New to this group

[James Price]

Dear All I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My names Is James Price, I am 50 years old and am currently a community staff nurse working with Pennine Acute Trust. I am based at Cheetham Hill Health Centre in Manchester and have only been in post since 5th Jan 2009. Previous to this I was working at St Marys Hospital Manchester in theatre.
I am not a diabetic, however I am very intersted in diabetes and would like to know how people who have diabetes cope with the daily ups and downs. I am a strong believer in the people with diabetes taking control of their own life with the support of professionals in the background.

I am hoping to undertake a course in diabetes care which is run by Warwick University and any help would be very much appreciated. The more knowledge I have about diabetes the more I can help and empower the people who I come into contact with who have diabetes.

 

[Grumpy]

I'm a newbie, James, but I very soon had my anger at being diagnosed and hustled onto courses and blood tests dispelled; I read with horror some of the tales of downright negligence and ignorance on the part of some health 'professionals' some of the people here have encountered. I now realise how lucky I am to be given courses, tests, free blood gizmos and strips and stabby things. If you learn as much as I have, you'll be a credit to the NHS...particularly if you learn to LISTEN to the patient (NOT client)!

 

[sugarless sue]

Welcome to the forum James.You will Find that the info on the forum differs a lot from the main stream advice that HCP's are expected to give out to diabetics.Why is that? Simply because diabetics have found that the advice to eat starchy carbs with every meal does not work ,especially for type 2's.There are many threads on here with the science and research papers to show this is true but until the main stream teaching changes then diabetics with continue to be taught this and therefore continue to be progressive with complications.

 

[Trinkwasser]

Well done that man!

Yes to a large degree we are our own medical system, the Medical Professionals need to learn to be cheerleaders rather than nay-sayers.

There's so much useful information out there, have a look through the Stickies for recommended sites.

For starters I'd recommend

http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

as an alternative to the "professional" view, and

http://www.mendosa.com/

as one of the best overall resources, he links to most everywhere

For Type 1

http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/

and of course

http://www.dsolve.com/

that will give you information overload compared to the "talk down to the eejits" sites like DUK and the ADA

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi james and welcome.

Have good read around the forums and read the horror stories of how some people have been treated by their health care teams. How they have to fight for basic testing equipment, are not listened to when they put forward sypmptoms of how they are feeling and their fears and confusion are not addressed. It is a very worrying time when someone is diagnosed but few health care professionals make allowances for this.
There are some good practitioners out there and this is what I fail to understand. If some can do it then why can't all of them do it?
The more carbohydrates that are eaten, the higher our blood sugars go. Why is the diet advice so bad is perhaps the main concern of most people. Members on her have the proof that lowering their carb intake helps them manage acceptable numbers.
Have a good read around and then tell us what you think. I am sure that others will come up with suggestions. Catherine.

 

[jallsop]

Hi James - welcome to the forum. I became diabetic (insulin dependent) following a long course, and high dose, of steroids to try and control symptoms of ulcerative colitis. Unfortunately my pancreas was damaged to such an extent that I no longer produce any insulin. I have a mountain of other health issues which you will see if you search my previous posts. I would love to be able to low-carb but can't because I have an ileostomy and need to have carbohydrates with every meal, in fairly large quantity, just to try and slow my food through my system in the hope of aborsorbing such vitamins/minerals along the way. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to either post here again or send me a private message. I am quite open to very specific questions as I believe the more honest I am about my ileostomy, the more other people will understand. In fact, I am due to be admitted to hospital on 14th April for surgery on the 16th to actually remove my rectum and make my ileostomy permanent. A big psychological undertaking I can assure you ...

My biggest challenge is balancing the diet for a diabetic against the diet for an ostomist. It is a very difficult thing to manage at times.

Thank you for thinking of specialising in diabetic care. We need people who have an interest and are not just ticking a box on their curriculum vitae!

Jackie

 

[James Price]

I'm a newbie, James, but I very soon had my anger at being diagnosed and hustled onto courses and blood tests dispelled; I read with horror some of the tales of downright negligence and ignorance on the part of some health 'professionals' some of the people here have encountered. I now realise how lucky I am to be given courses, tests, free blood gizmos and strips and stabby things. If you learn as much as I have, you'll be a credit to the NHS...particularly if you learn to LISTEN to the patient (NOT client)!

Dear Grumpy it is an honour for me to be part of this forum and to learn as much as I can about the people affected by diabetes in order for me to do my very best as a helthcare professional to help.

I purposely when introducing myself did not use the word patient,client ect as I think this is a label that all us do not need. There are enough labels and stigmas attached to people without me adding others. Thank you so much for your reply to my introduction and I hope to have many other discussions in the future. Regards James P

 

[sugarless sue]

I salute your endeavour ,James I wish more HCP would take the time and trouble to go into disease processes more thoroughly and not just from the biological point of view.

 

[sixfoot]

James.

Welcome to the " Walk-in Living laboratory" Most things have been tried and tested then debated with passion at length. As Darwin found the successfull endured.
You will certainly find people who have or aspire to control over this condition.

Dave P

 

[Aadrgon]

Hi and welcome James

I've got nothing to add that people haven't said in previous posts
thanks for joining us

 

[totsy]

hya james,
welcome to the forum