Why don't some people get it?

zand said:

re not wanting to go against our doctor's advice.....I had an advantage there because I had followed diets given to me by my doctors and they didn't work. My GPs also weren't too good with some of my other health problems. For instance when I had tennis elbow I got more help and advice from a young lad on work experience in a sports shop than I did from my GP. So I had no qualms about finding out what worked for me on my own.

@Squire Fulwood The problem with these programs is that HCPs watch them and assume all of us fatties do the same thing. We don't. As my son said when he and I watched one of those programs - "The clue is in the title 'Secret Eaters' , if the film crew followed you Mum you wouldn't be included in the program, they would scrap the footage".

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I agree that HCP's make assumptions and often incorrect ones. My DN has made many. For example, since I am retired I don't do any work and I don't see my brother from Southampton very often although we both have Skype and talk every day. They may well think that all us fatties cheat but I only know of the two I mentioned.

I have always taken a different view. I think people, in general, are quite concerned about their health Half an acre of health care products in Tesco and all of Holland and Barratt show that people are trying to do the right thing. If there was just someone who could tell them what the right thing was we would all be healthier and stop following fads that don't work.

Interesting Question.

I have tried to lose weight on multiple occasions and have fallen prey to the "I can not live without a donut" and throwing my toys out of the pram as life is so unfair yadda yadda.

Strangely since my diagnosis I have just become really focussed on what I can eat and have had no issues with just accepting that in all probability I will never eat bread, pasta, rice, potatoes again.

I have chosen a LCHF Intermittant fasting WOE and seem to be thriving on it physically and emotionally.....I have so much energy I fear I am becomming annoying!

From what I can see on this form people seem to fall into two camps those that go "Holy ****" and do a complete lifestyle change and have a mind shift of ok so I can never eat another donut again but whatever, and those that really struggle with letting go of the old ways of eating.

Yes I do read some of the "I ate half a pizza, garlic bread and coke last night and my BG this morning has shot up" and do have to sit on my hands to stop myself from typing "no **** sherlock" but also accept that this disease is personal to all of us and people handle things differently.

There are also some terribly sad posts where people are genuinely lost or very depressed and finding solace in that peice of shortbread.

Tis a complicated issue and I feel lucky that I have managed to get my head round things relatively quickly. Although to be honest if the advice I got which was to take the tablets, come back in three months and try to eat brown bread and pasta is the norm it is no wonder a lot of people do not really stand a chance......I used to work for the NHS and you realise pretty soon that the patients who question and are demanding whilst a PITA are the ones who receive better attention.

Squire Fulwood said:

I agree that HCP's make assumptions and often incorrect ones. My DN has made many. For example, since I am retired I don't do any work and I don't see my brother from Southampton very often although we both have Skype and talk every day. They may well think that all us fatties cheat but I only know of the two I mentioned.

I have always taken a different view. I think people, in general, are quite concerned about their health Half an acre of health care products in Tesco and all of Holland and Barratt show that people are trying to do the right thing. If there was just someone who could tell them what the right thing was we would all be healthier and stop following fads that don't work.

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My Practice nurse explained the HbA1c test to me like this" This test takes your average blood sugar over a 3 month period, because diabetics lie and can give you a good reading just by being good the day before so this test catches them out"

Kind of sums up the whole mindset to me.....I mean does this ridiculous woman really think that most diabetics would be living on cream buns then only eating lettuce for two days to cheat a test!

here they will do the hbA1c test to check your sugar anyhow... they don't finger prick. I've never had that done, only when I'm in hospital. So whatever the outcome of my hbA1c is then what we discuss... so there's never been any hiding for me. Either things are working or they're not. My biggest problem is trying to manage diabetes around other health conditions... it's not that easy that's for sure.

@PenfoldAPD you are bang on the money! It's just plain simple!

