I've had an important insight today.

[Tobin S.]

Important for me, anyway. I figured I'd pass it along with the thought that it might help someone else.

I've always been a non-believer. There have been times in my life, particularly when I was in the throes of bipolar disorder symptoms, when I've fallen for some woo, but my skeptical side always won the day. I wasn't raised that way. I went to church from the time I was four until I was about fifteen, but it was all apparently such horseshit that even my young an impressionable mind never really bought into it. I don't know why people much older and wiser than me did. That church was a circus.

My wife and her side of the family are religious people. They're Episcopalians, probably the most liberal and laid back form of Christianity. They know I don't share their faith. We're all cool with each other.

There is an Anglican priest from Kenya who we've sort of adopted into our family. He is in this country going to seminary school here in our town. He fills in at my wife's church from time to time. He is a very nice person and he's never tried to thump me over the head with a Bible. Today he had to be rushed to the hospital where it was determined that he had dangerously high blood sugar. He has no history of diabetes, he's forty years old and what I thought was the picture of good health. His blood sugar level was 700. He will probably be insulin-dependent for the rest of his life.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law were there at the hospital with him and said he appeared fine. He was talking and smiling and didn't appear to be in any pain. They made it sound like he was just diagnosed with a hangnail rather than a dangerous, life-altering disease. My father-in-law is also a diabetic and so is my wife. It runs in the family. In my view, they don't take the disease as seriously as they should. My father-in-law basically eats whatever he wants to still and my wife stopped taking her medication recently. I didn't find out until I went to pick up her medication at the pharmacy and when I returned home found a bottle of the same med that was still mostly full. My wife was kind of making fun of me for taking all of this as seriously as I am.

That kind of thing pisses me off. I have bipolar disorder. I asked my wife how she'd feel if I suddenly decided I was going to stop taking my medication and didn't even tell her. We both agreed that wouldn't be good. I was diagnosed twelve years ago and I have taken my medication religiously ever since then. It's the only religious thing about me. Not only is my quality of life vastly improved, I understand that this life is probably all I have and I'm going to do what I can to make sure I live it to the fullest...

...wait a second...there it is.

If you were to ask my relatives if they had any doubt that they had souls and that they were going to live forever in paradise after their Earthly bodies die, they would say that they have absolutely no doubt. Now it becomes easy to see why they don't take their health as seriously as I do. Why worry about this shabby, mortal body when you have eternal health and youth ahead of you after it is gone?

Some of you may have figured this out early on, but I've never had the frame of reference of being absolutely certain that there is a part of me that is immortal. It's a totally foreign idea to me. Not just that I have a soul, but because I have a soul and I think I'm going to live forever in paradise, so I really don't have to take care of myself in this life. Why worry about what happens to this mortal coil?

Well, I've got news.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. What a great insight, my dear Tobin!

Your wife needs to get it through her head that she cannot stop her medication, period. I'm pissed off too, at her. And I like her, don't get me wrong. But her behavior is just plain wrong. And stupid.

I hope she will get your message and get back on track with her medication. Remind her how much it would hurt you if she died.

I have no problem with folks who are religious, but when that interferes with their health, that's another story.

I hope you can convince her.

[Heddi]

2. I'm an RN - ask your family members (wife and dad and whoever)

if they look forward to losing the feeling in their feet and getting non-healing ulcers and getting their feet chopped off inch by inch (diabetes is the leading cause of leg amputations--80% are because of diabetes). If they look forward to diabetic retinopathy and other forms of loss of sight by the time they're 60. How about going to dialysis 3 days a week, every week, for the rest of their lives because the diabetes killed their kidneys?

Probably doesn't sound so fun. I think I'd rather take Metformin or Glipizide or Januvia or whatever

I see this in my patients--I work at a clinic for Medicare patients--so generally over the age of 65, retired, low income. But the handful of patients i have that are in their 30's, 40's, 50's---they're there for diabetes-related illness: kidney disease, nonhealing wounds, amputations. Sucks to be retired because you're fully disabled at 40, but plenty of people are.

So my patients tend to be older, but they are noncompliant with their meds. Their diabetes, which could have been controlled through diet and oral meds is now so out of control they're on long acting and short acting and mid-acting insulins AND still have to take the meformin and glipizide AND now they're on 3 different BP meds because their kidneys are shot to shit so no way to control blood pressure and gabapentin for the diabetic neuropathy and coming in weekly for dressing changes and just holding on until they have to go to dialysis. And they're noncompliant with meds, don't see their specialists.

But when I ask how they're doing "oh, God is providing for me..." "God has plans for me.." etc etc. God should tell them to take their fucking metformin and long-acting insulin

[onager]

3. I can vouch for that...

Via a former co-worker. Diagnosed originally with fairly mild Type 2 diabetes and just would NOT take his meds. Or any warnings from his Own Personal Heddis. (Sort of like a Personal Jesus, but the Hell stuff is only verbal.)

I often picked him up at a local convenience store and brought him in to work. For breakfast nearly every day, from that store, he had a couple of mini-pecan pies and a large Pepsi. Sometimes he varied his diet, as the nutritionists tell us to do, and had a couple of chocolate donuts or Honey Buns.

