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Where to go for privately for diabetes advice?

K

KittyKatty

Well-Known Member
Messages
79
Location
Down South
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
There's a private hospital near me although it unfortunately doesn't appear to offer diabetes advice or consultations. I'm driven to the idea of paying for a one-off consultation in the private sector purely so I can get straight all the queries I have that the GP practice have consistently failed to address for me. Many people on here have been extremely helpful but there are still many things I need to know, especially as each person is a little different.

I now realise that going to my GP practice is a waste of time. I took a whole day off work (I work miles from home) to see the GP because the "diabetic nurse" told me so little. It was only when I went online I realised how poor and slap-dash her advice is. The GP was no better. He kept trying to persuade me to go back and see the diabetic nurse for all this advice. I told him why I was forced to seek his help but still he clung to the idea that she was the best person.

I worry that if I stand my ground and refuse to accept any more fob offs that I'll be labelled a difficult and disruptive patient.

So the only choice is to go private. Does anyone know of any good clinics in the south of England?
 
Where abouts in the South are you @KittyKatty ? We have good Nuffield Hospitals in Dorset. and Hampshire

Your experiences with your GP and DN are familiar to many of the members here (although I seem to be an exception). Are you sure you can't get answers from this forum?
 
I rather suspect that by going private, you will get much the same answers or not, as with the NHS. The reason for this is that the HCP's are NHS trained, and mostly still work within the NHS. You could certainly try, but it may be an expensive disappointment :(

Before you go down that route, how about starting threads that ask specific questions that you want answers to, and see what other's have to offer from the perspective of experience ?

Good luck whatever way you choose to go, it's a shame that you can't get the information you need from those who are supposed to provide it:(


Signy
 
I don't live in the south of England, but you could do some research for yourself. It's worth mentioning though, that you need a referral from your GP to the consultant.

If you look up your local hospital, or any hospital for that matter, you should be able to find a list of consultants, then filter by "Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine, that should return the available consultants. http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Hospital/LocationSearch/8/Departments The same applies for private hospitals.

If information is all you are after, you might get away with one meeting, with the chosen one, but in all likelyhood, the consultant would want bloods or other tests in order to make informed statements.

Have you tried asking the forum your most pressing questions, or are they too personal?
 
No, they're not personal I'm just wary of driving people on this board nuts with questions! Also, some questions can't be answered generally, every one has different needs and body chemistry.

Such as:

I've started using a treadmill. However, googling today revealed that even for Type 2's, blood sugar should be monitored before and after exercise. What are acceptable levels before and after exercise? What are the right times between meals to exercise? Is it possible for a Type 2 to have a hypo if they are on Metformin and they exercise a little too much? What is a little too much?
 
Well, I'm a Type1 so not really able to answer that fully, I'm sure the others will though! :)

Signy
 
KittyKatty said:
No, they're not personal I'm just wary of driving people on this board nuts with questions! Also, some questions can't be answered generally, every one has different needs and body chemistry.

Such as:

I've started using a treadmill. However, googling today revealed that even for Type 2's, blood sugar should be monitored before and after exercise. What are acceptable levels before and after exercise? What are the right times between meals to exercise? Is it possible for a Type 2 to have a hypo if they are on Metformin and they exercise a little too much? What is a little too much?
Click to expand...
I'm T2 as well.
The research I did indicated
1) don't exercise if sugars are above 9 or below 5 ( unless you eat something to bring them up)
2) T2 don't get hypos unless on sulfonureas or insulin
Hope that helps
 
KittyKatty said:
No, they're not personal I'm just wary of driving people on this board nuts with questions! Also, some questions can't be answered generally, every one has different needs and body chemistry.

Such as:

I've started using a treadmill. However, googling today revealed that even for Type 2's, blood sugar should be monitored before and after exercise. What are acceptable levels before and after exercise? What are the right times between meals to exercise? Is it possible for a Type 2 to have a hypo if they are on Metformin and they exercise a little too much? What is a little too much?
Click to expand...

Asking lots of questions is the role of the new person. We've all done it.

I'll answer as best I can.

