Jobs Diabetics Can Not Have

[lilbrat1528]

My question is, who has the right to say an insulin dependent diabetic will have poor control of their diabetes? Question is because I have recently found out my Type 1 diabetic son will not be able to join the military, become an astronaut, drive a tractor trailer, fly an airplane or become a police officer. My son may have 60 plus years of great control. He may have 60 years of poor control. But no one will know this until it happens. In every single job I listed above, you have drug addicts working in them positions. But they are disciplined when they have a positive drug test. So why can't the same be done with an insulin dependent diabetic. Who is to say they may have a low while on duty or while driving or flying? How can that be an assumption? Do these people truly believe every single insulin diabetic will have one or many lows in their diabetic lifetime while working? I can totally understand their reasoning, but who is to say they will have a low while on duty?

[Vanessa102]

As a type 1 diabetic myself, I find this rediculis. I have not had a seizure since I was 3, I haven't been above 275 for nearly a month and I can't even remember the last time I was low because I take care of myself and I actually pay attention to my body. I always wanted to be a police officer, but my dreams were crushed when I was told I can't because of the people who don't take care of themselves. I think this should be a person-to-person type of thing, since those of us who actually want to make something of ourselves deserve to be able to follow out dreams, and I very well intend to fight this.

[100livelife]

This is almost my exact life story; however, I only got diagnosed a year ago (currently 18), and I'm a female.  I just want to be happy.

[Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE]

Those who issue licenses are the ones who have the right to exclude anyone who may be harmful to himself or others.  As a type-1 myself, I agree that it would be best to assess each person individually.  However, as a parent, I understand completely the need to keep potentially unsafe individuals from operating the kind of machinery that might accidentally kill someone else.

[msmyth20]

Who ever told you he can't be a cop is lying or misinformed... I'm a type 1 diabetic and in the process of joining the Boston Police Department in a few years and pursuing S.W.A.T. as a sniper (all things they told me I was NOT disqualified for b/c of my illness...). I've also spoken with government intelligence agencies about becoming a field agent and all they said was get a Master's degree with class time in courses that are geared towards intelligence and get experience...  It's possible. You just have to be willing to work for it. Having bad sugar numbers will hurt you both medically and in searching for a career... I was diagnosed in 08' and my life's dream was to be a marine sharpshooter... and I was a damn good shot at 13. It destroyed me for a few years but I got a grip and got over it. whining about it does nothing but weaken you... My goal now? to prove to the military that I'm a better shot than EVERY sniper they have and to get on with my life. living in sadness only makes you weak. find a hobby, find an alternative, find a purpose, and you will do great things

[zoom1985]

I agree, but just to clarify, I believe it is only commercial pilot licenses that are not given to people who tak insulin.  I ran into the same thing several times in my life... I did very well on the ASVAB but couldn't be in the military.  Then, I became an accountant and wanted to be an IRS agent with the CID (mostly goes after bigger criminals, such as arms dealers) on financial crimes.  Unfortunately, I didn't qualify to be a federal agent.

[HappyDayz8]

I have had type 1 diabetes for 22 years I am now 26 years old. my blood sugars are extremely controlled i check my blood sugars 6-8 times a day and watch what I eat but this doesn't mean that my blood sugar doesn't drop. any increase of stress or being scared or startled can drop my blood sugar immediately and my brain is no longer working properly basically turning into mush until my sugars return to normal. All this to say that some jobs are just not safe for us to do. Yes it ***** but the beauty of it is that there are so many jobs we can do and live a healthy life. I would never want a type 1 diabetic flying a plane or going to Irak to fight in a war, We already have to live and deal with this horrible disease. Keeping stress levels down and staying out of stressful situations is the best thing to do to keep blood sugars regular.