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I feel like crying .... with frustration!!!

F

Flora123

Well-Known Member
Saw my doctor last week and felt I’d been told off for following a low carb diet. She told me my body needs carbs and how important they were and I wasn’t helping myself by following low carb WOE. It was almost as if I was confusing my results, which is probably confusing her.

I asked, bearing in mind my Hba1c has been low since three months after diagnosis, what I’m supposed to do in her opinion. Eat more carbs apparently. I explained my BG would be in the late teens if I even eat a slice of bread she was suggesting, and she said well it may be time to move to medication!! Okaaay.... by my BG is currently back to acceptable after my recent blip.

Am I missing something? She was suggesting I eat normal carbs despite my BG rising, but that’s ok because we have drugs. Surely drugs should be a last resort. (Unless of course someone chooses that course of action).
 
Flora123 said:
Saw my doctor last week and felt I’d been told off for following a low carb diet. She told me my body needs carbs and how important they were and I wasn’t helping myself by following low carb WOE. It was almost as if I was confusing my results, which is probably confusing her.

I asked, bearing in mind my Hba1c has been low since three months after diagnosis, what I’m supposed to do in her opinion. Eat more carbs apparently. I explained my BG would be in the late teens if I even eat a slice of bread she was suggesting, and she said well it may be time to move to medication!! Okaaay.... by my BG is currently back to acceptable after my recent blip.

Am I missing something? She was suggesting I eat normal carbs despite my BG rising, but that’s ok because we have drugs. Surely drugs should be a last resort. (Unless of course someone chooses that course of action).
Click to expand...

Hi Flora, YOU already know the answers to your questions and honestly, you should NOT let this person dictate to you or tell you what you should be doing. She won't change her 'advice' or viewpoint and only YOU can allow her to make you feel like crying. I get this all the time at my appointments and I cut any conversations around what I am doing straight off. I will happily discuss my results (all good) and beyond that?, well they can do one. x
 
Flora123 said:
Saw my doctor last week and felt I’d been told off for following a low carb diet. She told me my body needs carbs and how important they were and I wasn’t helping myself by following low carb WOE. It was almost as if I was confusing my results, which is probably confusing her.

I asked, bearing in mind my Hba1c has been low since three months after diagnosis, what I’m supposed to do in her opinion. Eat more carbs apparently. I explained my BG would be in the late teens if I even eat a slice of bread she was suggesting, and she said well it may be time to move to medication!! Okaaay.... by my BG is currently back to acceptable after my recent blip.

Am I missing something? She was suggesting I eat normal carbs despite my BG rising, but that’s ok because we have drugs. Surely drugs should be a last resort. (Unless of course someone chooses that course of action).
Click to expand...
Do what works for you. I mean, I was told by one of the many medical professional opponents of low carb that the brain needs carbs to function, and lots of them. I'd die without them. Now, there's people here who are even lower than me, carb-intake-wise, who'll eat carnivorously rather than Keto or LCHF, and they're just about the smartest people I have the pleasure of reading. No brain damage there, nor death, in their cases. And hopefully, mine. Ghosts can't type, can they? ;)

All in all... If this is working for you, stick with it. The doc's not going to sit beside you at every meal shoving slices of wholemeal down your throat. You have a say. And the GP's seemingly stuck in the middle ages. (Heck, wish she was, they ate better then!). All in all... The results don't mesh with what she's been taught. Maybe time to gift her a Diabetes Code by Dr. Fung. ;)
 
Time to find a new GP, as you need a GP you can respect. Maybe one of the other GPs is the same practice is better, otherwise I think you need a new GP practice.
 
My GP has never given me no advice on diabetes she has referred me to specialist team and has told me anything diabetes related to contact them. So I'm hoping you have a diabetes team who you can contact?
 
I was totally on my own with type two - Dr. nurses and 'educators' not having a clue.
I was lucky that I did not need them and was back to normal in 6 months eating low carb. It really is the most successful way if you are a plain boring type two. We cannot cope with the carbs - any other information should basically be ignored.
As for 'eat the poison take the antidote' advice - well - you can't fix stupid.
 
@Flora123 - I can feel your frustration from here. There surely are times it's hard to remain civil. This I do know and understand.

In your shoes, if my GP was adamant I needed carbs, I would ask him/her to explain the consequences of going without them to me. I would not accept "........you just need them. (unspoken - Trust me I'm a doctor)." I would require her to quantify what she means, so that I could understand her viewpoint.

If he/she were to say I'd be deficient in nutrients, I would ask her to test them, so that over time it could be assessed as improving or degrading.

If she couldn't define the specific consequences of low carb eating, I would tell her I would be carrying on, because my personal data explains why I should not be eating certain carbs each time to do, and each time I do a finger prick test, which are backed up by regular A1c testing.

I know it's incredibly hard when all you want to do is either do him/her damage, scream or cry, but over the years business taught me to become calm in challenging times.

As my OH says of me,............ "Beware the quiet voice."

What are the next steps between you?
 
