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I'm not depressed - although I should be!

H

helenb

Active Member
Messages
35
Location
Peterborough
Dislikes
Bad service in shops and ****** drivers (and 4X4s that have never seen the countryside!).
I had my first appointment with the Diabetic Nurse last week and was astonished that she seemed to think that I should be depressed. When I answered no to "are you, or have you ever suffered from depression" she asked me twice again. Tell me, I'm baffled, is it a pre-requisit of having diabetes to also be depressed :lol: .

Now, I could quite see how I could become depressed, no prescription for Test Strips, no advice or help from GP until 2.5 months after diagnosis and then only with the nurse. Plus when she weighed me on yet another set of scales in the surgery I'd never been weighed on she says "well done you've lost 2 kilos". 2 Kilos I screamed at her, I had actually lost 13 :roll: , and replies so sweetly "they are very accurate scales you know", to which I replied "well perhaps the knackered old analogue ones that I was weighed on last weren't"! And finally next week's impending appointment for my DESMOND session (oooh, I so can't wait).

So, if anyone has any questions I could get prepped for for my DESMOND day, I'd love to hear them. I get the feeling I'm going to get depressed by the end of that day :lol: :lol: :lol:

So enough of my ranting, depressed I'm not but furious I am :wink:
 
Hi Helen

Sorry to hear about your less than great treatment at the GP's.

I think that GPs get paid performance-related pay for meeting certain QOF targets. I think that screening for depression in diabetics might be one of the targets which could explain why the nurse was so persistent with the question. Here's an article to that effect....

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?s ... e=4115470#

Here's hoping your DESMOND course goes well.

Goji
 
I'm doing DESMOND in January. As a low carber, I don't have high expectations, but I'm willing to be surprised, I might learn something (although based on the information I have been given already, I doubt it) at the very least I will meet some other diabetics.

However, my aim is make sure that people know there is an alternative to the poisonous "eat lots of starchy carbohydrate" advice and to corrupt as many as possible to the possibility of coming over to the dark side, aka carbohydrate reduction and low carbing. I'm looking upon it as a couple of mornings voluntary work.

Hardly surprising people get depressed when they follow the advice and things don't impove.
 
Thanks for the replies, you could be right goji about the depression targets. She did seem very disappointed that I wasn't!
I'm am expecting some interesting answers to questions for my DESMOND session as I am a very strict veggie (for 25 yrs+) and am now a very low fat 98% vegan since my diagnosis. I am very strict too about the GL of my diet so wonder how they will react to this. I too think that low carbs is possibly the way but being a veggie this may not be quite so easy.
I will post what the outcome is though :lol:
 
helenb said:
Thanks for the replies, you could be right goji about the depression targets. She did seem very disappointed that I wasn't!
I'm am expecting some interesting answers to questions for my DESMOND session as I am a very strict veggie (for 25 yrs+) and am now a very low fat 98% vegan since my diagnosis. I am very strict too about the GL of my diet so wonder how they will react to this. I too think that low carbs is possibly the way but being a veggie this may not be quite so easy.
I will post what the outcome is though :lol:
Click to expand...

I am a strict vegetarian and have been since 1985. I eat eggs and dairy but no meat or slaughterhouse products. I was also told that low carbing and being veggie was possibly not compatible. They were wrong.

I have been low carbing since May and have reduced my HbA1c from 7.8% at diagnosis in Feb/March to 6% at the end of August. I plan to be a fully paid up member of the 5% Club in January, when my next blood test is due.

Take a look at Rose Elliot's low carb cookery books (she has writen 2) and Celia Brooks Brown. I have the main veggie low carb books from Amazon and don't rate the others, they have a very lax definition of low carb and seem to confuse it with low GI. I have also got quite good at adapting things I used to enjoy to low carb :D

I'm not suffering, the food is delicious and all my numbers have improved :mrgreen: 8)

There are a few of us around :mrgreen: and just go take a peak at ChocFish's HbA1c :shock: :shock: :shock: Inspiring!
 
you've been screened for depression !!
I was asked if my moods were ok and if I had plenty interests, I asked why and the GP replied that the practice was screening for depression. (They also get paid additional funds for this).
I thought he was taking the mickey, hardly an in depth personality check.
 
I got sent some time ago a cheaply photocopied piece of paper which essentially said; please fill in your name and address and tick which of these conditions you have then after that it said if you have ticked any of the above (which included diabetes) do you suffer from depression?

Then it asked me to post it back to them.

Well, that would have pushed me over the edge had I been feeling a bit glum... :? :)

Nice er, bedside manner I thought...
 
I get asked if I'm depressed, my reply is always:" No, having Diabetes makes me angry,not depressed". No-one evers delves further.
 
Dillinger said:
I got sent some time ago a cheaply photocopied piece of paper which essentially said; please fill in your name and address and tick which of these conditions you have then after that it said if you have ticked any of the above (which included diabetes) do you suffer from depression?

Then it asked me to post it back to them.

Well, that would have pushed me over the edge had I been feeling a bit glum... :? :)

Nice er, bedside manner I thought...
Click to expand...

That's really worrying!! Sounds like your practice is more interested in chasing the pay points then in looking out for the patients!!
 
Edwardia said:
I get asked if I'm depressed, my reply is always:" No, having Diabetes makes me angry,not depressed". No-one evers delves further.
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
I'll try that line next time!

Only 3 more days to my DESMOND debarcle :wink:
 
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