This has been bothering me...

[tlbwriter]

I wonder if the "live and let live" folks will feel the same way when (if) we have government run healthcare for which we are all paying for? It's easy to say let people do all the unhealthy stuff they want, but when it comes down to it, do you really want to pay for the person who has diabetes and eats a ton of crap anyway? The person who chooses to ride their motorcycle without a helmet and crashes their bike? The person who smokes two packs a day and has cancer and won't quit?

We're already paying for them when we pay our insurance premiums.

 

[FergieTCat]

I wonder if the "live and let live" folks will feel the same way when (if) we have government run healthcare for which we are all paying for? It's easy to say let people do all the unhealthy stuff they want, but when it comes down to it, do you really want to pay for the person who has diabetes and eats a ton of crap anyway? The person who chooses to ride their motorcycle without a helmet and crashes their bike? The person who smokes two packs a day and has cancer and won't quit?

Do we all want to pay for all of the unhealthy lifestyles out there?

I think it is our business. It does affect us all---in the wallet.

My taxpayer dollars are currently paying for many lifestyles for which I don't approve. I don't think you can choose which lifestyles you are willing to subsidize.

 

[brerrabbit]

Reading this and seeing response like it's none of the OP's business got me thinking. Is it really not her business? They work together and if they are both provided insurance by the company on a group coverage plan then yes it does effect her. The OP's insurance premium will continue to rise as the lady fails to take care of herself. There was apoint in my life I would have said it's none of her business too. However our government with both active and tacit support from the public as a whole has decided that these types of things are their concern and therefore by default our concern. When I was a kid helmets were not required for children to ride their bikes. Now most cities including the one I live in says they have to wear them. There are even fines given for failure to do so. Along the same lines people in virtually every state are required by law to wear seatbelts where once they were not. In both cases the arguement is if they don't take the precaution then we all have to pay in some way for the resulting injuries. Well where will it stop?

We will get to the point where the government starts fining us at monthly weigh ins for being overweight.

 

[justanotherdiser]

It is hard to ignore it and 'mind your own business' when the person complaining is using you as a sounding board, or when it is directly affecting you. My mother's lack of taking her medicines and lack of proper diet affects me b/c she needs me to come clean her house, run errands, she expects me or my DH to handle just about anything big she wants or needs. The litter box hadn't been emptied in months, and I literally scraped animal crap off the floor. Because her sugar stays so high she feels terrible all the time. Because she doesn't take her medicine and doesn't eat right.

 

[Tink888]

I work with somebody who has diabetes and who eats a lot of food that she isn't supposed to. She'll eat a peice a cake and then complain about how her blood sugar is too high. Duh, you ate a peice a cake! She's pretty clueless even after I told her of things she should probably avoid. She has a brother in law who just got stints put into his heart about two months ago and he sits there talking about how he eats fried chicken and mac and cheese.

All of this has got me thinking about whether or not people should be allowed the same medical procedures over and over again even though they are not changing their habits. For example, should somebody be allowed to get stints in their heart yet again even though they still eat crap?

If they are paying their own insurance premiums, then yes.

We are all going to die at some point. If that's what they want to eat, their business & their body.

I agree with this. I'm not one to actively go out and look for ways to shorten my life but I do believe, to an extent that when it's your time to go, you go. One person might make lousy choices regarding their health and it kills them. Another person might smoke, drink and eat garbage their entire life and live to be 102. This year alone, I've had a 15 year old, healthy, active family member die of a pulmonary embolism and known another active, healthy child be diagnosed with and die from cancer.

There are always going to be people who make lousy choices. We can't control that. We can only control the choices we make for ourselves.

 

[cm8]

If they are paying their own insurance premiums, then yes.



I agree with this. I'm not one to actively go out and look for ways to shorten my life but I do believe, to an extent that when it's your time to go, you go. One person might make lousy choices regarding their health and it kills them. Another person might smoke, drink and eat garbage their entire life and live to be 102. This year alone, I've had a 15 year old, healthy, active family member die of a pulmonary embolism and known another active, healthy child be diagnosed with and die from cancer.

There are always going to be people who make lousy choices. We can't control that. We can only control the choices we make for ourselves.

I agree with what you said.

