I Might Be A Diabetes Snob.

Recently, I attended an insulin pump class at one of my local medical clinics.  I've never gone to a pump class before, and I was hoping this could be a good place to meet some other people with type 1, while learning some new tricks.  In my most wildly imaginative version of how this could go, I envisioned us all bolusing simultaneously, comparing notes and strategies, with glucose tabs and test strips flowing freely.  Perhaps some diabetes-related cartoons or video clips would be shown.  Someone would finally reveal to me The Mystery That Is Bolusing For Breakfast Cereal, and I'd tell everyone about D-Prom.

 The title of the course was "Advanced Insulin Pump Class", and the description told me that I'd be attending a "holiday meal planning session that includes information on how to adjust bolus dosing".  And, there would be free dinner.

I don't want to sound like a know-it-all, but... in this class, I apparently did know it all.  I didn't learn a single thing, and I'm feeling disappointed. 

My top hat and monacle felt
slightly out of place.

Is it simply because I am a very engaged patient?  Is it because I expected, with a description like "Advanced", that we wouldn't spend time discussing the difference between a basal and a bolus?  Is it because I spend most of my free time blogging, advocating, and using social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to discuss diabetes, and have learned so much more than your average Jane Diabetic because of it?  Is it because I actually read the manual that came with my pump (and downloaded a copy to my work computer for referencing)? 

Whatever the cause, I felt very out of place, and I wasn't expecting that.

My husband and I were the youngest people there by quite a margin.  Some of the people there already had insulin pumps, but didn't know how to use the extended/dual wave/combo bolus option.  (That was me at one time.)  Some people were considering getting an insulin pump.  (That was me at one time, too.)  One lady asked at the end of the class, "I need to ask, what exactly is diabetes?  Like, what does it do to the body?"  And then we all had to sit there while the dietician leading the class explained it to her.  (She said she had "pre-diabetes", and I wondered who had recommended an Advanced Insulin Pump class to her.)

I was also shocked to find that there was no nutritional information provided about our meal.  I mean, come on.

There were so many times I wanted to interrupt the dietician teaching the class.  I kept wanting to add something to what she was talking about, or to rephrase it.  For instance, when talking about extended boluses, she showed a slide of the different types of extended boluses, but then only explained what the combo bolus is.  What about the square wave?  What about the super bolus?  (I love that it sounds like a superhero, by the way.)  At another point, she told someone that if they "programmed their pump right", their blood sugar should be back in normal range at the two-hour mark after a meal - as if the pump user's ability to program would be the only possible issue at play.  She also remarked that when eating pizza, she "definitely wouldn't recommend testing every hour or anything".  It was at this point that my husband and I both involuntarily let a chuckle escape.  We couldn't help it.

It got me to wondering...  is my level of knowledge in handling my own disease really that advanced, or am I just a Diabetes Snob?  Am I engaged to the point of being arrogant?  Is it out of line to think that I might know more about the subject at hand than the person teaching it? 

And would anyone else attend a class for the So Super Advanced We Don't Know What To Do With You?