Hi all,
Thanks for welcoming me.
I was diagnosed as a 14 year old in 1993 and it's only been in the last few years that I have fully felt the mental health repercussions of being a diabetic for all that time. We get so used to hiding it and keeping it all inside and if you spend too much time thinking about what's happening inside you, it's very easy to get overwhelmed and scared. It will get you in the end though.
I am in SE London and I have been finding it so hard to get the care I need through the NHS. Before covid I would find my appointments cancelled every single time. I was supposed to be having yearly checkups but it would often end up being 18months between each one with no contact in between, and then they would have the gall to hassle me about my blood sugars when I had been asking for a DAFNE refresher or some extra support to get on a pump/Libre etc etc.
I was put on a Libre online intro course which was great and left me feeling very optimistic, but noone from th hospital was on the videocall so I wasn't able to ask any actual questions about how to get the prescriptions set up, what to do next, anything. I have had one sensor and now I am in limbo waiting for my consultant to write a letter to my GP which was supposed to happen in May! How is the communication so bad?
I hadn't had an appointment for 3.5yrs and turned up yesterday at LAST in good time to see my consultant with a long list of questions and notes and was told she had to leave, and that my appointment would not now be until Feb 2023. I tried my best to see someone, I am always polite and turn up on time because I care about my health and want to get certain things sorted such as my prescription for my new Libre sensors, new Novopen devices and my diet and access to support that is offered, but my GP refuses to do anything for me until my consultant has approved the prescriptions and I keep getting postponed to see her. I have to admit I burst into tears, I don't know how to see who I need to see or get the advice and support I need because when I call the phone numbers I have the phone is never answered or the phone is put down abruptly, and I don't have a nurse or anyone besides my consultant's name to contact. I even wrote a letter directly to my consultant begging for some help and got nothing in return.
I appreciate that the NHS is stretched these days, and I have been content to wait my turn, but I have Type 1 diabetes, I need support and access to medical help so that I can keep looking after myself well to prevent long term damage. It's like they don't care anymore and I feel so abandoned and like a nuisance if I ask for help from these grumpy receptionists.
Is anyone else having similar problems and can help me out?
Thanks for welcoming me.
I was diagnosed as a 14 year old in 1993 and it's only been in the last few years that I have fully felt the mental health repercussions of being a diabetic for all that time. We get so used to hiding it and keeping it all inside and if you spend too much time thinking about what's happening inside you, it's very easy to get overwhelmed and scared. It will get you in the end though.
I am in SE London and I have been finding it so hard to get the care I need through the NHS. Before covid I would find my appointments cancelled every single time. I was supposed to be having yearly checkups but it would often end up being 18months between each one with no contact in between, and then they would have the gall to hassle me about my blood sugars when I had been asking for a DAFNE refresher or some extra support to get on a pump/Libre etc etc.
I was put on a Libre online intro course which was great and left me feeling very optimistic, but noone from th hospital was on the videocall so I wasn't able to ask any actual questions about how to get the prescriptions set up, what to do next, anything. I have had one sensor and now I am in limbo waiting for my consultant to write a letter to my GP which was supposed to happen in May! How is the communication so bad?
I hadn't had an appointment for 3.5yrs and turned up yesterday at LAST in good time to see my consultant with a long list of questions and notes and was told she had to leave, and that my appointment would not now be until Feb 2023. I tried my best to see someone, I am always polite and turn up on time because I care about my health and want to get certain things sorted such as my prescription for my new Libre sensors, new Novopen devices and my diet and access to support that is offered, but my GP refuses to do anything for me until my consultant has approved the prescriptions and I keep getting postponed to see her. I have to admit I burst into tears, I don't know how to see who I need to see or get the advice and support I need because when I call the phone numbers I have the phone is never answered or the phone is put down abruptly, and I don't have a nurse or anyone besides my consultant's name to contact. I even wrote a letter directly to my consultant begging for some help and got nothing in return.
I appreciate that the NHS is stretched these days, and I have been content to wait my turn, but I have Type 1 diabetes, I need support and access to medical help so that I can keep looking after myself well to prevent long term damage. It's like they don't care anymore and I feel so abandoned and like a nuisance if I ask for help from these grumpy receptionists.
Is anyone else having similar problems and can help me out?
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