"Best" things doctors have said to you

[azure]

I'm lost for words hearing that one @charleym

It's good that she was corrected though.

 

[2131tom]

Just after Type2 diagnosis, I was sent to a "specialist Diabetes" clinic on nutrition, in London where I now live. They had a table full of food. But it was all made of rubber. She pointed to a huge plate of rubber chips and said "How often do you eat a large portion of chips like this?". I explained I stuck to low-carb foods, and never eat chips.
Noticing my slightly Northern accent, she said "But you must do, your from the North"!

Apologies for being OT, but I'm from deepest, darkest NE England and, many years ago, I was invited to a very swish dinner party in an extremely well-heeled part of East Sussex.

One of the guests, a local of The Weald, asked where I came from? 'Durham', I said. 'Oh dear' was her immediate reply.

When I asked why that was, she said that it was a great pity the house prices were so depressed 'up there' and proceeded to tell me by just how many thousands of pounds her house in had appreciated over the past 20 years. I simply replied that might be so, but at least my children could still afford to buy one.

She countered that by saying that hers 'would inherit', to which I asked when she hoped to die, as most children (God willing) should be well into their 50s or beyond before they lose their parents.

That actually finally shut her up.

(Before I alienate all the 'Southerners': I've now lived very close to London for 25 years and am happy to say that the story is very much the exception - or maybe I'm just not moving in sufficiently moneyed circles any more ;-)

 

[prancer53]

Nurse at the retinopathy clinic after I'd just received the first letter ever saying I had background retinopathy in one eye looking through machine at my eyes.

Nurse: I can see your diabetes has been very bad
Me: My control is good (hba1c turned out to be 6.2 but I didn't know this at the time). Are you going to give me more details about the letter I've received about background retinopathy?
Nurse: You will receive another letter.

(I go to sob in the toilets)

Finally see consultant 6 months later.

Consultant looks at eyes then looks at me and notices I'm wearing glasses.
Consultant: What's your prescription
Me: -8 and -6
Him: and do you have astigmatism?
Me: Yes
Him: That's what came up on the scan you don't have any retinopathy.

I assume she was that rude because I am about 40 years younger than most who attend that clinic because I have type 1 and have had diabetes for considerably longer than most of them too.

Next misdiagnosis. Thoroughly cheerful scanner "yes you've definitely got retinopathy, I'll send these off and if they disagree they'll have an aribtration (I'm a lawyer and my mind starts going through the usual arbitration routes I use and thinking they don't apply) but I'll be right. Then hands me a booklet from RNIB which I interpret to mean I'll be blind by the time I'm 35 (30 at the time) will lose the right to drive (having only passed a year before and started to really enjoy driving). Get very depressed.

Get seen by a doctor in eye hospital about 6 months later. She looks at my eyes and says:

It's just a strong retinal reflex. Sometimes they come up funny on the pictures. There's no retinopathy.

Since those 2 experience I now don't believe a word any scanner or nurse says about my eyes.

My parents were told the 10 year cure thing when I was diagnosed in 1983..... When my friend's brother was diagnosed in 1997 she said to me "it's ok they've said there'll be a cure in 10 years". I didn't have the heart to point out they were already 4 years over on that estimate with me. Whenever I see chuggers at stations trying to raise money for cures for diabetes usually with claims of 10 years I get very very angry and have to give them a wide berth to prevent launching into a diatribe that this is a big lie. IMHO I'm not sure there ever will be a cure because diabetes medication has become such big business it's not in the drug companies' interest to have one. That's my cynical view after 32 years of type 1.

I was diagnosed T1 in 1961 and my parents were told there would soon be a cure--I think that it is just said to give you hope--it is human nature after all....................


...................

 

[prancer53]

Oh. My. God.

I am told that at every visit........................!!!!

 

[Cassandra13]

When I was first diagnosed (age 20), conversation with the nurse:
Nurse: How much insulin do you take?
Me: None
Nurse: Well, how do you manage your diabetes?
Me: What diabetes?
Nurse: *Looking horrified at how they broke the news to me** "I'll be right back" and slowly backs out of my room....

