Thank Goodness for Being Informed!

[Bluenosesol]

Hi guys,

My daughter is a Community Nurse. When she worked on the local renal unit, she said that half of the kidney failure dialysis patients were diabetics. She recalled a couple of diabetics in conversation, both had amputations, one was blind and each had pre-treatment bg's in the twenties. During the treatment. they whiled away the time munching bags of chocolates and sweets.
A colleague of mine who is not diabetic but has kidney failure told me a similar story, that approximately half of the dialysis patients he knew were diabetic and he met a chap, a diabetic, who had both legs amputated, yet claimed he had never heard of HBA1C. The mind boggles - we have a long way to go to spread the word!!

All the best - Steve

 

[DazG]

Shocking!

Maybe we are the new wave of diabetics and through knowledge and learning from sites such as this we can make the difference needed for the future generations

 

[viviennem]

This strikes a chord with something I've been idly mulling over in the last few weeks.

Diabetics are more prone to coronary heart disease, strokes, kidney failure - etc. etc.

These conclusions are generally worked out statistically. So - are we really more prone to those conditions, or is it that the diabetics who don't take control - like the dialysis patients you mention, eating sweets and chocolates - or the ones who aren't diagnosed until very late, when they may already have those conditions, are skewing the statistics against us?

Is there something about diabetes that will lead to those conditions despite good control, healthy diet and plenty of exercise? Or is it that the diabetics who have had those conditions and become part of the statistics have lived a lifestyle that would have heightened the risk in non-diabetics?

Alway excepting those people who have the diseases for other reasons - I am absolutely NOT saying that everyone who has (eg) CHD has led a bad lifestyle!

Can anyone point me in the direction of the answers?

Viv

 

[phoenix]

You might find a start to finding some answers,( and probably more questions ) by looking at the UKPDS
summary here:
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/conten ... 1/s28.full

 

[Patch]

Some good points there, Viv. The question really is - how many diabetics RE well controlled? I suppose that those of us that are pro-active (ie - on forums, asking questions, doing research, testing, etc...) are in the minority.

I'd imagine most people just go to the Doctors every 6 months, and wait for their doses to be increased to compensate for their lifestyle.

I swear - when I've been to the Diabetes Unit at my hospital, I've seen diabetics buying hot chocolate and cakes to eat while waiting to see the specialist.

What hope have they got?

 

[viviennem]

That is a very interesting article, Phoenix - thanks!

I've read it through quickly, and the first point that leaped out was that they had very little incidence of kidney problems in their study group, which they put down to tight bg control.

The heart disease/stroke etc complications also seemed not to be great if tight control was maintained.

The neuropathy/eye problems seemed to be significantly decreased with tight control.

The conclusions in the last paragraph, that patients, whether Type 1or Type 2, should be encouraged to take 'aggressive' control of their bg, is just what's said on here! I think anyone who's having problems with bad attitude, or with getting strips etc, or advice, from their HCPs, should write down that link, give it to the doctor, and say 'read that - please!' (Let's be polite about this!).

I think the answer to my original post might be to the effect that everyone, even non-diabetics, would benefit from tight control of their bg levels! I'm going to study the article thoroughly.

Thanks again, Phoenix!

Viv

As usual, Patch - I agree with you :lol: ! I cannot understand how people can NOT take an interest in managing their diabetes. As far as I'm concerned, it's a challenge. The fact that so many people don't take control makes me think even more that instead of not mentioning that we have it, we should go out and shout it from the roof tops. Information is power!

When I was first diagnosed, there were 141 registered diabetics in my practice (I'm 142!). Now, this is a large area/small population practice, but given the demographics, I would expect there to be at least 500 of us out there - possibly more. Why aren't we screening?

Viv

 

[noblehead]

The importance of keeping good blood glucose can never be said enough, but other factors are equally important- i.e normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, a well balanced diet, physical exercise, not smoking and consuming alcohol in moderation are just a few of the things we need to observe to help keep diabetic complications at bay, however at the end of the day there are still no guarantees and some things are out of our hands.

Nigel

 

[Summermum]

It's great having this site to encourage me to tackle my diabetes in the way that I feel is right my husband and friends think I'm being a bit dramatic testing my blood glucose especially as the practice nurse told me not to.
It seems a no brained at running blood sugars high must contribute to complications so therefore good control must reduce them.
I'm lucky that I was able to get my bm test strips on prescription as I asked in a way that didn't really given an option to deny me!
I was also lucky that I read the type 2diabetes first year before any other book as it's informative but never enduringly positive I started an "expert" diabetes book but have abandoned it as it was too depressing and full of blame.
Being informed to take control is definitely the way forward.

 

[Bluenosesol]

Continuing with the theme, we bumped into an old friend who was out with her mother. We were sat in a Cafe which had a varied menu and I was enjoying a chicken salad.Our friend was embarrassed when we noted that her mother was eating nothing but a large plate of chips with red sauce. She advised us that her mother was T2 diabetic and her gp had told her she should eat lots of starchy carbohydrates and hence she lived on chips, which was ideal as her mother loved them and our friend did not have to worry about making sure her mother ate healthily!!.
As for stats, a large proportion of diabetics will never suffer significantly from complications. If we can make sure we sit in the top 10%, then we will be fine! My GP has 405 diabetics and the dn informed me that I am their star diabetic based on results, I am no different to my fellows on this forum


All the best - Steve

 

[annettekp]

I'm a fitness instructor and in the gym last night over heard a type 2 diabetic say she had to go to the nurse to get her blood sugar checked. She then described how she had been feeling and it sounded like she was having hypos but didn't realise - I sent her away with a promise to go back to the GP. Her friend just shook her head and said she knew how important it was to keep an eye on your blood sugar so her husband made a point of testing his every ... Sunday.

I really wish all diabetics were given the right information and the right advice on treatment.

 

[ShyGirl]

 

[Unbeliever]

I couldn't agree more Shyirl. The advice is not only confusing but current advice tends to be "leave it all to us". I think that it is set to get worse as GP's will be tempted to leave more to the DSNs to avid having to spend time arguing with patients abou test strips etc.
Even when you realise hat you have been given the wrong advice or that you are given no advice at all it is difficult to find your way.
This is very understandable . My sister was diagnosed years ago. She hads thyroid and BP problems but as she is not on any meds her diabetes is never menioned,
I had no symtoms either and fear that if she suddenly needs medication it will affect her as it did me- bringt on complications. She firmly believes that diabetes is in most cases a fairly mild disease which can be controlled by a few tablets. She has been confirmed in this view as her partner was diagnosed T2 last year. No meter ,no info..
She thinks I was making an unnecessary fuss wih my daily testing and my bad reaction to Metformin- her partner was given the Modified release metformin immediately.
I suppose there is the temptaion for those put on medication immediately to assume that the professionals have it all in hand and its best left to them - particularly if hey are not overweight.
I do wonder who was consulted about changes o the treament odf diabetics. Things seem o go from one extreme to the other.