• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Qualified Comments

D

daveburdett

Member
Messages
7
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
 
daveburdett said:
Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...


Not as far as I'm aware, they do employ people with a medical background to advise them on the content of the Community pages of DCUK, if you pm the Admin they'll be able to tell you more.
 
daveburdett said:
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...

We're ALL qualified to the extent that we're ALL diabetics, we're ALL living with diabetes on a moment by moment basis and we're the best qualified to tell the professionals what works for us and what doesn't work for us. It's only by LISTENING and HEARING patients that the professionals actually learn anything at all. If they don't listen to the people who are EXPERIENCING the condition, then the professionals received information from out of date teachings can be very ill founded indeed.
 
daveburdett said:
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...
Our advice is based on experience as diabetics, internet reports - as far as possible of qualified researchers - but we cannot diagnose or guarantee anything we advise.

You will, of course, have been given ALL the standard advice from qualified nurses & doctors, & Diabetes UK, dietitians, & come here with your unanswered questions & problems. That advice includes the information that if you follow it, diabetes is progressive.

Mark 5:26 ..... And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

Dr. Briffa does contribute, & has a regular blog. He has even debated with a DUK representative on Radio 4.
 
daveburdett said:
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...

This is a diabetic self help forum as such none of the contributors with the exception of Dr Briffa are qualified doctors to my knowledge. A lot of the people who arrived at the gates of the forum do so because of the appalling ignorance and advice they have got from their HCP's. I am lucky I have a great GP who does understand how diabetes works.

Take a look at this thread recent thread for an example of an admittedly retired doctors attitude to Type 2 diabetics. He understands absolutely nothing about MY condition http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=33170&hilit=outrageous and I pity any T2 diabetics who were on his books.

Take a look at many forum members opening posts where they describe what has happened to them. You will find a litany of LADA diabetics who needed to be on insulin and had been misdiagnosed T2 because of the ignorance of their HCP's. You'll spot overweight DSN's and specialist nurses ganging up on one poor lady and laughing at her while telling her to "give up the doughnuts". You'll spot a number of T1 diabetics who have been refused test strips and in some cases insulin because "you've had your prescription this month"

I personally saw a specialist diabetic nurse who tried to blackmail me by saying she wouldn't prescribe me any medication until I changed my diet away from the one I'd just shown her to be working, one my GP later told me to continue with as "its put your diabetes in remission" She told me "when you have done as I have told you be prepared to put the weight back on that you've lost"

"Expert" advice from GP's a DSN's is the last thing this forum needs in my opinion. What it needs is as many diabetics to tell newly arrived people what actually works. Fifty thousand forum members can't all be wrong can they?
 
daveburdett said:
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...

An important point I would just like to make. While Doctors are training, diabetes and nutrition are subjects that take up about an hour or two and that's all. It's only people who choose to specialize in the endocrine system and/or nutrition who could possibly be any major help or able to comment with any real authority. DSN are people who have shown an interest in the field, so are given the title, I think some may do courses, but the majority don't.

As Grace said, we live with the condition day in and day out, and post our experiences. As we are all different, then it's possibly worth looking at what works for us, seeing what the majority do, try that, if it doesn't work try something someone else suggests until you find a regime that works.

I truly believe that although we have no qualifications saying we are experts in diabetes, many of us are, or are certainly heading that way. Living with something each and every day is very different to reading about it in a text book.
 
xyzzy said:
daveburdett said:
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...

This is a diabetic self help forum as such none of the contributors with the exception of Dr Briffa are qualified doctors to my knowledge. A lot of the people who arrived at the gates of the forum do so because of the appalling ignorance and advice they have got from their HCP's. I am lucky I have a great GP who does understand how diabetes works.

Take a look at this thread recent thread for an example of an admittedly retired doctors attitude to Type 2 diabetics. He understands absolutely nothing about MY condition http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=33170&hilit=outrageous and I pity any T2 diabetics who were on his books.

Take a look at many forum members opening posts where they describe what has happened to them. You will find a litany of LADA diabetics who needed to be on insulin and had been misdiagnosed T2 because of the ignorance of their HCP's. You'll spot overweight DSN's and specialist nurses ganging up on one poor lady and laughing at her while telling her to "give up the doughnuts". You'll spot a number of T1 diabetics who have been refused test strips and in some cases insulin because "you've had your prescription this month"

I personally saw a specialist diabetic nurse who tried to blackmail me by saying she wouldn't prescribe me any medication until I changed my diet away from the one I'd just shown her to be working, one my GP later told me to continue with as "its put your diabetes in remission" She told me "when you have done as I have told you be prepared to put the weight back on that you've lost"

"Expert" advice from GP's a DSN's is the last thing this forum needs in my opinion. What it needs is as many diabetics to tell newly arrived people what actually works. Fifty thousand forum members can't all be wrong can they?
Click to expand...

