Things we all should know

[hanadr]

If anyone has any more of these please add them.
We as diabetics can self-refer to the podiatry department of our local hospital. there's a form to fill in, that's all. It saves time over getting a GP appointment. I was told it by the podiatrists at The Royal Berkshire Hospital, when they were treating T1 husband for foot ulcers. I had an ingrowing toenail at the time.
The Reading area actually has at least 3 locations for NHS podiatry. One at RBH, one in West Reading and one at the West Berks Community Hospital in Thatcham.

 

[LittleSue]

It's widely known that Diabetics have an increased risk of heart disease.
Less publicised is that in diabetics the chest pain usually associated with angina/heart attack may be experienced as breathlessness. (The medical term is an "angina equivalent".) Whereas significant chest pain would have you ringing the doctor or an ambulance, unfortunately breathlessness may be dismissed as being a bit unfit.

So if you start gettting unusually breathless on exercise or after a large meal, although it might be something else, its worth mentioning this to your doctor so he can arrange cardiac screening alongside the other investigations.

This knowledge comes from working in a regional cardiac unit, where several diabetic patients referred with "heart failure" (meaning their heart pumping less efficiently) actually had nearly-blocked arteries with breathlessness as the only symptom. The consultants referred to breathlessness as a known angina equivalent in diabetes, it was well known to the consultants but apparently not to GPs.

Sue