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lack of hospital care


So what about your hba1c check, kidney function, cholesterol, eyes and feet check?..... do you not think that these things are necessary any more? :?

Nigel
 
My Diabetic consultant when I had one only had my feet look at in the 10 years I was under my car.
The rest of my organs bloods art look at by my CF team. I was saying that when I'm in hospital I do my own insulin needs I don't let anyone else give me insulin this way I get the right dose at the right time and when I need it.
 

Just seen that you have CFRD Megaman and thought by reading your previous post that you were going it alone with regards to diabetes unaware that you had CFRD.

Not sure if we have any members with CFRD on the forum, but just the same I look forward to reading your posts and welcome to the forum BTW!

Nigel
 
I'm a member of the "Think Glucose" panel at my local hospital and recently had the experience of rescuing my T1 husband from their care.Even with "Think glucose" in place, the nurses don't know what a normal blood glucose is and allowed T1s bg to increase from 18 on admission to 22 after 48 hours on their treatment.
the complaint went in, but we still haven't had an answer to my furious letter. It's simply been acknwledged that they received it.
Hana
Nurses DON'T KNOW AANYTHING about diabetes.
Except one Czech nurse, with whom I chatted in our native language, and who was shocked about what she saw regularly. She told me she'd never dare have that converstion in English.
 
Hana......
Nurses DON'T KNOW AANYTHING about diabetes.
Click to expand...

Well here is one that does Hana, maybe, dare I say it, even more than you do. :shock:

There ARE nurses out there and on this Forum that DO know about diabetes. Please don't generalise, it offends those of us who are knowledgable.

As for your Czech nurse.....I have worked with many different foreign nationals including Czech and some of them thought of Type 2 as not worth bothering about ! So again it does not do to generalise. :roll: :roll:
 
Hana - must agree with Sue there are plenty of HCP who are very knowledgable . It really is not helpful being so aggresive towards people who are trained.

When in hospital it is a difficult one as it is important that drugs, syringes etc are kept safe as well - I think diabetics should be in control but it cannot always happen if pts are very sick!

Allyx
 
I have found a couple of nurses who know about diabetes, but they are in the minority. those nurses on here who do, if you ask around I'm sure you'll find that. The nurses who Imeet on the "Think glucose"panel have some knowledgfe, but the ones caring for T1 on the ward hadn't a clue.they took over his glucose control and wouldn't let him look after himself, which he was competent to do. and put him on a sliding scale IV protocol, which did not work, partly because if his bg dropped to 12, they gave him glucose. One of them even told me the saline drip was to lower the glucose!!
these are the facts of the case, not generalities. It's what happened.
Hana
I have to write what my husband experienced.I'm sure that other people have a better experience in hospital, but what about those who've written on this thread that didn't? It's obviously a common problem. Why else would the "Think Glucose" initiative have been necessary?
 
Not until the nurses who don't know about diabetes apologise to the patients that they injure.
I have a beloved niece who is a nurse, so Ido love at least one of them.
Hana
 
Hana,
Perhaps before you post you should read what you have written. You went on about your husband being in hospital then you signed your name, then you say that nurses don't know anything etc.

Perhaps if you had written that the nurses on your husbands ward did not know anything about diabetes it would have given the post a different connotation. Remember, YOU know what you are trying to say but it may come across differently in print.

BTW if someone is high in Bg levels they are advised to drink plenty to help bring down the levels, flushing the system in effect. A saline drip would have much the same effect ! :roll:
 
Hana

You give grief to the HCP to their lack of knowledge, but your husband has an history of poor control over 35 years which has sadly led him to some very nasty complications indeed..

He's admitted to hospital with very high BG's, but yet the other day you were picking up of your bathroom floor with what sounded to be a very nasty hypo, which you claim took an hour to come around from!

Now has not have I been diabetic for 22 years and we've had the same information given to us from our HCP's as your husband has from his..

How do you explain that I've manage to control my diabetes complication free, and my husband yes did have eye problems 10 years ago after a bad patch, but brought everything back into line (gave up night shifts)..

The last time my husband was in hospital 10 years ago he self medicated, apart from the point he was unable due to the GA! Strangely on the ward with him was an elderly chap also diabetic, he had to have help with injection (a carer did it for him at home) so as the nurse sorting it, was a bit concerned by the dose she needed to give, so she doubled checked everything, they even phoned home to his carer to ensure that the information they had was correct!
 
Got to agree with all the others n this one Hana. It is blatantly wrong to categorise all diabetic nurses etc in this manner.

I must admit that if you have written letters to the hospital management team in this manner, I too, would not be in a hurry to look in to the complaints or to get back to you and/or your husband about the standard of care.

To be honest I hope that you have not generalised your anger in this manner in your letters to the hospital, as it will do nothing at all for persons on the other end of receiving this letter to want to help resolve the complaint.

It may be that you are just venting your anger on this site, but if you have a look at the reactions that you are getting, think that this is exactly how the persons receiving your complaints will be thinking.

I personally have found your postings an eye opener. I actually like to help people with complaints, as previously I worked for Trading Standards but I admit your posting does not give me any empathy towards you at all......which is very, very rare for me.

I hope that you will come forward and reply in a manner that is not belittling all our diabetic nurses.
 
Also, I got to stand up for the nurses and doctors that I have had during my 25 years as a type 1.

