Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

Here today at Happy Medium, we’re going to start what might turn out to be a fun, and sadly, frustrating series. I’m going to give you a little background on some of the more cray-cray e-mails I’ve received.

When you write as much as I’ve written over the past five and a half years (700+ blog posts), even if you’re not the most read location in the blogosphere, you still get e-mailed like you are. And since November is Diabetes Awareness Month, I’ve gotten a few extras that have really made me scratch my head. Like these:
 
 
Kutting Weight Sauna Suits Help Diabetics Reach Weight Loss Goals
I can’t think of a single soul who would think this is a good idea, for People With Diabetes or anyone else. Trust me, there are ways to lose weight without putting on a scuba suit every day. Who decided it would be suitable to market this to PWDs? Where does the insulin pump go?

On the other hand, a selection from their “premium line of sauna suits” might help me look a little more like Captain America and a little less like Sheriff Buford T. Justice. At least until I pass out.
 
 
NEW – Montgomery County
Is this e-mail a tip about a new diabetes health initiative in this suburban county outside Washington, D.C.? Is it about a town hall meeting on health care? Noooo…

The first line of the e-mail goes like this: “Parking just got easier in Montgomery County.”

The message is for a parking app that can help you find a parking space and pay for it using your smart phone. Fine idea, but I am not the target audience. Especially because I rarely go to Montgomery County, and I use mass transportation to go to work.

The last part of the e-mail goes: “An interview with the CEO of [app name]? Please let me know!”.

Um, yeah, no, because… I WRITE A BLOG ABOUT DIABETES!
 
 
BDF Seeks Treatment Guidelines for BT1D Patients
This one is not only crazy, it makes me mad. In fact, I sent a tersely worded e-mail to the PR rep that keeps sending me e-mails from the (ready for this?) Brittle Diabetes Foundation, after I already supposedly unsubscribed from future e-mails.

This crackpot organization, based in Venice, Florida, counts among its board of directors a PhD, a former mayor of a small town on Long Island, a lawyer, an electrical engineer, an accountant, and a graphic artist. In other words, no medical professionals. Three of the six directors share the same last name.

Basically, they’re pissed off that the American Diabetes Association has not included “brittle diabetes” in its latest Standards of Care documentation. I’m not going to go any further into this, because it gets crazier than that, and I don’t want to give this group any more exposure than I’ve already given them.

To put it mildly, this “organization” is on the lunatic fringe of a community that is already factioned off like containers on a cargo ship headed out of port. It makes me sad, and it makes me mad to think that there is potentially good energy being spent on such a worthless cause.
 
 
I really hope these aren’t the kind of e-mails you get. In fact, how about I give you a tip on how to get super e-mails you can look forward to every month?

Sign up to get updates from diaTribe, the organization that brings both truth and sanity to our community. Go to diatribe.org, scroll down to the bottom of the home page, and put your e-mail address in the box next to where it says, “Get The Latest diaTribe News Right In Your Inbox”. Click Submit, and you’ll be guaranteed to receive at least something useful on a regular basis.

That’s it for November’s installment of Egregious E-mail Offenses. Until next time, remember: I support you… no conditions.

Unless I pass out wearing your wetsuit, have to park in Montgomery County, or have to listen to your uninformed opinions regarding Type 1 diabetes.