Personally, I don't test before and after exercising unless I feel "off". I did a bit in the early doors, and to paraphrase what I learned; I learned that if I exercise gently, like a stroll, a floaty swim or a gentle bike ride, after 10 or 15 minutes, my bloods will drop. Conversely, if the exercise is vigorous, in whatever form, my bloods rise, for a short while.

I can't think there is a great deal of difference between we T2s and the general population in terms of when to exercise, in relation to food. Too soo after and you may feel light headed or sick, but that's life everyone else. Right before eating diminishes the appetite. When I exercise, unless it's a gentle stroll, I need an hour before I then eat.

Too much exercise? That will depend on your starting point. Are you fit already, or are you very new to exercise? You need to be sensible, and exercise moderately, until your tolerance to exercise rises, with your fitness. A personal trainer might be more helpful here?

It is possible for T2s, or indeed a healthy person to hypo, even on no medication. For T2s and "healthy" people, whilst hypos can occur, they are unlikely to be sever enough to cause serious medical concern. Our bodies are very clever, and there is a process in our livers which acts as a rescue mechanism in a hypo. T1s don't have this functionality, or don't have it to effective levels.

I have never had a hypo. I have felt very empty, and have had very low blood scores. When I have felt like that, I just have a cup of tea or something very simple, just to nudge my bloods up a bit. I don't reach for the jelly babies or the like.

But, you hit the nail on the head when you suggested we're all different. You need to make friends with your meter, and if you don't have one, get one, and start a testing regime.

There is lots and lots and lots of valuable information on this forum, so use the search facility and ask questions here. By their nature, I think you would get limited value from a private consultation, and might be better using that money to fund your testing for a while, or seeing a personal trainer who may not have diabetes experience, but will be used to guiding people through beginning and building up exercise in a safe and structured way.
 
badcat said:
I'm T2 as well.
The research I did indicated
1) don't exercise if sugars are above 9 or below 5 ( unless you eat something to bring them up)
2) T2 don't get hypos unless on sulfonureas or insulin
Hope that helps
Click to expand...

Blimey - If one shouldn't exercise below 5, I could only exercise immediately after eating.
 
Save your money on the consultant and ask your questions on the Diet, Sport and Exercise forum here, @KittyKatty or work with a personal trainer for a while or have a free induction with one at a gym. I worked with a personal trainer for 6 months who is also a nutritionist and it was incredibly useful. She monitored everything for me, including testing for Vit D deficiency. Its a much better use of your money at this stage.
 
KittyKatty said:
I've started using a treadmill. However, googling today revealed that even for Type 2's, blood sugar should be monitored before and after exercise. What are acceptable levels before and after exercise? What are the right times between meals to exercise? Is it possible for a Type 2 to have a hypo if they are on Metformin and they exercise a little too much? What is a little too much?
Click to expand...

If I am going to exercise then I prefer it to be fairly soon after a meal since (I go for a walk) activity brings down my sugar so the exercise helps to keep the level in check. Because of this, if I were to check, it would probably be before the meal and two hours after eating having done the walk.

If you haven't eaten then it might be a good idea to check before exercise in case you are a little low. My DN says that even people without diabetes can go a bit hypo.

In my case Metformin never made any difference to anything. If it lowered my BS then I was unable to detect this and when I stopped taking it there was no change so I never saw it as a factor in exercising.

What is a little too much exercise?

Again I quote DN who says that road diggers and marathon runners can eat what they like and indeed marathon runners have a pasta party the night before the race.

In all things keeping your levels between 4 and 8.5 should be aimed for. Many people see the 8.5 to be too high and they aim for a lower figure. It's just that NICE chose 8.5 and it is the only official target for two hours after eating.
 
In my opinion the advice you get on this site from real people who have experienced real problems will outweigh any advice you pay for from one person who probably only has theoretical knowledge of the condition.

On this site you will get a range of answers which will polarise down to the answers you need.

Start asking away and if you feel unhappy then you can look at paying for advice.

jim
 
There has been one example on this forum, so it's far from common
Metformin hypo is possible with a starvation type diet, but it's not a insulin hypo that you coma.
You just feel a bit shakey etc

But for someone that's inactive, to start with is a stroll on the walking machine for fitness
If you want to drop weight and get your BG blood glucose right. A lot are doing a lchf diet
 
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