waste of an afternoon

[vonbon1]

Hya :wave: Well 3 months wait for the "education clinic" what a waste of an afternoon. :roll:
After being told by my nurse that I would be weighed, have hba1c blood test, my feet checked etc, nothing.
just a few people round a table chattering away. There was a chiropodist and a diabetic dietician (as you can imagine she told us that we can eat what we want as long as it's small portions.) not even a diabetic nurse there. a huge "educational" map on the table and a few cards to read from and decide weather it's fact or myth. :roll:

I tried in vain to explain after being told about diabetes uk. that a lot of people say that a low carb diet suits them best.
Well I was told that I shouldn't listen to you, I should eat carbs, the look of shock on the dieticians face when I told her I've lost 2 stones in 2 months and keep my bgs between 5 &6.5 was unreal. I told her it works for me but she wasn't really interested, she said that the NHS guidelines are that we should eat starchy carbs. I told her I'm well aware of your guidelines and quite frankly I disagree. change of subject as quick as you like.

The chiropadist basically only told us about cutting our toe nails, to leave a little bit of growth on them, so that if anything does happen she will have something to work with. :think:


So after an hour & a half I came away feeling like I had wasted an afternoon, haven't been told anything I didn't already learn from the great people on this site.
Trust me! we had to sit in between mr I know it all, and mr I'm gona shout at every opportunity. :lol:

So I'm going to keep doing what I have been doing, I'll lose more weight, get more bgs lower and keep them there and stuff the NHS's "education" clinic PAH

Hope everybodies well.
vonbon

 

[pollybostik]

Oh dear I was told I was type 2 in February and I am booked on my little chat in May. :? After reading about your adventure I feel I am in for a boring afternoon too. I have had such conflicting advice from the experts Like I need to eat 7 to 12 pieces of carb a day eat fruit but not Melon Strawberries oranges never drink orange juice best one not eat after 7 in the evening as this will help with BG and weight loss I work a night shift so that piece of advice as gone out of the window. I have started a low Carb diet 2 weeks ago and so far lost 7 lbs and BG is now down on average at 13 from 27 so I know what advice I will be following.

 

[hanadr]

You might have educated some of them!
Hana

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Isn't it a disgrace that the NHS can provide such appalling and actually harmful advice. It is up to your GP/DN to provide what you expected i.e. HBa1C test, foot check etc. That should be done in the surgery or hospital diabetes clinic. An education clinic is not the same thing and as you found out can be a waste of time provided by 'professionals' who haven't a clue. I think you need to make an appointment to see your DN, insist on setting an appointment for your first or annual diabetes review. Make sure you leave with a bloods form for the phlebotomist. If she won't co-operate then ask to see the GP and if the result is the same then consider changing your GP. The Diabetes UK website provides the list of things you should expect at your first or annual review. Your GP gets paid for your diabetes treatment and needs to deliver on that.

 

[spendercat]

Yes, but be warned. Your diabetic nurse probably will not be any better.
They repeat what they have been tought on courses themselves, and they do not want to hear any arguments from clever clogs patients, who think they know better just because they have low BGs.
The truth is, the only expert on your condition is you. No one else cares about your health as much as you do. They want you to shut up and conform, even if it kills you.
Test, test, test. Eat to the meter.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I have a little parable.

I seemed to have high blood pressure. Every time I visited the surgery it was high and no-one listened to me when I told them it was only high when in the doctor's surgery. My GP got shirty and accused me of denying the scientific evidence. I was sent to the local hospital to be fitted for a harness and a blood pressure monitor which tested every half an hour for 24 hours. I was right because it never recorded a high reading.

A change of focus now to the blood sugar scene. Thousands of us on here take readings day in and day out. We adjust our food intake in accordance with what the meter says. Some of us, like me, are returning low(ish) Hba1c results and weight loss where it is needed.

The NHS continues to tell us to eat starchy carbs with every meal and to eat wholemeal bread etc. My question is ...who is denying the scientific evidence now.

 

[izzzi]

Hi, Vonbon1

This may sound daft, but I bet there was a least one thing you found interesting on your "education clinic" .

On my visit I learned that, "if you have a orange, it is something healthy to eat and drink in one go" as if I did not know.

Seriously I have gained so much from this forum. I just use my local health clinic for accurate results,the staff are all nice yet I am sorry to say "clueless" apart from the Doctor.

Roy.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

The NHS continues to tell us to eat starchy carbs with every meal and to eat wholemeal bread etc. My question is ...who is denying the scientific evidence now.

WholeGRAIN bread I think you'll find Squire, wholemeal is just the same as white bread

And again I disagree with almost every comment on this thread, very low carb diets have been proven to work in the short term, as diabetes is for life and very low carb diets stall on weight loss after 6 to 12 months on average they are not generally recommended by the NHS although many health care professionals are well aware of them.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the advice to eat carbs with every meal and in fact that is exactly what most diabetics do, there is a world of difference between eating loads of carbs and eating a healthy diet.

No one to my knowledge has ever been told that its a good idea to put on weight and for that reason alone no one is going to recommend or even suggest an eat as many carbs as you can diet.

Once again a few people seem to be twisting the NHS advice, which is far from perfect but is at the end of the day just general advice, and diabetes is a very individual condition. So generally it is a good idea to eat carbs with every meal, the amount of carbs one eats is a very personal thing and can depend on many things.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

WholeGRAIN bread I think you'll find Squire, wholemeal is just the same as white bread

Thanks Sid. Since I seem unable to eat anything with flour in it I never bothered to learn the difference.