I know I tend to bat on about statins, but with all your research, with your positive attitude to maintaining your health and enhancing your understanding, I really feel you would benefit from gaining an understanding of the cholesterol situation, how we have got to the place we are, why the majority of our doctors believe what they believe (ie that Cholesterol is bad and needs to be reduced by medication).
All of the headlines, like for instance 'Statins reduce the incidence of heart disease' are wildly inaccurate. They use relative reduction figures, to grossly exaggerate a tiny improvement, and they fail to mention that overall mortality is unchanged by Statin therapy, you may be SLIGHTLY les likely to die from heart disease, but instead you are more likely to die from cancer, accidents, suicide even! They dismiss those results as coincidence, but when statins in many people cause confusion, depression, etc, maybe the 'accidental deaths' and suicides are actually relevant. And many people have joint and muscle pain. If you have joint and muscle pain you are less likely to be physically active, and your overall fitness / health will go down.

You are such a positive person, with a positive attitude, I think you need to focus your attention on the Cholesterol / Statin situation. An excellent place to start is Malcolm Kendrick's blog, he is actually just writing a many part series in what actually causes heart disease, and why cholesterol is an 'innocent bystander', present at the scene!

drmalcolmkendrick.org

@PenfoldAPD oh yes the co-op sticky toffee pudding that was on special offer one between two of us not forgetting the tablespoon of extra thick double cream on top of that, or the cheesecake and cream or the best ever the chocolate fudge cake and pouring cream! Its not wonder really is it!

I have decided my poison of choice id going to be really good Malt Whisky, as it will be an occasional treat I may as well really enjoy it lol

My Energy levels are crazy I am actually getting impatient as I am wating for a client payment to clear so that I can join the Gym up the road before its offer of free personal training ends!.......

Lindy1706 said:

My Practice nurse explained the HbA1c test to me like this" This test takes your average blood sugar over a 3 month period, because diabetics lie and can give you a good reading just by being good the day before so this test catches them out"

Kind of sums up the whole mindset to me.....I mean does this ridiculous woman really think that most diabetics would be living on cream buns then only eating lettuce for two days to cheat a test!

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This attitude of some HCPs really upsets me - on the one hand many are promoting carbs as a large proportion of a 'well-balanced diet' and then there is this whole blame game going on when patients come back with high HbA1c results, are upset because they HAVE been doing everything right (ie what they've been told to do), and then get told they must be cheating. All it would take to make a huge difference would be for just a little bit of joined-up thinking on the part of our healthcare system as a whole and a little more understanding from some HCPs as individuals.

I've often felt 'in trouble'. I am obsessive and paranoid about the 'numbers'! And the above really doesn't help!

I was in denial for a couple of years, and making the shift to LCHF which was against everything my DSN advised was a huge leap of faith. I've been blessed with amazing results, I feel physically and emotionally healthier than I have done in years!

Whilst in denial I did have moments of clarity where I realised that "Death by Chocolate" was becoming an actual threat for me, but I couldn't seem to break the addiction to carbs. I've suffered from bouts of moderately severe depression since I was a teenager and went through a period of physically self-harming in my early 30s. I can now recognise that my destructive eating habits were a form of self-harm, linked to low self-worth. When I tried to follow the NHS eatwell plate model, my carb cravings increased and I was ravenously hungry for years. LCHF might just have saved my life!!

Stallen said:

Worth noting I'm Vegetarian but not fond of greens, but I need to eat them so I blend them, would I prefer some carp bar of chocolate of course I would, but I know it's bad, so blended greens it will be for me.

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I believe it is easier for us vegetarians to adapt to a new way of eating when diagnosed. We already avoid vast swathes of supermarket and are accustomed to being disappointed with menus so it is not such a big change of mindset for us

Lindy1706 said:

My Practice nurse explained the HbA1c test to me like this" This test takes your average blood sugar over a 3 month period, because diabetics lie and can give you a good reading just by being good the day before so this test catches them out"

Kind of sums up the whole mindset to me.....I mean does this ridiculous woman really think that most diabetics would be living on cream buns then only eating lettuce for two days to cheat a test!

