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Tessts and more tests and even more tests

H

Hedgrerowpete

Member
Are all these tests needed?????????????
I have had shed loads of tests, feet examined, blood and piddle and eyes and everything else. It's causing a lot of friction at work due to time off. All these test centres are run by people who only work from 10 am till 2 pm. Why can't they work past 7 pm or before 7 am? Having a whole day off due to travel distances and treatment location just for a nurse to check the pulse in my foot is a waste of my time, money, and effort, and extremely hard to justify to a manager.

I am sure someone is going to state it's for my good and health and blah blah blah, but not having a job and no money means not having prescription money and stuff, the tablets, and the idiots asking for tests. I have easier and better ways to test and control diabetes than the NHS system of leaches.
Its far easier I go somewhere once and have the whole lot dine in an afternoon or morning rather then it dragging on, week after week.
 
Week after week? That does seem a bit excessive... Are you recently diagnosed? When you're starting out they have to establish a baseline. So I'm assuming they're checking your feet for neuropathy; Having elevated blood sugars for a long time can cause nerve damage, which can end up being rather painful... And if you have no feeling in your feet, which is possible, you might end up with an infection that can cost you your toes/feet/legs, as ulcers and wounds can take a long time to heal if your diabetes isn't under good control, and gangrene is a very real possibility. Elevated blood glucose can damage your eyes, so you are likely going in for a photo of the back of your eyes as well to see whether there are bleeds there, and they'll also check your heart and kidneys for potential damage as well.

It's a lot, but they do need to know where to start from, far as treatment goes. But I do agree, it could be a bit more "user friendly"... I got lucky and spent a day in the hospital, going from one place to the next to get all checks when first diagnosed: feet tickled, ecg, fundus photo, urine and blood tests, all in one go, pretty much...

It is all useful, and it will not continue like this ad infinitum, I promise you.... But maybe you could ask them to work with you so you don't have to take so much time off at odd times for your employer. They do have to let you go to these checks without repercussions for your employment, they can't demand you skip them. Maybe you can have checks done closer to your place of work, or put appointments in a cluster per day rather than spread out over weeks. No harm in asking them, as with such odd times, you're not likely to be the only one who finds this very inconvenient indeed!

So, yes, this someone is stating it's good for your health and blah blah blah, but I do wholeheartedly agree this is not convenient for anyone involved. (Also, when diagnosed diabetic, you get a lot of medications for free on the NHS.... So you're not making them money in the long run, if it's any comfort?).

Anyway, hope the tests turn out excellent and their timing becomes more convenient. After that, some things are done once a year, once every two years, so... Maybe easier to plan so far in advance.
 
If you're in the UK you should get a prescription medical exemption form from your GP - Free prescriptions. You are legally entitled to the time off as you're now covered by the disability discrimination act, and "reasonable adjustments" must be made. (They don't have to pay you, but they do need to give you the time off)
 
I think the various separate appointments are probably because you are newly diagnosed.

I have an annual appointment with a nurse who takes blood, blood pressure, weighs me and checks my feet. I take a urine sample to this appointment. The results appear on my nhs app and if needed I get a follow up call. Apart from that there is an interim blood test after 6 months. Eye screening is once a year unless they spot potential problems.

I’m happy to have these checks to protect my health going forward.

If you are on medication for diabetes you are entitled to free prescriptions as Lesley says.
 

Get it sorted, or it will come back and bite you. I get the feeling sometimes I got ants running up my leg, biting and stinging. This is nerve damage done by sugars in my blood. The reason I am here is Monday-Friday 8 to 8, overtime Sat and Sun. Need the cash, bills to pay.
 
Only if you are on diabetic medications. Those managing by diet alone don’t qualify for the prescription exemption. (Those that do need the forms and certificate you mention rather than just getting it automatically)
 
HSSS said:
Only if you are on diabetic medications. Those managing by diet alone don’t qualify for the prescription exemption. (Those that do need the forms and certificate you mention rather than just getting it automatically)
Click to expand...
Only in England though, not in Scotland
 
You could have waited for the vacation you get at work and spent it going to the doctors. Diabetes is indeed very rich in complications, but these complications do not develop quickly (several years or even decades), so if you visit the doctors a month or two later, little will change. Of course, if you're not lying down with ketoacidos right now, but judging by your messages, you're feeling pretty good.
 
Dunno, he could have waited months for an appointment at his doctors. Type-2 Diabetes is also silent until you get a complication, then you have to wait your turn.
 
G'day Pete, and welcome to the forum.

As I'm a newly-diagnosed 78-year-old male, I can empathise with your
overwhelmingly negative feelings about the tests, their frequency, and
the difficulties of organising appointments suitable to your preferred
timings, rather than those of the clinicians you're seeing.

Here in Australia, employees are legally entitled to paid time off in order
to attend medical practitioners—backed up by a medical certificate signed
by the practitioner. I'd assume that the UK has similar provisions?

BTW, you do not have to disclose, in any way, your medical condition to your
employer, nor the reason for your appointment(s). This would be breach of
workplace legislation were they to demand such.

I wear eyeglasses, and undertake periodic eye tests for my lens prescriptions,
usually every 12 months. During that test, the optician checks for diabetic
retinopathy as a matter of course. And again, in Australia, this procedure is
free of charge under our government Medicare system.

On a side note, I'm a little concerned that you describe NHS medical practitioners
as "leeches" and "idiots". And I know you're super stressed at this point, but you
need to work with your diabetes medical team, rather than against them. You may
well have legitimate complaints about their procedures or their approach to you
personally, but it's better—at least initially—to simply accept their recommendations
and therapeutic intervention(s) and give them enough time to check their suitability.

Please take care mate, and I hope things start to
pan out a lot better for you in the near future.
 
Hi all, thanks for the replies.
8 weeks, 8 separate appointments to four different buildings, and three piddle deposits. Piddle can only be dropped off between 8 am and 4 pm at the gp medical centre. i leave for work at 5 am and drive two hours. i leave for work at 8 am and get there at 11 am instead of 7 am.
i went to see specialists and diabetic coaches. I have not seen a real-life doctor in 12 years. The best I get is a nurse who does the job of the GP instead (she is very good at it, too). The GP reads the notes non-medical people leave on my records, makes adjustments, and calls for more information or another appointment. All these other people I am forced to see are all quango companies and private medical companies with services to the NHS. I Am sure the surgery is milking the system.

I had another two appointment resquests last week, I will ignore both of them. If I carry on like this I will be unemployed by Easster.
 
know the feeling on loads of appt's, they should ease off, especially if recently diagnosed
it might be worth asking if telephone/nhs video attend appointments are possible for any appts that don't require samples. Travel costs to/from hospital were really expensive (ferries + petrol). Have managed to get most of mine changed to simple video calls which are a LOT easier to manage, and can do pretty much anywhere. I have to laugh at being sent to One hospital in the morning for consultant appt, SAME Team DSN oh yeah please drive another 20 miles for an afternoon appt, even though this morning the DSN that your going to see is in the SAME BUILDING like ***? :O
 
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