Recently, I was at a party, when a person who works in the
medical field, who I just met, disparaged “Dr. Google.” I paused for a moment, took a deep breath,
then spoke up. I explained that I do
advocacy on behalf of people with adult-onset Type 1 diabetes who are misdiagnosed
by medical doctors as having Type 2 diabetes, an altogether different disease. I explained that many if not most people with
adult-onset Type 1 diabetes are misdiagnosed, as I was. I told her that I was hospitalized in
diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), my life was saved, and then an endocrinologist
took me off of IV insulin, the hospital paperwork indicated “Type 2 diabetes,”
and I was sent home with a prescription for Type 2 meds (glyburide). I said that for this group of people who are
misdiagnosed, Dr. Google is what will save them. If they get online and do some research, they
will come across Facebook Groups (LADA Support Groups) and TuDiabetes.org
(founded by Manny Hernandez, who was misdiagnosed), where people will assist
them with information about autoantibody testing, which is used to distinguish
between autoimmune diabetes (Type 1) and non-autoimmune diabetes (Type 2 and others). This medical community person did in fact
change her tune, and agreed that for some cases, Dr. Google really can make a
difference and in fact can be life-saving.