 

[Brunneria]

Whilst seeing a GP about a diabetes related issue 3 months after diagnosis of type 1:

Me: Can I also get a prescription for more testing strips
GP: How often are you testing?
Me: About 4-6 times a day
GP: That's too much, you've been diagnosed for 3 months now, why are you so pre-occupied with checking?
Me: Maybe I'll test less in the future but I've been asked to check it at every meal and I'm having 2-3 hypos a day still
GP: Well after 3 months you should know what's happening without testing. I'll give you a prescription now, but just because you get free prescriptions doesn't mean these don't cost money. You need to start taking this seriously, if you'd done so you wouldn't need to test by now.

I was so upset I drove all the way home with me handbrake on. Thankfully the next GP I saw wrote an angry email to this one telling her she was wrong and not to say this to anyone else.

I bet she thought you were T2 (having not bothered to read your notes properly)
T2s get this all the time.

 

[DunePlodder]

I bet she thought you were T2 (having not bothered to read your notes properly)
T2s get this all the time.

I've been mistaken for T2 several times, twice by a consultant. It doesn't inspire confidence when they can't even be bothered to read your notes...

 

[Kat.2008]

I was on the train to work and a lady sat down next to me in a healthcare assistant uniform. I tested my sugars and notice I am low so have a couple of jelly babies.
women: Aw that's a shame you've got diabetes so young
Me: Its okay I manage it well
Women: On the plus side, atleast you get your jelly babies free on the NHS

There are no words for some people.

 

[himtoo]

I was on the train to work and a lady sat down next to me in a healthcare assistant uniform. I tested my sugars and notice I am low so have a couple of jelly babies.
women: Aw that's a shame you've got diabetes so young
Me: Its okay I manage it well
Women: On the plus side, atleast you get your jelly babies free on the NHS

There are no words for some people.

haha -- prescriptions for jelly babies , will ask at the GP next appointment

 

[Celeriac]

I was on the train to work and a lady sat down next to me in a healthcare assistant uniform. I tested my sugars and notice I am low so have a couple of jelly babies.
women: Aw that's a shame you've got diabetes so young
Me: Its okay I manage it well
Women: On the plus side, atleast you get your jelly babies free on the NHS

There are no words for some people.

Priceless.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[davej1950]

I worked in a hospital pathology laboratory for more than 30 years and had some appalling experiences with doctors managing (or not) diabetics. Two stories, request from a doctor for a blood alcohol. "The patient is lapsing in and out of consciousness and smells strongly of alcohol" In those days we measured alcohol by a roundabout method called osmolality. For the method to work the patients plasma glucose had to be less than 10. The conversation went something like this;
Me - sorry can't do an alcohol, the patient's blood sugar is too high.
Doctor - well how can I get an alcohol done?
Me - I don't think you need to, the glucose level is 51
Doctor - well they smell strongly of alcohol so I suppose we'll just have to keep an eye on them
Me - the glucose is 51, what you can smell is acetone, the patient is in a hyperglycaemic coma and is keto-acidotic, I would suggest you transfer her to ICU before she dies.
Doctor - are you trying to tell me my job
Me - well someone has to, I'm ringing my consultant now (it was 3am in the morning) and phoning ICU because I'm interested in saving her life even if you're not.

ICU came and collected her and when I knocked off at 9am we had got her glucose down to the low 20's and her blood gases were stable.
I got a verbal warning for my conversation.

The second patient was a woman in her late 40's she had previously had an alcohol problem. She was admitted at about 8pm to the private patient ward smelling of "alcohol" and I was requested to do a blood alcohol. Same scenario, glucose through the roof, previously undiagnosed diabetic. Phoned the ward to tell the doc, there were no doctors still on. Asked which consultant she was under, no-one seemed to know, no admitting paperwork. Phoned switchboard to find out who was on medical take, they weren't interested because she was already in hospital. Made umpteen phone calls but couldn't get anyone interested. She died. I wrote out a formal clinical incident form. My lab consultant tore it up in front of me telling me I didn't know the details.

 

[Fifismum]

I'm lost for words hearing that one @charleym

It's good that she was corrected though.

Absolutely!

I've heard some uh, amazing things from doctors over the years, but one of the 'best' comments I ever heard was from a receptionist at my GP's surgery, who, as I was saying goodbye, said to me, 'I wish I was diabetic!' Me: you do? Her: yes. Then I'd understand about food and carbs and maybe I wouldn't be so overweight! Me: I didn't gain my knowledge of food and carbs with my diabetes diagnosis, I had to learn about it BECAUSE of my diagnosis, and frankly, I wouldn't wish diabetes on anyone. Her: oh!

