So by now you are probably realizing there is wayyyy more to this disease than you ever imagined and that were some myths or “ideas” that you had about T1D that aren’t even close to the truth. So today I am going to talk about discrimination. I know it is an ugly word, but just because we don’t like to hear it doesn’t mean it isn’t out there or we shouldn’t talk about it. So what is there to discriminate when it comes to T1D, well a lot. I am going to talk about some of the situations I have experienced being a T1D. The first one is one that maybe you would never think of, I know I was surprised. But you see that is when it happens, when you least expect it. I had a new dentist I was seeing in a Dental office; he was new to the office, not me. He had seen me a few times in the past and was a little jumpy but I thought it was just his nature, a little nervous; he was young and fresh out of school. It wasn’t until I had a very small cavity that needed to be filled that I got the whole story. He said he wanted to wait until the afternoon to do the dental work because by then my blood sugars would be under control, I told him that they as much in control in the morning as they are in the afternoon. He said he was worried about infection from my high blood sugar and that he didn’t feel comfortable filling it in the morning. OK, so first of all, my BGs were under control and not high at all any time I had an appointment so he had no grounds for worry. Secondly infection from minor dental work is not common in general or even if you have T1D, third, he kept asking me my BG readings (this was pre CGM) and I finally told him it was none of his business. I had had dental work before and since then with different dentists, and no one ever asked my BG, they all did and do know I have T1D because it is in my file, but it is up to me and only my business how my BGs are controlled. This certain dentist then proceeded to treat me like I was contagious, like I was going to bite him and give him T1D, which you all know by now that is completely not the case, well maybe I should have bit him, but he still wouldn’t have T1D. I left feeling like shit. Now I want you all to know that he wasn’t with that practice very long and is no longer in the area, maybe he realized dentistry was not for him… I can only hope. Also, it is really important to know that things like this used to happen ALL OF THE TIME, in the time before they knew what caused T1D, in a time before science had some sort of understanding and when science did know the general population was decades behind in the knowledge, simply because not that many people have it. And even now, people don’t know that much, T1D gets way overshadowed by T2D because way more people have T2D and that fact that TV and movies misrepresent it all of the time doesn’t help anything. Another place T1Ds often run into discrimination is schools. Grade school, middle school, high school, and even college. Insulin pumps have made this all better, pre pumps students often were not allowed to carry insulin OR testing supplies around with them. Yes they couldn’t keep their own life saving prescriptions with them. I know what you are thinking.. safety, but remember we deal with this disease 24/7, it is never ending, who better to decide what we need to do when we have a low or high that US? Also, when your BG is low sometimes you can’t communicate or let alone walk down a hall, or stairs, or up stairs, or do much. Or the school wouldn’t let them give themselves a shot but also didn’t feel comfortable giving the shot. This was a common occurrence because of budget cuts a lot of schools no longer had a nurse on staff or someone with some sort of medical training. Like I have said pumps and CGMs have made this all better since they are on us and with us 24/7. Still some schools give T1D students a hard time. This is when I should mention that people with T1D are protected under the American Disabilities Act. This happened in 2008 with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act. It included T1D on the list of people that could not be discriminated against because of their disease. Meaning no one can limit/restrict access their medications, we have to be able to manage our disease while we are on the job, we can’t be fired for have T1D, we can’t be not hired or actually even have to tell an employer or potential employer we have T1D. Also, they have started letting college students have special testing sessions that are more private or allow more time for testing. Even in college if students and professors give you a hard time about checking your BG or administering shots. When I was in college I would often let my professors know that I had T1D and if I passed out to please call 911 so that I wouldn’t die, or if they felt comfortable I had a Glucagon kit in my bag with me at all times. I would let my art professors know mostly because they were small classes and 3 ½ hours long 2 times a week, so I spent a lot of time with them. I had one professor who I knew pretty well declare he would never administer the glucagon kit unless he had a nurse’s letter and he was outraged. I finally calmed him down and told him to just call 911. I understand he probably just felt uncomfortable with the whole situation, but he could have just said just as easily, and uncomfortable or not, I still need him to do the right thing. For the rest of the semester I just made sure my BGs were in tight control during that class. Also this was pre disabilities act. I always think it is a bit funny that T1D is now considered a disability when most of us that have it are trying soooo hard to just live a normal life and don’t consider ourselves disabled at all, but the ADAAA is very important and necessary. I have know of more than one case of a kid with T1D graduating high school and going off to college and getting a job. Well some people don’t quite understand T1D and their bosses not allowing them to check their BG, or correct their BG, or give themselves insulin, or eat food when they need to. These are all things we HAVE to do to survive. We don’t just prick our fingers all the time because we think it is fun, or sit for 30 minutes to wait for the room to stop spinning and our hands to stop shaking. These are just things we simply have to do, well we don’t have to do them but the consequences aren’t really an option. Lastly I have been treated very poorly because of my backpack, in retail stores, in museums, all over. Mostly it usually is them telling me I can’t have a backpack, I respond by telling them it is my purse, (seriously some purses are larger than my backpack), then they respond by telling me that it doesn’t matter, and then I tell them that I have T1D and I have to carry it because it has my meter and food in it, and then they give me a confused look and tell me I still have to leave it, and then I explain more about T1D and if that doesn’t work I either leave if it is a store and don’t go there anymore OR tell them I am covered under the disabilities act and I can carry it where ever I want. One time this happened at MOMA in NYC, after I explained everything, they were very nice and just asked me to carry it on the front of me so that I didn’t knock anything over, which of I did of course. You would be surprised how many arguments I have gotten in over a backpack. It is exhausting and a waste of time and often takes longer to go through all that than if I were just to go in and buy something. One time I was somewhere where they were extra rude and I just told them to follow me around and watch me if they felt like they needed too. Secretly I wanted to pretend like I was Godzilla and knock over all their shit in the store like a monster, but I didn’t of course. Lately restaurants have started trying to tell T1Ds they have to go to the bathroom to give themselves an insulin shot. First of all this is illegal, secondly, what a fantastic way to piss off and lose customers, and third most of us are so discreet know one ever knows. Just because we have a disease doesn’t mean we should be treated as less of a human being. T1Ds are always trying to just be human beings. We are all just trying to live our life as normal as our normal can be and that is all we want.
Day 17-
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