yes I know, yes, yes, it is a problem

[Anonymous]

Those of you who have read my earlier post will know I went to the local hospital's diabetes centre today. I'm quite a quiet sole really, so didn't interject in to a conversation between a patient and one of the nurses about what to eat.

There are 3 big posters on the wall in the waiting area showing photos of typical meals and snacks along with their carb and calorie content. The patient, a slimmish middle aged man, had started by complaining that you couldn't tell what was in fast food that you bought and was using the poster as reference. The next bit of the conversation if paraphrased, but it went something like this..

Man: "and you say that we should keep our levels between 4 and 7"

Nurse: "Yes, try to stay below 7"

Man: "I'm never below 7 - how are you supposed to get below 7"

another female patient then chips in.. "It's ridiculous - what are you supposed to eat"

Nurse: "Yes I know, yes, yes, it is a problem. My husband is diabetic and it's a problem for him to".

I hadn't had my consultant appointment at that stage and so I was being good and so didn't speak up. I don't know where 7 comes from - that's an ambitious post meal target for someone with poor control anyway. The wallchart itself wasn't helping much - there was only 1 thing on it below 10 carbs (Greek Yoghurt) and no mention of nuts or cauliflour or brocolli or swede. There were photos of about 100 things and I probably only eat about 5 of them. Half a poster (and these are A0 posters) was devoted to portion sizes for chips. This is a hospital for pity's sake - a sign saying "Diabetics should not eat chips" would have been better.

breath breath

Sorry - end of rant, except to say as the lady who'd joined in turned to leave, her husband asked her "we're not having chips tonight are we (he was the diabetic and had been reading the poster I think) - "No" she said "I'll do you a baked potato instead"..

 

[CathyN]

Dear Swimmer

I read your other post and I sympathise with your frustration and utter disbelief. I'm just about to do my third education clinic and I feel utterly hopeless about it, based on the previous experiences. And I also read on the forum, someone who had been told it was fine to continue eating sugar puffs and other poisonous stuff, just for the time being. It is truly amazing. At my first clinic we were told it was fine to eat white bread. The whole atmosphere was one of playing Type 2 down - so dangerous, as most of the people left feeling that they were not going to have to make as many changes as they had expected to be making. They were relieved rather than motivated. A recipe for their own personal disaster ...........

It just seems completely irresponsible to me.

Cath N

 

[Defren]

I so agree. I don't attend a clinic just my GP surgery so don't have all of this. In some ways perhaps it's a good thing, knowing what I know now, there is no way I would have said nothing when the wife said baked potato for dinner. I would have had to say something. It may not have done any good but my sense of right and wrong would not have let me say nothing. The same applies to the nurse. I would have had to tell them my HbA1c, my BG levels and why they are so low.

As I said, perhaps it's a good idea I don't visit the clinic.

 

[desidiabulum]

I so agree. I don't attend a clinic just my GP surgery so don't have all of this. In some ways perhaps it's a good thing, knowing what I know now, there is no way I would have said nothing when the wife said baked potato for dinner. I would have had to say something. It may not have done any good but my sense of right and wrong would not have let me say nothing. The same applies to the nurse. I would have had to tell them my HbA1c, my BG levels and why they are so low.

As I said, perhaps it's a good idea I don't visit the clinic.

Au contraire, Defren, that's precisely why you SHOULD visit the clinic. Most HCPs will not accept correction by patients on the spot, for obvious reasons (they can't risk losing face, for one, and I think that's entirely understandable), but planting a seed of uncertainty might lead them to quietly read up in their own time and adjust what they say in the future. DO talk to people in the queues, and if you get into an argument with a HCP the very least that can happen is that the clinic will have to explain to other patients what all the shouting is about :lol: the NHS pays lip-service to the idea that the key to controlling diabetes is for the patient to take control, but if they don't learn to question bad advice how on earth CAN they take control? I suggested in another thread that we might politely pass around daisy's advice page to newly diagnosed around people in clinic waiting rooms. This rather bombed like most of my posts do, but perhaps some people will have better ideas...