# Comments in a petrol station!



## getcarter76 (May 18, 2010)

I was buying some jelly babies at a petrol station as they were on offer (?1 each) and so picked up the last 2 packets (for work, home, car etc etc)!

Got to the counter and the old boy behind the counter commented on "Do you like these". I thought hmmm but for the first time i actually said out loud "it helps to keep my blood sugar levels up". He replied "you're not diabetic are you - you don't look it?". I paid for my stuff and left thinking - Do diabetics look a certain way then? Perhaps we have alien horns or 3 heads? 

Was wondering if anyone else had ever had any comments made to them once strangers have realised you are diabetic?


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## Northerner (May 18, 2010)

The horns only appear when you admit you are diabetic, that's what fools them most of the time!  

I wonder what his mental image of a diabetic was?


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## Caroline (May 18, 2010)

There was a man on the train one night claimed he could tell a person was diabetic by the way they looked and smelled, apparently we are a 'funny colour and smell of candy floss and burn toffee'. I ecided he was beneath contempt and ignored him but handed his very emabressed wife a leaflet for diabetes UK and a slip of paper with this site on it!


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## PhoebeC (May 18, 2010)

iI heard someone talk about the smell too, no idea what that means!!
Not only do we have horns we smell too haha xxx


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## am64 (May 18, 2010)

didnt you have the compulsory D tatooed on your forehead ??


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## Caroline (May 18, 2010)

I can't say I'd noticed a smell, but there must be something if dogs can tell when their owners are going to have a hypo. Unless this man is like a dog with a really good sense of smell!


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## AlisonM (May 18, 2010)

Hang on, horns and a tail would be diabolic wouldn't it, not diabetic?


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## Laura22 (May 18, 2010)

I get that alot......... people are weird............. haha


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## MCH (May 18, 2010)

Caroline said:


> There was a man on the train one night claimed he could tell a person was diabetic by the way they looked and smelled, apparently we are a 'funny colour and smell of candy floss and burn toffee'. I ecided he was beneath contempt and ignored him but handed his very emabressed wife a leaflet for diabetes UK and a slip of paper with this site on it!



I don't know about the 'funny colour', but the smell might have been a reference to ketones, which can be smelt on the breath if you have enough.


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## Laura22 (May 18, 2010)

Yeah I have heard breath smells sweet if we have ketones.

Was asked by the NHS is my breath smelt of nail varnish remover!! Urm....... huh?!


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## SacredHeart (May 18, 2010)

About nail varnish remover, Laura. It's the smell of acetone that they mean. It has a sweet smell, found in pear drops and nail varnish remover, which are the things they reference, since most people know the smell of one or the other.


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## Laura22 (May 18, 2010)

LOL! It was a while ago they said that and I actually took the phone away from my ear and gave it a weird look! lol


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## RWJ (May 18, 2010)

A colleagues reaction when he realised I inject 4 times per day and finger prick at least twice - " oh I just couldn't do that" - my reaction.... "oh I somehow think you could! The alternative is a no brainer"


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## SacredHeart (May 18, 2010)

People going 'oh I couldn't do that' is a red rag to a bull for me.


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## Caroline (May 18, 2010)

Laura22 said:


> Yeah I have heard breath smells sweet if we have ketones.
> 
> Was asked by the NHS is my breath smelt of nail varnish remover!! Urm....... huh?!



My answer would be is it that obvious I've been drinking the stuff? but that's not taking it very seriously is it?!


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## SacredHeart (May 18, 2010)

Well that would explain why none of us was feeling well prior to diagnosis!

I think they must say 'pear drops' to guys and 'nail varnish remover' to women!


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## Caroline (May 18, 2010)

Must be drinking it, I never use it to remove nail varnish...


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## NiVZ (May 18, 2010)

I also hear the comment that my insulin smells like hospitals when I do an air-shot near someone 

NiVZ


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## Shelb1uk (May 18, 2010)

hahaha this made me laugh out loud....people are soooo uneducated in the D  xxx


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## Akasha (May 18, 2010)

NiVZ said:


> I also hear the comment that my insulin smells like hospitals when I do an air-shot near someone
> 
> NiVZ



My one pen smells like anti-septic stuff.  Not sure why.

