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Diabetes appointment anxiety?!

Sunshine2297

Member
Messages
17
Hello everyone,

So I'm due to see the diabetes team tomorrow to check up and see how things are going as well as possibly getting a libre !!!
So so so excited but I get can't help but always get so anxious about diabetes appointments? Does anyone else get this?

I'm not sure if it's them looking through my meter and seeing all my glucose readings, feeling like a bad diabetic ??
Just wondered if I'm alone feeling like this? Was hoping maybe someone could give me just something to tell myself before I go in to my appointment as a nice little confidence boost


Thanks in advance !!
 
After 49 years worth of appointments I take it in my stride now. Used to get super anxious when I was in my teens....was always asked to go and have the lie detector test (HBA1C) so they could check what I was writing down in my diabetes book
 

Hi Sunshine, tell yourself that essentially they couldn't care less (and I don't mean in a malicious way), but they see hundreds of patients in similar circumstances and the minute you are back out the door, you are forgotten. x
 
Yes! I always get totally nervous for days before my appointment. Which is ridiculous really, but it still happens.
Good luck, it will be just fine!
 
Hello @Sunshine2297

Here's the thing about appointments which I think we can forget sometimes - they are there to help you, not judge you.

Before your appointment make a list of stuff you want to discuss, if you're struggling, tell them that, remember their job is to support you so you can manage your condition.

If anyone ever questions you over what you're doing then say to them 'what would you do in my shoes ?' No one understands your control/condition more than you and there are no right/wrong answers, it's about what works for you and what they can do to help you.

Try not to feel anxious though, it's not great for your BG levels, try to be positive and see it as an opportunity to get support.
 
porl69 said:
After 49 years worth of appointments I take it in my stride now. Used to get super anxious when I was in my teens....was always asked to go and have the lie detector test (HBA1C) so they could check what I was writing down in my diabetes book
Click to expand...

Oddly, I felt the same way back in the day (43 years worth.)
I felt like I may as well have stolen a car...
 
Antje77 said:
Like being 11 years old and the teacher telling you to stay for a bit after school because he wants a talk with you, but not saying what it will be about
Click to expand...

More like I was at some sort of "rehabilitation" centre..
 
Jaylee said:
More like I was at some sort of "rehabilitation" centre..
Click to expand...

Dont want to derail the thread BUT I can remember the 1st time I went to see the consultant (Dr Prosser) on my own, I was 13 years old and excited to go by myself! He told me that I would more than likely be dead by the age of 40 OR would suffer with amputations and/or kidney and eye problems.....really upset me and my mam went down to see him when I went home in tears and tore him a new one! Well I am 53 years old now and yes, I have stage 4CKD and am blind in my left eye BUT am still alive and kicking
 
@porl69 I would of done exactly the same as your mum too - nasty man, glad you proved em wrong.
 

Ah, the excitment of dealing with it by yourself...

One memorable..
I went to one appointment as a fresh school leaver, & the consultant (a woman I had never seen before or since.) as I walked through the door said, "my! You're a big boy comming here all by yourself...."

Yeah.. I drove here all by myself too!

Yep, I've heard some "cautionary tale" horror stories too.
"This naughty diabetic girl, this." This bad type one boy, that...."
A little younger than you. 51. But still "rocking in the free world.."
 
I definitely get anxiety because they take my blood to check HBA1c on a finger prick so the consultant knows ahead of me how 'good' I have been and thus I have a fear of being proved wrong when asked how things have been going and I say 'okay' ! It feels like a power play depending on the attitude of the consultant.
I have gotten around by asking the nurse to tell me my result before I go in.
I feel that even if I have a dud HBA1c or little 'time in range' (fsl) I have never been given any useful suggestions as to how I might improve things due to the vast amount of variables that go into this.
My nicest consultant just told me that as long as I was happy by diabetes would be fine! Having gone through a period of high bgs due to pain/sleep issues/cortisol jab for the afore mentioned, I now think that the opposite is true!
Having great blood sugars makes me feel great again. I didn't realise how draining the high ones were getting..
 
