Misinformed Nurse?

[warop31]

Had a consultation with a nurse at the GP's today, and a number of her comments made me really doubt that she knew what she was talking about. Not an uncommon scenario, I'm guessing?

When she said "oh, I've got a lot to learn", it was quite difficult not to respond with a flippant remark, but this seemingly experienced nurse was at least right on that one!

Here are a few of her gems, and it wouldn't surprise me if maybe I had the wrong end of the stick on some of these, so happy to be corrected...................

Eating protein doesn't affect BS, only carbs.

There's no point in checking your BS' 5-6 times daily as a Type 2 (even though my HB was high last week, therefore I'm embarking on a new low-carb regime, which was exactly the reason I was there)

And with that in mind (higher fat diet), no need to re-check cholesterol in 3 months.

We should just increase your Metformin, you're on a fairly low dose!?

There were others that have slipped my mind atm, but I'll post them when they come to me.

 

[ally1]

One diabetic nurse at my surgery is fairly knowledgeable and the other one is useless, so when I see one, I would ask to see the more informed nurse.though in saying that, both nurses and my gp all say that I should not test.

 

[Enclave]

My DSN told me to drink fizzy drinks if I was feeling shaky !!!

 

[Gemma2]

You can drink a small amount of a high sugar fizzy drink if you are going HYPO.

 

[Enclave]

I am T2 with at that time my sugars in 20's my HbA1c was 84 !!!!!!! No chance of my going HYPO at that point @Gemms2 My nurse was either just stupid or trying to kill me.
Edit to add .. I was feeling shaky due to being to high with sugars and she should have understood this.

 

[lausia]

Hi that's not rare sadly my Diabetic Nurse recommended I take two different drugs candestarten and Lisinopril to protect my kidneys she said. When I checked on line they were contraindicated. So I always double check everything with my GP after I have been to see the DN. Waste of time n money I know. Andy

 

[MissMac]

Sadly not the only one. I don' ever want to see the one I saw..she was just so ignorant and negative...should have just got myself a coffin there and then! x

 

[martin_1967]

hi i was diagnosed with t2 and insulin controlled and the gps nurse was telling me because your under 7 stone you cant be diabetic then the consultant told me not to listen to her but only a proper diabetic nurse not a gp nurse ? then a year later the gp called me in and said you have brittle diabetes so you can see a consultant nurse once every 2 weeks when they come to the surgery ,that was fun because one of them disagreed with the other consultant and i was stuck in the middle , so i spoke to the doctor and said i want a differant consultant because of the pair disagreeing with each other and got told if you dont see the one i suggest then i will have to refer you to another surgery and stop your prescriptions ,. now i have a new gp practice and the diab nurse said to me ive never heard of brittle so i am not dealing with it , consequently i am back under the hospital consultants but my head still spins , so going by my experiance you might have to find the right nurse for you through trial and error but do listen to the dieticians as some of their knowledge is excellent and helped me more the the gps and consultants... your not alone my friend ..toodle pip and loves to one and all on this warm night .

 

[martin_1967]

Sadly not the only one. I don' ever want to see the one I saw..she was just so ignorant and negative...should have just got myself a coffin there and then! x

dont buy one yet the marjet is not good at the moment , it can get better as you will find out ,see if you can get a differant nurse or change practice thats what i had to do not wholly better but did get better help in the end ,i think

 

[MissMac]

dont buy one yet the marjet is not good at the moment , it can get better as you will find out ,see if you can get a differant nurse or change practice thats what i had to do not wholly better but did get better help in the end ,i think

Not many practices round where I live and really like the Dr's to be fair...if it wasn't for the one who called me when I insisted on not waiting for results over the weekend..I would not have found this site....he probably meant DUK as we know they still advocate complex carbs with every meal but luckily I didn't look on there! xxx

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Your nurse was partly right. Protein only has a small effect on blood sugar compared with carbs. I think testing 5-6 times a day is a bit on the high side unless you are on insulin. Increasing the Metformin depends a bit on your weight, If you have excess weight then it does help a bit to increase the Metformin but the biggest help comes from a low-carb diet. I didn't understand your point about cholesterol but again I think 3 months may be too soon as there isn't a lot you can actually do about the lipids ratios other than having a low-carb diet unless you believe in statins.

