• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 2 Doctors

F

Fatbomb

Newbie
Messages
4
Location
Derbyshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi All

This is my first post here and it is actually my OH that is diabetic, diagnosed 2010. Since the back end of 2016 I have been researching Lchf / ketogenic diets and my OH started following this in the new year. At the end of January he went to see his diabetic nurse as 2 weeks in he took himself off Gliclazide due to suffering numerous lows. The nurse agreed this was the right thing to do and also told him to stop taking his statin as his cholesterol was fine. She never asked about his diet but told him to come back in a month to have his Hba1c done.

2 weeks later he gets a call from the surgery asking him to make an appointment with the GP as he has taken himself off his meds? Today he has been to see her armed with 2 months worth of blood sugar readings which have drastically reduced (since eating this way he has taken his blood before and 2 hrs after each meal) She asked him why he had taken them so often. He advised it was to see how his blood was reacting to the food and for peace of mind that things were going in the right direction. She said he was wasting his time and setting himself up for disappointment as the blood glucose meters aren't correct?? She also said he should re do his Hba1c and she would ring him if she needed to, but doubted she would. He asked if he should make an appointment with the nurse to get his results and she told him no! He feels really deflated and thinks what's the point...although he isn't daft enough to undo all his hard work (I won't let him lol) His Hba1c back in October before starting this way of eating was 66 or 8.2%. When I take all his readings for the last 2 months and average them, this site is giving me a score of 40.8 or 5.9%.

I'm not really sure what my question is.....Is his new diet wrong?.... Are BG monitors wrong?.... Have I calculated his readings wrong?..... Why are GP's so against you eliminating this dreadful disease?

We live in a small village and he has already changed Doctor's once due to having no real guidance. Sorry for the long post and any advice will be greatly received, Thanks :)
 
Fatbomb said:
I'm not really sure what my question is.....Is his new diet wrong?.... Are BG monitors wrong?.... Have I calculated his readings wrong?..... Why are GP's so against you eliminating this dreadful disease?
Click to expand...
The GP is wrong. He might need to look for a new one. Maybe the nurse has a good recommendation for him.
 
Fatbomb said:
Hi All

This is my first post here and it is actually my OH that is diabetic, diagnosed 2010. Since the back end of 2016 I have been researching Lchf / ketogenic diets and my OH started following this in the new year. At the end of January he went to see his diabetic nurse as 2 weeks in he took himself off Gliclazide due to suffering numerous lows. The nurse agreed this was the right thing to do and also told him to stop taking his statin as his cholesterol was fine. She never asked about his diet but told him to come back in a month to have his Hba1c done.

2 weeks later he gets a call from the surgery asking him to make an appointment with the GP as he has taken himself off his meds? Today he has been to see her armed with 2 months worth of blood sugar readings which have drastically reduced (since eating this way he has taken his blood before and 2 hrs after each meal) She asked him why he had taken them so often. He advised it was to see how his blood was reacting to the food and for peace of mind that things were going in the right direction. She said he was wasting his time and setting himself up for disappointment as the blood glucose meters aren't correct?? She also said he should re do his Hba1c and she would ring him if she needed to, but doubted she would. He asked if he should make an appointment with the nurse to get his results and she told him no! He feels really deflated and thinks what's the point...although he isn't daft enough to undo all his hard work (I won't let him lol) His Hba1c back in October before starting this way of eating was 66 or 8.2%. When I take all his readings for the last 2 months and average them, this site is giving me a score of 40.8 or 5.9%.

I'm not really sure what my question is.....Is his new diet wrong?.... Are BG monitors wrong?.... Have I calculated his readings wrong?..... Why are GP's so against you eliminating this dreadful disease?

We live in a small village and he has already changed Doctor's once due to having no real guidance. Sorry for the long post and any advice will be greatly received, Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Are BG monitors wrong? If anything they can read a little higher than calibrated nurse's issue.. (Mine by about 5%?)
So that score of "40.8"... I'm not sure how you calculated the "score"? But I use the "Diaconnect" app to log results which can work out an A1c that romps in at around 5% higher than the "official" lab score too!

Stick at it you guys! :)
 
GPs advice is variable, because they have to use what they know. Some learn new things, accept realty while others feel compelled to stick to the strict NHS mantra. I saw two GPs at diagnosis within two days of each other. They gave me different dietary advice. One said I MUST have pasta, bread, potato or rice with every meal. The other pointed me here (while being careful how they did that).

