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My Doc Says ...

Heathenlass

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,631
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Inspired by the thread "What Stupid Things Have People Said to you", and by noticing others have posted some plain daft things doctors and other HCP's have said to them, in other threads, what is the most stupid, inappropiate or most unhelpful thing/s said to you by a HCP ?


I have a few, but will start with the nurse that weighed me in the middle of winter when I was wearing heavy boots and multiple layers of clothing. (It gets cold up here !)
She gave me a five minute righteous tongue lashing lecture on not gaining weight and the dangers of gaining weight as I weighed 1kg more than last weigh in at summer.

I am 5'7 and weigh 8st 10. Always.
She was 5'2 and probably weighed twice my weight.

Signy
 
My DN told me she thought my MODY diagnosis was wrong that that I was really a T2 because I'd been "obese" at diagnosis. I had indeed weighed 76kg when diagnosed. Had she checked my notes further she'd have seen that I lost a lot of that weight three months after diagnosis by a surgical technique known as a Caesarian section.

Kate
 
In recent times my old gp said that I was over-testing and could get away with testing 4 times a day.
 
Now, now Kesun. We almost had a "catastrophic moisture incident" involving iPad and tea there......... I'm still chuckling.
 
I am not alone in this one. My action points from my dietitian include.

2. Continue to have regular meals.

3. Have sources of starchy carbohydrate at each meal.
 
On diagnosis, I was (I guess more or less routinely, big sigh) put on statins. After two weeks I came back with elephantine legs covered in large welts of red blotches (clearly a statin side effect). After a look, my GP's locum told me, 'But you must just learn to live with that …' - (Ha! No way, amigo! – I stopped statins myself and legs went back to normal).

annelise
 
Squire Fulwood said:
Almost unbelievable. Do you think they are on our side or is it a takeover by stealth.
Click to expand...
Well Squire Fulwood,

I think that it should sometimes be born in mind that not all doctors graduated top of their class. I guess the same applies to our other health carers (and not to forget: dieticians!!!).

Maybe it is a good thing that they do not need to display this kind of information, though … - it might have patients running screaming away as fast as their legs will carry them (unless leg muscles have been numbed by statins already) …

Annelise
 

I live in the purview of a surgery with a geriatric expert in charge.(He was once featured in a BBC report) I am not young. My DN has a BSc in diabetic care and in my opinion is perfect. I won't have anything said against her. I have concerns for other patients in this country when with all this wonderful back up I was prescribed pills (we won't say which ones to quell the inevitable arguments).

It doesn't seem to make much difference if your HCP's are the best in their field, they still have to push the current doctrine.
 
When I was 1st diagnosed, and believed the NICE guidelines I was having porridge for breakfast with dried fruit (yes I know better now) My DN tested me about an hour after eating and suprisingly my BG was sky high, and she said to stop the dried fruit as this was what the problem was. When asked what I could replace the fruit with for a little sweetness she said honey, because it's a "natural" sugar!!!!!!!
 

Squire Fulwood, I know there are very good doctors and health personnel around, I agree (same in Denmark). But I think we can agree (and here I go by mostly anecdotal evidence which I have no reason to distrust) that some of them may not have followed the latest developments within their respective fields since they had their exams.

On a positive note on 'what doctors say', I will applaud my GP (not his locum I quoted above) for saying on diagnosis: Go onto the internet and find out about foods. - Best advice ever. Never had a referral to a dietician.

annelise
 

Yes annelise I think we essentially agree. The point I was making was that with the thoroughly excellent HCP's in my local practice they still have to push the accepted doctrine so may not appear to be up to date.

Sometimes a locum can appear as a breath of fresh air but he comes with no baggage often.
 
Gp in South Wales-you only need 1 test a day....

Oh and recently, a phone call from receptionist to stop taling my night time diabetic medication.. Phoning on behalf of the GP who had NOT checked my records and I did make a formal complaint.

On the good side I have a superb pump consultant and 2 DSN's at MK hospital, and had a terrific DSN at Prince Phillip in Llanelli. Have to give credit to good health care professionals...


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
donnellysdogs said:
Gp in South Wales-you only need 1 test a day....
Click to expand...

I can get quite confrontational sometimes but I hardly have ever felt the need with respect to my doctor's surgery. However, I can imagine myself writing to my GP to ask at which time I should take that test and to what purpose.
 
My diabetes GP diagnosed me (guessed) as a T2 with a urine stick having both agreed that I had the complete set of symptoms. I have never been overweight an lost weight just before diagnosis. At my next appointment without noticing how thin I was he congratulated me on continuing to lose weight; my wife had to explain to him how thin I was and he said 'oh yes'. As my diabetes progressed my replacement diabetes GP refused me insulin saying it was a last resort; she also said when I queried it that as I was not a T1 I must be a T2. A year later when my HBa1c continued to rise and she had forgotten who I was she said apologetically that I would need to go onto insulin. If only she had listened to me. So I'm one of the many mis-diagnosed as T2 which screws-up all the stats. The good news is that my current DN who manages my insulin and regular checks is superb.
 
Even though it took the third appointment, when I had a hypo in front of my GP, I had been telling her was something was not right for months
My surgery has gone through doctors like a dose of salts in the last couple of years. Due to the changes and cutbacks. Since then I can only praise my medical people and the surgery has been more than helpful. However in my wife's treatment, it is like banging your head against the wall, she still keeps getting told to eat high carbs, even though she uses my condition as an example, why not to eat them!
 

And of course fruit is horrible, nasty, unnatural sugar !

Granted, dried fruit are little "sugar bombs", but it's not the first time I have heard of DN's suggesting honey as an alternative sweetener and I really can't understand why

Signy
 

I think my answer to that would be "Would YOU ? "

I despair, I really do .

Signy
 
Moving onto the pump the DSN said to get blood ketone test strips for my meter, just in case. Rang through to the GP for the script.
Was then told by the GP (through his receptionist) that would have to choose if I wanted the blood sugar test strips or the blood ketone test strips as he wasn't going to prescribe both for me....
 

Uhhhh Duh ??
"Oh yeah, I'll take the ketone strips, they will be SO handy when I go into DKA from not being able to test my BG !"

What was the outcome of this in the end ?

Signy
 
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