Handling Diabetes in Public

Good evening, Type 1 Warriors! It's been a while, but I'm back and ready with lots of stuff I want to talk about! There's a lot I want to cover, but for today let's start with handling diabetes in public.

  Asking for a Nutrition Guide 

You have to have a carb count for what you eat, there's nothing that you can do about it. You shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask a restaurant for nutrition information. The employees at the restaurant that you're at won't be upset or annoyed. It's their job to serve the customers! 

If anyone gives you a problem about it, which they shouldn't, then you should arrange a chat with their manager. Keep in mind, restaurants WANT you to eat at their facility, not the competitions'! They will do whatever they can to make you comfortable. 

If they don't have a nutrition guide, then you can either estimate a carb count and be prepared to deal with lows and highs later, or go somewhere else. Simple as that!

Testing/Injecting/Treating

If you have to test, inject, treat a low, or do an emergency pump site change in public (which will happen to you eventually because although we are diabetics, we still go out and do stuff) then there are two different ways that you can handle it.

The first way is to go to a bathroom, do what needs to be done and be done with it. Nobody saw, nobody gets upset, and everybody is happy. Well, everybody except you. 

It is totally fine to want to keep the peace and not gross people out and whatnot, but you shouldn't feel guilty about doing what you need to do to live. If someone is grossed out by watching you give yourself a needle, then they can look away. The last time I checked, nobody is forcing them to look.

The second way is to go wherever you feel most comfortable. Whether that place is a table in the food court at the mall, your bunk at a sleep-away camp, or your desk at school, you should be comfortable when you are handling injections and things like that.

There should be a flat surface for you to put your supplies on, and there be enough space for you to move around comfortably. With those things in mind, a bathroom stall probably wouldn't be ideal for a site change or testing your blood.

Depending on where you do your stuff, there may or not be people there, which brings me to my next point.

Staring and Comments

If you decide to do your site change/give an injection where people can see you, then you should be prepared for staring/comments.

If people stare at you while you are doing your stuff, then try to ignore them. It's possible that they are just interested in what you are doing, or that they've never seen anybody inject themselves before and they are watching. There's no harm in people looking at you while you do your stuff unless it bothers you. In that case I would recommend going to a private area with enough space for you to comfortably do what you need to do.

If people are saying things quietly to themselves like, "That is so gross" or "What the heck are they doing? That stuff belongs in a bathroom", then that is where it's normal to feel upset. There are two ways that you can deal with nasty people like that.


1. The Polite Yet Stern Method

You can be polite and try to educate the person on what you are doing and why it must be done, but still feel like you've made a point with this method. Let's say that a person is saying how gross it is for you to be doing your needles in public. You could go up to them and say,

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhearing. I have Type 1 Diabetes, and that requires me to take multiple needles each day at certain times. I, like you, wish that I didn't have to takw them, but if I don't then I will die. I'm sorry that you're not comfortable with that, but nobody is forcing you to watch, and I frankly do not appreciate your comments. Feel free to look away. Again, I'm so sorry about that."

This method keeps things brief and it establishes that this is something that you have to do and you had absolutely no intention of making anybody uncomfortable, but they are being rude and are choosing to watch. You're not shoving your needle in their face and saying, "Watch me inject myself." They are looking, and can just turn away.


2. Ignore Them

If you don't feel comfortable approaching someone who is making mean comments, then don't. Just know that they don't have the right to make you feel bad about yourself.


Dexcom Alerts

If you have a Dexcom G5 CGM, then you know that sometimes the alerts will go off at very random times. If you don't have a Dexcom G5 CGM, or don't know what it is, then I would suggest clicking here to read my post which describes in detail what the Dexcom G5 is and how it works. All caught up? Good! Let's keep going!

There is one basic way that you can prevent an unwanted alert from going off. Keep in mind, I use my iPhone as my receiver, so this way is specific to that.


Put Your Phone on Vibrate!!!

If you are going somewhere quiet like a movie, Church, or a graduation ceremony, then the easiest way to avoid breaking the peace is to KEEP YOUR PHONE ON VIBRATE! That way you can hear the alert, but nobody else can. You just have to keep your phone in your lap so you'll be sure to get all of your alerts.


Bringing Low Treatments into No Food Environments

If you're going to the movies or to a banquet or a facility that doesn't allow you to bring food inside with you, there really is only one thing that you can do. You have to bring food with you. If you go low, you need that food. If anyone gives you a hard time about it, there are two things that you can do.

1. Show them your medic alert bracelet (If you have one). It proves that you're not bringing the food in simply to eat it, but that you need it for medical reasons. The bracelet proves that you really do have Type 1 Diabetes.

2. If you don't have a medic alert bracelet, it's absolutely fine. Then you would show them your diabetes bag (your insulin, sugar tabs, BG meter, needles, etc...). That also proves that you need the food for a medical reason. 

If they are really giving you problems, then it's up to you to decide what you want to do. 

That is all of my advice for this week! 



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Till next time, Type 1 Warriors!