When we were D-newbies, we had to familiarize ourselves with a bevy of words that previously held little or no meaning for us. What are these “ketones,” and why are they bad for me? How exactly do I pronounce “microalbumin?” Isn’t “lente” a kind of soup? “Reagent” was anybody’s guess.

Some familiar words, like carbohydrate, suddenly gained importance. For other words, you had to learn altogether new and very different definitions. Simple terms like “high,” "low," "complications," "honeymoon," and “exchange” took an unsuspecting (and not-so-simple) command of the lexicon. Until then, the neighbor’s trouble-maker son was a “juvenile,” and “rebound” was something done by men named Chamberlain, Russell, and Kareem. Even “regular” changed positions in the vernacular.

More recently, as those of us using pump therapy can attest, terms like “basal,” “bolus,” “occlusion,” and “cannula” now require our attention. In the old days, “rewind” was something you did before you went back to Blockbuster.

And then there were all those acronyms. It could have started when your GP or PCP ordered an FBS or an OGTT to confirm your DX of DM. For people with IDDM, the ADA said your CDE would teach you about NPH, R, and MDI, and how they affect your BS or BG. Folks with NIDDM heard all about OHAs. All of us, including LADAs, were told to keep our A1c below, or as close as possible to, 7%. Your doctor’s PA said that DKA is to be avoided, or soon an EMT will drive you to the ER. Because the DCCT showed that tight control was worth the effort, an RDN talked about your diet and your BMI. Today, some of us keep it all together with a CGMS.

But for me, one word has lurked in the shadows of diabetes since my diagnosis. It was used by the doctors, lab techs, nurses, dieticians, and pharmacists. It was defined on the pages of the books they gave me to read, and it was used in describing the horrific cases of diabetics for whom control was unreachable.

The word is “brittle.” It conjures a picture of something easily broken, and that once broken, might be glued or patched, but will never again be of the same original strength or quality.

Next post, I’ll write a few thoughts on brittle diabetes.

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Thanks to everyone who sent in the correct answer to the brain teaser in the last post. The question was: what nine-letter word in the English language contains just one vowel? The letter “y” is not in the word, and the vowel appears only once.

The answer: STRENGTHS.