 

[Dan1987]

By the sounds of it I have been very luck as gp and nurse have been great
my wife and I know my diabetic nurse very well

 

[martin_1967]

Not many practices round where I live and really like the Dr's to be fair...if it wasn't for the one who called me when I insisted on not waiting for results over the weekend..I would not have found this site....he probably meant DUK as we know they still advocate complex carbs with every meal but luckily I didn't look on there! xxx

any illness is hard to deal with especially when you dont fully understand the ins and outs of it and then you get a stroppy git then the words why me seem to crop up often , diagnosed with diabeties in 2002 then got told they have the wrong person then collapsed in 2005 with liver disease then pancreas packed up for a short time now have cronic pancreatitus then ulerated colitus and then in the midst of this told i was t2 then a year later brittle t2 and kidney disease , now i have got so confused i dont know which way is up so i go to the gps i go to the diab nurse and still get told differant things but when i asked if all the consultants could get together well the look if discust was amazing. these doctors and nurses seem to believe they are right and never wrong and i hate to say this the patient seems to come last a awfull lot nowadays ,. sorry if i am starting to ramble im tired and having trouble concentrating a lot of the time, you sound reasonably strong person so you just stick with what you believe in and complain to healthwatch if you need to... good luck loves martin , everybody needs some loves i believe but not the dickeads..

 

[Lamont D]

The trouble with a lot of dsns, GPs and some endocrinologists is that they believe that diabetes and other metabolic conditions are the same diagnosis and treatment for the patients type.
Diabetes is an individual condition, it depends so much on how their particular personal condition came about and how it has affected their bodies, because most are dietary problems, and can be treated better with diet, no two diabetics are the same. No two diabetics are alike in there food preferences or how drastic there carb counting should be, how much full fat, saturated fat, never mind the imbalance of the hormones.
The best doctors are the ones that think outside the box, and treat you and not the condition.

 

[MissMac]

any illness is hard to deal with especially when you dont fully understand the ins and outs of it and then you get a stroppy git then the words why me seem to crop up often , diagnosed with diabeties in 2002 then got told they have the wrong person then collapsed in 2005 with liver disease then pancreas packed up for a short time now have cronic pancreatitus then ulerated colitus and then in the midst of this told i was t2 then a year later brittle t2 and kidney disease , now i have got so confused i dont know which way is up so i go to the gps i go to the diab nurse and still get told differant things but when i asked if all the consultants could get together well the look if discust was amazing. these doctors and nurses seem to believe they are right and never wrong and i hate to say this the patient seems to come last a awfull lot nowadays ,. sorry if i am starting to ramble im tired and having trouble concentrating a lot of the time, you sound reasonably strong person so you just stick with what you believe in and complain to healthwatch if you need to... good luck loves martin , everybody needs some loves i believe but not the dickeads..

Strong, stubborn...either or. I am actually a nurse Martin and whilst my area of "expert" was not medical nursing I too, before finding here, believed the old sayings and the media rubbish about obesity=diabetes etc etc. I would have gone along with the complex carbs "eat well" if I had not been enlightened by the amazing, supportive people on here..I would be on medication. My point really? For someone who would fight for the NHS tooth and nail, I am now so disempassioned with it because of finding out how misinformed it is, I want out of it! I don't want to be part of that anymore..sad sad times! Though I don't feel sad!
I have to admit, I don't know what brittle diabetes is either though google is a wonderful thing! Thing is...if in 2 seconds I have a basic understanding why on earth are those who profess to be the gold standard and most knowledgeable not have the information? It just doesn't make sense. Yes keeping updated for GP's and to some extent practice nurses is very very hard BUT endochronolgists? (can't spell big words lol) and Diabetes specialist nurses? NO excuse..the are specialists, they should know more than the enitrity of google about everything around their chosen subject.....you do not specialise less you have a passion for that subject....sorry I know I am rambling, it just makes me so angry and embarrassed! x

 

[Lamont D]

Strong, stubborn...either or. I am actually a nurse Martin and whilst my area of "expert" was not medical nursing I too, before finding here, believed the old sayings and the media rubbish about obesity=diabetes etc etc. I would have gone along with the complex carbs "eat well" if I had not been enlightened by the amazing, supportive people on here..I would be on medication. My point really? For someone who would fight for the NHS tooth and nail, I am now so disempassioned with it because of finding out how misinformed it is, I want out of it! I don't want to be part of that anymore..sad sad times! Though I don't feel sad!
I have to admit, I don't know what brittle diabetes is either though google is a wonderful thing! Thing is...if in 2 seconds I have a basic understanding why on earth are those who profess to be the gold standard and most knowledgeable not have the information? It just doesn't make sense. Yes keeping updated for GP's and to some extent practice nurses is very very hard BUT endochronolgists? (can't spell big words lol) and Diabetes specialist nurses? NO excuse..the are specialists, they should know more than the enitrity of google about everything around their chosen subject.....you do not specialise less you have a passion for that subject....sorry I know I am rambling, it just makes me so angry and embarrassed! x

You are going through a period where you have had the shock of diagnosis, you are still trying to get your head around what is happening to you.

