Work medicals . My doc's info was alarming to say the least ...

[Vonny187]

Hi everyone , newbie here .

I was sent to a work medical for a general check up ( like we dont have enough lol ) but willing to appease my employers i dutifully attended . With an average bg of 6.5 , a good diet and a regular exercise regime I was not worried , but my employers wanted to know why i needed more than one 30 min break over 9 hours ( i once hypo'd at work so this was arranged ) . Anyway ...

At the appointment i answered his questions etc and showed graphed results ( i use an app on my phone which records this ) but his responses were .. well ..peculiar ! For instance because i had 2 readings under 4 over the last 2 months ( once when i hypo'd at work and another at 3.5 which was immediately rectified no problem ) he stressed this simply was not good enough , my highest was 11 btw . At one point he even said to take more insulin to INCREASE my levels . He also mentioned that i ever even go 0.1 under 4 over the course of the next 12 months he will report to my employers i will be unfit for a safety critical role which i intend to apply for . He was also recommending i eat more sugary snacks and to pay no heed to high readings , to substitute testing for eating more snacks without a reading and ultimately said my control was TOO good and i need to use less caution in my diet . He asked if i should perhaps leave my insulin at home when i attend work . He was also under the illusion i should have a hba1c every 3 months and its been my failure to not ensure this . Ultimately he contradicted both himself a lot , as well as all my previous teachings from NHS clinic . But as this was a work medical that determines my employment i did not argue with him , just nodded and got outta there as quickly as i could . His official report to my employers tho was good and i returned the following day after agreeing to return in 3 months for a review ( he is expecting of course a new hba1c tho im not due till july ) .

Now , i dont expect my employers to know much about diabetes ( why should they ? ) so they will take this guy literally as this is his profession ( a private gp ) but i am tempted to take in a listening device and record this , i feel his advice is quite worrying ( personally i dont think he knows his a*%e from his elbow ) .

I guess my question is this .. Am i thinking too much about this ? And should i just appease him and raise my bg's just to make sure i never even accidentally go 0.1 under ? ( if possible ) ? Should he be reported ?

Lewis . Type 1 3.5 years .

 

[Heathenlass]

No ! Do not raise you blood sugars just because of this idiot !
Yes, I would raise concerns .
If you have only had two readings under 4 in the last two months, you are doing very well indeed! And for this persons information, the level accepted now as a hypo is 3.5 , not 4 .

To cover yourself, please let your Diabetes team and GP know what was said today . Type it out . I really don't think that this person ( was he/ she an actual doctor ? ) knows much about diabetes at all.

Suggesting you leave your insulin at home, and to take MORE insulin so you don't hypo is so wrong it's unproffessional, and downright dangerous to boot . That is contradictory, as well as wrong !

If your employment status depends on this person, please do cover your own back and get your HCP team to support you possibly with a letter to your employer .

Signy

 

[Juicyj]

What an idiot, wow this man makes me furious, incompetent and inadequate and I am trying to be polite !!

As Signy has said, cover your back on this one. I wouldn't take what he's said too literally but just in case..

By the way 2 readings under 4 in 2 months - well done, I've had 2 hypos today so he would want me dismissed straight away then I guess lol !!

 

[Mrsass]

I agree with the 2 posts above, utterly shocked at what this 'doctor' said to you!!

 

[Ali H]

What a prat but sadly representative of so called health care professionals who are so behind in their education and mixed up it is unreal.

Ali

 

[Vonny187]

Thanks for responses , and glad my sanity is still currently intact !

Heathenlass , yes unbelievably this chap is a doctor at a private medical practice that i imagine costs the company quite a bit , perhaps proving in the medical community money does not buy quality ! More kudos to the NHS .

Juicyj , i too was extremely annoyed at this class A muppet as it took 3 years of trial and error to get to this level of control ( a lot of denial , burnout and simply not caring at times .. ) but the last 6 months i overhauled everything just to be metaphorically kicked in the teeth by this guy , who has so much control of my future prospects ...so don't feel bad just due to a couple of hypo's . I have just went maybe too far in controlling mine to make amends after soo much cake in the past

I think going forward i AM going to be ' hitting record ' on a device when i attend my review in a couple of months , hopefully catch his response to why i have not had my fictional ' mandatory ' 3 month hba1c review . My main worry is someone takes this guy literally ,who knows how shady his knowledge is on other peoples medical conditions !

I shall keep the forum updated .

Lewis .

 

[noblehead]

Where to begin.

Appreciate you work in the Railway industry and the rules on bg levels may be tight depending on the role, but really he can't be serious to suggest you leave your insulin at home when working a 9 hour shift, how are you meant to eat if you can't take your insulin?

I would take this matter up with your senior manager or consult your union, no Dr should be suggesting you eat sugary snacks to keep your bg levels up any higher than they need be, that is crazy..............

 

[Juicyj]

Don't let your progress be dented by this fool.

What you have achieved is amazing, don't let it slip because of this idiot, just ignore him, but as Noble said above, get your Union involved as this 'advice' is reckless and dangerous

 

[Spockraptor]

Fool end of!

