#4. she has been witness to TOO many diabetes jokes where she has to awkwardly explain that SHES actually diabetic and that the jokes are

[everythingsinred]

pls just understand this: type one and type two diabetes are two entirely different illnesses (they are both called diabetes bc the disease was named before scientists fully understood the causes and illnesses properly). first, lumping them together under “diabetes” (as in the joke and also treating them like the same disease) can be very harmful! the confusion can result in misunderstandings at best (like my sister not being allowed to eat cookies at parties even tho. yes she can eat cookies.) and misdiagnoses at worst.

type 2 diabetes happens gradually and usually later in life, bc the insulin is overloaded into the bloodstream over time and the cells stop responding as much to it, which means the diabetic isnt getting energy despite eating it. it can be potentially reversible with great effort but it can still be dangerous. changing your diet and exercising more helps a lot but it can still be harmful especially early on before diagnosis. 

VS type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease, usually diagnosed in childhood (hence why its sometimes referred to as “juvenile diabetes,” but bc it doesnt GO AWAY once ur an adult, that name is misleading), and it makes sufferers more susceptible to other illnesses. usually undiagnosed type 1 diabetics are severely underweight. basically your body is KILLING itself trying to destroy the insulin-producing beta cells bc it has been confused into considering them as enemies. 

so associating sugar overload with diabetes is stupid bc 1. type 2 diabetes happens over a long period of time, not from one sundae or whatever! and can be actually a backhanded comment tbh and is used to shame ppl for eating sugary foods. and 2. u begin to have dangerous misconceptions about the diseases, particularly about type 1. 

even doctors dont always understand the difference! my younger sister (dearest zoe), displayed all the obvious symptoms of type 1 and was severely underweight. my parents took her to the hospital and her pediatrician told my mom to try and fatten her up! my grandpa (a retired doctor from serbia) suspected that she could be diabetic and told my mom to get her tested and her pediatrician said theyd run the tests but that she probably wasnt diabetic (bc he was thinking of type TWO!!! TYPE TWO!!! shes so skinny how could she be diabetic??). my mom was literally making batches of fudge (!!!!!) to feed six-year old skinny zoe when she received the call that zoe probably had type 1 diabetes, with her pediatrician apologizing profusely.

we were lucky that our grandpa knew what type 1 was. other kids might not get a proper diagnosis bc for some reason not even doctors know all the info about these illnesses. (even tho theyre pretty common. ugh) zoe has had many issues with knowing more abt her illness than the doctors who are supposed to be treating her.

and in the us so many ppl die from diabetes (especially type 1) bc they RELY ON INSULIN TO LIVE (non-negotiable especially with type 1, even if you go on a “diet” so shut up about that) and when they run out because they cant afford it (even tho it is very cheap to produce and the inventor of synthetic insulin wanted it to be available to everyone) they fucking DIE, in their sleep or from ketoacidosis which is an incredibly painful condition. 

so before you make a stupid fucking “DIABETES” joke try to consider all the people suffering from it and how often children are misdiagnosed. think about how my sister has literally every rando idiot telling HER how to manage HER disease when they dont know SHIT who make the same dumbass jokes you do. shut up with the diabetes jokes im gonna skin u

#my sister has been told by strangers the following: #1. to just throw her insulin pump away bc she has a 'drug dependency' and wont be diabetic anymore if she does so #2. that she cant have cake/cookies/dessert like the other kids bc shes diabetic EVEN THO THATS LITERALLY NOT TRUE #she just has to take insulin and then she can eat the cookie jfc #3. been told the other day in her dining hall that she should have chosen other food bc her meal looked sugary #the guy proceeded to mansplain her own illness to her despite the fact that hes an idiot who doesnt know shit abt diabetes #4. she has been witness to TOO many diabetes jokes where she has to awkwardly explain that SHES actually diabetic and that the jokes are #stupid and inaccurate (which they are) and also like arent even funny in the first place?? #5. AND WORST OF ALL. for all the people judging her on how she handles her disease #or telling her how to manage it despite not knowing anything about it #NOBODY wants to accomodate her!!!! #nobody buy diet soda for her at parties but theyll buy vegan/diet accomodations for people who arent even ill #regular soda is a fast-acting carb #which means it can be dangerous for her to drink it even if she takes insulin (juice is also in this category) #so diet soda is best #AND YET zoe visits a friend or goes to a party and has to drink water when everyone else is drinking soda #which might seem like a small or unimportant thing but like fuck u?? why cant she have soda. buy her a small lil bottle! fuck you! #if ur gonna host a party and buy soda for everyone else why not for her too while ur at it??? if ur gonna accomodate the vegans and dieters #why not the LITERAL diabetic #no everyone would much rather tell her no than work WITH her #im very angry abt this actually my sister deserves better fuck everyone who doesnt take diabetes more seriously #ill kill u for joking abt it #im not gonna delete this i see way too many diabetes jokes on my own gd dash and maybe someone will actually read this #for zoe <3 dearest and beloved