I have been a diabetic for about 13 years now and I must say that at this point  I am fully immersed in the diabetic life, I have been through some harrowing  diabetic experiences, but the good days and the bad days are all part of any disease.

Diabetes can be quite challenging and I am not arguing this fact, sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you are prepared for it, an episode is usually just a round the corner. If you  ask Sarah from sarahndipity a fellow D-blogger about her murphy’s law moment yesterday, she will tell you about a classic diabetes catastrophe moment that’s bound to happen to a diabetic sooner or later but she will also tell you that this is no reason to cry wolf. We all go through these moments sooner or later and if you  know any diabetic, or follow anyone in the DOC they will tell you its a part of life.

My problem is the notion that diabetes is a vicious spiraling cycle of a disease right down to a death sentence waiting to happen, and the majority of this notion is fueled by the media whose motives are purely sensation seeking headlines.

It it the reason we will watch a freight train derail and not avert our eyes or we go to a car race just to watch the crashes.

Its celebration of absurd, grotesque, and unusual tales, but even in its simplest form, Morbid curiosity is responsible for this diabetic myth.

The Oprah Diabetes special and its backlash in the diabetic community is a classic example of this phenomenon at work.

I saw the show, the first time I ever watched Oprah I must add and  after the anger , hurt and betrayal moment  abated, I quickly tossed the whole thing aside as a media as a tabloid piece that most media driven diabetic news are.

These diabetic horror stories follow the same script. You see a  non compliant diabetic with his/her limbs removed and on her dialytic death bed with tubes coming out of most of their body with a story of their non compliant life and regrets for not having done a better job at their diabetic care.

Having stated that diabetes is most certainly not a easy disease disease to handle, I do not lay any blame on someone who is not able to manage diabetes effectively.

Where are the success stories however, There are a lot of people living with diabetes who are compliant who have managed to be a diabetic the right way, but have you ever seen a single one get screen time, absolutely not and the reason is as simple as morbid curiosity.

The Reason why diabetes is cloaked in myth today is because of a lacking in education and the right exposure. The media will tell you that visual aids are a powerful medium as a selling point to any news worthy story and this might be true point in this aspect.

There is no cure for diabetes and having an effective diabetes management routine means that you are healthy or look healthy for all intensive purposes , there is no before and after picture like you see in the cancer stricken patients taking chemo.

the images of diabetic patients that you see are the ones who are non compliant and on their death beds ergo the message becomes a diabetic diagnosis will send you to your deathbed as this is an incurable disease.

Excuse me myth but a diabetic life is not necessarily a death sentence if you take care of yourself and follow an effective diabetes management routine.