Eye-Opening Revelation At The Doctor’s Office

As a T1D veteran, I’m accustomed to the arsenal of diabetes inquiries in addition to the ten page questionnaire about my family history. As I strolled in early to get my mammogram, I was greeted by two lovely women who were easily over the age of 85 and adorable. When I checked in one of them said, “Sugar, do you know where you’re going?” I don’t know that I’ve ever been called sugar, but am delighted by her sweet demeanor. I make my way through the labyrinth of hallways and reach my destination – Women’s Imaging. I check in, grab my pen and am ready to start knocking out the paperwork, but instead the nurse asked me about insurance and had me return to my seat. NO diabetes questions?

I’m escorted to my dressing room and after loosing the top half of super cute outfit, I walk into the exam room. The woman preforming the mammogram whips out a clipboard and I was ready to share my A1C, meds, etc. Not a single question came up. What was going on? As I stood their exposed, having my boobs smashed in the machine, I went down a checklist of when the issue of having diabetes has come up in other medical scenarios.

1. General Physician – YES
2. Eye Doctor – YES
3. Dermatologist – YES
4. Physical Therapist – YES
5. OBGYN – YES
6. Cardiologist – YES
7. Dentist – YES
8. Orthodontist  – YES
9. Tattoo Artist – YES
10. Freaking YMCA – YES (had to get a release to become a member)

We wrap up the mammogram and I leave feeling somewhat awkward. Not because I’ve just been groped by a woman and a machine, but that having T1D didn’t matter. This is a first for me and I kind of feel like the average person partaking in a doctor’s visit. Who knew?