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Medication

Sadsac@21

Active Member
Messages
37
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Has anyone else experienced this? I’m following a low carb no medication plan. Just been to diabetic nurse for a follow up appointment to be told that no diabetics are allowed to be drug free according to new NICE guidelines. Everyone has to be on metformin statins and sgl-2 regardless of your numbers.
I have looked through the guidelines and can’t find this anywhere. Was just wondering what everyone s thoughts were.
 
It was 49. He said he would like it to be 48 or lower but would still recommend medication then.
 
I’d be asking them to point out exactly where in the NICE guidelines it says this - I know it can be hard challenging a HCP, were they a qualified DSN or just a nurse who does the diabetic clinics in your surgery, there’s a big difference.


Edited to correct a term
 
I’ve even asked chat GPT to look for it and that can’t find it either. This nurse is the practice diabetic nurse but he has never been supportive of my choices. He just wants me popping pills. Which I am not completely against I just feel that I don’t need to be on them at this point.
 
As I understand it @Sadsac@21 nobody can make you take medication. I had an instance nearly twenty years ago where I attended a diabetes clinic barely ten minutes after someone crashed into my car. My blood pressure was taken on entry and a doctor handed me an additional prescription for another hypertension drug. I was already on 3 different ones. When I arrived back home I burnt the prescription and nothing was ever mentioned. I am not advocating ignoring medical advice, but I knew my blood pressure had risen greatly due to shock and anxiety about fixing the car. It might be worth telling the nurse that you are trying out a plan which works for many Type 2s and would appreciate at least 6 months to see how your results progress.
 
It is not NICE guidelines for you - it is the guidelines for GPs prescribing.
The key words are OFFER….DISCUSS …. And SHARED DECISIONS

Take a copy and spread the word. It is now our need to help educate those who misread and misinterpret guidance.

The NICE NG28 type 2 diabetes guideline: Management update – what’s new? - DiabetesontheNet

● Reinforce advice about diet and healthy living at all stages.
diabetesonthenet.com

One entry I particularly like to see is the inclusion of Tirzepatide… but still few Doctors are prescribing and some very actively still discouraging their use. (Old guidance due to cost and media coverage)

Perhaps these new guidelines should be strongly promoted in D.uk ?admin?
In the full guidelines note the last line …

Who is it for?​

  • Healthcare professionals
  • Commissioners and providers
  • Adults with type 2 diabetes, and their families and carers

Also Rather than stuffing statins down everyone’s throat, perhaps use a decent Risk Evaluation- https://tools.acc.org/CVD-Risk-Estimator-Plus/#!/calculate/estimate/
 
Last edited:
lovinglife said:
Think he’s talking poppycock to be honest
Click to expand...
Someone has misread and misinterpreted the new guidance just released for healthcare professionals. Much of it is actually very good and is something we have been fighting for, for months. Link above ….
 
Bill_St said:
Someone has misread and misinterpreted the new guidance just released for healthcare professionals. Much of it is actually very good and is something we have been fighting for, for months. Link above ….
Click to expand...
Who’s we?
 
I don't think it says that at all, and I can't find anything to that effect, or even that could be interpreted to mean that. The guidelines are really mainly about prescribing and have almost nothing to say about people not on medication. Would your DN be prescribing medication for me as a diagnosed T2, although my BG has been normal since April 2020?

For ease of reference, here's a link to the current NICE guidelines.

Diabetes | Topic | NICE

www.nice.org.uk

I have never been on any diabetic-related medication and I know of many other people with similar experiences. Nobody (afaik) on this forum has ever reported anything similar to what you've been told. This, to my mind, needs to be filed alongside the opinion of the DN (as reported on here) who thought that everyone's total cholesterol should be zero.
 
I have read through the guidelines myself and couldn’t find anything. I could however, find guidance on working together with the patient “Adopt an individualised approach to diabetes care that is tailored to the needs and circumstances of adults with type 2 diabetes, taking into account their personal preferences”. This is something that he doesn’t seem to believe in. Every appointment feels like a battle and I always leave feeling crushed.
 
If I was in your shoes & he kept pushing me without listening & being able to justify his advise I’d be making an appointment with my GP.

I’m very lucky my surgery has a trained specialist DSN but where I was before, although she was brilliant & I never had any problem with her, she wasn’t a specialist- as well as the diabetes clinic she also took the asthma clinic, epilepsy clinic, COPD clinic. They only know what they read & what they learn on shallow knowledge courses.
 
lovinglife said:
Think he’s talking poppycock to be honest
Click to expand...
I read somewhere that anything below 5.3% is handy dandy. I am at approximately (blood glucose - A1C calculator) 5.4%. Much better than when admitted to ICU with over 8%! I am with "lovinglife -" Your A1C is actually a titch low.
 
993Lady said:
I read somewhere that anything below 5.3% is handy dandy. I am at approximately (blood glucose - A1C calculator) 5.4%. Much better than when admitted to ICU with over 8%! I am with "lovinglife -" Your A1C is actually a titch low.
Click to expand...
According to your profile you're in the US, and you use different units for blood glucose (mg/dl in the US, mmol/l in the UK) and hba1c (% in the US mmol/mol inthe UK).
Your hba1c of 5.4% translates to 36 mmol/mol on the other side of the pond, @Sadsac@21 's hba1c of 49 mmol/mol translates to your 6.6%, just on the verge between prediabetes and diabetes.

 
Thanks SO MUCH!!! I knew when signing up that this is a UK group. Obviously that did not sway me from joining. Your data points are AWESOME!
 
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