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Diabetic Nurses - Discuss

I have nothing but admiration for hospital staff and for what they have to put up with, i’ve had 3 DSN’s and all have been kind and supportive and without their help I wouldn’t be using an insulin pump and achieving my best control yet.

I find it tiresome when people complain about the NHS and their staff and air public grievances, we have an amazing service in the U.K., I know in the US there are insulin dependent diabetics being let down by their insurance companies and doctors and cannot get their prescriptions filled and die as a result, we should feel fortunate that we have access to insulin and help when we need it.
 

Hello, while making it clear that I have no problem with my post being removed, I’d also like to respectfully suggest that you may see things through a slightly different lens if you yourself had been given disasterous, dangerous and life threatening advice by someone asserting themselves as an expert. We see and hear this all day every day, so it’s of little surprise that some of us can get a little emotional about it.

Many type 2 diabetics are sent away with no advice whatsoever except on how to endanger themselves while being made to feel fat & stupid. Most are proactively told not to monitor their own blood glucose, while eating more of what caused their condition. This can and does contribute to serious complications and ultimately early death. Irrespective of the guidelines that nurses must adhere to, I’m sure that on reflection you’ll agree this is a very unpalatable situation that upsets many of us. It’s not just about your experiences or the availablity of the treatment that you need.

Thanks.
 
@Jim Lahey I appreciate that many type 1's and type 2's have been on the receiving end of poor advice, however belittling NHS staff on a public forum is against our rules.

Many seem to take a negative perspective on things without actually realising everything we should be thankful for living in this country, ultimately based on your experience you have improved your lot so you have done well, living with a health condition means also taking ownership and facing up to the truths of what we need to do to change, I appreciate many rely on the NHS to do this for them, however unless we as individuals learn to grow and develop within ourselves nothing will change our lot.
 
I empathise with Jim’s thinking having experienced a similar slant with my local surgery. I really was dissapointed with the response at my last visit and ironically ended up here on this forum, trying to make sense of things.

On a positive note things look like they might be changing (in the news today) with extra staff being brought in etc etc.
 

I have a very different point of view to you. I have had a very different experience.
I refuse to bow down before the ignorance of some HCP's.
I refuse to "be thankful" for an appalling service that over the years I have paid a fortune for.
 
On a slightly different note, I phoned the BDA the other day and a helpful gentleman told me about HG Wells and the movement that led to the start of the NHS

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/history

I hadn’t known that and was surprised to learn about that.
 
My Diabetic nurse
After struggling to understand what I should/shouldn't be eating for a couple of months after diagnosis was eventually given an appointment with her. Only when I insisted some help/advice was needed.
Am underweight and had started losing significantly at that point. She did ask about my diet. Get my five a day, mostly wholemeal carbs etc. Hardly any sugar. Ooh alcohol, cut down on that. No other advice.
" You are doing everything right. For some people diabetes is inevitable."
BUT
The doctor had suggested the NHS sponsered Diabetes Prevention Course. I hadn't been able to find one running locally, nobody at the surgery seemed to have heard of it. Sister A said she had seen several people before me who would have benefitted from such a course and was amazed that there wasn't one running in our town. ( pop over 85k)
Couple of months later received an invitation to join the course. Think it was probably down to Sister A.

Sister A name was already altered by me, but you were not to know that.
 
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Can I just butt in and say its not just some DNs who dish out bad advice. Its everywhere in the tabloids, magazines, not to mention the Desmond course which IMO is the worst of the lot. People on my Desmond course had been told already they had no hope and just wanted to take the meds and try not to think about it. After all anyone who is given a bad prognosis will have difficulty processing it and may only be able to cope by denial. The presenter was a bully and early on when I suggested ways of eating I was shot down told it was irrelevant. I wasnt long into it myself so kept quiet.
Bit longwinded but its unfair to blame it all on DNs because we are bombarded by bad advice everywhere we turn...except here of course.
 
bulkbiker said:
I have a very different point of view to you. I have had a very different experience.
I refuse to bow down before the ignorance of some HCP's.
I refuse to "be thankful" for an appalling service that over the years I have paid a fortune for.
Click to expand...
Ah, so it is a system at fault? Perhaps the individuals working in that system do not have the power to change it.
 
Pipp said:
Ah, so it is a system at fault? Perhaps the individuals working in that system do not have the power to change it.
Click to expand...
Nope I think it is the individuals who get let off far too easy..
Like my GP.. "oh most patients won't want to change what they eat they'd rather take a pill"...
so I asked how many he had advised to change their diet.. silence....
 
Putting on my moderator hat...

To demonise nurses, HCPs, or indeed anyone in a stereotypical way is against the ethos of the forum. It is belittling of a whole group of people. Posts doing so will be edited, deleted, and other sanctions applied to conform with the standards we all signed up to.

Sure, many of us have had bad experiences, but there there are many good examples of HCPs' care.
 
Forgot to mention that it was my doctor who called me on the day of diagnosis that low carb high fat diet will reverse the condition , i did well the first year then it all went wrong and now i am strict LCHF and waiting for my results should be back tomorrow .
 
I've never seen the same DN twice (they never seem to stay working at my doctor's surgery for more than six months).

Over the years they (the DNs) seem to have gotten more and more receptive to the idea of low carb. The latest one was very positive about it but did say I'm the only person registered at that surgery that uses low carb to manage my T2 and I'm the only person she's ever heard of that has stopped using insulin. She wanted more info and seemed open to recommending it to others.
 
Guzzler said:
Yes, that's right.
Click to expand...
I'm amazed! I used to be an auxiliary in the early 80es, cap and all. I might as well consult myself, oh, and you're welcome to my services too
 
Anyway at least the ship is slowly being turned around. In my view it will take many more years and probably a generation change to fully flush out the old guard, but as the new blood rises in the ranks we should see things massively improving, with many more lives being saved and generally many more instances of T2DM being prevented as public knowledge improves.

History will tell the story of this generation’s idea of diabetes causation & treatment, and laugh at us. In the meantime here’s hoping that everyone gets the treatment and advice they deserve, not just the lucky minority.
 
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