My mother, bless her heart, wanted to make sure her sick with diabetes son had some level of comfort as I go through my day. I’ve given up trying to explain the level of my condition, which is at the early stages of the disease. I’m concerned, of course, but at the moment I don’t need to take insulin shots and while my glucose levels aren’t great (still hovering in the 200 range) I don’t have fainting attacks, fatigue or other things that might slow me down.

Working against me are the relatives I have with diabetes who are now subject to losing limbs and eyesight. My mother’s sister had been under two operations to remove parts of her foot in the past two months and is scheduled to get her foot amputated in the next week or two. My father was recently, within the last two years, diagnosed with diabetes and my mother has been on him hard the past few years to get his health better. I understand why my mother would be concerned about me but something that bothers me is how she will disregard what I have to say about my health. To clarify, I’m not at the point where I feel I’m falling apart but my mother, obviously moved by other family members, is so concerned about my health it becomes an oppressive subject of conversation.

I wanted to set the scene because what just happened to me is a reason why people have a distrust of the health care system. A few months ago I got some socks, just regular crew socks, and while I was at the store I looked at the diabetic socks. I couldn’t tell the difference in the socks, except the diabetic seemed to be made of thinner material. What I hated was the price of the socks. I got 10 pair of socks for $7 while two pair of the diabetic socks were $9. The sleek styled church Sunday socks looked like a better bargain than the diabetic socks. I talked to my mother a few days later and I complained about the price of the socks. I talked about the socks just for conversation.

Two weeks ago, out of the blue, my mother said she was watching Dr. Oz (note to anyone, when my mother watches Dr. Oz, she gets ideas that she will try to make integral to my life. I can’t stand Dr. Oz) and she had ordered some socks for me because she wanted me to be healthy. I knew there wasn’t a way to discuss this with her, such as saying I didn’t need the socks or that the socks probably were too expensive.

I got the socks today and looked them up online to see what the cost was. My mother got six pairs of socks for $20. By diabetic sock standards I guess it is a bargain but in the real sock world it seems pretty pricy to me. The difference between diabetic socks and regular socks is the binding on the diabetic socks are looser so circulation doesn’t get pinched where the sock ends. I normally buy slightly larger socks so I don’t get a binding issue. I put on the diabetic socks and they are thin. I would almost stay they are constructed faulty but that is how they’re supposed to be. I can’t see those socks lasting a couple of washings before being torn apart.

So while I’m grateful to my mother for getting the socks, I wish she hadn’t because the cost of the socks is much more than the use they will have. It like the test strips and other things associated with medical conditions; because companies know you have to have it they charge you a lot more for the product. I’m not sure how crew socks that in a pack of 10 can cost $7 but socks that are thinner and looser on the foot can be marked up so 6 can cost $20.