 

[LinsT]

My lab consultant tore it up in front of me telling me I didn't know the details.

That sounds downright illegal!

 

[azure]

Absolutely!

I've heard some uh, amazing things from doctors over the years, but one of the 'best' comments I ever heard was from a receptionist at my GP's surgery, who, as I was saying goodbye, said to me, 'I wish I was diabetic!' Me: you do? Her: yes. Then I'd understand about food and carbs and maybe I wouldn't be so overweight! Me: I didn't gain my knowledge of food and carbs with my diabetes diagnosis, I had to learn about it BECAUSE of my diagnosis, and frankly, I wouldn't wish diabetes on anyone. Her: oh!

Once I was collecting my prescription in Boots and signed the back to say I didn't have to pay, and a man asked me if I was diabetic. I thought maybe he was diabetic too, so I smiled and said yes, I was - and then he snapped at me "I wish I was diabetic and then I'd get free prescriptions too!"

 

[davej1950]

That sounds downright illegal!

Almost certainly, but I needed the job and realistically he could have sacked me if I made a fuss. The woman's husband played golf with the consultant hence no admitting paperwork. A nurse told me this later. HR told me I would need a lot more to make anything stick.

 

[jane12]

When my son was staying with his grandparents in France he became unwell so they took him to their doctor who tested him for diabetes. His bs was fairly high so it was recommended for him to come back to the uk straightaway to see our family doctor. Basically she sent his blood off but said it was highly unlikely that he was diabetic and that it would take a few weeks to get the blood test result. Luckily for him his school nurse ( he was at boarding school) recognised his symptoms and tested his blood, he was in dka by this stage and very poorly. He spent a week in hospital and stabilised. A couple of weeks later the gp got his test result back, and told him he wasn't diabetic!

 

[clareb1970]

I'm Type 1 and have been for about 6 months. I got called into my docs to see the diabetic nurse as the doctor thought I was using too many testing strips. So I go in and sit down:

Nurse: "So how many times do you test a day"
Me: "Depends on what i'm doing that day, what i'm eating, if I'm exercising, if I'm driving etc. But normally 6 - 7 times a day"
Nurse: "Really! so you prick your finger that many times a day."
Me: "Yes"
Nurse: "Doesn't it hurt"
Me: "No, you get used to it, it's just like tying your shoe laces before you go out really."
Nurse: "Are all the tests you do actually necessary? I know a lot of diabetics who test and don't do anything with result"
Me: "Yes it's necessary if I don't want to collapse or die earlier than I want to"
Nurse "I'm just thinking of your fingers really as they must really hurt"
Me: "I'm thinking about not going blind and having my feet amputated but thanks for your concern"

I ended up getting more test strips with each prescription. I honestly think he was an idiot.

Cannot believe you would be questioned for testing TOO MUCH! When I was a T1 diabetic (had a kidney/pancreas transplant 9 years ago) I originally had to carry out urine tests only, which were no use whatsoever. Then I moved to blood tests and found that on my regime of twice daily set doses of animal insulin were pretty good and I never needed to test continously. After human insulin was brought in, together with a new regime of a long acting night dose, topped up with fast acting at mealtimes in order to provide me with flexibility and better control, I found I had to test all the time. My bloods would yo yo from high to very low and I suddenly started having more and more hypos with little warning. Looking back, I definitely fared better on animal insulin (I got much more hypo warning) and the more restrictive old regime. My dad who was also a Type 1 also felt the same.