'Oh! i couldn't inject like you do'  yes, i get that alot.


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## leenevitt (May 18, 2010)

*hahahahahahahahahahahah*

i havent laffed so much for ages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## bex123 (May 18, 2010)

an out of hours dr once asked me to breath on her to smell my breath as she didnt have any ketone sticks lol , that was def the weirdest one but yeah i had probs with a lot of high's and my breath definatley smells of pear drops , not so much any more thank god!


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## leenevitt (May 18, 2010)

*blog*

i have to post this on my blog !!!!!,,,,


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## Northerner (May 18, 2010)

leenevitt said:


> i have to post this on my blog !!!!!,,,,



I reckon there's a poem in it too!


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## aymes (May 18, 2010)

Caroline said:


> My answer would be is it that obvious I've been drinking the stuff? but that's not taking it very seriously is it?!



Bizarrely I did one drink nail varnish remover....accidentially I should add. It was before I was diagnosed, I was waking up thirsty a lot, I'd left the nail varnish remover next to the water bottle, in my sleepiness I swigged from the wrong one, not good! Quite the irony though, I must've had ketones by then from being ill so my breath probably already smelt of the remover, I just added more!

The 'I could never do that' comment is my pet hate too. I oncehad it followed with, 'I'd just die if I had to inject myself....' errr,no, you'd die if you didn't!! Grrrrr


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## Laura22 (May 18, 2010)

NiVZ said:


> I also hear the comment that my insulin smells like hospitals when I do an air-shot near someone
> 
> NiVZ




Never heard that one before! lol


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## xxlou_lxx (May 18, 2010)

Still makes me wonder what we are "meant to look like" 

Im seriously curious.....


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## SilentAssassin1642 (May 18, 2010)

didn't you know? I'm actually green and have sprouted pink fluffy feelers


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## xxlou_lxx (May 18, 2010)

SilentAssassin1642 said:


> didn't you know? I'm actually green and have sprouted pink fluffy feelers



Now, are you sure thats a diabetic thing......  

Jokes  x


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## D_G (May 18, 2010)

When i have to tell people who i dont know very well its always the "But you dont look ill, i would have never guessed" comment! Does annoy me somewhat.....as if i am supposed to look ill   *sigh*

I also get told i am "hardcore" when i inject and many people say that they wouldnt be able to do what i do, i guess i take some of these comments as a sort of compliment when they come from my friends as they are always telling me how strong i am and how well i am doing...well what they see anyway


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## xxlou_lxx (May 18, 2010)

Yeah I love that one.. "I would never of guessed by looking at you" Of course ya wouldnt you strange person then again who cares if you did?


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## Lizzzie (May 18, 2010)

Apparently the ability to smell ketones on someone's breath is genetic -  some people can and some people can't.

If you look at someone and they aren't green with pink fluffy feelers, the trick is to look at their fingers and foreheads (which the feelers would sprout) because even if you havem't grown them yet, there are often some tinges of colour just beginnnig to show.


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## Adrienne (May 18, 2010)

xxlou_lxx said:


> Still makes me wonder what we are "meant to look like"
> 
> Im seriously curious.....



Do you know what I reckon he meant.   I bet he was referring to weight.  I bet he thinks that to have diabetes it must mean you should be fat.

I would think because of all the DUK and media stuff about diabetes, over eating, the measure up campaign, even on GMTV this morning they said it you eat egg and bacon you get diabetes so it all presumes  you are fat.

The fact that type 1 has nothing to do with weight at all never comes into it.  Plus people with type 2 are not alway overweight and if they are then sometimes it is to do with insulin anyway and not a lifestyle thing.

I am very very overweight and I had to see a consultant specialist about my eyes.  I do not have diabetes, 1 or 2 or 2 or 4 or 5 etc etc  but when I sat in the waiting room the majority had diabetes as it was diabetes day, it said so on the wall.   As I am overweight it was presumed by the nurses that I had type 2 and was there for my screening.    I was cross but kept my cool as these people are just bloody ignorant.   I told them I wasn't diabetic and had other eye issues !

So I bet that is what the silly man meant !   You didn't look diabetic because you aren't overweight.


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## am64 (May 18, 2010)

bbc news said this morning about sausages giving you diabetes


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## Northerner (May 18, 2010)

am64 said:


> bbc news said this morning about sausages giving you diabetes



That'll be where I caught it then!


