At 13 years old you would have been accompanied by a parent or other family member, what did they say when the consultant said this? It's a horrible thing to say and totally unnecessary
Noblehead, when I was diagnosed I was in hospital for 3 weeks. The consultant usually came around during the day and my family visited in the evening. When he telephoned my folks, he told them exactly the same thing. We didn't know anyone else who was Diabetic, apart from my paternal grandfather who was diagnosed about 8 months before he died of a heart attack. For all we knew, he could be right!
When I spoke to the nurses, they always said "you have to listen to the doctor, he knows what he is talking about!" My GP said that he had very little knowledge of Diabetes and that the consultant was the one who knew what he was talking about. My breakthrough came when my Mum met a woman who had a T2 diabetic friend living in the UK, who, when he heard about me, subscribed to Balance magazine for me. The first copy arrived shortly after my 15th birthday, and I was amazed.
I have just realised that I never mentioned that this happened in South Africa! Apologies! I live in the UK now.
My mother is still of the opinion that one should never question professionals! I think that they are just like me and put their trousers on one leg at a time! I question everything and everyone until I am satisfied that I have all the information that I need.
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