Unpopular opinion
On one of the diabetes message boards I read people have been talking about a news report of a car accident in which a diabetic man had a blood sugar low while driving and ended up crashing his car into some people, killing one person. No charges were filed – it was considered an accident.
And just now I read another post from someone on a totally different topic, complaining about how his insurance declined to cover him for a continuous glucose monitor (this is a device you wear all the time that sounds an alarm if your glucose goes below a certain level). He said that just last night he went low while driving and ended up 100 feet down an embankment, in a river.
I don't want to piss anyone off on that board, so I didn't respond to that ... But here in my own private blog I just have to say it: I just don't think people should be allowed to drive if they're susceptible to that kind of unexpected low. That includes anyone who crashes suddenly and without warning, or who can't tell when they're crashing. This is called hypoglycemia unawareness and it's not all that uncommon, especially in people who've had the disease for a long time.
My diabetes is Type 2, which for me (though not for every T2) means that I don't have life-threatening lows and hopefully never will, unless my pancreas really does crap out completely someday. So maybe it's easy for me to say that a certain kind of diabetic shouldn't be allowed to drive ... since I'm not that type of diabetic myself.
Still – it makes me so mad to see certain people on that board getting all indignant and demanding to be treated "like a normal person" when it comes to driving and other high-risk activities, when clearly we are by definition NOT normal – we're diabetic. And if someone's diabetes means they run a regular risk of passing out or going into a seizure with no warning, then I'm sorry but please get real – a person in that condition should not be allowed to drive, ever.
It does suck that not being able to drive is such a huge handicap in this place and time ... I know it isn't a small thing to take away someone's license.
I guess this feels very real and scary to me because I almost never drive myself, which means that when I'm out there getting from point A to point B it's pretty much always just me – no seatbelt, no airbag, no crumple zone, no metal safety cage. Every time I ride I try to maintain a constant awareness of what's going on around me, just in case someone should suddenly drift onto the shoulder and take me out, or broadside me, or cut me off without warning, or force me into traffic or into a ditch ... There are so many careless drivers out there. If I ended up dead because some diabetic idiot is too stubborn to admit he can't tell when he's about to have a low – I would be so pissed!
About the CGM – I do agree with those folks that this should be considered standard equipment for any diabetic who can use one, and who wants one. No question at all. That, I consider a reasonable accommodation.
Thinking about all this makes me feel very tired and sort of depressed about being diabetic. That fact is always on the edges of my attention anyway; it's not something I ever really forget. At the same time, though, I don't think of it as necessarily a very bad thing, or even something that's especially hard to deal with. I have to remember to take my one small pill each day, and I have to make sure I don't eat more than about 75 grams of carbohydrate a day, and I have to exercise one hour or more every day. Other than that, it hasn't affected my life much at all.
But reading about all these other people's experiences ... it's scary to get a look at some of the things that could happen to me over the years, even if I do everything "right" – whatever that is. Not a reason to stop trying, but maybe a good reason to take a break from those message boards for awhile. I think I remember reading somewhere that it is not strictly necessary or required to scare myself to death every single day of my life.
And just now I read another post from someone on a totally different topic, complaining about how his insurance declined to cover him for a continuous glucose monitor (this is a device you wear all the time that sounds an alarm if your glucose goes below a certain level). He said that just last night he went low while driving and ended up 100 feet down an embankment, in a river.
I don't want to piss anyone off on that board, so I didn't respond to that ... But here in my own private blog I just have to say it: I just don't think people should be allowed to drive if they're susceptible to that kind of unexpected low. That includes anyone who crashes suddenly and without warning, or who can't tell when they're crashing. This is called hypoglycemia unawareness and it's not all that uncommon, especially in people who've had the disease for a long time.
My diabetes is Type 2, which for me (though not for every T2) means that I don't have life-threatening lows and hopefully never will, unless my pancreas really does crap out completely someday. So maybe it's easy for me to say that a certain kind of diabetic shouldn't be allowed to drive ... since I'm not that type of diabetic myself.
Still – it makes me so mad to see certain people on that board getting all indignant and demanding to be treated "like a normal person" when it comes to driving and other high-risk activities, when clearly we are by definition NOT normal – we're diabetic. And if someone's diabetes means they run a regular risk of passing out or going into a seizure with no warning, then I'm sorry but please get real – a person in that condition should not be allowed to drive, ever.
It does suck that not being able to drive is such a huge handicap in this place and time ... I know it isn't a small thing to take away someone's license.
I guess this feels very real and scary to me because I almost never drive myself, which means that when I'm out there getting from point A to point B it's pretty much always just me – no seatbelt, no airbag, no crumple zone, no metal safety cage. Every time I ride I try to maintain a constant awareness of what's going on around me, just in case someone should suddenly drift onto the shoulder and take me out, or broadside me, or cut me off without warning, or force me into traffic or into a ditch ... There are so many careless drivers out there. If I ended up dead because some diabetic idiot is too stubborn to admit he can't tell when he's about to have a low – I would be so pissed!
About the CGM – I do agree with those folks that this should be considered standard equipment for any diabetic who can use one, and who wants one. No question at all. That, I consider a reasonable accommodation.
Thinking about all this makes me feel very tired and sort of depressed about being diabetic. That fact is always on the edges of my attention anyway; it's not something I ever really forget. At the same time, though, I don't think of it as necessarily a very bad thing, or even something that's especially hard to deal with. I have to remember to take my one small pill each day, and I have to make sure I don't eat more than about 75 grams of carbohydrate a day, and I have to exercise one hour or more every day. Other than that, it hasn't affected my life much at all.
But reading about all these other people's experiences ... it's scary to get a look at some of the things that could happen to me over the years, even if I do everything "right" – whatever that is. Not a reason to stop trying, but maybe a good reason to take a break from those message boards for awhile. I think I remember reading somewhere that it is not strictly necessary or required to scare myself to death every single day of my life.
Labels: diabetes
1 Comments:
Too many people consider driving a RIGHT and not the privilege it is. Many people are not allowed to drive for a variety of medical reasons; epilepsy being one of them that comes to mind. As the US population ages the decision(s) are going to have to be made as to where do we draw the line on the privilege of driving versus the safety of the general public. Our society and infrastructure is built around the automobile and little else.
Hard questions and hard choices need to be asked and acted upon. My personal belief is that extensive driver training is in order, and testing of driving and comprehension skills needs to be much more often and much more comprehensive. Yes it will be expensive, so raise the price of a license to reflect something of the true cost involved.
People's abuse of the PRIVILEGE of driving and there inability to do it properly costs billions of dollars year and kills over 40,000 people a year. Acceptable? I think not, but until the political climate changes and drivers are really held responsible for their true cost to society the carnage will continue.
Aaron
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