His eyesight went first. We worked in aerospace, which requires lots of reading technical material, schematics, blueprints etc. Soon he needed very bright lights in his office, and a humongous magnifier in front of his monitor or printed material to read anything.

Then he started randomly passing out, which scared the crap out of us. One day I went into his office and found him sprawled in his chair, out cold, drooling and not responding to us yelling and shaking him. I really thought he was dead. EMTs came and took him away.

Finally, he had to have his left leg amputated. And not long after that, he died.

Full disclosure - I have Type 2 diabetes myself. My doctor says it's under control. I do that sticking-yourself routine twice a day and take Metformin. And sometimes I do cheat and eat stuff I shouldn't. But not all that often, compared to my pre-diabetes self.

The doctor warned me about the Number One problem of people with Type 2 - they "feel fine" so they don't take the meds or check their blood sugar. The problem is that one day they won't feel fine - as Heddi pointed out.

[Heddi]

4. "they feel fine" exactly

Same with BP and a whole host of other things, and I think is one of the leading cause of medication noncompliance.

You break your arm--you take pain meds, you feel relief.

You have a sinus infection - you take antibiotics, you take decongestants, you feel relief.

You have high blood pressure - you take BP meds, you feel nothing.

You have diabetes - you take pills and/or insulin. You feel nothing.

You have kidney failure - you get dialysis, you feel like SHIT afterwards

Actually--for the high blood pressure, depending on the cause and other comorbidities, you take the meds and you feel WORSE. You feel wiped out. You get dizzy. You can't eat grapefruit. Now you're on warfarin for the blood clot or Afib and you can't eat greens. But don't forget to eat fruits and veggies for your health---just not too much fruit because of the sugar. And not too many beans because they're carbs. Oh and no soda! That's bad for the diabetes. The alcohol fucks up your liver and you can't take a motrin for your headache because your kidneys are raisins.

I have a patient who, between his HIV meds, BP meds, CKD meds, diabetes meds, peripheral neuropathy meds, COPD meds, afib meds, heart disease meds, acid reflex meds, BPH meds, takes 35 different medications, most of them 3-4 times a day. Plus the inhalers. Plus the insulin. Plus the cream for his necrotizing feet that are rotting off because all of the above are poorly controlled.

When the MD wonders why he doesn't take his meds, I show her ONE dose of 35 pills and say "would you eat this three times a day?" It's a fucking meal. And it wipes him out. Feels like shit afterwards. It's tiring for me making a month's worth of med boxes for him, I can't imagine having that reality looking me square in the face every day.

Oh! And he goes to dialysis M/W/F and to the wound care center for his diabetic foot stump ulcers (only 1 toe left on both feet) T/Th.

So here's his choice: take your 7 blood pressure and heart meds, AND your 2 Diabetes pills AND your 2 insulins AND your various iron and mineral and vitamin supplements, and your 5-med HIV cocktail, and your gabapentin...and feel like garbage all day, every day

Or take nothing and feel....okay. Yeah, the sugar is 800 and you're slowly going into DKA, but you feel okay. Pee alot, but feel okay. So your BP hovers around 230, and your head is about to blow off your shoulders, but you feel okay. Not great, but okay. So your CD4 count is nil but really, you feel okay.

I can see why someone doesn't take their meds---they don't feel the instant relief we feel with other meds (pain meds, etc). They feel worse for it. And here I am, a big goon with a stethoscope saying "oh yes but it's good for you in the long run!" --- in the long run. Hard to see the long run when every day you're looking at a handfull of pills with horrible side effects....or don't take them and just be hospitalized three times a month.

[Heddi]

5. Oh and ROFL at Personal Heddi

that's me!

It reminds me of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus"

Your own personal Heddi
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Heddi
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there

Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer

Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal Heddi
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Heddi
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there

Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal Heddi

Reach out and touch faith



I know my new sig-line now

[onager]

7. Ha! Glad you got the reference.

It was supposed to remind you of DM's "Personal Jesus."



LEGAL NOTE - the above smiley in this context is meant as a friendly "howdy" message. Not a passive-aggressive fuck-off message. I've heard some people use it that way. Probably in some forum where nice manners are said to be important...

[Heddi]

8. Let me call you sweetheart

in a creepy stalky passive-aggressive way, will ya, schmoopie bottom cream-pie sugar buns honey boo?

One wave is nice
Two is creepy

This....this is SPARTA

[Warren Stupidity]

10. and don't forget, if you have a "problem" just send a PM

and "help" will be delivered.

Boy Howdy.

[RussBLib]

6. just to clarify, you are suggesting that...

..."Godly" folk may not take care of their bodies in this life because they expect eternal life in the "after life"?

That's some fucked-up shit.
You may be right.
It's still some fucked-up shit.
Lazy, fucked-up shit.
That may be as eloquent as I can be about that.

One wonders at how the mindset would be different if they'd grown up without any trace of religious "infection."

If they believed that this was the only life.

Would they be so sloppy then?

Presuming I read you correctly.

[Tobin S.]

11. Yes, you read it right.

I think they may be less likely to take good care of themselves when they are faced with disease.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. I have real problems believing that people actually believe that shit.

It just seems like a convenient excuse to be an idiot.