 

[Vonny187]

Good advice guys , but unfortunately his written report that was sent , which i have a copy , was really just mentioned that my bg's were good , although it does state concern for them being too good after checking my results on phone and bg meter . In his words he was doing me a favour in sending a somewhat less harsh report than he should have , thus giving me time to adjust between now and the dreaded follow up . So unless i can record him or get him to put in writing the all the worrying * cough * 'advice' he gave me , i doubt my union will be able to help . I gotta catch him ! And with evidence ! Hence the plan ...

If he wants to mess with my career .. Well karma can bite !

Lewis

 

[Robinredbreast]

No ! Do not raise you blood sugars just because of this idiot !
Yes, I would raise concerns .
If you have only had two readings under 4 in the last two months, you are doing very well indeed! And for this persons information, the level accepted now as a hypo is 3.5 , not 4 .

To cover yourself, please let your Diabetes team and GP know what was said today . Type it out . I really don't think that this person ( was he/ she an actual doctor ? ) knows much about diabetes at all.

Suggesting you leave your insulin at home, and to take MORE insulin so you don't hypo is so wrong it's unproffessional, and downright dangerous to boot . That is contradictory, as well as wrong !

If your employment status depends on this person, please do cover your own back and get your HCP team to support you possibly with a letter to your employer .

Signy

Here, here, but for the grace of god ( or another being) thank goodness for forums like this one, quacks should be left to the ducks

 

[Robinredbreast]

What a prat but sadly representative of so called health care professionals who are so behind in their education and mixed up it is unreal.

Ali

and potentially dangerous too

 

[noblehead]

Lewis, it's difficult to comment further as we don't know what your job entails and how this can impact on your bg levels and your own (and work colleagues) safety, if your Union Rep doesn't want to know go to your Branch Office or further up for help and advice.

 

[Vonny187]

Noblehead

The work i currently do is not safety critical , but i do intend to apply for a position that is shortly . I deal with passanger enquiries / complaints but cant say a lot more than that due to strict media policies , nor can i mention which train operating company i work for . The job does require constant presence throughout shift , a tad stressful ( what a train late ? Never ! Lol ) but hardly physically demanding nor are peoples lives at risk . My only challenge is there isnt a moment to test , i am essentially in perpetual conversation .

Ironically if i were to get a safety critical role , i would have more time to monitor my health inbetween safety critical decisions . Strange ? Perhaps .

Yes i could chat with my union rep , but like i mentioned , its the report my work is going off , whereas its the ' advice ' and threat of of never getting a promotion unless i maintain non-diabetic bg's that has me miffed . This was only said and not written . Hope this clears up what i mean , sorry i have ranted so much , must be difficult to sift through it all !

Amazing forum and responses tho , muchos kudos to all

Lewis

 

[noblehead]

Thanks for the reply and understand the confidentiality issues.

Without working in the industry it really is hard to comment, but the Dr was wrong on a few fronts and this needs to be addressed, as said your union would be your first choice, alternatively as you have a copy of the medical report ask your own Dr, DSN or Consultant to comment on what this gp has said, I'm sure they'll be as shocked as we are at some of the things they have said.

 

[AndBreathe]

Unless you have his permission to record, it is unlikely it would be allowable in any dispute forum.

I would say your best bet would be a report from your Consultant - which he may charge a fee for, but at least that is an expert in the field in question, not a GPa

Alternatively, you could request that given the specialist nature of diabetes that any report is written by an independent Endochrinologist, not a GP whose knowledge could be too broad.

 

[JTL]

Leave the graph at home next time.
You don't have graphs any more.

 

[Vonny187]

AndBreathe your probably right about it not being allowable in any potential dispute , now that i give that serious thought .

JACKTHELAD i see what your saying but he would still discover the results on my bg meter regardless .

Unless i start using 2 different meters , one only for testing when im certain its going be higher readings ..

Gar..

Its that or i just take the idiots advice , just till i get the job and hope his incompetence comes to light through other patients , which is the direction im leaning at the moment . Id rather not ruffle feathers with the establishment if i can help it .

Im going to have to give it some thought .

Lewis

 

[Ali H]

It seems plenty of people do run 2 meters, I have one at home and one in my handbag or rucksack at all times. If this is what you have to do to placate this buffoon........ not ideal but so long as you know your levels are under control and safe play him at his own game.

Ali

 

[LucySW]

No ! Do not raise you blood sugars just because of this idiot !
Yes, I would raise concerns .
If you have only had two readings under 4 in the last two months, you are doing very well indeed! And for this persons information, the level accepted now as a hypo is 3.5 , not 4 .

To cover yourself, please let your Diabetes team and GP know what was said today . Type it out . I really don't think that this person ( was he/ she an actual doctor ? ) knows much about diabetes at all.

Suggesting you leave your insulin at home, and to take MORE insulin so you don't hypo is so wrong it's unproffessional, and downright dangerous to boot . That is contradictory, as well as wrong !

If your employment status depends on this person, please do cover your own back and get your HCP team to support you possibly with a letter to your employer .

Signy

Vonny, I completely agree with Signy.

Most important, no, do not take any notice. If necessary, get a second meter and just record when you're high. Or just don't take your data with you. Telling you to leave your insulin at home - Jesus. You continue to look after yourself.

Second, if you can find the energy, document what he said and copy it to your consultant.

But most important is the first. DONt be knocked off track !!

What a dangerous creep.