 

[clareb1970]

Some of these comments have given me such a laugh. Well, you have to laugh really, don't you. Unbelievable.
I've been lucky. I haven't heard any similar howlers from doctors, but I did have a bit of a nightmare experience in my local hospital about ten years ago.
I was in for a hysterectomy and it had already been postponed once. On arrival on the ward the staff nurse announced that I couldn't be trusted to control my BG and she demanded my kit, which was taken and locked away. I'd only been diabetic for around 20 years, but never mind. I suppose that when you're a patient you are the responsibility of the hospital. I wouldn't have minded too much if the nursing staff hadn't made such a mess of things. My BG was all over the place.
Just before surgery a nurse appeared and asked me to put on the weird stockings. I was feeling a bit odd and said 'You'll have to do this. I think my BG is too low. What shall I do? Will the surgery have to be postponed?' Obviously it's not ideal to eat just before surgery.
She said something like ' Don't worry. You'll be alright'. And went off somewhere. Never to be seen again. I must have drunk some fruit juice because the surgery went ahead. But they let me go home two days later. I told the doctor what had happened and I think they were worried I'd kick up a fuss so they let me go.
My husband has a friend who is an anaesthesiologist. He told me that diabetics routinely present for surgery with a BG of either 2 or 20. I hope things have improved, but somehow I doubt it.

Elforado, an almost identical scenario happened to me. I too bad been T1 for approx 20 years but was told I was not permitted to administer my own insulin whilst in hospital for surgery. They then put me on a syringe driver and despite my constant appeals for the nursing staff to check things with my diabetic consultant, they forged ahead and completely screwed up my control. No fast acting insulin had been incorporated into their syring driver. I only realised this when my blood sugars came back very high despite my poor appetite. When my own diabetic guy came to see me he was furious with the mess and told them that in future to listen to the diabetic patient as they are udually experts of their own condition.

 

[clareb1970]

I once had a very nasty test technician/doctor tell me the reason I had pain in my hands along with swelling was because of my diabetes. I told him I knew LOTS of diabetics and they didn't have this problem - because they didn't type on the !@#$ computer all day with a poor ergonomic set up. He said all my problems were because of my diabetes - including my anger.

Some years ago after getting cytomegalovirus I started to experience poor control of my feet and legs. My brain told my legs to move, but they disobeyed! Very quickly, these symptoms became very painful, graduated further and worsened and as I was unable to walk more than a few steps my GP came out to see me. After a quick exam and some tests on my muscles and knee reflex (which was absent), she confirmed I had Guillain Barre Syndrome, an autoimmune condition brought on by my recent virus. Instead of my antibodies attacking the virus, they attacked the myelin sheath around my nerve cells, which stopped messages from my brain getting to my muscles. In other words, my body was becoming paralysed.

After quickly getting worse I was taken to a major hospital and examined by a number of snotty doctors, who as soon as they learned of my diabetes told me that I DID NOT have GBS, I had diabetic neuropathy! Despite a subsequent lumbar puncture which confirmed my GPs diagnosis of GBS, one doctor still refused to accept my symptoms were not caused by diabetes, this diagnosis then seemed to follow me like a bad smell and I was scared that I would then not get the appropriate treatment.

Puzzled as to why this doctor insisted I had diabetic neuropathy, especially as a week ago I had no symptoms whatsoever, I felt I needed a second opinion. As soon as I was able to use my phone, I sneakily rang my own diabetic consultant (a prof of diabetes and a type 1 himself), who broke off his clinic to speak to me. I explained everything to him, including this doctors insistence that it was caused by my diabetes. The answer I got was that in his considerable years as both a diabetic and specialist, he had neither seen or heard of a diabetic with such symptoms that were caused by diabetes itself. He dismissed the disgnosis of Diabetic Neuropathy as laughable as it does not appear in all limbs simultaneously overnight, often taking years to take hold. My consultant said that my symptoms were absolutely not diabetic related and I should forget any notion that however I'll I was, it was not due to poor control.

After 4 months in hospital, numerous nerve conduction studies and endless physio, I was allowed home in a wheelchair. My GPs initial diagnosis turned out to be spot on and had nothing to do with my diabetes, the initial wrong diagnosis had only served to complicate my recovery. It just shows how potentially dangerous it can be for every ailment or symptom to be put down to diabetes. It is just laziness if you ask me. Oh, and arrogance of course.

 

[LinsT]

Almost certainly, but I needed the job and realistically he could have sacked me if I made a fuss. The woman's husband played golf with the consultant hence no admitting paperwork. A nurse told me this later. HR told me I would need a lot more to make anything stick.

Doesn't surprise me. I remember the first ward I worked on as a qualified nurse - one of the consultants used to do his ward round smoking a pipe. He once brought his teenage son with him. The son promptly walked up to a patient and said 'are you one of daddy's minions?' !