hello again and a big thank you to all of you who have been kind enough to reply and offer support/suggestions
I really appreciate it so much.
I'll be spending some time this weekend pulling together the various quotes and articles I've gathered on use of strips for T2's and taking them along to my Nurse appt. next week. I am not holding out for a change in attitude from the "T2's do NOT need to test" I was told by GP, but I will at least be able to put some facts an figures on the table! I'm going to hold off doing anything regards GP until I see what happens with Nurse, and also because of the following....
I also saw another one of my hospital consultants last week (for different condition), who told me that my GP telling me there was "absolutely NO evidence T2's need to self-test" was "rather surprising". She said I MUST self test twice a day, morning/fasting and after dinner, as a MINIMUM. I told her hat happned at GP aand she was really understanding and empathetic, and was obviously annoyed about my experience with GP/Nurse so far, but also trying to remain diplomatic and professional, and convey that my erstwhile great GP is "probably as frustrated and angry" as I am, as all GP's are being forced to make drastic cuts in lots of areas, even when they don't agree with them!
She was very impressed and pleased with the research I'd been doing on Diabetes and how much knowledge I'd gleaned myself (I told her it was largely thanks to this forum!) and she was incredibly helpful, especially given I see her for something totally different! Seems she has LOADS of knowledge on nutrition (written several books on using diet/supplements to help other health conditions - so is "open" to not just using drugs to solve everything!) and she seemed to know much more about Diabetes than the GP/Diabetes cllinic Practice Nurse.
She gave me more info and answers than anyone else so far, also told me the Newcastle Diet was not a good idea (not for me anyway, with "various other health issues"), and that although the LCHF diet would "mess a bit with your chemistry" so I'd need to be careful, that it was "absolutely fine" as long as I had "enough healthy carbs and good fats only". I told her am doing <130g carbs and she said that was OK for my height/weight.
She also explained that the
MOST important thing for overweight new T2's is to reduce the weight "as much as safely possible in the first 6 months, regardless of which diet" I choose to follow, saying that the first 6 months is the
"only window of opportunity to actually reverse T2" and advised me to "act fast" to get my weight down (by at least 4 stone - saying this was the "vital factor" in determining what happens to newly diagnosed T2's in terms of the pancreas and Diabetes long term !
Very kindly she offered to be my "behind the scenes Diabetes Buddy"
and has said she's going to write to my GP and recommend I am "seen monthly for Hba1C and other tests and checks" for the first year at least, due to the other illnesses and probs I have, saying she felt that the GP's/Nurse need to be more pro-active in helping me manage this, especially given I'm not being prescribed test strips. She also said the 24hr EEG my GP mentioned was probably ECG (my error!?) and that would be a good thing, given family history heart probs. I'll wait and see what happens if/when that letter is received by my GP!
So, as you can imagine, this gave me a HUGE boost and I felt for the first time like someone within the NHS actually cares (AND knows what they're talking about!). The final positive was her insisted on seeing me again in 6 weeks (not the usual 6 months!) to see how I'm doing and check up my progress... Bless her!
I just wish there were MORE like her in the NHS, so that everyone could get that level of care, knowledge and support, especially newly diagnosed, who it seems are increasingly being diagnosed then left totally 'in the dark' by their GPs/HCPs.
I wish you all a good weekend and hope you're all wrapped up warm in this chilly weather
