Evidence of meeting #123 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was insulin.
A recording is available from Parliament.
As an Individual
The world health, yes. The paradigm is really interesting.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
I know there are gaps that exist. I just want to ask everyone how we can fill that gap on what the federal government cannot do. We need to have, as you said, programs such as RAMP. Municipalities have to come in on that too, and provincial governments have to share the responsibilities as well.
Can you explain how we can fill those gaps and how we can reduce that stigma out there?
As an Individual
I think one of the things I'd like to see is a recognition of—I don't know how to put this politically correctly—ethnicity. I'm French Canadian. You guys all know that, but I'm also native. I eat a little differently from other people. When I go to the nutritionist at the clinic, they're this big. They eat two apples and an orange and that's it. That's their life. They don't understand that I like poutine, and I like pattes de cochon and I like meat pie. I was raised on venison and various other things. They just don't understand.
I spent 43 years trying to adapt myself to their box. They've never recognized the Métis in me. They never have. They've never taken the time to say.... I'm in English Canada really in southern Ontario. It's a constant struggle.
As an Individual
We need everyone, all levels of government, to actually work together to help us work together better too and recognize that even though.... You have three people here who are all living with diabetes, but we're all different people and our diabetes impacts us differently. Even though we have the exact same condition, our lives are impacted differently by it.
We make different choices. We have different hormones, and that's the thing. Even the doctors don't always grasp it. Insulin is a hormone that your body normally produces. When you have something else going on, that hormone imbalance impacts your diabetes, and I've had to tell doctors that. There are gaps in education.
I brought that up with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario at a meeting at the beginning of the month. I was fortunate enough to be invited to that. I'm always bringing up where I'm able that there needs to be more education. Nurses get maybe a day if we're lucky. Not enough time is spent on education. There are researchers out there. Why aren't they being embraced, and used and taught. Let's put the shame away.
As an Individual
We did not do anything. You have examples here of three women who are strong, independent ladies. We are fighting all the time. Why are we getting harassed when we go in for something that's not diabetes-related and being told, “Oh, well, it's just your diabetes”?
As an Individual
You get chemo and they say, “We'll worry about the diabetes later.” I'm thinking that I'm not even 36 here.
As an Individual
Right. It's together. We need to be treated as a whole person. This disease encompasses every aspect of our lives. It's 24-7. I did not know I had anxiety until I got my first sensor.
As an Individual
She brought me in this morning. I'm freaking on Sparks Street.
As an Individual
These are things that we're being impacted by, and it's not recognized and being treated as if all of these things connect together. I find it odd that I, as a 43-year-old lady who has no medical training, recognize that every part of my body impacts the other. I'm terrified to go for my next blood work because my A1C is not going to be where I want it to be because I've just had major mental health issues. I saw the impacts. I felt horrible.
This is how bad it is, right? I'm now stressing and hard on myself, and I don't want to go to get that next blood work, because it is not going to be where I want it to be. To me, that just gives that physician the right to say, “You've done this to yourself. You've brought it on yourself. Look at what you did. You didn't have control. How dare you?”
Well, you know what? I was trying. I didn't have my sensor. I was suffering from depression and anxiety. I have PTSD. It all has an impact on me. I'm trying, but I can't do it. I need my city, my province and everyone to work together to help me get the resources that I need because I live in the middle of nowhere.
Diabetes Advocate, Diabetes Canada
I empathize with your concerns. It's frustrating because the tools are there. They're readily available for the physicians.
A doctor told me once, “I love it when you come in, Karen”, because I tell her all sorts of things about diabetes. When I first moved to Toronto, I went to a physician. I told her I have diabetes, and she said, “No, sorry. I won't see you. You'll have to find someone else.” I said that I'm only here for a year and I understand diabetes. I won't be high maintenance; I just need a doctor if I have a cold or something. She said, “No, I won't take you.”
One doctor told me she loves it when I come in because she learns about diabetes. I said that there's all these conferences you can go to and there's literature, but she doesn't have time.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
We have to go to Mr. Masse now for the final question.
Welcome to our committee.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm sorry that I'm switching with Mr. Aubin. I had a bridge issue—people know me around here as the building person.
Before, when I had a real job, I was a PSW. I used to work on behalf of persons with disabilities as an employment specialist. We recently had a juvenile diabetes group lobby the Hill here. One of the things was the disability tax credit. What's interesting about that was in 2002, when I arrived here, it was to be cut by the Treasury Board at that time. John Manley was the finance minister who was being advised to cut it. We ran a long campaign with Malcolm Jeffries, who has passed away by now. He was wonderful. We were able to stop it.
Can you highlight the difficulty about the disability tax credit? Even saving it from being cut, it really doesn't cover very much of your costs. Could you especially connect that to how that type of access and resources for prevention could be really worthwhile for our health care system, where we'll make more money—let alone the ethics of doing the right thing—with a little bit more support for people to be preventative in their daily and working lives?
As an Individual
Prevention is the total key.
Having a CGM pump for myself, I don't ever have to go to the hospital. I did once, right when I first got my pump. Because I knew so much, they said, “Okay, we're going to stick the IV in you because yes, you're dehydrated and you need that,” but they spent no time on me. They just said, “There you go. We'll take it out when you're done.”
Since then, I have not been in the hospital because I am working my butt off to keep myself...but it costs. If you've been watching me, how many times have I looked at this thing and actually made changes to the insulin that's going into my body because I'm going low and trying to prevent it? Prevention is everything.
I call it little money and you guys look at it as big. I look at it as it's a little money up front to save a whole heck of a lot of money down the road. I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy when my daughter was two and a half and she's now almost 17. By rights, I should probably have had an amputation by now.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
We had one person from my riding, Angelia Lapico, 14 years of age, who is now becoming an advocate. It seems a little rough to turn a 14-year-old into an advocate and champion at that age. It's very inspiring, but at the same time....
As an Individual
It's a need. We have to. As Karen was saying, we're educating our doctors on a daily basis.
As an Individual
My mom is type 2 and I've actually had to go in with her and fight with her doctor to change her insulin. I shouldn't have to be telling the doctor how to do his job so that my mom can have the same level of control that I do. I was looking at hers, and I said, “Mom, this is not good. There is something better out there”, but the doctor was not comfortable with that something better—
As an Individual
—and refused, but I have that education. I had him previously and thought I had trained him. I gave him lots of books to read, talked to him, but he wasn't comfortable so he refused.
As an Individual
I think with the tax credit, the doctors are really afraid to fill them out. They're very complex. They're not clear, and they have this 14-hour rule that if you have to do more than 14 hours a week.... Well, it's 24-7, 365 days. We're constantly checking.
I don't have pumps or anything because I can't afford that, so I have to use ye olde test strips, but I'm like a criminal. I couldn't even get fingerprints because there's nothing left of mine.