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Permalink Reply by Unicornzzz on July 18, 2008 at 2:28am

I work with girls also. I have to say that I have not had that problem. They are very protective over me and make sure that if I need anything special I get it. I have found that education equals acceptance.

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Permalink Reply by sohair on July 18, 2008 at 2:52am

thank you for your reply.As you mentioned education is the core of acceptance and improving things.

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Permalink Reply by Kirsten Welter on July 18, 2008 at 6:16am

I was never one to hide diabetes at all, but I am also a very outgoing and outspoken person! I was diagnosed when I was 7 and I have always tested in front of everyone (either at my desk at school or now at my desk at work) and I would give my injections in front of everyone as well. When I got my pump at 10, I got a lot of comments and looks from people, and I learned to always have some smart response ready! I think a big part of it is if the person with diabetes treats it as something normal and completely acceptable, everyone around them will too. I definately agree that education is a big key in understanding and then acceptance.

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Permalink Reply by sohair on July 18, 2008 at 6:41am

I will translate your comments to arabic and pass it to all my patients .thanks

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Permalink Reply by Bob @ joy of diabetes on July 18, 2008 at 8:06am

I never saw it as a limiting factor, so I don't think the people around me saw it as such either . Ocasionaly when people would see outward signs of the disease revealed in me (lows, meter checking etc.) you might get a comment, but it was usually someone trying to learn more or trying to help. I don't see it as a weakness, so those around me dont either.

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Permalink Reply by Marie B on July 18, 2008 at 8:04am

is it possible that this is a cultural thing? I have a friend in Istanbul who has MS, and he's practically been shunned by his whole family - they try very hard to keep it a secret. It's a shame. I'm proud of you, Sohair, for your efforts at education!

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Permalink Reply by sohair on July 18, 2008 at 8:20am

yes Marie it is a cultural thing and more education and awareness is helping a lot.it is about all chronic disease not only diabetes,especially for girls because girls have to be perfect to find a husband in eastern sosciety,but women are working and earning their living in a larger scale in our country and that changes the concept!

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Permalink Reply by Bek on July 18, 2008 at 8:57am

i hide it during high school, but i don't know if that was so much because of social stigma or me ignoring it so that i could live a normal teen age life. i think in young people the stigma may come just as much from denying the illness as it being something out of the normal for other children. i was the first diabetic in my elementry school and at the end of fifth year when another girl in my class that i barely knew was diagnosed we were sort of pushed together mostly because we were in the same situation (don't get me werong, she was a nice girl, but i think all we really had in common was diabetes).

now in my mid twenties, i still don't hide it, but i don't make it the bases of who i am either. i was surprised to find out that a lot of my friends in this area had no idea that i was a diabetic until i started talking about how i was getting an inulin pump. infact, on of my friends (RIP) saw me rubbing my arm when i walked by him at the gaming shop and asked me what was wrong. i told him i had just done a shot in the bathroom and it had hurt. he got a confused look on his face and said, "a shot of what?" i told him insulin and he laughed, having thought i'd just choked down booze in the bathroom.

i think diabetes becomes more of a stigma when we let it. if it rules our lives, it becomes obvious and we stick out more due to our own discomfort with it. when i began to accept my diabetes as just another thing to do in my life it stopped becoming what i was known for. mabee that's the key. i am just another person like anyone else out there, i just get my insulin in a different way. he's just a normal guy, only he needs glasses to read that street sign. we are normal and if we accept that it helps others to as well.

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Permalink Reply by sohair on July 18, 2008 at 9:15am

thank you for your explanation,I agree that diabetes is not your identity,when I help my patients to bring it out to the light so they get rid of the burden and start living their lives as everybody else.

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Permalink Reply by debb on July 18, 2008 at 10:01am

hi sohair,
i've never had a problem with anyone except my husband who is phobic about illness. that's his problem not mine.
i don't hide a thing. i am who i am and if there is someone who doesn't understand or treats me differently then i really wouldn't want them in my life anyway. everyone around here is very excepting about diabetes. it's been in this area for many years and we are a small community so everyone knows everyone else's business. if they have a question, and they know it doesn't bother anyone to answer it, then they ask it.
there is also a lot of cancer around here so i think they put diabetes into that category. what i mean to say is they except it as a disease and don't freak out about it. they except that we are who we are with a little something extra. i'm sure they are glad that they don't have it, but they don't treat anyone any differently. i have read some about your culture and i know how hard it is sometimes for women. i hope everyday brings a little more understanding for your girls and boys as well. education is, as you say they best way to get any change in the status quo. best wishes.

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