant

Most of us know there are an estimated 16 million diabetics
in the United States, and that many have difficulty in coping with or controlling
their diabetes. Many thousands of diabetics have experienced blindness, kidney
disease, amputation, neuropathy, etc., while others have not experienced ramifications.
I communicate with many people concerning diabetes. I hear from
far too many who have been led to believe their diabetes, or its complications,
result from bad behavior or personal defect. This is not true. Too many diabetics
"do their best," do everything they are supposed to do, and still
face serious complications. DIABETES CAN CAUSE MANY PROBLEMS, BUT WE DIABETICS
SHOULD NEVER FEEL "GUILTY" ABOUT HAVING THE DISEASE, OR ABOUT HOW
IT HAS AFFECTED OUR LIVES.
Good education is critical to proper diabetes self-management,
and there are many good health-care professionals who diligently strive to help
patients understand and practice good diabetes management. Unfortunately, there
are other doctors who haven't kept abreast of new developments, who don't spend
much time educating their diabetic patients about the condition. These diabetics
are sometimes led to believe they should feel guilty about whatever difficulties
their diabetes may have caused. In other words, the negative is accentuated
instead of the positive.
I review many diabetes publications, and I find some of them
seem to tell readers they will have little or no problems if they take good
care of their diabetes. I am fully cognizant we need to do anything possible
to keep our blood sugars in normal range (euglycemia), and make every effort
to keep the disease in check. But we also need to recognize that we can do all
this, do it correctly and diligently, and still have problems.
We know that complications can be prevented or delayed if our
blood sugars are kept under control, if we eat correctly, if we exercise, if
our medication regimens (insulin and oral meds) are monitored, if we keep our
blood pressure in a safe range, if we don't smoke, if our cholesterol is under
control and if we don't... Unfortunately, many people follow all the "rules,"
to keep their diabetes in check and guess what, they still have problems.
There are others, who for years didn't keep their diabetes under
good control, because they just didn't realize what complications could pop
up. I have communicated with many of these folks, and most of them say they
didn't receive much diabetes education. Too often they say their health providers
diagnosed, prescribed, but didn't provide adequate information about diabetes.
This lack of education is not a past-times issue; it is very prevalent even
today.
Diabetes self-management is a discipline, and both lay people
and health professionals should constantly educate themselves about the disease
and new approaches and findings on the subject. Unfortunately, there are doctors
today who do not ask patients to regularly have a hemoglobin A1c lab test. Others
tell patients it is okay for their blood sugars to average around 200mg/dL.
Some don't check the diabetic's feet each office visit, or don't keep informed
about new diabetes medications, or...
There are a lot of fine specialists providing the best possible
diabetes care. But, many of us only have access to a "General Practitioner,"
or "Primary Care Provider," and to expect these folks, responsible
for all types of medical conditions, to be "up" on the latest research
findings, is unrealistic--but we do, and they do, too. There are some less than
fully "clued up" doctors out there, far too many, who don't do the
best job when working with diabetics--because they haven't kept abreast of the
changes in diabetes care.
The health provider's job is to serve his/her patients in the
best possible way. Any decision, any treatment, any advice that falls short
of "the latest and most accurate" is substandard health care--and
when people pay their bill for services rendered, they have every right to expect
good service. Otherwise, you should consider seeing a different doctor.
How do you know if your doctor is doing a good job with your
diabetes? As education is a requirement for both doctor and patient, you learn
as much as you can, taking full advantage of all possible sources: VOICE OF
THE DIABETIC, other diabetes magazines, support groups, websites, e-mail discussion
lists, and the many patient handbooks published by doctors, dietitians, and
diabetes educators. The more you, the diabetic, learn, the more you'll be able
to tell whether you're receiving the best possible care. And you might consider
passing on the latest material to your doctor...
To repeat, most health-care teams who deal with diabetes do
good work, but if you are not being kept apprised about diabetes issues, you
should consider seeing a different doctor. Diabetologists and endocrinologists
would be the first choices, but this doesn't mean an educated and informed family
doctor is not capable of doing a good job in taking care of you and your diabetes.
Our Diabetes Action Network knows that upbeat attitudes are
contagious. Our positive attitude is perhaps our best attribute. There is absolutely
no reason for anyone to lose self-esteem or dignity because of a hurdle in the
road. I hope this article serves as a catalyst, starting people moving in a
positive direction. If we diabetics have a negative attitude and feel guilty
about our condition, then often our loved ones and friends are affected. When
I participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International's world diabetes
teleconference/press briefing, held March 19, 1997, as part of the JDFI Fourth
World Diabetes Conference, I heard Emily Spitzer, a JDF national board member,
remind us all that people are "not at fault" if they develop diabetes
or its complications.
IT IS NOT SHAMEFUL TO BE DIABETIC. AGAIN, DON'T FEEL GUILTY
IF YOU HAVE DIABETES OR HAVE EXPERIENCED ANY OF ITS COMPLICATIONS.