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Any one gone private?

M

Multitude

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi... I'm feel I'm getting nowhere.... diabetic review due this month, but unable to get a blood test for a month, and that has put back diabetic nurse appointment... I'm injecting insulin which is now 60 units am, and 58 pm..but still have readings that vary from 8 to 23.. so I've a GP appointment for this week, and am considering asking for a private referral to consultant... .. I feel I need a change of insulin,... has anyone else gone this route?
 
I'm sorry to have to say (because I hate spending money when we don't need to!) that my husband has gone private for some aspects of diabetes care. We found a series of visits to a private GP very useful to get things sorted out and to discuss issues in the immediate couple of months after diagnosis. You will, of course, pay for any prescriptions issued by a private practitioner, but this doesn't prevent them writing to your NHS GP giving their opinion and suggesting that something be prescribed on the NHS. You can (currently) move between the two systems. "Private" is great for advice and someone having time to treat you as an individual.
Sally
 
Hi @Multitude Although I never went private when I was Type 1, (1959 - 2013) my father would only use BUPA and private treatment. When he needed the most help in his life, they let him down disgracefully. I spent years trying to impress on him that the clinical excellence in a private hospital is in no way superior - all doctors train in the same University Hospitals and clinics no matter where they practise afterwards. He tried to persuade me to go private, but I pointed out that Diabetes is like a talisman. Any problem is pushed up the queue rapidly. I could give many examples of referring myself to A&E and being dealt with immediately, owing to diabetic problems, including an eye haemorrhage in 1979. I can't advise you on your dosage since we are all different metabolically, but I would say that 23 could be caused by too many carbs in a short space of time, too small a dose of insulin, or an invading virus/bacteria or even stress. Are you on a low carb diet? There are loads of Type 2s on here who have encyclopaedic knowledge of LCHF diets (Low Carbohydrate High Fat) who I'm sure will offer fine advice. My main concern is that you might spend a lot of money unnecessarily. Good luck
 
Not gone private but I am type 1 and do get better access as a result as suggested above!
An alternative might be an education course:

https://www.xperthealth.org.uk/Courses
the link
And the blurb:

X-pert INSUIN
This is the only national structured education programme that is suitable for people with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Attending the X-PERT Insulin programme will increase your knowledge, skills and understanding of your condition and help you to make lifestyle choices to manage your blood glucose levels more effectively when using insulin. An overview of the X-PERT Insulin Programme can be found here.

How Will I Benefit From Attending? You will have the opportunity to explore the management of diabetes whilst using insulin and learn all about the most up to date treatment options available. The aim is not to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do but support you in setting realistic goals to address concerns you may have regarding your lifestyle and insulin treatment. Possible benefits from attending are:

  • Improved blood glucose levels
  • Fewer Hypos
  • Dispelling dietary myths allowing increased dietary freedom
  • Increased carbohydrate awareness
  • Healthier eating
  • Increased energy levels
  • Improved wellbeing and quality of life
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Lower blood cholesterol
 

Hi there Multitude - I have used the Private system over the years, including recently, but not for diabetes. Clearly only you can decide what you will do.

One comment I will make is that if you got to a Private Endo without recent blood tests, then those are 99% likely to be the first things he will want. Yes, he can look at your meter, and listen to your story, but I can't imagine he would be willing to change any treatment plans without your blood results, and getting your blood test done seems to be your blocker.

Do you have anywhere else you can go to have your bloods drawn? If I want the HCA at my surgery to take my bloods, that can rarely happen, as the practise tends to save the HCA slots for urgent/potentially worrying cases. If I go tot he local hospital, next door it's weeks, because their phlebotomy clinic services several practices, plus the hospital outpatient clinics. Obviously a fasting test is even trickier.

A couple of years ago I found I could go to my nearest bigger hospital, in Leicester, to their walk-in blood test clinic and have my bloods drawn Monday - Friday, 08:00 - 16:00. That's now where I automatically go. I was there last Wednesday. I spoke to my GP on Tuesday, she asked for some bloods. I had an armful of blood drawn for a raft of tets, and the bulk were back by lunchtime next day. I have two panels still to come back, but they're hormonal and take longer.

Is there anything similar you can access? OK, I drive 15 miles to have my blood drawn, but I'm in control of it and I go for 08:00 sharp and am usually first patient into the clinic, and back out again before I have to pay for hospital parking (30 minutes free).

Why not cann your surgery and ask if you can go somewhere else to have the blood taken. If they don't know of anywhere, ask where the bloods drawn at the surgery are analysed, then call there and see if they have a clinic attached?

At least have the bloods done before spending any money?
 
The one thing the private appointment has over the NHS is time. Everything else is the same, most of the tests will be done most likely by the same labs but its sitting with someone who has time to go though everything.
I was ill, not with diabetes, this time last year, and ended up in A&E, I had already seen the GP. I saw a consultant privately who spent about half an hour with me and gave me a private prescription, and also said I should keep my NHS consultant appointment as they would give me certain tests she could not offer. I waited over a month to see the NHS consultant, mean while with the private consultants advice and prescription had almost cleared the problem. In the NHS appointment he spent more time looking at the screen than looking at me, and hardly listened to what I said. He could not write me a prescription on the day, which I had refused anyway, as it was not needed. So apart from the allergy test referral the whole consultation was a waste of time.
I work for the NHS, but I have worked in private hospitals and clinics, so I can see both sides. I would do some research and see who is your local expert, you can choose, and find out where they do their private outpatients and how much they charge for an outpatients appointment, its usually a Spire or a BUPA hospital. It you decide to go ahead ask your GP to refer you and ask for a print out of all your blood tests to take with you.
I think is you do a food diary who ever you see it will give them a better idea, with your own tests about trends.

I have blood tests for something else, I get them done at Sainsbury's, taken by the best blood taker I have ever had, who does daily sessions there from the hospital. Literally in and out in less than five minutes, I was sat waiting 10 minutes,and I can do some shopping and have coffee. I am seeing another NHS consultant for the craic, but that's another story.
 
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