The UGHY truth!

I think you can think you are doing everything you can to keep your diabetes under control, but still be one of these numbers (below).

Numbers don't lie. They tell us the ugly truth about this disease.

I think you can have all the right labs, do all the right things, eat all the right foods, and still be one of these numbers in the works.

I think it depends on how long the disease has been with you. How often you test in order to find out if you are going high and low and averaging out to a good lab result. How much sugar you eat (remember I think a carb is NOT just a carb, that they put sugar in our bodies at different rates). How much exercise you get - in order to keep oxygen in your blood and flowing to all areas of your body.

I think you can think you are a "compliant" diabetic and you can still be one of these numbers.

It's only my thoughts, but if you take the time to read through all these statistics.....if these are just the "non-compliant" diabetics.....then there has to be a whole lot more spouses out there going through this than just me. Think about it, 1400 non-compliant diabetics die every week? I'm going to guess there are a whole lot of "compliant" diabetics in these statistics.

Just read each number and then ask the question, "Were these all non-compliant? How many were compliant? Could it be you next?"

So many diabetics send me comments like "this will never happen to me" or "these things don't have to happen to your husband" or "if he would take better care of himself, this wouldn't happen."

Ya think?

From Stop diabetes and the Diabetes Assoc

In the next 24 hours, diabetes will kill 200 people. That's 1400 people per week.

"Were these all non-compliant? How many were compliant? Could it be you next?"

72,507 died from it in 2006, but it contributed to 233,619 deaths in 2005.

"Were these all non-compliant? How many were compliant? Could it be you next?"

1 out of every 4 people who have diabetes, don't know they have it.

"are any of these people compliant?"

20% of the population is at risk for developing it. That means for every mother, father and 3 children, 1 of them is at risk.

"are any of these people compliant?"

Diabetes doubles your risk for heart attack and stroke.

"does it matter if you are compliant or not? They don't tell us"

23.6 million people in the US already have it and another 57 million are prediabetic

23% of people over 60 have diabetes

75% of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure

"are all 75% non-compliant?"

So just keep inserting those questions after each statistic:

It is the leading cause of blindness in adults. It casues 12,000 - 24,000 new cases each year.

In 2005, 46,739 people with diabetes became ESRD - end-stage kidney disease - living on dialysis.

60 -70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage.

in 2004, 71,000 lower-limb amputations were performed in people with diabetes

Average medical expenditures are 2.3 times higher than non diabetics.

In 2007, the total cost of diabetes in the US was $218 BILLION

1 out of 3 children born in 2000 wil develop diabetes in their lifetime.

40% of people with diabetes suffer some degree of hearing impairment.

2/3 of those with diabetes die from a heart attack or stroke

23% have foot problems

28% develop chronic kidney disease


Which number are you?

Do you read my blog and think that none of this will ever happen to you? Probably might want to rethink that one! The numbers are just too great for me to believe that this only happens to people like my husband.

Do you read my blog and get angry because you don't think you could ever put your spouse into this position? Think again. How many of those 72,500 diabetics who died had a spouse? You can't believe all of them were non-compliant? They put their spouses through the very same fear, heartache, burden, nursing tasks, etc. that I am going through. Reread that line because that's the number that died from diabetes. Another 233,619 people died from something else with diabetes as a contributing factor.

Print this out. Post it on your refrigerator. Circle the number that you are. And start talking to your family about it now. Start preparing them. And if you can't circle the number you are, then start working on your own denial. Because if you already have diabetes, you already are a number. And that's the ugly truth!!!

DW