Out Of Reach
The Clincial Class
The clinical class consists of the doctors who treat patients, the diabetes care and education specialist (DCES) who advise patients and the researchers who, in my opinion, continually over study every aspect of diabetes. While their efforts are well intentioned, they often lose touch with the people they are supposed to help.Who we are
and what we want
I have always divided the diabetes population into three distinct groups;
-About 10% of the patient population are Uber users who get it, are down with it and are willing to do the heavy lifting
-On the other end of the spectrum 20% of those with diabetes seem to disconnect from it
-In the middle, landing the majority, are those who understand that diabetes is a serious yet manageable condition
What we all want most – to not have diabetes in the first place – none of us can have.
So, for me the next best option is to live my life with and not for diabetes.Info Avalanche
tuning out the noise
With all the information available online today, the gap between those living with diabetes and the clinical class is getting wider. You can’t swing that poor dead cat without reading about some new device or new diabetes drug, there are thousands of articles on what you should and should not eat, the benefits of exercise and the benefits of “good” diabetes management. Unfortunately, there are an equal number of articles that over dramatize all the "bad" things that “might” happen.
While I cannot prove this with a study of my own, I do believe that
patients begin to tune out rather than tune in - that this avalanche of information is just too much to digest. Perhaps even worse, is that often we cannot seem to get a straight answer from our healthcare teams (that is if we are lucky enough to be able to ask a question!) and goals of the provider, are often different than the goals of the patient.Taking Ownership
You know you
This is the reason I stress taking ownership of your diabetes management. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, myHbA1c (the standard for measuring and diagnosing diabetes) was 15 – more than twice what it should have been. It was a little nerve racking at the time, but after I started to learn about diabetes, I knew that I would not go from an A1C of 15 to 7 overnight, that it would take a plan and some work.
I also knew there would be good and bad days.
I made the decision that diabetes would not run my life- that I would continue to live my life and that diabetes would have to adapt to me and my life.
This really didn’t sit too well with my endocrinologist, but as I explained to him “this is my diabetes, and I will manage it the way I want.” I fully understood what might happen if I didn't take my diabetes seriously, but I also wanted to have a life. Thankfully,
my endo was very understanding and adapted his approach to me- understanding my attitude towards my diabetes.
Looking back, I was very lucky to have such an understanding endo!
Talk to me
not at me
This is another reason we created The Diabetes Way- too often people with diabetes are being talked at and not listened to. Too often we are being told what to do how and when to do it. Basically, someone else is telling us how we should be living our lives, and this is wrong.
No one has that right. Our diabetes requires us to be in charge. 