I have only been admitted to hospital to have teeth removed and for a hysterectomy. The care I had was brilliant, but I took control. Before I was admitted I found out what the expected routines were for my diabetic care.....and I took control as they could clearly see that my levels and records were reliable. They did check my insulin I was giving myself, but this was purely because they had to record it down on the medical records, and they had to sign their names against the details......I appreciated the fact that the nurses and fabulous consultants were so good with me, as I was the first one to go home with my hysterectomy after on the 3rd day after my op.

Hospital stays should be approached in the same manner that you would a holiday, as far as I am concerned. I plan, plan and plan. I talk to people involved with my care before hand. Seeing other peoples postings here, make me quite concerned in alot of ways...not just about the care that nurses and doctors give, but what inviduals expect and what they plan for before going in....
 
I think you have to admit peeps that nurses and doctors are just people with varying levels of training, intelligence and experience. Some are good, some are wonderful and some are goddamned awful. We shouldn't generalise that they are all either demons or angels. I have known hcp's that have literally saved my life and hcp's that very nearly killed my mother-in-law.
Wishing everyone, everywhere a Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year
 
Only good things to say!

I was diagnosed T2 the morning I was having surgery - Dec 1st. The nurses were great on the ward but surgery was cancelled and I was advised to see my GP the next day which I did. That week I also read up as much as I could and found this website, bought the carbs and cals book and just ordered 2 cookbooks as well.

I'm going back for surgery in 2 weeks and did not have any concerns but now know what I want - to be in control. That should not be too much of an issue. The NHS Trust I am going into has bedside lockers with medicine cabinet built in where patients put thier own meds, needles, stix etc and can ask for the key at any time. I also have heard from diabetics that they have been able to test and give themselves insulin as they need to, with the emphasis on ... patient knows best ... better than the nurses on the ward as they live with it... policy. I'm diet controlled so have plans to take in my own preferred low /non carb snacks and as it's always sandwiches for supper, hubby will bring in salads each day.

I guess it's useful to check out what to expect and ask questions before going in when that is possible.
 
I find this thread interesting as it sadly demonstrates that my recent experiences are not unique.

I have type 1 and have never been admitted to hospital for reasons connected with it.

I had some bad but copable experiences on the maternity ward including a health care assistant on the maternity ward who insisted that she knew all about diabetes and that I was being deliberately obstructive and was responsible for my son's jaundice by failing to feed him properly At the time of "obstructiveness" I was white, shaking and stuffing glucose into me instead of responding to her. When my husband said I was having a hypo she said "no, she's just being difficult". The nice la leche lady also pointed out I looked rather unwell to similar dismissal. Great education? I also had an endocrinologist who thought an 11 1 hr after meals was bad. Given I'd given birth 2 days before and had no control over the food I thought that rather respectable. I disagreed with her view that staying in hospital any longer was likely to impove my care.

I also got admitted for unexplained stomach pains/suspected appendicitis 2 years ago. It was highly unpleasant and the more unpleasant thing was having to argue with them about trying to put the wrong insulin in a drip, not treating me for a hypo when I was having one on the drip and such like, all while in excrutiating pain. In the end I called my mother at 6am in tears and asked if one of my family could come in and protect me which they duly did by refusing to leave my bedside. I don't think good nursing involves waking people up by shining a torch in their eyes (just calling mrs tigger would do the trick) particularly when you're a strange man walking by my bed.

My final recent experience was a miscarriage and d&c under general anasthetic (they refused to let me have it under local because I couldn't eat during it and I'd have to control my sugars during the process and might be woozy). After some rather inept attempts to get me booked in I finally saw the consultant gynae and anasthetist who were both of the view that I should have been at the top of the list instead of the bottom and saw no need for a sliding scale. So I "controlled" my sugars under general as local was obviously too difficult....

I did complain after this one as I never intended to return to that hospital and I was horrified by the failings in their procedures that looked like a bad accident just waiting to happen. They said they'd review them.

I am of the view that the vast majority of nurses and doctors have less knowledge of diabetes then most experienced diabetics and I apply that to diabetic nurses and endocrinologists too! On a recent visit with a diabetic nurse when she downloaded data from a continuous glucose monitor I asked her if the readings were in whole blood or plasma. I had to explain the difference and eventually got the answer from her superior who did know there was a difference. And that's from the so called experts....
 
tigger said:
I find this thread interesting as it sadly demonstrates that my recent experiences are not unique.
Click to expand...
Tigger me too. I've had some awful experiences in hospital on maternity wards. I made a complaint about a midwife who left me in a room on my own on an insulin drip and empty glucose drip. She'd also put the "call" button back on the wall out of my reach, and I'd had an epidural cesaerian so couldn't move :evil: BG of 2.4 and I was nil by mouth.
I had an op to remove a lump from my foot about a year and a half ago, and the nurse insisted I take no insulin. I'd arrived at 7.30am and always take my long-acting about 8.30. Despite me explaining that taking this dose would not cause a hypo she was insistent and didn't appear to understand what I was talking about re-long acting and short acting insulin. The op was done under local anaesthetic and if I'd missed my insulin dose my BG would have shot through the roof with the stress, and been screwed up completely for that day and the next. So I did the sensible thing, used my experience and common sense and ignored her.
It does make me worry about my old age though, I won't always be on so on the ball
Jus
 
So that's why they kept me on the labour ward until the drip was out.......
 
I'm a Midwife and I have T2 diabetes. Last year, a Midwife colleague asked me

"are you a proper diabetic now?"

I did my impression of a fish and blinked a few times as she wandered off........

wiflib
 
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