Diabetes Is Already Psychologically Demanding, So Cut the Stigma Too

 

By Matt Petronzio

When Rachel Kerstetter woke up the morning of Aug. 11, 2011, she knew something was wrong. She had risen multiple times during the night. She was extremely thirsty and her vision was blurry. She needed to go to the bathroom more often than usual.
She could trace some of the symptoms back a couple of weeks, but she thought it was just stress. She and her husband, Brad, had just married that May, and were adjusting to life as newlyweds; they were both searching for jobs right out of college; and Kerstetter was dealing with family drama, all while her father was hospitalized with cancer.
But after she experienced nausea and vomiting that particular night, Brad made her go to the doctor — and it ended up saving her life.
Kerstetter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that causes a person's pancreas to produce little or no insulin — a hormone that converts sugar into the energy we need to survive. Doctors found high glucose and ketones in her urine, and after a three-night stay in the hospital, she was released with basic instructions for insulin shots, along with some dietary guidelines. For the past few years, she has used an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor to keep her blood sugar in check.
But even after her third "diaversary" earlier this month, Kerstetter, now 25, continues to deal with a less talked-about side effect of diabetes: stigma.

See also: 7 Mobile Apps to Help Manage Diabetes

As with other diseases, such as mental illness, a general lack of information causes many to misunderstand and judge those with diabetes. People often combine the disease's different types under one umbrella term, and hold various misconceptions, like the idea that diabetes results from unhealthy eating habits.
"People assume I have type 2 because I was diagnosed as an adult, or they ask if I used to be fat and if that's why I have diabetes," Kerstetter, who weighs 95 pounds and has always been small, tells Mashable.

People often ask her if she has "the bad kind of diabetes."

People often ask her if she has "the bad kind of diabetes." To which she says, "There is no good kind."
Type 1 diabetes used to be called "juvenile diabetes," because diagnoses usually (but not always) occur in young children and adolescents. The term drives Kerstetter crazy.
"Many people have the idea that it can be outgrown, and I have been asked if my diabetes will ever go away when I'm 'done growing' ... [It] puts type 1 diabetes into a neat little box called 'childhood illness,'" she says.

An insulin pump, like the one pictured, delivers insulin through a catheter In a steady dose and as directed. A small needle allows the catheter to be inserted in fatty tissue, and it's taped in place.

Image: Flickr, Alan Levine

In contrast, type 2, formerly known as "adult onset diabetes," occurs when a person's body resists the effects of insulin or doesn't produce enough insulin to maintain a normal blood glucose level. Obesity and diet, which come with their own stigmas, are risk factors that can trigger type 2 diabetes; however, genetics, ethnicity and age play a larger role. With both type 1 and type 2, a person inherits a predisposition to the disease, while environmental factors, such as viruses or obesity, can trigger it. Latinos, American Indians and Asian-Americans are more at risk for type 2 diabetes than whites are, and the risk increases with age.
There's also gestational diabetes, surgically induced diabetes, chemically induced diabetes and latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA, or type 1.5).
According to the latest National Diabetes Statistics Report,

29.1 million Americans had diabetes in 2012. Of those 29.1 million people, only 21 million were diagnosed

29.1 million Americans had diabetes in 2012. Of those 29.1 million people, only 21 million were diagnosed (5% of whom had type 1).
That means 8.1 million were undiagnosed. Martin J. Abrahamson, medical director and senior vice president at Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Center, attributes this to the fact that many people don't know they have type 2, as the disease often doesn't have visible symptoms.
But stigma can prevent people from getting diagnosed and seeking proper treatment, too. Some diabetics may avoid taking shots and tests in public (a very dangerous negligence) in fear of being different. Patients routinely face challenges in their social lives, prejudice in the workplace (employers may think people with diabetes are unfit to perform certain tasks) and an increased risk of depression.
And in the digital age, people easily spread misinformation and stigma online with ignorant memes, though people with diabetes often fight them with blogs and Facebook pages with memes of their own.

If you or someone you love struggles with diabetes, please call us at (206) 909-8022, or visit www.RameyNutrition.com to go beyond Diabetes as an identity and regain your life!