I know, I know. Three posts in a row and then I'm MIA for 2 weeks. Fast out of the blogging gates until burn out sets in.

Well, not exactly, anyway.

I have a new job. Which, quite unfairly, has been USURPING all of my time. (Even my cooking time, which really irks me.) I feel for all you folks who work 9-5 jobs. You have my complete respect. Getting up every single day and going to work is, well, exhausting. Before you think I'm a completely lazy piece of crap, let me explain.

For the past 9 years, I've worked a 12 hour shift. Which meant I only had to go IN three days a week. Blessed heaven. Four days a week to call my own. I'd honestly happily work a 16 hour shift in a day if it meant I only had to wake up early two days a week. Unfortunately, the "orientation process" is a five day-a-week, 8 hour day thing. And I think it might be killing me. :)

So all that blabber was really just a diversion from my real post. Being in a new work environment, I'm struggling with the "When to tell the coworkers about your diabetes" issue. I do feel like it's important that the people I work with know, but I'm not sure I'm ready to tell them. We are in that crucial feeling-each-other-out stage..... They are wondering, "Is she a hard worker? Is she lazy? Does she find excuses not to do things?" And yes, it is only my third day. Health care workers are notorious for eating their young, including the new folks in an institution. And again, yes, they DO make judgments that quickly. 5 minutes too long on lunch your first week, and you will forever be branded as a slacker. So if you bring out the diabetes card too early, it can have an effect on those judgments. "She uses her blood sugar as an excuse to get out of a room she doesn't like, or to go to lunch early...." Or worse - management starts doubting your ability and personal judgment in your job because of your diabetes. (That has never happened to me, thankfully. I hope it never does... but I don't want to take chances, either.) I like to establish myself as a good worker, a team player, a knowledgeable and trustworthy employee before dealing with any of the assumptions and misinformation surrounding diabetes. And when I do let the cat out of the bag, it is usually only to one person at a time, on a need to know basis - usually that does the trick. (Gossip about ANYTHING in a hospital travels fast.) And I try to be sneaky about it. I'll actually wear my medical ID - which I'm not great about doing at other times. I'll pull out my pump during lunch to program in a bolus. Things that aren't in your face but people sometimes notice. On the other hand, the worst possible way to introduce people to your diabetes - testing in front of them. Then I get a bevy of "You're doing that here?" looks, intrusive questions about what the number on the screen is or means, and stories of, "My grandmother had that and lost her leg...." But that is just my own experience. Should I care what they say? No, of course not. My health is more important than those misconceptions. Does it bother me? Uh, yeah. (Try listening to someone tell you about gruesome things that could happen to you, and then try to feel nice and neighborly toward them.) Maybe I am just being too sensitive about the whole thing. Or just way too type-A, trying to direct the introduction of a large part of my life. I don't actually mind having the conversation with people or teaching them about what life with this disease is really about - I just need to do it on my turf.

What do you think? Is it worse NOT to tell people right away? Am I just being touchy? How do you introduce things you are sensitive about to new people?