Day 19, and Thanksgiving is only a week away folks! I've been recently watching a lot of House M. D. and Scrubs when I am doing work at home as I find both of them funny and interesting. I guess since I've been in the hospital a fair amount of time, I find it interesting to see Hospital settings portrayed. The episode that came across last night was Episode 6 of Season 4 of Scrubs. This is the episode where Turk is diagnosed with diabetes.
It's striking to me how well that the show portrays the fact that even doctors don't necessarily understand the disease as much as the Endocrinologists or nurses who interact/deal with it on a daily basis. In the grand scheme of things, the people who REALLY have the best information are those who are continually researching and dealing with it. It came up last year when I told a bit of the story of how I was diagnosed. When I was diagnosed, my dad (who is a Doctor) didn't know very much about the treatment of diabetes other than insulin therapy is the most common treatment. Since that time, he's been able to learn more as I've learned more. I continually have more information that I'm learning, and pushing out to others. It's interesting to me, because it's a disease that so many people in this country have and you'd think there would be some more knowledge on it in the long run. While it's not true, I know that those who end up doing the best with their treatment are also those who understand the most about their disease and HOW to treat it.
In the end, is it important that everyone knows everything about diabetes? No, but the more you know, the better you can help out a family member who may have diabetes and based on statistics, it's likely someone in your family has diabetes, either type 1 or type 2.
It's striking to me how well that the show portrays the fact that even doctors don't necessarily understand the disease as much as the Endocrinologists or nurses who interact/deal with it on a daily basis. In the grand scheme of things, the people who REALLY have the best information are those who are continually researching and dealing with it. It came up last year when I told a bit of the story of how I was diagnosed. When I was diagnosed, my dad (who is a Doctor) didn't know very much about the treatment of diabetes other than insulin therapy is the most common treatment. Since that time, he's been able to learn more as I've learned more. I continually have more information that I'm learning, and pushing out to others. It's interesting to me, because it's a disease that so many people in this country have and you'd think there would be some more knowledge on it in the long run. While it's not true, I know that those who end up doing the best with their treatment are also those who understand the most about their disease and HOW to treat it.
In the end, is it important that everyone knows everything about diabetes? No, but the more you know, the better you can help out a family member who may have diabetes and based on statistics, it's likely someone in your family has diabetes, either type 1 or type 2.