Diabetes and stigma – “When I got that call I was shocked”

An interview with DRWF digital marketing manager Darren Tipper, who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

If you are living with diabetes, you may very well have experienced ignorant, condescending or simply rude comments, not only from the public and even family members, but also possibly professionals who we would hope know better. Stigma can manifest itself in many ways.

As part of a two-part feature for the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series we look at the question of stigma in diabetes, including interviews with people living with diabetes and healthcare professionals and the different perspectives they bring to the conversation.

Darren: “Originally I got a call saying that I had type 2 diabetes. It was not until three months later they formalised the diagnosis and said it was pre-diabetes. When I got that call, I was shocked. I had had an HbA1c test just a few months earlier, at a DRWF event, and that was in the normal range. Although I knew I was at heightened genetic risk, I never really expected to go from nought to diabetes with no warning. It was right before Christmas as well, which was poor timing.”

Living with Diabetes: Did you tell anyone?

Darren: “I told my wife and my parents and some people at work.”

And what reactions did you get?

Darren: “Luckily, all those people know about diabetes. So I didn’t face any stigma at that point.  There is a big history of type 2 diabetes in my family. I have known for years that I am highly likely to be at an increased genetic risk of type 2 diabetes myself, but that did not stop the diagnosis coming as a surprise.  The history of diabetes in my family is one of the reasons I started working for DRWF.

“It took me by surprise when I got that call. But I knew what I needed to do. I knew right off the bat all that knowledge from sharing DRWF information leaflets and articles over the years meant that there was no worry about what do I do now? What can I eat?”

And what changes have you made with diet and exercise?

Darren: “It was such a strong incentive. It was very easy to make those changes quickly, and because I had the knowledge, I was able to know pretty much exactly what kind of diet would help me. What kind of exercise would work best for me. I lost a lot of weight in that first six months.”

Living with Diabetes

Listen to the interviews in full as part of the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series

This latest edition of our podcast Living with Diabetes was supported by Abbott.

Living with Diabetes is a Blue Aurora media production for DRWF. Copyright 2024 Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation. All rights reserved.

This article was produced as part of the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series and appeared in the Autumn 2024 edition of Diabetes Wellness News. To subscribe visit here

Picture caption

“Common misinformation about diabetes is everywhere” – Darren Tipper, DRWF