Why do we LABEL people with diabetes: DIABETICS?

No other lifestyle or medical condition such as blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, syndrome X and then illness such as cancer, liver disease etc labels a person such as we do with diabetes. We are people with our own identity and personality with a pancreas or insensitivity to insulin problem. Type 1 is in any case like HRT, the body only lacks the ability to produce insulin and therefor requires the replacement of this specific hormone.

I agree with your basic premise.
I never use the word "Diabetic ".
I say " a person with diabetes " .

I am so much more than my illness.I don't like those labels.

Actually diabetes is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than just the inability/lack of insulin produced by the pancreas. Many diabetics have at some point neurological defecits because of this, including decaying of the nerves in the body and things as horrible as that. Diabetics are called diabetics because that's what they are referred too in the medical field and extra care and caution needs to be taken with them. When your body can't use it's main source to get energy for energy it gets it in other ways which eats away at your body. Then when there is no more...you die. Many people underestimate and don't understand diabetes true effects on people. There are so many people with diabetes in the world today that it has become this so called "label". Such as there is a lot of white people and black people, so they are labeled as "blacks" and "whites". Just as people with mental defecits from birth are called "retarded" or short people called "midgets".

I dont see why it matters what our condition gets caused lol, what would you call it

Because its such a serious and dangerous disease if not taken care of properly I think it's good to know that people are diabetic ... if something bad were to happen and you weren't known as a diabetic the wrong treatment could kill you.

I understand labels and I hate them too but for something this serious I think its warranted ... its just how you chose to see it .. I'm not a diabetic but have it in my family, my cousin is a diabetic and even though you'd never know he has it he makes sure people know he is one by wearing the bracelet.

I have a lot of respect for diabetics, I think that with the right teaching and the proper information given others would be too ...

I agree with doomjock. Diabetics suffer many other problems that other illnesses don't.

However, people with blood pressure problems are labelled as hypertensives (high bp) or hypotensives (low bp). People with asthma are called AsthmaTICS. People with certain types of psychiatric problems are called neuroTICS.

I'm sure if I took the time to think about it, I could probably come up with more. So, don't think DiabeTICS are alone in being labelled. We aren't!

Have you ever heard of an asthmatic?

Well, actually, we use descriptive nouns for many conditions:
diabetic
hypertensive
IVDU (IV drug user)
Smoker
Alcoholic
Schizophrenic

The list goes on, it's really more of a semantic issue than one of ideas. If you have diabetes it's not who you are, but it is a pervasive, often incurable disease which shapes your behavior and lifestyle (at least, it should)

it dosn't bother me.

"all diabetcs"is easier to say than "all the people with diabetes."


get over it.
its nothing personal.

We forgot one...epilepTIC...in addition to schizophrenic or asthmatic.

I, for one, would prefer to say "diabetic" as opposed to "person with diabetes". Which is easier and faster to say to you? "Diabetic" works for me.

I'm diabetic...or "a" diabetic. It doesn't bother me...just so long as people know that I have diabetes.

EMT
type 1

Like it or not, life is about labelling. Calling it / yourself "Superman" rather than Diabetic is simply replacing one label with another.

The unfortunate truth is this "Superman" condition is a becoming an epidemic and it is a serious health issue if not properly managed / diagnosed early. We should be promoting diabetes education / better lifestyles, not making it look trivial as you seem to want to make it look like by changing the labels.