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## RachelT (May 18, 2010)

Like last week's Jacket spuds are supposed to help prevent diabetes....as if...
Whow, i don't think i'd mind smelling of candifloss, that sounds quite nice.  Nothing silly really, but one of the girls i work with, and bear in mind i work in a pharmacy, and that she's more experienced than me...said she hated taking an injectable drug she'd been prescribed as it made her feel "like a junkie." I didn't point out that some of the people i know and not to mention the lovely Debs in Stores, have to do that four times daily, every day and don't feel at all like junkies unless a certain nurse is in the room of course.


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## getcarter76 (May 18, 2010)

Caroline said:


> There was a man on the train one night claimed he could tell a person was diabetic by the way they looked and smelled, apparently we are a 'funny colour and smell of candy floss and burn toffee'. I ecided he was beneath contempt and ignored him but handed his very emabressed wife a leaflet for diabetes UK and a slip of paper with this site on it!



 love it!


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## getcarter76 (May 18, 2010)

D_G said:


> When i have to tell people who i dont know very well its always the "But you dont look ill, i would have never guessed" comment! Does annoy me somewhat.....as if i am supposed to look ill   *sigh*
> 
> I also get told i am "hardcore" when i inject and many people say that they wouldnt be able to do what i do, i guess i take some of these comments as a sort of compliment when they come from my friends as they are always telling me how strong i am and how well i am doing...well what they see anyway



"Hardcore" that makes me chuckle...sorry...i must be getting old and yeah peoples ignorance about injecting - they would do it if their life depended on it! 

Good job for this site to offload all these wonderful (*said sarcastically*) comments people say to us 3 headed, green, sausage eating, smelly breathed diabetics lol!! 

Bernie  xx


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## am64 (May 18, 2010)

getcarter76 said:


> "Hardcore" that makes me chuckle...sorry...i must be getting old and yeah peoples ignorance about injecting - they would do it if their life depended on it!
> 
> Good job for this site to offload all these wonderful (*said sarcastically*) comments people say to us 3 headed, green, sausage eating, smelly breathed diabetics lol!!
> 
> Bernie  xx



hhahaaa bernie love it !!


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## twinnie (May 19, 2010)

i am loving this thread i got me thinking of the the things people have said to me over the years things that a lot of people on here have heard too
i too have had  
"my god how can you inject yourself" 
my insuilin smells like a hospital,
oh well you will grow out of it
 oh you are a diabetic did you eat too many sweets
the best one was oh well the only thing you cant eat is cakes


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## glodee (May 19, 2010)

Great thread! Have often heard - Are you really diabetic, you're so thin! - wel Doh, I'm thin because the D caused me to lose weight!!! And the one about the insulin smelling of hospitals, thats a frequent one. I could go on and on


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## PhilT (May 19, 2010)

xxlou_lxx said:


> Still makes me wonder what we are "meant to look like"
> 
> Im seriously curious.....


 
I think we're supposed to look like Mr Blobby with a big 'D' tatooed on our foreheads.


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## smile4loubie (May 19, 2010)

twinnie said:


> the best one was oh well the only thing you cant eat is cakes



Well that alone would be my fiance's life over!! lol xx


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## Emmal31 (May 19, 2010)

Hehe I like this thread 

My nan said to me not so long ago it was all that sugar in your tea that made you diabetic and when I tried to tell her it had nothing to do with it she pretended she was joking  bless her.

I've had the 'oh I wouldn't be able to inject if I had diabetes' before a lot even from a nurse at my current surgery x


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## rachelha (May 19, 2010)

Last Saturday afternoon I had "so do you have mojor or minor diabetes" and "are you still diabetic?"  

The are you still diabetic question was from a chemisty professor, who then started going on about stem still research and that I would be cured in 15 years time.