I know exactly where you are coming from and how frustrating it is. The nurse at my GP surgery told me eating low carb was killing me and that my Hba1c was too low and I would likely die. In 6 months I had dropped it from 98 to 34.
I smiled politely told her I felt better than in a long time and that really she needed to realise type 2 was not a progressive condition.
I wrote to the practice manager and complained and asked that I am never given an appointment with her again.
You know low carb works, 1000's of others on here know it works. Keep up the good work it is your life.
 
Flora123 said:
Saw my doctor last week and felt I’d been told off for following a low carb diet. She told me my body needs carbs and how important they were and I wasn’t helping myself by following low carb WOE. It was almost as if I was confusing my results, which is probably confusing her.

I asked, bearing in mind my Hba1c has been low since three months after diagnosis, what I’m supposed to do in her opinion. Eat more carbs apparently. I explained my BG would be in the late teens if I even eat a slice of bread she was suggesting, and she said well it may be time to move to medication!! Okaaay.... by my BG is currently back to acceptable after my recent blip.

Am I missing something? She was suggesting I eat normal carbs despite my BG rising, but that’s ok because we have drugs. Surely drugs should be a last resort. (Unless of course someone chooses that course of action).
Click to expand...
I think you know what to do. Change doctors.
 
KK123 said:
Hi Flora, YOU already know the answers to your questions and honestly, you should NOT let this person dictate to you or tell you what you should be doing. She won't change her 'advice' or viewpoint and only YOU can allow her to make you feel like crying. I get this all the time at my appointments and I cut any conversations around what I am doing straight off. I will happily discuss my results (all good) and beyond that?, well they can do one. x
Click to expand...

Thanks. I felt like I was back at school
 
DCUKMod said:
@Flora123 - I can feel your frustration from here. There surely are times it's hard to remain civil. This I do know and understand.

In your shoes, if my GP was adamant I needed carbs, I would ask him/her to explain the consequences of going without them to me. I would not accept "........you just need them. (unspoken - Trust me I'm a doctor)." I would require her to quantify what she means, so that I could understand her viewpoint.

If he/she were to say I'd be deficient in nutrients, I would ask her to test them, so that over time it could be assessed as improving or degrading.

If she couldn't define the specific consequences of low carb eating, I would tell her I would be carrying on, because my personal data explains why I should not be eating certain carbs each time to do, and each time I do a finger prick test, which are backed up by regular A1c testing.

I know it's incredibly hard when all you want to do is either do him/her damage, scream or cry, but over the years business taught me to become calm in challenging times.

As my OH says of me,............ "Beware the quiet voice."

What are the next steps between you?
Click to expand...

She did explain in her terms why and I mentioned the body can make glucose for the cells that need them from protein. She agreed but said it was hard for the body to do that etc etc. It was really frustrating as it was a short visit with masks so hard to see expressions etc.

I just went silent and thought I can’t cope with this despite explaining over and over the consequences of eating the way she was suggesting. Tiring.

She is one of several doctors I can see at that surgery. It is generally excellent, apart from this.

Next step, endo.
 
Thanks everyone. That has really helped. I despair that I feel like a naughty child. Why aren’t they inquisitive? Why don’t they realise it’s better to eat this way and be healthy (backed by lots of blood tests) then eat refined carbs and take drugs. One thing we did agree on is that I’m probably LADA but my eating may be skewing the diagnosis. Who knows ...
 
I had phone consultation today following up on my latest results, down from 53 to 44 .
She said " that's good, your BP is fine so whatever you've been doing carry on and we will test again in a year. No need for medications"
I said "will I get called for that or is it down to me to arrange "
She said "you call, we dont diarise that"
And that was it, she didn't ask what I had been doing, or offer courses, or diabetic nurse (I know our local one is position vacant )
With their lack of interest, I am just so pleased I found here and did my own research. I continue to test my own BG as I want to try a few more different foods now, but more importantly I want to monitor my underlying levels. I don't want to wait a year to find it has gone up.
 
MrsA2 said:
I had phone consultation today following up on my latest results, down from 53 to 44 .
She said " that's good, your BP is fine so whatever you've been doing carry on and we will test again in a year. No need for medications"
I said "will I get called for that or is it down to me to arrange "
She said "you call, we dont diarise that"
And that was it, she didn't ask what I had been doing, or offer courses, or diabetic nurse (I know our local one is position vacant )
With their lack of interest, I am just so pleased I found here and did my own research. I continue to test my own BG as I want to try a few more different foods now, but more importantly I want to monitor my underlying levels. I don't want to wait a year to find it has gone up.
Click to expand...

I find it so frustrating that no HCP want to hear how we have achieved success. Why on earth wouldn’t they be?!?! I feel like shouting at them and saying you’ve got it all wrong, or you are blindly following NHS advice. How many people are being harmed just because they trust everything their doc tells them because they are a doctor? My doc didn’t mention the fact I test despite being told not to, yet they like the stats I can provide for them. Thank goodness for this wonderful forum. I am so so grateful.
 
I once had the joy of sitting opposite a DN who told me my brain would die if I didn't eat carbs. I asked how long that would take... after a bit of thought she said probably a month or two. I said I obviously was dead then as I'd been low carbing for 2-3 years at that point. I did complain to the practice manager about her scare tactics and asked him to remind her that her job is to support patients not terrify them.
 
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