...and I just got my diet sheet out of the file and it definitely says "Wholemeal"

 

[Yorksman]

I just use my local health clinic for accurate results,the staff are all nice yet I am sorry to say "clueless" apart from the Doctor.

You're in better hands than I am then. My GP told me that he went on a diabetes course which consisted of them going around a supermarket reading the nutritional data on labels. I fear it was an attempt to impress me.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

WholeGRAIN bread I think you'll find Squire, wholemeal is just the same as white bread

Thanks Sid. Since I seem unable to eat anything with flour in it I never bothered to learn the difference.

...and I just got my diet sheet out of the file and it definitely says "Wholemeal"

Wholemeal just has a small amount of extra fibre but will have the same effect on bg levels as white bread, wholegrain bread is as the name suggests made using a more natural flour with whole grains which make the bread lower in the glycemic index as the whole grains take longer to digest.

Cant comment on your diet sheet but IMHO it is definitely wrong.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Thank you for the information Sid it has been helpful.

I could pretend that I knew the diet sheet was wrong all along and was merely trying to point that fact out but to be honest I never took much notice of it but it definitely says wholemeal.

It seems that with my usual luck and a bottle of wine I have identified another piece of NHS doubtful advice.

It wasn't me your honour, they made me do it.

 

[PhilT]

The term "wholemeal" does at least appear in regulations, as far as I know neither it nor "whole grain" has a precise legal definition.

"The term “wholemeal” is not defined in law, however it is
generally accepted that wholemeal flour is the entire wheat grain, which
contains the bran and the germ. " from http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/ ... rguide.pdf

Bread is generally made from flour, ie milled grains, so not really "whole grain" even if there are some whole grains mixed in with the milled wholemeal flour.

http://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Manufact ... ain-misuse

 

[vonbon1]

I was at my 1st 3 month check up yesterday, the dn couldn't have been more pleased with my progress. having lost 33lbs and kept bgs around 5s and 6s. She asked me how the "educational group" went I told her what I said and the dieticians response.
The dn told me that she has been given new diabetic packs and is like a dog with a bone telling everyone she sees about it.
She told me, that what I had said in the group was right, and why are they still giving out wrong information.

My Dn is a very nice lady, I thought I was going to have problems there but she has been very supportive.

Sid I can assure you I speak my mind at all times and certainly don't feel the need to twist anything.
My experience in the so called "education group" was a farce, I learned nothing I hadn't already learned from the lovely people here in this forum. there were elderly people there who had waited for this fountain of knowledge for 7 months, which personally I find disgraceful.

This site has been a big help to me, I don't come in everyday now as I did at first. I look in from time to time at new posts and if I can be of help to someone I try to help in a very small way.

Anyway as my Dn say's the word is being spread, new ideas are coming to the fore. this can only be a good thing.

Hope you're all well x



:thumbup:

 

[izzzi]

Vonbon1, that is so nice hear and you have done so good, "congratulations"

Roy,

 

[vonbon1]

Thank you Roy :thumbup:

 

[blothom]

Having recently gone through an horrific "wake up call" regarding my diabetes, (Amputation of big toe) I was amazed by the lack of regard to diabetic complications as shown by a doctor and nurse at my local surgery. I had presented to one of the doctors with a swollen, very red, oozing and squishy toe, not painful, but quite nasty looking. She had a look, prescribed antibiotics, gave me a lecture about my high sugar levels, and advised me that it could lead to nasty things happening to my body, or even an early death. She told me to come back in a week to 10 days if it was no better. I decided to book a diabetic review (long overdue) and for bloods to be taken, this was to be 10 days later. Took the antibiotics, toe got worse, still not painful, and saw the nurse to take my bloods. By this time, I felt really ill, and had embarrassingly "had an accident" as I approached the surgery. In tears, I apologised to the nurse for any odour, and told her ill I felt. :sick: I asked her to look at my toe, but she said that it would be better for a doctor to look at it, earliest appointment was that evening. When the doctor saw it, she sent me straight to hospital, where I was told it would have to "come off"! That night! If not, there was every likelihood they would have to amputate a lot more than just the toe as the infection was tracking so quickly. :shock: I cannot believe that neither "health professional" recognised the alarm signals, or reacted to them.
Since my operation however, the diabetic specialist nurse at the surgery has been very supportive, and has rung me twice a week to check in with how I am coping with the new insulin regime that I was placed on in the hospital. I have been seen by a podiatrist, and have an appointment with a counsellor, to help me cope with all the changes. The dietitian however seems to have disappeared, and I am still very ignorant about what I should eat, and what to avoid. roblem: I am constantly hungry, but my bg's are now below 10 (from27). Should I eat more, and increase the insulin, and what do I do in the middle of the night when the neuropathy stops me sleeping, and the tablets they gave me, (pregabalin) are not working? :yawn: Sorry for such a long rant, but I am feeling very let down by some people, and uplifted by others - very confusing, no wonder I feel a bit cuckoo!! HELP!! :crazy:

 

[blothom]

and just for clarification, I am not blaming anyone for the state of my toe, that was my fault, ignoring my diabetes and eating too much sweet stuff - no one to blame but myself there, just surprised it wasn't picked up on!