Its really hard to get advice you believe in. For me I have only the listed evidence convincing me LCHF is working for me.

1. My BG meter might be wrong, but whichever way its out the numbers have come down from 16s to 6s in less than three months. Its the same meter so unless the accuracy changed.....
2. I've lost weight. Two sizes in trousers down (just) and 10kg lost in the same period.
3. Symptoms I didn't realise I had until they were gone, are just that, gone. So much less tired and achy.
4. No more vision problems that I thought were simply tiredness.

OK, I'm also on meds. I'm told Metformin has limited effect on BG. Gliclazide does have an effect but I'm on minimum dose (40mg) so I don't believe it is the meds making the difference I'm seeing. Hoping to ditch GZ after my HBA1C next month which I reckon will show a massive improvement.

I tend not to believe any source of information where its only a single source, has any kind of financial interest, or is purely a media hype. But there are numerous sources I found saying the same thing: LCHF can work for diabetics. Its early days for me, but I reckon I can agree with others who say LCHF is working for them
 
Jaylee said:
Are BG monitors wrong? If anything they can read a little higher than calibrated nurse's issue.. (Mine by about 5%?)
So that score of "40.8"... I'm not sure how you calculated the "score"? But I use the "Diaconnect" app to log results which can work out an A1c that romps in at around 5% higher than the "official" lab score too!

Stick at it you guys! :)
Click to expand...
I've just literally taken all his readings over the last 2 months (which is many) added them all together and divided them by how ever many there was. I then put it in the average BG reading calculator on here for it to give me that figure in Hbalc. Good to know they can be a small percentage "out" but it seems to be for the better not worse. I'll have a look for that app...Thanks!
 
You stick to your guns. It looks like your hubbys results are doing great. Think how good he'll feel when he proves that negative and ignorant GP wrong :)
Did they redo the Hba1c test, you can ask for the results if so.
 
lowedb said:
GPs advice is variable, because they have to use what they know. Some learn new things, accept realty while others feel compelled to stick to the strict NHS mantra. I saw two GPs at diagnosis within two days of each other. They gave me different dietary advice. One said I MUST have pasta, bread, potato or rice with every meal. The other pointed me here (while being careful how they did that).

Its really hard to get advice you believe in. For me I have only the listed evidence convincing me LCHF is working for me.

1. My BG meter might be wrong, but whichever way its out the numbers have come down from 16s to 6s in less than three months. Its the same meter so unless the accuracy changed.....
2. I've lost weight. Two sizes in trousers down (just) and 10kg lost in the same period.
3. Symptoms I didn't realise I had until they were gone, are just that, gone. So much less tired and achy.
4. No more vision problems that I thought were simply tiredness.

OK, I'm also on meds. I'm told Metformin has limited effect on BG. Gliclazide does have an effect but I'm on minimum dose (40mg) so I don't believe it is the meds making the difference I'm seeing. Hoping to ditch GZ after my HBA1C next month which I reckon will show a massive improvement.

I tend not to believe any source of information where its only a single source, has any kind of financial interest, or is purely a media hype. But there are numerous sources I found saying the same thing: LCHF can work for diabetics. Its early days for me, but I reckon I can agree with others who say LCHF is working for them
Click to expand...

Thanks for this...
1. OH said exactly the same to the GP who again poo poo'd his suggestion
2. He has also lost 7.7kg
3. He says he no longer hurts and does not sleep like a dog!
4. He says his vision has improved (glad you said yours has too....I thought he was getting carried away with himself)

We shall keep on carrying on, but it really is disheartening. After all who can you trust if it's not your Doctor!
 
I'd agree that blood glucose meters aren't correct - they seem to read slightly high - but the idea of not using such a useful tool for guidance on diet - total nonsense.
It is not as though they are giving you wrong readings, they are comparable in a useful way.
I have tried to keep my change in BG level to two whole numbers before and after meals that has worked wonderfully and now my Hba1c is 47 - down from 91, so I would expect that your calculation is not far off. I went to the surgery and asked for my numbers from the receptionist. She said she did not know what they meant, and I assured her that I certainly did.
When I got them I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, and then had her read them out again so I could write them down.
I was so pleased with the reduction, so fast and so easy, and then found that the doctor did not want to see me, so it seems a fairly normal situation to have a rather dismissive doctor.
By the way - there is probably an averaging function on the meter - both the ones I have will do it, it is just a matter of pressing the right buttons - turn on, memory and then you can go back through individual reading by pressing one button or get the 7day, 14day and month averages by pressing the other.
 
