• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Going It Alone

I've never been aggressive to any medical staff. I've been honest to my depriment at times but I cannot say the honesty is reciprocal from some nurses. GPs don't lie to me but diet is the excuse for when some just don't know the answers. I've exercised all my life, even low level when in pain. If I tell any medic some wouldn't believe me because I'm morbidly obese. I've eaten none sugary carbs for decades. Now less carbs but not very low carb.
Like I've always said I don't feel safe 'going alone' on very low carb eating. I get dizzy, palpatations and chest pains but my thyroid and diabetes likes it. I even lose weight on insulin. I'm not going alone, I'd be silly to risk my life with 2 young kids at trying to turn around my health alone. Now I know only low carb helps my thyroid and diabetes.
Ive done my best and gone as far as I can without blood tests to perfect my health. Most GPS haven't the resources for me to 'go alone' safely.

Maybe they need to set up low carb clinics in GP practices so blood tests can cover insufficiencies, deficiencies and full treatment for metabolic disorders.
Disorders GPs don't understand so need specialist assistance in supporting GP's patients. Like asthma etc...
 
Boo1979 said:
Ive been on the site long enough to have seen how GP’s and other HCPs who declare their profession are sometimes treated by members and am not remotely surprised that few do so.
I remember David Unwin ( aka Stockport GP) being accused of being a troll and / or a fraud by some members when he first started posting on the site
Click to expand...

I rather think that should be Southport.
 
prancer53 said:
I had one consultant who said to me, as I walked in, "you think you know more about diabetes than I do but I know more about the science of it....." -----I hadn't even opened my mouth......where did he get that idea from.....?
Click to expand...

At least with a consultant unlike GP, it is very possible they do. On any single condition unless a GP has a specialist interest in it, I can learn more then they are likely to know within a few days/weeks of study.
 
bulkbiker said:
I just think that unlike most HCP’s he had the humility to realise he could learn something from the people here.
Click to expand...
But the assumption when he started posting on the site was that he was at best an ignorant HCP and at worst a Troll ( or was that best / worst assumption the other way round).
Either way the assumptions and behaviour of some passionate low carbers and his resulting treatment on the forum were disgraceful and Im not convinced that much has changed that would prevent the same thing happening to another HCP
 
Boo1979 said:
But the assumption when he started posting on the site was that he was at best an ignorant HCP and at worst a Troll ( or was that best / worst assumption the other way round).
Either way the assumptions and behaviour of some passionate low carbers and his resulting treatment on the forum were disgraceful and Im not convinced that much has changed that would prevent the same thing happening to another HCP
Click to expand...

One of our Mods is a retired HCP. As far as I have seen, this Mod is treated with the same respect due to all who frequent this forum.
 
The correct user name for Dr David Unwin on this forum is @Southport GP (I usually forget the space, when tagging or searching for him).

And if anyone wishes, they can look back and see exactly how he was received by forumites. Simply click on his profile, and look at his posts. There are nearly 200 of them, so they are available to view. Having just done this for the first thread he posted on, I was interested to notice that the posters were polite and welcoming, except for one, who (contrary to claims made above) was most definitely not an enthusiastic low carber, and who has since been banned (as shown by the strikethrough of the user name).

Sweeping generalisations are rarely helpful, whether they are about forumites, people with specific ways of eating, or health care professionals.
 
Last edited:
Boo1979 said:
But the assumption when he started posting on the site was that he was at best an ignorant HCP and at worst a Troll ( or was that best / worst assumption the other way round).
Either way the assumptions and behaviour of some passionate low carbers and his resulting treatment on the forum were disgraceful and Im not convinced that much has changed that would prevent the same thing happening to another HCP
Click to expand...
I didn't see any disgraceful behaviour from passionate low carbers, just from the 'fat is bad' group (well foursome really) who used to ruin every decent discussion about LCHF on here. The only person that I know who actually said he was a troll was certainly not an LCHF follower. Of course I may have missed a lot of it because I was only lurking occasionally back then.

There is a big difference between someone who is 'ignorant' because they don't know everything but who is willing to listen and learn and someone who insists that they are right, even though the evidence points to them being wrong. All doctors will be ignorant in some areas of health care. I respect those who realise this and join forums and listen to the patients. I don't respect someone who tells me I have been forgetting to write things in my food diary because I haven't lost weight on whatever useless diet they put me on for the last 2 weeks. Respect is a two way street. To my mind the professional needs to show respect for the patient first, since they are the ones getting paid to help us.
 