I get horribly anxious and now avoid these appointments. I'm doing low carb and the endo said "not evidence based" and that with my low HbA1c I could have a seizure just going up the stairs (which I find extraordinary and foolish given I have little insulin on board, and my all day skiing, 20km bike rides, 8km runs and 2 hour walks don't end with a seizure or even involve a hypo, and I don't have more than one hypo per month - and it is mild). The diabetes nurse suggested I was lying, that I must be having nighttime hypos because my HbA1c could not possibly be so low otherwise, and wanted to put a blinded Libre on me. I sent her my own libre data (used 6 times a year) so she could see I wasn't in danger, and she said see you are on the low side, rather than realising I was safe. Sometimes they look for the problems even where there are none. Also told low carb was dangerous. Explained my loads of veges, tofu, fish, nuts, and asked how it was unhealthy and she well it did sound healthy but said their dietitian had tried it for a few weeks and didn't agree with it. I get so frustrated it is better not to go but to read as much as I can and take the best possible approach to diabetes management. Went to cardiologist yesterday and told how fab I was doing - will go back there!
I'm not suggesting you avoid the appointments at all, just that this is how anxious they make me, as a health professional myself.
 
Hi just reading the posts about anxiety re appointments. I was widowed recently and was sent for to do a pill review - my blood sugar etc were the best - but blood pressure not good. Unfortunately I have so much stress and anxiety my blood pressure goes up every time I get to the surgery and this week I had so many panic attack I cancelled my appointment - silly I know but I couldn’t leave the house . So I sympathise with everyone who struggles before going for a check up especially as diabetes was the cause of my husbands heart attack .
 
I too have anxiety. I have white coat syndrome and my blood pressure, which I test everyday at home and is good, is always n the high side. I also begin to mistrust my libre readings. My doctor is very nice and supportive but I still feel judged. Maybe it is a time thing (I have only been doing this for three months) and the anxiety will lessen as I get more comfortable with the process.
 
Hello, I am more comfortable with the nurses, possibly because more females and more approachable. I get a bit worried seeing my consultant because he does slightly judge despite he has approved the libre, different insulins and now he has approved for a pump. So I can’t hate him that much
but he isn’t as easy to talk to compared to the nurses. However I saw another consultant on the same team and he was absolutely lovely. But I know they are there to help and some nurses are type 1s like us so they understand as well.
 
I used to dread it but have developed a few strategies to help with what is a big day for us, but nothing out of routine for them. I ring in advance to get my HbA1c result (I go for the test a week or two beforehand) so it’s not a surprise. Then. I treat it like a business meeting - I dress smart, print an agenda for what I want to discuss and that way I don’t forget anything. I request what changes I may want - different insulin, tech, etc and justify it with research and NICE guidelines if I can. I’m also prepared with evidence (CGM graphs, research results) to back up my slightly unorthodox approach to my T1 management.
 
I was diagnosed as an unexpected type 2 in Feb 2017 and it stressed me to say the least. My world had ended. I am a fitness fanatic ate what I thought as great food (not really). I went on low carb and into remission. Readings now never above 6 with HBA1C below 38. Worry has gone due to understanding. You will get there. However I have just been for annual review with excellent measures except blood pressure is up to 150/95. Back to anxiety. I totally get your worry but you must keep doing the right thing. I will.keep blood pressure.down to the right levels but may take a while.it is hard to be relaxed.
 
ok i know i will be shot down in flames after saying this but I am dam**d if they are going to spy on me so I "forget" my meter. I want to be the one in control after all it is my body. I am not convinced that the medical profession know exactly what they are doing and after all, they have my Hba1c result! If i choose to have something naughty occasionally it is my choice and none of anyone else's business. OK now you can all go mad at me lol x
 
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