The NHS is a wonderful thing, unfortunately it is politically driven and the government is hell bent on cutting funding anything in the public sector.

There are some great specialists and some bad ones, but it has the best interests of patients and the care is good if you get the right endocrinologists.

I was lucky on my second referral, but my first didn't have a clue.
Your GP should be trying to find you the specialist care you need, talk to him/her.
You don't have to go to the nearest, I travel to see my endocrinologist.

And ask questions, someone will help you.

 

[MissMac]

You are going through a period where you have had the shock of diagnosis, you are still trying to get your head around what is happening to you.

The NHS is a wonderful thing, unfortunately it is politically driven and the government is hell bent on cutting funding anything in the public sector.

There are some great specialists and some bad ones, but it has the best interests of patients and the care is good if you get the right endocrinologists.

I was lucky on my second referral, but my first didn't have a clue.
Your GP should be trying to find you the specialist care you need, talk to him/her.
You don't have to go to the nearest, I travel to see my endocrinologist.

And ask questions, someone will help you.

My surgery do not seem to give a hoot to be honest....I was told to make an appointment with the "diabetic" nurse, did that, awful experience..scoffed at for my knowledge etc etc. All I have is that I need to go back after the 3 months for a repeat Hb1AC. She wanted me to do the urine test as well for organ damage but not bothering with that at the moment as have no intention of listening to anything she says...yup that's how disengaged I am. Told her not to bother referring me to DESMOND as it was, as they would simply be going over the eat well plate which doesn't interest me and all the complications of diabetes that i am more than aware of. What did she do? Referred me! There is no talk of any endocrinologist or dietician or even referral to a specialist nurse NOT included on the "education" programme. All in all, they were not interested in offering me any support less I accepted the drugs and the fact I was doomed for certain neuropathy, blindness and eventual death with the 10 years they have decided to knock off my life for me! As you can see...I defo got one of the bad ones! x Oh this is the same surgery that sent me a patient into resus who was in such awful ketoacidosis that they ended up in ICU for some time....all the surgery did was call an ambulance and leave said patient in the waiting room. So all in all, their diabetic care is somewhat shocking! x

 

[doug_j]

Had a consultation with a nurse at the GP's today, and a number of her comments made me really doubt that she knew what she was talking about. Not an uncommon scenario, I'm guessing?

When she said "oh, I've got a lot to learn", it was quite difficult not to respond with a flippant remark, but this seemingly experienced nurse was at least right on that one!

Here are a few of her gems, and it wouldn't surprise me if maybe I had the wrong end of the stick on some of these, so happy to be corrected...................

Eating protein doesn't affect BS, only carbs.

There's no point in checking your BS' 5-6 times daily as a Type 2 (even though my HB was high last week, therefore I'm embarking on a new low-carb regime, which was exactly the reason I was there)

And with that in mind (higher fat diet), no need to re-check cholesterol in 3 months.

We should just increase your Metformin, you're on a fairly low dose!?

There were others that have slipped my mind atm, but I'll post them when they come to me.

My doctor is good if the nurse at the surgery cannot sort it they have send you to diabetic team and they cannot do enough for you

 

[doug_j]

My surgery do not seem to give a hoot to be honest....I was told to make an appointment with the "diabetic" nurse, did that, awful experience..scoffed at for my knowledge etc etc. All I have is that I need to go back after the 3 months for a repeat Hb1AC. She wanted me to do the urine test as well for organ damage but not bothering with that at the moment as have no intention of listening to anything she says...yup that's how disengaged I am. Told her not to bother referring me to DESMOND as it was, as they would simply be going over the eat well plate which doesn't interest me and all the complications of diabetes that i am more than aware of. What did she do? Referred me! There is no talk of any endocrinologist or dietician or even referral to a specialist nurse NOT included on the "education" programme. All in all, they were not interested in offering me any support less I accepted the drugs and the fact I was doomed for certain neuropathy, blindness and eventual death with the 10 years they have decided to knock off my life for me! As you can see...I defo got one of the bad ones! x Oh this is the same surgery that sent me a patient into resus who was in such awful ketoacidosis that they ended up in ICU for some time....all the surgery did was call an ambulance and leave said patient in the waiting room. So all in all, their diabetic care is somewhat shocking! x

Ask your doctor to send you to see diabetic team at hospital

 

[bulkbiker]

What kind of thing are you eating now MissMac? If not filling then you may need a bit more fat content maybe? Just a thought .
Regards
M