Guzzler said:
One of our Mods is a retired HCP. As far as I have seen, this Mod is treated with the same respect due to all who frequent this forum.
Click to expand...

As am I, although from the child mental health specialism rather than physical health
I see some comments made on the site re HCP’s that make me cringe - generalised references to HCP’s as being ignorant, ill informed etc etc etc are uncalled for and demeaning to the site.
I think its fine to highlight personal experience of an ignorant etc HCP, but not to then make generalised criticism of all Docs / nurses
 
Boo1979 said:
As am I, although from the child mental health specialism rather than physical health
I see some comments made on the site re HCP’s that make me cringe - generalised references to HCP’s as being ignorant, ill informed etc etc etc are uncalled for and demeaning to the site.
I think its fine to highlight personal experience of an ignorant etc HCP, but not to then make generalised criticism of all Docs / nurses
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of sweeping generalisations myself, either. I certainly wouldn't group together a number of people who happen to have had a measure of success with a particular lifestyle change and then comment that all of them have a negative characteristic not pertaining to diet.
 
Boo1979 said:
As am I, although from the child mental health specialism rather than physical health
I see some comments made on the site re HCP’s that make me cringe - generalised references to HCP’s as being ignorant, ill informed etc etc etc are uncalled for and demeaning to the site.
I think its fine to highlight personal experience of an ignorant etc HCP, but not to then make generalised criticism of all Docs / nurses
Click to expand...
As I'm sure the mods will remind you .. if you see something bad then report it... Generalisations don't help anyone ..
 
Boo1979 said:
generalised references to HCP’s as being ignorant, ill informed
Click to expand...
I have seen comments where people have discussed their specific issues with their specific HCP's, when HCP's have behave and spoken in an ill informed, ignorant way, including saying the patients are lying.

I have seen comments where the training has been referred to as ignorant and ill informed - which it is.

it works both ways. If my DN calls me a liar, and tells me to eat carbs, despite me showing her evidence, and seeing the evidence in my blood tests, its not me who is ignorant and ill informed.
 
I suspect that for every poster here there are ten or more people who don't research, or don't want to stick to, what initially looks like, a "scary" lifestyle change. When I had a chat to my GP about not offering LCHF as a lifestyle change to patients newly diagnosed with T2, he was very clear in his response. His view was that most patients don't stick to the lifestyle change and seek a quick fix, in the form of tablets.

My brother in law falls into this category, he is ill informed, doesn't carry out his own research, and believe that the meds he is on will solve all his problems. There is absolutely no desire to find a way to come off meds.

I am not defending GP's and HCP's because their approach leads patients to believe that meds are the answer but I do believe that patients need to research their conditions......and yes I understand that may not always be possible.

My father is on dialysis because he was prescribed medication for high blood pressure that was 10 times the dosage he actually needed......so I double check anything I am advised by HCP's.
 
Last edited:
TonyHancock said:
am not defending GP's and HCP's because their approach leads patients to believe that meds are the answer but I do believe that patients need to research their conditions......and yes I understand that may not always be possible.
Click to expand...
I agree. It isn't always possible and some patients simply want to be told what to do. I think some also have too much respect for what the doctor advises and therefore don't ask about all the options. It has been mentioned that there is a lack of respect for HCPs on this thread, but having too much respect and not doing your own research is just as bad, if not worse. They don't have all the answers and they don't know us very well. They can't possibly know us with just 10 minute appointments, half of which is spent on recapping what was said last time.
 
ringi said:
At least with a consultant unlike GP, it is very possible they do. On any single condition unless a GP has a specialist interest in it, I can learn more then they are likely to know within a few days/weeks of study.
Click to expand...
......but to be so defensive & over assertive as well as accusatory towards me....all I did was to walk into his office, I had never met the man previously......very strange behaviour, I think
 
prancer53 said:
......but to be so defensive & over assertive as well as accusatory towards me....all I did was to walk into his office, I had never met the man previously......very strange behaviour, I think
Click to expand...
It may be his personality. Nothing about you personally. He may talk to his family the same way. Not everyone knows how to talk to people well. Unfortunately.
Are you tempted to change Dr's?
 
Back
Top