 

[Nancyg56]

Reading this and seeing response like it's none of the OP's business got me thinking. Is it really not her business? They work together and if they are both provided insurance by the company on a group coverage plan then yes it does effect her. The OP's insurance premium will continue to rise as the lady fails to take care of herself. There was apoint in my life I would have said it's none of her business too. However our government with both active and tacit support from the public as a whole has decided that these types of things are their concern and therefore by default our concern. When I was a kid helmets were not required for children to ride their bikes. Now most cities including the one I live in says they have to wear them. There are even fines given for failure to do so. Along the same lines people in virtually every state are required by law to wear seatbelts where once they were not. In both cases the arguement is if they don't take the precaution then we all have to pay in some way for the resulting injuries. Well where will it stop?

We will get to the point where the government starts fining us at monthly weigh ins for being overweight.

I still believe that it really is none of the OP's business other than the nuisance the woman haas made of herself. As others have pointed out, we all subsidize life choices that we may not approve. If it is her business becasue they both belong to the same group then do we speak to those who smoke or to those who use alcohol? Who decides how much is too much, when an indulgence is detrimental to another's health?

I do understand that the government has made certain options like helmets for children nonnegotiable but I do not think that is the same thing.

Honestly, if I was in the OP's shoes I would simply tune the woman out and refuse to have any part in her discussion.

 

[teskak]

There is a very good reason why I spend most of my day at work listening to an Ipod (often DisUnplugged).

If you tell (no matter how nicely) "problem child" that you are not interested in discussing her health problems - expect to get a complaint that will go down in your next performance review - no matter how many times you have had to listen to the dramas and why you have been so tolerant for so long.

If you engage, you get more

Education will not work as both the sugar and the dramas are drugs to the attention seeker and they will not give either up. Tune out in general, but still make a point of being social at break times etc and then you do not get all of the dramas.

Depending on the podcasts you listen to, you can also recieve quite an education if you explore areas of interest. Maybe even diabetes education???

 

[Talking Hands]

A person with diabetes can basically eat anything as long as they count their carbs. If I want a small pie of key lime pie I can keep the carbs really low for the rest of the meal and enjoy that small piece of pie. It is called planning. I also can adjust the amount of insulin I take to cover the extra carbs. Planning.
I can have the piece of cake but remove the icing to lower the amount of carbs. There are so many ways I can have that treat if I plan it into my meal plan for the day.
Right now I have a URI so my blood sugars are up so I need to stick the the straight and narrow, but I know this because I have had diabetes for over 30 years and don't have complications because I learned how to plan for treats.

 

[goofy!]

If I had a condition that could kill me I would make the choice to change. I have been changing my own eating habits lately, and while it is difficult I know that it is going to make me a more healthy person. I think some people can't find that connection.

It is very easy to make broad announcements of what you would do IF.

However, until you are actually in that situation, you have no idea what you would really do. You may find it much harder than you expected.

Until you walk in somebody else's shoes, I would refrain from being so smug about how easy it would be for you to change and judgmental about the woman's choices.

I grew up in the 70's when smoking was considered cool and all the health issues weren't completely understood. In my early 20's, when all the scary stuff was coming out - I quit cold turkey - no problem at all. No cravings, no looking back. I thought I had great will power. Diet control is completely another story - completely different. It is not as easy as just saying - "oh, I would never eat that stuff". So, never be so sure that you would do things completely differently if you were in her shoes.

Kind of like childless couples who know everything about raising kids, confidently pronouncing that they would "never allow this, would never do this." Only to find out that it isn't as easy and as black and white as they thought once they had kids.

That said, you should not have to be interrupted at work. If she tries to engage you in her health problems, just politely say that you are not comfortable discussing personal issues at work. Then turn the conversation to work to keep it professional.

However, this will only work if you never share your personal life at work with coworkers.

 

[sunnyday123]

I have to hear her complain about it every single day. It's driving me a bit batty!

If you didn't live in TN, I would think you worked with me. I have a co-worker with the same problem. Eats anything and everything. Doesn't check her levels at all. Ever. Half the time she doesn't take her medicine because she doesn't feel like it. She also smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. Then she'll tell everyone how bad she feels, but she can't afford her test strips.

I told her that I didn't want to her about her slow suicide plan, and to keep it to herself. She does. If you're telling me your business, you've made it my business too and if you're doing things you know will hurt you, you get what you deserve, IMO.