Taking Charge Of Your Diabetes

The title of this post is the name of pamphlet that I received in the mail from my insurance company this morning. Oh dear. They appear to have figured out I have diabetes.

It contained such gems as this one:

Well… um. OK. That’s **kinda** true, insurance company. I would actually argue that diabetes is a disruption in the natural glucose/insulin cycle which, when untreated, can cause prolonged periods of elevated blood sugar, the dangers of which are numerous.

I don’t know why these mailers piss me off so much, you guys. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them, and they are clearly designed to be helpful to someone who has no idea what diabetes is. Maybe it’s the fact that any envelope from my insurance companies fills me with utter fear (is this a letter that some basic piece of medical equipment is no longer covered? Have they changed my deductible or premium and I suddenly owe way more money?), so to feel that terror and then have it be a pamphlet written for a child is kind of insulting.

Maybe it’s my general frustration with the medical establishment’s assessment of me, and, in effect, all individuals, as really, really uninformed. I’m actually pretty informed on all things diabetes, and, having read this pamphlet front to back, can confirm that there was not a single thing in it that was useful to me in any way.

But again, why do I care? I’m not a pretentious asshole, and my frustration with this packet makes me feel like one. Maybe it’s that it takes me back to the humiliation of my hospitalization, when nutritionists, doctors, residents, and nurses, kindly attempted to “inform” me about things like “exercise”, “eating healthy”, and “fiber”. The first nutritionist I spoke to was stunned at how much I knew about these subjects. I guess because I was overweight that automatically meant that I was just a stupid moron.

Most of us know things. I’m a 20 something woman in America – you think I don’t know about DIETS? Really??

Anyway, rant over. Also you guys should come see my show. I expound on this and many other topics. (see how I snuck that in there??)

bit.ly/typewhatnow