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Any advice on handling doctor?

Aha, Alan and Bebo, I am hatching a cunning plan...

A rather nifty suspender belt (think heavy duty 1940s corsetry) is winging its way to me from the vaults of eBay. When it arrives, I will feel that I have done everything I can to deal with this ridiculous stocking thing.

If it doesn't work, I shall hotfoot back to doctor (wearing the stocking like a leg warmer, as proof) and ask for a better solution.

Then I can use the suspender belt for much more interesting things.

Grin.
 
How about a nice pair of kinky garters as an alternative to your suspender belt?

My stockings don't fall down but they're doing their best to strangle me! :eek: Maybe we should arrange a swap??

They're just the below knee type but I've been measured by two different pharmacists and a nurse :nurse::nurse::nurse: now, because of the problems with them really constricting me around my sometimes badly swollen ankles, and have had various combinations of the following measured:
  • Leg length - thigh to foot
  • Leg length - knee to foot
  • Calf circumference
  • Ankle circumference
  • Foot length
  • and I think (being completely befuddled now) that they also measured round my thighs at one point...
I've also been promised a gadget to help me get them on, as I've had to become something of a contortionist to do this, but the latest nurse (today) showed me how to get them on starting with a plastic bag over my foot (OH the marvels of modern medicine! ) which I'll try tomorrow......

But I've certainly had my money's worth from the NHS with the blasted things.

Robbity
 
Ye Gods!

Thanks for the heads up, Robbity.

I can see that the battle is only beginning... And all for something that is basically a waste of tIme, according to NICE guidelines.

And, like you, I was stunned at how difficult the pesky thing was to get on. Nail-breakingly, hand-hurtingly, awkward. Like wrestling an unobliging elephant trunk. How on earth can people with arthritis or hand problems manage? Maybe they stretch a bit after a few uses.

I'm actually wondering whether a nice pair of high elastane footless leggings wouldn't do the job much better with far fewer complications.

Oh, and in a passing-on-useful-information way, Mr Pharmacist told me that if I hand washed the thing, and NEVER tumble dried it, and NEVER laid it over a radiator to dry, I might get 6 months of effective use out of it. Something to look forward to, eh?
 
I hand wash mine and rinse in washing machine then just let them dry. Not sure how long they last as I get rid of them as soon as they start to get saggy. Little use once this happens.
You're right in that arthritic hands have severe problems in getting them on, it can take me 10 minutes or so to get them on and feeling comfortable.
They do the job though on the odema on my lower legs, not sure about the varicose veins as legs are still discoloured with phlebitis et al. I get them on prescription.



Late onset T1, several auto immune issues.
Humalogmix25 twice a day, Methotrexate 25mg once per week, FolicAcid 5mg once per week, prednisolone 5mg daily, Allopurinol 300mg, Calcichew-D3 800iu, Levothyroxine 50mcg, Atenolol 50mg, Losarten 100mg, Aspirin 75mg, Nicorandil 20mg, Nitrolingual GTN spray, Metformin 2000mg, Allimemazine 10mg, Lanzoprazole 30mg, Atorvastatin 20mg, Co Codamol 8/500mg, Depo Medrone (Methylprednisolone) or double Prednisolone for 7 days in case of RA flare.
 
It's your life. You have chosen to control your diabetes through life style. Good on you in my view. My recommendation, would be to continue with your usual diet, take the test and see where you are. As the other person said, a week on the doctors diet is not likely to affect the figures that much, and it's better to get results that reflect your actual lifestyle, rather than possibly distorted figures that don't tell you anything. With a correct set of figures you can make an informed decision about how you want to proceed.



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I've had varicose veins for years and the new guidance from NICE is that they should be operated on instead of the lovely 'Nora Batty's' being prescribed. My PCT (or whatever they are called now) refuse to follow the guidance. Every time I go to my GP I mention it, although this time he said ask again in six months.

I only wear the below knee ones, which stay up fine. You can also send your stocking prescription to http://www.daylong.co.uk/ - they have measuring guidance and you can choose the brand you like (if a brand is not mentioned on your prescription). I prefer the Activa ones. I'm not looking forward to wearing them in hot weather.

This is the NICE guideline http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/14226/64567/64567.pdf (edit this is full of stats to how they come up with their recommendations). The one that says that varicose veins should be treated is http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/14226/64566/64566.pdf
 
Last edited by a moderator:
))Denise((, thank you.

Great links, and look what I found:

Compression hosiery is not recommended in the following circumstances:
  • Diabetes: peripheral arterial disease and peripheral neuropathy are both complications of diabetes. Anyone with other conditions that would normally require treatment with compression hosiery need to be carefully assessed and monitored if the medical team decides that the benefits of compression will outweigh the risks.
It was here, if you need to quote it at your next appt:
http://www.daylong.co.uk/compression
 
Brunneria said:
Thanks again, everyone.

Had the appt this morning. Quite funny, really. On the way in, I had a word with the receptionist and arranged for a fasting blood sugar test, rather than a glucose tolerance test. She asked me if the doctor advised this, and I said yes (on the principle that he wants a test, just not that exact type of test, lol).
!
Click to expand...

You should have had the OGTT imo. Its an important and expensive test and if its offered grab it with both hands.

The OGTT can diagnose 4 conditions ...

-- "normal"
-- IFT ( Impaired Fasting Tolerance)
-- IGT ( Impaired Glucose Tolerance)
-- Type 2 Diabetes

In your shoes I would want to know which I am.
 
I had OGTT test two years ago. The results showed that my blood glucose was 7.0 fasting and 12.4 after 2 hours. I was given a high carb diet sheet, and sent away for 12 months. The test made me feel so ill that I had 2 days off work with crashing headache and blurred vision - definitely wasn't safe to drive. Not going to do that again.

An 'official diagnosis' would achieve very little. They would try and push metformin on me (tried that, disagreed with me). They would refuse me a glucose monitor (I have one already). They would tell me to lose weight (they've been telling me that for 30 years). They would tell me to eat exactly the kind of high carb, low fat diet that helped create my current situation. The only benefit that I can see is an annual HbA1c. But I have ordered two for £20 from the US, and can do them quarterly, not annually. Even allowing 10% inaccuracy, 4 tests a year is better than just 1 of slightly greater accuracy. I have eye tests annually, including retina inspections, and my feet are very healthy. I know this because I inspected them this week.

Grin. Anyway, I already know what I am - a not yet diagnosed type 2, controlled by diet. My monitor tells me the effect of diet on blood sugar and I (almost always) keep well within NHS glucose level guidelines. When/if I can no longer control my glucose levels by diet, I will make an appointment and cast myself on the vagaries of the NHS. Until then, I monitor the situation better, and FAR more often than they will even WITH a diagnosis of type 2.
 
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