Jo Foster

Living with Type 1. Tweeting for support and a practical cure!

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@BT1DUK Amazing progress! How is it helping UK families at the moment?

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@PBlueNovember Manageable in the worst way possible; unforgiving and unrelenting. Then there's the stigma... This message does nothing to help imo

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

I’d be interested to know whether others here have ever felt similarly about the terminology around T1D, or whether you think a complete renaming would be unrealistic or unnecessary?

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

I’ve just read that PCOS has officially been renamed PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), partly because the old name was scientifically misleading and reduced a complex endocrine condition to one inaccurate feature... #gbdoc

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

But I do think many people with T1D carry the burden of constantly feeling misunderstood because the distinction is so poorly understood culturally.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

Names shape public perception, stigma, research priorities, empathy, and how people living with a condition feel about themselves.

I’m not saying Type 2 deserves stigma either. It doesn’t. Nobody deserves shame around illness.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

It’s not remotely the same condition mechanistically, even though they share a name.

The PMOS change feels significant because it acknowledges that names matter.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

For many of us, the public understanding of the word 'diabetes' is tied up with stereotypes about lifestyle, sugar, obesity, or personal responsibility. Even now, after decades, I feel a sense of shame or dread around the word itself because of the assumptions attached to it.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

For me at least, T1D suffers from a similar identity problem because it shares the same name as Type 2 diabetes, despite being fundamentally different diseases in cause, treatment, lived experience and risks.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

Can we please do this for T1D and rid us of the stigma that will not go away.
#gbdoc @parthaskar
PCOS has been officially renamed PMOS, and it’s a momentous move | New Scientist https://t.co/tatL5bcRPH

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

Can we please do this for T1D @parthaskar #gbdoc and rid us of the stigma that will not go away.
PCOS has been officially renamed PMOS, and it’s a momentous move | New Scientist https://t.co/tatL5bcRPH

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@IntDiabetesFed It makes a real shitter a bit less shit. It's still a real shitter though. Diabetes + tech is a cruel master that is a bit less cruel but shouts much louder and the whips sting just as much.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@amybetic I had a spontaneous VBAC too, at exactly 38 weeks. Convinced eating 6 dates every day from 36w helped! 2.5h labour

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@GingerVieira It is amazing to me how transformational it is, yet living with T1D is still so hard. The burden is lesser but still so great. Just goes to show how wide the gap is I guess.

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@GregoryMaysMD @DiabeticDadUK The Hell and Anchor

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@CamAPS_FX It is a fairly good app! With some maddening bug bears, how do we feedback into your dev process?

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@parthaskar @DiabeticDadUK @drpratikc @WilmotEmma @Rezaidi @ShivaniM_KC @DrDita @nerdabetic @Tims_Pants @JaneMCummings @hilarynathan01 I forgot to add - never ending thanks to @parthaskar for making it happen! 🙏

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@parthaskar @DiabeticDadUK @drpratikc @WilmotEmma @Rezaidi @ShivaniM_KC @DrDita @nerdabetic @Tims_Pants @JaneMCummings @hilarynathan01 For an ever cruel, lifelong disease, this is truly life changing and helps with the mental anguish no end for me

[Jo Foster @JoFostertd1]

@Moodwife All the lovely things life brings us I guess. I can probably name 2 or 3 for T1D at a push! Negativity aside, it is so important to raise, as we have to deal with it