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## topcat123 (May 19, 2010)

this thread as i am reading from the weird to wonderful.... i knew that i didnt know much before diagnose but that is a cracker im still wondering what was going through that person s head when he made that comment :eek maybe that would be a bad idea


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## tracey w (May 19, 2010)

SacredHeart said:


> People going 'oh I couldn't do that' is a red rag to a bull for me.



yea, i get this one quite a lot. My reply is always the same now, "well you would pretty quickly die, then you wouldnt have to" tends to shut them up rapido


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## tracey w (May 19, 2010)

NiVZ said:


> I also hear the comment that my insulin smells like hospitals when I do an air-shot near someone
> 
> NiVZ



well many years ago I was a nurse and I have to admit the smell of insulin is the exact same smell that hopitals used to smell of, to me anyway. Hospitals dont smell like this anymore but I think its the memory that people have.


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## getcarter76 (May 19, 2010)

rachelha said:


> Last Saturday afternoon I had "so do you have mojor or minor diabetes" and "are you still diabetic?"
> 
> The are you still diabetic question was from a chemisty professor, who then started going on about stem still research and that I would be cured in 15 years time.



What a peanut!! Lol some people! Hahaha and he's doing stem cell research....god help us all....
Bernie x


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## Old Holborn (May 20, 2010)

Horns and a Tail, sounds like Lucifer is D as well.  Wonder how his DSN gets on with him.


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## rossi_mac (May 20, 2010)

Interesting thread!

Part of me thinks reading this yes it does happen, the comments, the questions, and I would lamp them, but I know I wouldn't. 

I can be a bit too tolerant, and think they mean well when they say "they couldn't do that", I didn't know jack (who is he?) really before I was diagnosed, other than my big uncle had T2 and my gran did too and she is paranoid about loosing her legs, and eats diabetic sweets/biscuits by the packet at christmas!

I guess we should bite our tongue and try and educate them all, but then again being a bit defeatist, that'll be impossible, and very frustating, so lets just come on here and have a rant with each other now and again!

cheers 

Rossi


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## ilovekandi (May 20, 2010)

aymes said:


> Bizarrely I did one drink nail varnish remover....accidentially I should add. It was before I was diagnosed, I was waking up thirsty a lot, I'd left the nail varnish remover next to the water bottle, in my sleepiness I swigged from the wrong one, not good! Quite the irony though, I must've had ketones by then from being ill so my breath probably already smelt of the remover, I just added more!
> 
> The 'I could never do that' comment is my pet hate too. I oncehad it followed with, 'I'd just die if I had to inject myself....' errr,no, you'd die if you didn't!! Grrrrr




hahaha god this thread is funny, i have also drank nail vanish remover to! i thought i was the only one hahah 

I had someone ask me if my pee smelt like sugar puffs, luckily they were a close friend otherwise i might have taken offense pff haha.  

I do hate it when people say, ...'Should YOU be eating that?' 

while they are munching on burgers, fries and fat coke.... i'm like ERRRR excuse me should YOU be eating. cheeky buggers!


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## aymes (May 20, 2010)

ilovekandi said:


> hahaha god this thread is funny, i have also drank nail vanish remover to! i thought i was the only one hahah



Phew, pleased i'm not the only one! Assuming it was also accidental......?!


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## richardq (May 22, 2010)

Northerner said:


> That'll be where I caught it then!



If you eat Jacket spuds with Sausages where does that leave you?  Incidentally, still waiting to turn green and sprout the pink feelers.  Feeling slightly disappointed that they haven't arrived...


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## Ron Brownlow (May 22, 2010)

Well, I don't have a D tattoo or sprout unusual things but I must say that although I think the 'Chap on the train' is a complete idiot, when I sit in a waiting room at a diabetic clinic of one kind or another I do NOT look like the rest of them in there. I just don't fit in and while I'm sure there is a lot of people on this thread that look after themselves, there are a lot more that don't, and are fat, and do fit the assumed diabetic profile of fat and over 40. 

When I was diagnosed with T1 in Aug09 it was because I kept telling my Dr I wasn't quite right and drinking and eating a lot - he looked at me and put it down to the fact I was swimming, cycling and running a hundred miles a week, he said I'll be fine! I went to hospital with a BG of 27.5 and my HBa1c was 13.8...

And on the smelling thing, dogs are trained to 'smell a hypo', well, assuming you wouldn't have keytones and hypo at the same time - we must have a telling smell either high or low! 

Just my 2cents!

PS - My last HBa1c was 6.1 and I still swim bike run for at least a 100 miles a week and I've got faster, so it's not all bad!


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