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Going It Alone

Lamont D said:
I think that because I was lucky enough to find an endocrinologist who diagnosed me and understood what I needed to do, encouraging me, to help him understand how to go about the dietary changes, he learned from me, as I learned from him, I gained knowledge from this forum and by hook or by crook I found my balance to get my health back.
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Many doctors think they already know everything. If only they would all be prepared to listen and learn, not judge.
 
zand said:
That's what I try to do. :) I try to keep to my annual visit for blood tests and that's it.
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Me three. I am now way overdue a review, why? Because tbh I have lost faith and because of the constant barage of nagging about statins. I want to take fewer meds not more.
 
zand said:
Many doctors think they already know everything. If only they would all be prepared to listen and learn, not judge.
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My new GP had to except my endocrinologists analysis of how my condition should be treated. To be fair, my surgery has changed their advice on dietary treatment, as the wife has been told to reduce her carb intake. My dsn just goes through the motions on my annual diabetic assessment.
Most GPs who think they know it all, don't because they haven't had the necessary training in endocrine conditions.
 
lindisfel said:
Did you have a consultation with the cleaner?

Never heard of a doctor who doesn't know about Vit B12 difficiency.

If you think you know best don't go to your doctor, let a sick person have the appointment.
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No need to be unpleasant.. you started the thread and have been provided with quite a lot of examples of why sometimes the "expert patient" knows better than the generalist HCP.
I think we get that your daughter is a GP and you want to support her but getting nasty with fellow forum members really isn't going to help her or you much.
 
Guzzler said:
Me three. I am now way overdue a review, why? Because tbh I have lost faith and because of the constant barage of nagging about statins. I want to take fewer meds not more.
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It's horrid isn't it? I get nagged about statins and warfarin.

I don't want to be on warfarin now because my AF has gone. If I am on warfarin then my vit K will be lower and I need vit K because I need to take oral vit D as a test I self funded showed a big insuffiency of it. I supplement with vit D because I don't want calcium to be left blocking my arteries because this could actually cause heart problems, whereas my TC cholesterol level of 5.8 and my now non-existent AF won't. I check my pulse daily to make sure the AF isn't back and if/when it does reappear I supplement with magnesium which usually fixes the problem within minutes.

But all this means I don't let the doc tick boxes and that really irritates him lol.
 
Oh and I had a bone density scan after breaking a wrist on the ice in the winter and my calcium uptake is fine. I have the bone density of a woman half my age (I just wish I had the rest of her body to go with it :rolleyes::))
 
Sorry if I was sarcastic, it is a form of humour that can hurt and I am given to it.

But eventually we all have to rely on health care professionals in the end.
Some go too late and nothing can be done about their condition.
Perhaps you should change your practice and get a doctor that helps.

lindisfel said:
Did you have a consultation with the cleaner?

Never heard of a doctor who doesn't know about Vit B12 difficiency.

If you think you know best don't go to your doctor, let a sick person have the appointment.
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I have a good relationship with my regular GP when I can get to see him but the GP whose care I was under prior to transferring to present doctors surgery spent approximately two years refusing to acknowledge that I had diabetes leaving me untreated and without support.
 
ianpspurs said:
@lindisfel sorry if I caused offence. I don't think I know better and I did not make the appointment it was a scheduled annual review. I was just trying to point out the shortcomings in the system of just relying on the professionals to give the full picture. Your mileage may vary of course and I come in peace as they say - howsabout you take your tanks off my lawn?
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Forget it it was my problem not yours.
 
lindisfel said:
Sorry if IIwas sarcastic, it is a form of humour that can hurt and I am given to it.

But eventually we all have to rely on health care professionals in the end.
Some go too late and nothing can be done about their condition.
Perhaps you should change your practice and get a doctor that helps.
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True. I have had several relatives die because they left it too late.
 
ianpspurs said:
It was left to me to make a link between MCV and B12 deficiency and take supplements. They had also never heard of B12 deficiency and potential misleading hba1c results. Going it alone is an interesting concept given the availability of information on the internet and just how well informed people on these boards are.
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Funny you should mention B12. My last test showed 'high' levels of niacin, or vitamin B3. After some poking around, I figured this is no bad thing (unlike pellagra), and possibly due to eating lots of peppers, tomatoes and getting some nicotinoids from smoking. But I also saw some mentions that niacin tests can mask B12 results, so may be worth asking what your results were, if that was tested.
 
Hi Zand,
Quite few patients are on novel anticoagulants.
I have been on warfarin, apixaban rivaroxaban and now I am on lower dose 110mg 2xday of dabigatran. The lower dose results in less bleeding to the brain that anticoagulants cause.
I can eat all the Vit k I want.
Tell the doctor how concerned you are about the calcification issues, dietary issues etc and ask if you can go on a novel anticoagulant.
I found I had stomach issues with other two novels Apixaban and Rivaroxaban
Bursts of afib need treating just like permanent afib. Mine is permanent but I hated having to go to the surgery every week and regulate my green veg.
The novels need no checking.
best wishes
Derek


zand said:
It's horrid isn't it? I get nagged about statins and warfarin.

