DSMA March Blog Carnival - Out In The Open?

This month's blog carnival asks Does your employer/school/friends know you have diabetes? Why or why not?
I was only diagnosed a couple of years ago so never had to deal with everyone at school wondering what I was doing, or telling me I couldn't eat that. Although I'd have preferred to have had the diagnosis earlier so I could have gotten to grips with D sooner (as much as you can with D!) I'm glad I didn't have the faff of explaining it over and over again.

For me, I find it easier at work to be open about my D. Most people are curious but feel awful asking. I try to encourage questions because I can't stand the wondering looks when I'm finger pricking and feeling the laser beams in the back of my head! I'm quite comfortable testing and injecting at work and in front of people whether I know them or not. The only time when I get a little D-shy is when I have a frock on!

Also if anything were to happen to me, I'd like someone to have a rough idea of what to do/what not to do. I've found that by answering questions it's dispelled a lot of the D myths people hear and read about.

"Ohhhh so you CAN eat sugar?!"
"Umm yeah, have you not seen my face when birthday cake enters the office...??" :P

I can fully understand why many people choose not to disclose their D to friends/colleagues. D isn't just a 3-week thing, you deal with it every second of the day. So having to explain it enough for someone to understand does get a little...eh sometimes. The nearest we'll get to a holiday from D is by just not talking about it for a while.

This post is my March entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2012/march-dsma-blog-carnival-2/