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NHS Dietitian Contradicting Himself

NewTD2

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,563
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Just had a visit with my NHS Dietitian.

Whilst congratulating me for going into "remission" and lowering my HBA1c from 85 to 38 in just over 4 months, he did not like the fact that I changed my diet to an extremely low-carb and very healthy diet.

He said my fasting blood glucose readings between 4 - 6 mmols/l are false and I'm cheating.

He also emphasized to me to eat "normally" and stressed out that the NHS does NOT agree with low-carbing and it's strongly NOT advisable.

So I was sitting there in his office thinking this is just another waste of my time and while I was listening to his sermon, I saw a book sitting on his desk about "Carb and Calories", the best selling book on counting carbohydrates and calories for Diabetics!!!

Absolutely confusing!!!!!!!
 
I had a similar "You can't eat low carb" from the NHS dietitian and likewise said NHS couldn't support it. When I first met her she advised me to buy the same book.
I love the idea that you're cheating!!
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I wonder if his normal clientele are T1s on insulin? In which case they have to carb count in order to calculate dosage. ? Just a thought.
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His registered patients are mixed from T1, T2 to Gestational etc.

I won't be seeing my NHS Dietitian again. Absolute waste of time.
 
How where you cheating , did he elaborate. A HBa1C of 38 is a fantastic drop well done. But it works out at an average of
6.39 mmol/l thats if Im reading this right.
 
May I ask why you were sent to a dietician?
 
Did he think just the fasting bg was 'cheating' or all your blood levels? I am trying to understand what he means by 'cheating' - does he mean that by removing/lowering carbs, your body has less 'work' to do processing your meals and therefore it's not surprising the numbers are lower. If so, it's not 'cheating', it's a 'solution'. Does he thinking using medication is cheating - or in fact any form of dietary/lifestyle intervention is cheating? He sounds strange!
 
I know this is going to sound awful but the when I saw "Health Care Assistant " at my local surgery and was being asked if I was eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise all I could do was look around the room for the hidden cameras, I was sure I was on Candid Camera or someone was playing a practical joke. This women that was asking me all these questions about diet and exercise was almost as wide as she was tall. Not exactly setting a very good example.
 
NewTD2 said:
His registered patients are mixed from T1, T2 to Gestational etc.

I won't be seeing my NHS Dietitian again. Absolute waste of time.
Click to expand...

You don't need a dietician with a HBA1C reading like yours. Let alone an insulting, condescending one.You are already doing just about everything right, there is nothing that can be added to your success, except continued success.
 
the reasons why she was overweight may be many and varied and nothing to do with not eating healthily or not exercising.
 
lucylocket61 said:
the reasons why she was overweight may be many and varied and nothing to do with not eating healthily or not exercising.
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Much much more likely those are the reasons though.

I had the same experience when first diagnosed and it just made the appointment a joke. It's a bit like an endocrinologist having an A1c of 12 while still trying to tell you how to lower yours.
 
I don't think we should be fat shaming anyone, this is a support forum. I am glad there are some obese workers in the NHS, they are more likely to be sympathetic to those of us who really struggle to lose weight. All the willpower in the world sometimes simply does not work. It's a tough life if you are obese, let's not make it worse for those worse off then ourselves by judging them.
 
lucylocket61 said:
the reasons why she was overweight may be many and varied and nothing to do with not eating healthily or not exercising.
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Agreed.

Stooping to insults and making uninformed judgements about other people’s health and appearance never supports an argument.

In fact, as soon as I see people judging each other on such things as BMIl I lose respect for them, and any other opinions they hold.
 
Carbs and cals is an excellent aid for me.
But the cheating comment was idiotic.
 
lucylocket61 said:
the reasons why she was overweight may be many and varied and nothing to do with not eating healthily or not exercising.
Click to expand...
I agree that fat shaming anyone is so unfair. I was an obese nurse until retirement in 2016 and believe I did a good job despite my weight, plus I probably was more empathetic to obese patients. Working for the NHS is stressful and with irregular shifts, it’s all too easy to have irregular eating and sleeping patterns and also to comfort eat. Who knows if my diabetes diagnosis was as a result of this, but having struggled to lose weight during my nursing career I now realise that this was probably due to my diabetes gradually developing. Who knows how many other obese health care professionals will end up on this forum?
 
If there is any blaming to be done, it is not to put anyone on a guilt trip but to analyse the cause of increasing obesity.
When I look at my school photographs of the fifties we kids were almost invariably slim as were adults, of course there was a very small percentage of exceptions. We had enough to eat, but the adult and the younger population had a different balance of macro and micro nutrients.
If there is any blaming to done it should be what some think is the flawed Ancel Keys diet heart hypothesis that is driving obesity and the upsurge of T2D and certain cancers in late part of the twentieth century and now in the 21st.
The whole population is encouraged to it cut down on fat and eat refined carbs.
Exercise long term may help but the body runs extremely efficiently and most of the population don't ever work on stored fat as the keto guys.
It is no good ignoring the elephant in the room in the guise of political correctness.
D.
 
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Not all NHS dietitians are the same. I got sent to one for losing too much weight. Dietitian went through what I was eating and was very impressed. She was quite happy that most of my carbs came from vegetables. The only advice I got was not to be afraid of trying different foods.
 
In situations like this I think we get confused with the HCP's personal view and the official line. They are not allowed to deviate from the official line unless they wish to be charged with malpractice. My DN and I have a way of talking on and off the record which has taught me that she would like to advocate low carb and wishes that dietitians would stop telling people to eat carbs with every meal. I have my dietitians action plan somewhere where it says just that.

The fact that your dietitian had carbs and cals lying around might suggest what her personal thoughts are.
 
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