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: We're certainly not wrong!

When I saw my DN for the first time, she made a comment about 'not being able to have two cream cakes for breakfast' any more. I've never liked cream cakes at any time of the day, never mind for breakfast and she's so lucky I didn't sock her in the mouth but I sure hope one day that somebody does. Sometimes the uniform leads people to believe they really do know it all. Not only is that kind of attitude sad and very unprofessional - it's downright dangerous.
 
Hi Dave. I agree with all the other posters. However you will find from time to time a very small number of crackpots who come to the site to cause problems. Many claim to have cured thier diabetes within a few months and actually know very little about diabetes. It's a pity because for new members I'm sure it will be confusing, and won't easily distinguish fact from fiction. Seems to be a fate of most forums.
You will certainly find that most of us as diabetics, have a great deal of knowledge about our condition, in many cases as stated, nore knowledge on the subject than their gp or DSN. It's sad but a fact.
My daughter is a surgeon, and accepts I understand Diabetes better than her. But thats down to her training i.e not her specialist area.
Hope this helps. This is a very caring community, who help many diabetics. Even I have to ask questions about something I'm not sure about from time to time. You will also find that our tolerence to foods vary from person to person , and to this end you have to control your own diabetes to find out what works for you. We offer advice based on our knowledge and experience.
Best of luck with your diabetes control
 
Hi. I've been reading this forum for the last few years and what I've found is that there is an automatic concensus in play. I take note of what other contributors have to say and if someone corrects me I take note, think about it and perhaps modify my thoughts; others appear to do the same so. There is a risk of Group-think and we have to be careful not to think that low-carbing, for example, is the solution for everyone; just most. My diabetes GP said she had 500 diabetic patients (think about that!) and hence knew her subject when I tried to tell her I wasn't a normal T2. She just said well you're not a T1 therefore you are a T2 (I think I'm probably LADA?) and when I said my nephew was diagnosed T1 at 22 she said that's very unusual; no it isn't. So what is an experienced trained diabetes HCP? Just handing out NHS mantra to literally hundreds of db patients from very limited training on a 20 minute interview without much listening may not be as useful as this forum. BTW I would love to see more comments from HCPs on this forum whether they are positive or critical.
 
daveburdett said:
Without criticising all the helpful folk who contribute to the Diabetes Forum, I would very much like to see, from time to time, a diabetes-qualified nurse or doctor commenting on some of the views expressed and questions asked. Although other contributors are trying to be helpful, maybe some of their observations are ill-founded. Are the forum administrators qualified?
Click to expand...

Hi,

You have been here long enough to know that the board, ASK A QUESTION used to be ASK THE EXPERTS and it was used in the same way as ASK A QUESTION is now. It was changed because it was felt that expert was not really true. We are not experts but people living with diabetes.

It would be unethical of HCP's to give individual advice without having a copy of the person's medical notes and a one to one consultation with them. They could answer general questions but sometimes this is at odds with what forum members have found works for them.

We do not always agree with things that other diabetics have posted and we are at liberty to question them. Anything that is considered dangerous advice can be reported via p.m. and Admin/Mods can decide the best way forward for that particular post.
The forum was created for the diabetes community for support, to share ideas and help each other.

We may not be experts and know all there is to know but we do become experts in our own management of this chronic condition over time. We can offer support and advise people what we would do in a particular situation but our advice is only that, advice and it is up to the individual concerned as to whether they take it or not. I am sure we have all seen posts that make us cringe and need reporting.

If you need a refresher as to what the forum is about then I suggest you re-read the Forum Rules.
 
Great post Catherine :thumbup:
 
I am Lucky to have excellent support from my DSN and Consultant who is an Endocrinologist. I have recently improved my HBA1C ( still working on reducing further without having hypo's )

My point is that yes I would value sometime a clinical view point, however it goes to show that even the HCPs value our day to day experience and living with Diabetes.

At my last DSN appt there was a nurse who is training to become a DSN. I was asked to explain ratios, information given to me from the Diabetic Dietician and I was telling this lady how I carb count and work out my insulin ratios. I was then asked if I would mind talking to a group of diabetes nurses about my experiences and day to day living with diabetes and carbohydrate counting. Baring in mind the DSN ( manager ) who has trained me will also be present.

Lucy xxx
 
What would we do without Catherine and Grace keeping the keel even?
 
Back
Top