I don't want to be on warfarin now because my AF has gone. If I am on warfarin then my vit K will be lower and I need vit K because I need to take oral vit D as a test I self funded showed a big insuffiency of it. I supplement with vit D because I don't want calcium to be left blocking my arteries because this could actually cause heart problems, whereas my TC cholesterol level of 5.8 and my now non-existent AF won't. I check my pulse daily to make sure the AF isn't back and if/when it does reappear I supplement with magnesium which usually fixes the problem within minutes.

But all this means I don't let the doc tick boxes and that really irritates him lol.
Click to expand...
 
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lindisfel said:
Hi Zand,
Quite few patients are on novel anticoagulants.
I have been on warfarin, apixaban rivaroxaban and now I am on lower dose 110mg 2xday of dabigatran. The lower dose results in less bleeding to the brain that anticoagulants cause.
I can eat all the Vit k I want.
Tell the doctor how concerned you are about the calcification issues, dietary issues etc and ask if you can go on a novel anticoagulant.
I found I had stomach issues with other two novels Apixaban and Rivaroxaban
best wishes
Derek
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Thanks, I will if the AF comes back to stay again. At the moment I am happy to be on just one drug (for BP) having just stopped taking my antidepressant tablets recently. I want to be as drug free as possible. If I can shift a bit more weight I may be able to drop the final BP tablet too. Yes, that's a big 'if' but I live in hope.
 
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lindisfel said:
Did you have a consultation with the cleaner?

Never heard of a doctor who doesn't know about Vit B12 difficiency.

If you think you know best don't go to your doctor, let a sick person have the appointment.
Click to expand...
I agree. However I've had to put in mind the GP only gets 10mins per appointment. For me to discuss multipal problems that is no way any use and the poor GP has to just cover a snippet of my health problems. If I only had diabetes and nothing else I often wonder if my life would be a whole lot easier.
Obviously obesity ailments is bundled in with diabetes, it seems. Up until recently I only had high blood pressure and mostly from great bgs. I'm one of those people who has lower BP when I have higher bgs. Great bgs gives me higher BP. Its true. Trust me to be arkward.
So more BP meds to great bgs and only great bgs continously helps me lose weight.
How strange am I? Poor GP has to work around that one, me too.
My poor GP I don't think has recognised this. I must remember to point it out to everyone concerned now I have a surgeon appointment for bariatric surgery. :) :) :)
 
zand said:
Thanks, I will if the AF comes back to stay again. At the moment I am happy to be on just one drug (for BP) having just stopped taking my antidepressant tablets recently. I want to be as drug free as possible. If I can shift a bit more weight I may be able to drop the final BP tablet too. Yes, that's a big 'if' but I live in hope.
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I wish it on you @zand.
You are really achieving great things now. I remember years ago how different things were, for both of us. We were lost.
I think like me you can see why your body is naughty and how you have to trick it to behaving better.
We are truly a consequence of our unusual metabolism.
But we try.
I admire you so much. You have achieved so much, haven't you. Going alone on what you know is categorically not the way the Dr's predict or have read about. Knowing your own body.
I can honestly say I understand my body more since joining here..... by experimenting and reading useful posts.
Thank you for your insight too. :)
 
Hello .In my opinion and experience ,after the the age of 65 years old .These medics are not slightest bit interested .Sure they can take your blood pressure readings .I can do that myself.They don't even take blood now .You have to go to the surgery collect a blood form and either have to go to the local Asda supermarket or the general hospital .Then make an appointment to see the practice nurse.The service on the NHS has really gone down the pan .They phoned me up after the routine 6 monthly checks to tell me i was diabetic After over 6 years of not telling me about it.I made an appointment to see the doctor after seeing the DN .I was having a lot of pain with my badly warn out left hip join so i mentioned it first to the so-called doctor.I'd forgotten about my diabetes She said oh come on first things first.I said ok carry on with the diabetes.All she was on about was i should be taking statins .She got nasty when i refused to take them She said there was no need to self test my blood sugar .As i was only type2 I said how will i know if i'm eating the right diet to control my blood sugar She anyway i can not prescribe test strips I said don't bother i'll buy my own. I told her i will sort my own diabetes With the excellent advice Of Dr.Jason Fung I cured my diabetes I have been totally free of diabetes for over a year now.If i'd have taken the so-called doctors treatment i would probably dead now All she was interested in was making the diabetes worse and put me on insulin I've never been to the malpractice since If there is anything i can't handle .I will go to A &E.
 
You should try another practice David.
House officers used to change in casualty every six months and if you don't see a senior doctor you could be worse off because they haven't had enough experience to be generalists.
D.
 
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This post pops up on my facebook feed today...

https://www.facebook.com/ketogenicc...028637630816/2102652256668450/?type=3&theater
36761993_2102652266668449_1305160636207988736_n.jpg
 
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