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Phone call out of the blue .. seeing Doc tomorrow

AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Location
West Lancs
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Hi Folks ...
After my recent cancelled appointment with the DN, I have been in limbo waiting yet again to be given some details about what is happening to me. I'm not asking for much .. a conversation, a clue or two, some guidance, a snippet of advice .. anything at all would be a 100% increase in the information that I have been given since my T2 diagnosis on Feb 7th

Anyway, I received a telephone from my surgery about ten minutes ago .. Doc wants to see me tomorrow afternoon. So now I'm pleased, I'm excited and I'm nervous. This appointment is what I have been waiting for and I'm half expecting it to be positive .. but also half expecting the same sort of experience that @Debzz_ is currently working through with her GP
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/doc-said-no-to-self-testing.117558/
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/doc-said-no-to-self-testing.117558/
I'll let you know how it goes ...
 
Well, the waiting will soon be over at last; I hope you get a positive outcome & that it goes well for you with the GP - Good luck, will keep fingers crossed for you
 
AM1874 said:
This appointment is what I have been waiting for and I'm half expecting it to be positive .. but also half expecting the same sort of experience that @Debzz_ is currently working through with her GP
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I suppose part of your problem is how to cope with a GP who might be an idiot.

I've only just had a chance to read the thread you mentioned, what a lot happens in an hour or two. I have a suggestion which I'll repeat in case you miss my other reply.

Just in case your GP suggests not monitoring, ask him/her how you are supposed to know if your life style changes and his/her prescribed medication is working if you have to wait a year for an HbA1c which only reflects the previous 8 - 12 weeks and even then doesn't show peaks and troughs. How can you avoid the complications of being diabetic if you don't know what your BG is doing.

I sincerely hope that you have a sensible intelligent meeting with your GP.
 
Hi @DavidGrahamJones ..
Thanks .. a powerful argument that I will be putting forward if necessary .. I'll let you know
 
The problem with GPs supporting testing, as I see it, is that if they openly support it they have to prescribe the means with which to do it, and following NICE guidelines, they don't do this. Entirely for cost reasons.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
The problem with GPs supporting testing, as I see it, is that if they openly support it they have to prescribe the means with which to do it, and following NICE guidelines, they don't do this. Entirely for cost reasons.
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Hi @Bluetit1802 ..
I agree .. and I'm sure you are right when you say it is for cost reasons. What surprises me, though, is that amongst all of society's wide-ranging political and social comment, media coverage, public frustration and discussion about the NHS, nothing seems to be raised about this testing (or not) issue. It seems that it's up to us alone .. and we are simply stymied when the "experts" say no. But I will wait, in hope, to see what happens tomorrow ..
 
Bluetit1802 said:
The problem with GPs supporting testing, as I see it, is that if they openly support it they have to prescribe the means with which to do it, and following NICE guidelines, they don't do this.
Click to expand...

My GP is more than happy for me to test, even to test with the FreeStyle Libre. There is no way she will prescribe test strips though. That may be because I accept that she's never going to prescribe test strips unless I become insulin dependent. I'm not saying it's right but the NHS is not in a position to fund a lot of things these days and sadly test strips are a drop in the ocean. We can add my knees and my mate's hernia operation which he is still waiting for even after emergency funding has been applied for. So in his case, his GP says he needs the op, the consultant says he needs the op and can't understand why he's not been given a date. So even doctors agreeing with testing, in my opinion, doesn't mean they have to prescribe strips. Just an opinion. I'm scared of where this is all going to be honest. The government seem hell bent on letting the NHS fall into disarray and even raising a few hundred million with National Insurance contributions is going nowhere.

However, the £80 billion put aside to smooth Brexit is a different matter all together. I thought we were going to be better off, I haven't seen much evidence of it yet. Sorry for the politics, but it's the politicians who are behind everything.
 
Well at least your GP rings you, the GPs at my surgery don't seem to want to talk to patients at all, apart from in the 10 minute appointment.
 
Just nod in all the right places

BUT do go armed with you Q's on a bit of paper. The slot wont be anywhere near long enough, so make the most of it
 
Prem51 said:
Well at least your GP rings you, the GPs at my surgery don't seem to want to talk to patients at all, apart from in the 10 minute appointment.
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Hi @Prem51 ..
It was actually a receptionist who called on behalf of the Doc .. but, hey .. I'm not going to be picky about it .. I had the call and I have my appointment .. unless, of course, it's cancelled like the last one ... Naaah .. couldn't happen
 
Well folks ..
Had my appontment with Doc this afternoon (40 minutes late) and had some good news ..
- HbA1c down from 98 to 68
- Fasting BG down from 12.5 to 6.1
- Weight down from 106.1 to 97.8kg,
- BP down from 149/101 to 129/84
... and some not so good ..
- No assistance with strips etc for BG testing (not necessary)
- Told Doc I had junked beer, bread and sugar. Advice .. cut down on cakes and sugary fruit (never eat them)
- LCHF and lifestyle advice, plus answers to any other questions would come from the dietician .. not the Doc
- No eye test or foot exam until arranged by diabetes clinic who will be contacting me .. sometime
- All my daily BG and BP readings that I had printed .. ignored
- After ten minutes .. " Sorry, I have other patients waiting so we'll have to finish now"

Like plaiting fog .. (but this was what I was half expecting anyway)
 
Well done on all those results. What a brilliant start, which yu deserve for all your hard work.

GP's generally do delegate all the T2 diabetes stuff to the nurse. It is normal practice, so nothing out of the ordinary there. They have no idea about management, diet, and our own management techniques. That is all for the nurse.

I have NEVER seen a GP in relation to diabetes. The nurse saw me and gave me my diagnosis (which I already knew from a consultant dealing with another unrelated issue who just happened to look at my recent blood test results on her screen and said "oh, I see you are diabetic. No I'm not, said I. I can't comment said she as I'm not an endocrinologist, but I'm sure you will be contacted about this.") Next I knew, a letter with an appointment to see the nurse. That was over 3 years ago. No GP at all.
 
Great progress and all down to you and your determination to turn it around.
Sorry your GP is like mine and lots of others.
 
If you pay for prescriptions get an exemption ( from surgery) form & you will be exempt from prescription charges. I didn't mind paying for test strips as I felt I was getting a decent deal out of NHS, even now I'm old enough to get free scripts now, with 6 prescriptions every couple of months. You can usually find someone on eBay who is selling off their excess strips
 


Very interesting as It was my GP who told me I was T2 and said I was in luck as he was the practice lead on diabetes. Not seen him since but I've not had any annual review as it's not been a year since diagnosis. He did give me a leaflet on diabetes 3 weeks later when I saw him about blood pressure issue he was reviewing, guess I'll not be seeing him again then. I must admit though I heard from the Desmond team shortly after to make an appointment within a month and had my retinal scan shortly after, though my first appointment with the nurse and a feet check was 4 months after diagnosis so I recon I've done Ok compared to some.
 
chris lowe said:
You can usually find someone on eBay who is selling off their excess strips
Click to expand...
Should that be encouraged? With all the aggro over prescriptions for test strips, should people be selling their excess on eBay? Just a thought.
 

I also do very well. I had 2 HbA1c tests at diagnosis, followed by another 2 months later and another a month after that, then 2 more 3 monthly ones, then 6 monthly since then. A total of 11 in 3 years. I was put on the NICE care pathway immediately, have my feet checked annually, an annual eye test, and was invited on the X-pert course but declined that. I was having 6 monthly appointments with my nurse. These are now annual as I have a normal HbA1c and no meds. Apart from the usual rubbish dietary advice I have been well looked after with no complaints.
 
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