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Beautifully put. That is exactly the attitude that winds me up. I found I was quite grateful for the Hba1c test since it was the first thing I could defend myself with. I arrived for the review with an Hba1c in the forties and sat with a smug grin on my face and never offered an explanation. The nurses are running out of things to blame me for.

Hi @PenfoldAPD, one of the people who doesn`t "get it" is my brother. His wife is t2, his brother (me) is t2 and his youngest son is t1 and only the other day he was insisting to me that t2 is ALWAYS degenerative regardless of control and almost always turns into t1!. His wife totally follows doctors orders re.diet and will not even discuss any alternatives but their son is probably the most clued up diabetic I have ever met, he runs a boot camp and has great control, despite all the times he has tried to explain things to his mom she is still insistent that NHS knows best. Funny old world innit?.

Lindy1706 said:

My Practice nurse explained the HbA1c test to me like this" This test takes your average blood sugar over a 3 month period, because diabetics lie and can give you a good reading just by being good the day before so this test catches them out"

Kind of sums up the whole mindset to me.....I mean does this ridiculous woman really think that most diabetics would be living on cream buns then only eating lettuce for two days to cheat a test!

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Maybe you need to spend a bit more time on here. And this is a site full of those dedicated to being in control.
Testing in bed, or religiously after going into the bathroom on waking up, Waking, or not walking to the doctors, eating carefully for a week or two, or delaying appointments if they have fallen off the wagon, all to get a better fasting result, let alone a Hba1c. It's a test, everyone likes to pass tests. (there is even a '4 club', as if fastings of 5 are somehow not good enough)
It's human nature.
And this 'ridiculous woman' you speak so lowly of, just has to put up with the patient's attitude, and work on through it with a helpful attitude towards them.

Well said @Lindy1706 .... Like the "likes"

@SunnyExpat Yep sorry but I do have a lowly opinion of someone who basically lumps all diabetics in together and openly says that "They lie so that they can eat **** "

If people want to do that up to them and i know it goes on but in all honesty the only people they are conning is themselves but hey as I have said before their disease, their party their way of dealing with it.

No what really offended me was I asked intelligent questions and got basically told "shut up, take the tablets, come back in three months time for another test and probably an increase in tablets and oh by the way this will only get worse and you will end up on insulin one day"

So I am sorry if dealing with other patients attitudes to their disease has made her cynical but why should I have to suffer that? I do not want to cheat my meter or have a week of eating ice cream then going on a lettuce only diet to even out the effects and I am stuffed if I am going to have someone however jaded lump me into that category of a typical cheating diabetic who can not walk away from the pies!

Ok rant over

Lindy1706 said:

My Practice nurse explained the HbA1c test to me like this" This test takes your average blood sugar over a 3 month period, because diabetics lie and can give you a good reading just by being good the day before so this test catches them out"

Kind of sums up the whole mindset to me.....I mean does this ridiculous woman really think that most diabetics would be living on cream buns then only eating lettuce for two days to cheat a test!

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I think yes that quite a lot of people would actually do that.

I get it @Pinkorchid and as I have said their disease, their party but quite a lot of us would not. I just felt really really insulted at the inference of you have T2 you are overweight no doubt you will be chowing down the doughnuts within minutes so we will book another tests for three months to catch you out.

Maybe I am being totally naive or maybe I am just a girl scout but I see no possible reason to cheat my results, what am I gaining? I test every morning once I am up, having had a pee and let the dogs out then religiously before and after meals, and randomly if I do excercise to see how that has effected things.

Different strokes for differant folks I guess and herby this thread goes full circle

Lindy1706 said:

So I am sorry if dealing with other patients attitudes to their disease has made her cynical but why should I have to suffer that?

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Because you have the distinct privelege of paying her wages .