Fatbomb said:
I've just literally taken all his readings over the last 2 months (which is many) added them all together and divided them by how ever many there was. I then put it in the average BG reading calculator on here for it to give me that figure in Hbalc. Good to know they can be a small percentage "out" but it seems to be for the better not worse. I'll have a look for that app...Thanks!
Click to expand...

All you have to do with the app is log the carbs taken & the BG results accurately... With me I'm a T1 insulin dependant.. But the A1c regarding the logged BGs will give a "rough" idea... That to me is surprisingly consistent within the thrown out percentage to what I get back from the lab...
 
daisyduck said:
You stick to your guns. It looks like your hubbys results are doing great. Think how good he'll feel when he proves that negative and ignorant GP wrong :)
Did they redo the Hba1c test, you can ask for the results if so.
Click to expand...

Hba1c is booked for 9th March so fingers crossed I am understanding things correctly. If so there should be a vast improvement
 
Fatbomb said:
Hba1c is booked for 9th March so fingers crossed I am understanding things correctly. If so there should be a vast improvement
Click to expand...
Mine is 17th March and get results 24th I hope he and I see good improvements!
 
@Fatbomb, unfortunately too many doctors see type 2 as a quickly progressing disease because that is all they see day in day out in response to poor advice.

One poster here has recently reported their doctor sending them back for further lab tests as they cannot believe how well they have done.

I went off the rails once in response to a quite traumatic appointment with a DSN after doing so well, six months later was .1 off a point of a diabetes diagnosis. Never again.

I just smile, nod and ignore now.
 
The accuracy of blood glucose meters is c.+- 20%. But they do indicate the change in direction and its magnitude. I would draw his/her attention to Southport GPs cohort studies of lc good fats that have been published in medical journals including the B.M.J. Re Dr David Unwin, regards Derek
 
Last edited:
Fatbomb said:
Thanks for this...
1. OH said exactly the same to the GP who again poo poo'd his suggestion
2. He has also lost 7.7kg
3. He says he no longer hurts and does not sleep like a dog!
4. He says his vision has improved (glad you said yours has too....I thought he was getting carried away with himself)

We shall keep on carrying on, but it really is disheartening. After all who can you trust if it's not your Doctor!
Click to expand...
Good for you. Keep doing what you're doing. Sometimes you can't trust your doctor
 
I think it's slightly unfair to say " Why are doctors so against eliminating this disease ? "
There are great doctors and there are good doctors and there are doctors who just are mediocre . It is the same wherever you go where a service is provided - good and bad .

If you are unhappy with your gp you can change as many times as you want . Please bare in mind a gp doesn't know the answer to everything - he hasn't specialised in a specific area . That's why we are reffered to Specialist.

You can choose a gp out of area as long as you sign a peach form stating you are a " out of area patient " . So you have a wider choice of gps no way

Hope no one minded me butting in the topic?
 
Fatbomb said:
Hi All


2 weeks later he gets a call from the surgery asking him to make an appointment with the GP as he has taken himself off his meds? Today he has been to see her armed with 2 months worth of blood sugar readings which have drastically reduced (since eating this way he has taken his blood before and 2 hrs after each meal) She asked him why he had taken them so often. He advised it was to see how his blood was reacting to the food and for peace of mind that things were going in the right direction. She said he was wasting his time and setting himself up for disappointment as the blood glucose meters aren't correct?? She also said he should re do his Hba1c and she would ring him if she needed to, but doubted she would. He asked if he should make an appointment with the nurse to get his results and she told him no! He feels really deflated and thinks what's the point...although he isn't daft enough to undo all his hard work (I won't let him lol) His Hba1c back in October before starting this way of eating was 66 or 8.2%. When I take all his readings for the last 2 months and average them, this site is giving me a score of 40.8 or 5.9%.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have one of those doctors who refuses to believe that a patient would dare know more about their condition than the doc does. Unfortunately for your doctor you are doing exactly the right thing to help your husband control his condition. I would wait until after the next HbA1c and if the numbers come close to where you expect then celebrate and maybe go back to the doc and ask how they can explain your results.
Measuring is the only way that you can tell which food types are good for controlling blood sugar so please don't stop.
Maybe have a look at the info available from here

https://phcuk.org/solutions/

this is made to help HCP's understand the LCHF treatment for Type 2.

Most of them have little clue.

You are doing an amazing job.. so please don't be put off. We are here to support you both ad will do.
 
Back
Top