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Your Healthcare Team

Troubled1

Well-Known Member
Messages
352
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I saw my Dr and dietician at the beginning of last month (May). I had blood work done and my fbg was 7.4 and my Hba1c was 6.3. Both these numbers are up from my previous blood work 6 months prior. After this last appointment I read "The Obesity Code" and "The Complete Guide To Fasting."

Since reading the books, my bg numbers have improved and I have lost about 12lbs. I'm amazed that my Dr still thinks dietary fat causes an increase in weight and cholesterol levels. My dietician still pushes the gov't dietary guidelines which includes 50-60% carbs and makes me feel like utter rubbish.

My Dr is nearing retirement so I can understand his lack of knowledge on lchf diet but one would think that their dietician would look into dietary changes much further since that is supposed to be their field of expertise.

When I saw my dietician I let her know that I was still trying to lose weight,I was around 200lbs at the time so she just regurgitated the same old gov't guidelines and then told me I didn't really need to lose any weight as I looked fine.

At 5'6" and almost 200lbs, even with my weightlifting, I know just by looking at my belly that I needed to lose more weight/fat. I have since started fasting anywhere from 3-7 days with a lot of shorter fasts in between with my goal being to avoid any meds, whether for diabetes or high cholesterol.

Knowing how strongly my healthcare team lauds the pathetic gov't guidelines, I am thinking that if they ask what I did to lose weight and get my numbers down, I will say I'm on a modified Mediterranean diet or I'm following their dietary guidelines to the letter and am having incredible results.

How have other low carbers dealt with their healthcare providers? Do you tell them you are lchf and/or fasting? Or do you just tell them what they want to hear? Is your team open to the idea or are they firmly entrenched in the gov't hyperbole? I'm interested in knowing how widespread this is.
 

I tried to explain to the practise nurse ( the Diabetes nurse having left) how I controlled my diabetes with diet only and lost a shedload of weight but she would not even listen We ended up having a bit of a barney as she was so completely unreceptive and insistent that we all must have carbs. As you can imagine that didn't go so well...
The head doctor in charge of the Diabetes care in my surgery has never even heard of Roy Taylor and the Newcastle Diet. Once I made that particular discovery I ceased virtually all contact and just use them to get my blood tests done every 6 months. I just phone up and make my own appointment with the phlebotomist then get my results online. As minimal a contact with the surgery as is humanly possible.
 

I haven't told my doctor I'm doing LCHF. Diabetes care is appalling. Doctors know very little about nutrition. The idea that eating fat makes you fat is nonsense. It does not cause much of an insulin response, and it is insulin that is the fat storage hormone. And how anyone can suggest that someone who can't handle carbs should eat them at every meal is just insane. It's really a matter of becoming the guinea pig, and experimenting on yourself with diet and exercise, to see what works for you.
 
No diet can be fat free. The body requires fat to maintain itself. It is an energy store and cushioning agent for skin and internal organs.
 

I have found that since lowering my carb intake drastically, I sleep more soundly.
I agree on the carb thing. Why tell someone to eat what makes them sick? That's like telling a smoker with lung cancer to increase the amount they smoke.
What really gets me is my dietician is obese. She says she follows the guidelines. I rest my case.
 
At least, through all the stupidity of it all, you can treat yourself to a little smile.
 

Hi Troubled1 I have been diagnosed for nearly 10 weeks now and my DN did not want me to go lchf as she wanted to see if my Gliclazide (80 mg a day) was working, so I nodded and said ok and carried on with lchf eating plan. I did not really have any weight to lose but did lose 4lb and for the past 10 weeks have been lchf (100gm or less of carbs a day). Two weeks ago went back for a HbA1c and it had come down to 60 (1st one was 78) going back again in two weeks for another one and DN said she would be happy if it was 58 (***!) anyway two weeks ago when I went for HbA1c she said I was managing my diabetes too well and I had my Gliclazide reduced to 40mg a day, I was really happy with that. Unfortunately my DN does not see the correlation between lchf and reduction of blood glucose and my doctor is on another planet! His mantra is 'put your test meter away in a safe place and forget about it and live your life!' My DN did give to me free my yellow sharps bin, testing kit, lancets and strips on repeat prescriptions so all is not lost.
 
I feel I have never received any useful advice or support from my healthcare team in the 10 years since being diagnosed type2. Would be entirely on my own except for this site!
 
@Hammer1964 I worked with my dietician when she was going through university. She has given me three meters and numerous testing supplies. Seeing as I know my dietician quite well, and all political correctness goes out the window when we talk, I just might let her know she needs to take some refresher courses on human physiology and diet. After all, I've never heard of an essential carbohydrate.
 
Crazy.
 
Hi. Not only do GPs generally know little about nutrition neither do many dieticians. The professional bodies for Dieticians still stick with the out-dated and incorrect view of carbs and fat. Generally it's best to do your own research and follow the advice here as we know what works for most of us.
 
@Daibell I have come to that conclusion after reading the above mentioned books. It seems once the people get their professional credentials, learning becomes a thing of the past. Thankfully there are people like Dr Fung
 
Troubled1 said:
I'm amazed that my Dr still thinks dietary fat causes an increase in weight and cholesterol levels.
Click to expand...

An increase in the amount of cheese, yogurt and cream I ate definitely caused my total cholesterol to increase from 4 to 5.7 over a 3 month period, not my weight though. Just waiting for another test to confirm it's dropped since cutting the dairy out all together.

Troubled1 said:
My dietician still pushes the gov't dietary guidelines which includes 50-60% carbs
Click to expand...

As you say the guidelines suggest 260gms of carbohydrate or 1,000 calories (at 4 cals per gram) or 50% of a 2,000 calorie recommended intake. If you drill down on the web page it then says about 1/3 of your calories, so even they can't agree.

I have come to the conclusion that it might be OK for a lot of people to follow those guidelines, just not if you're type II and want to avoid more and more medication. The choice is ours.

Seems I forgot to click on post reply when I finished this post. Sorry, I hate Cognitive Impairment.
 
Troubled1 said:
How have other low carbers dealt with their healthcare providers?
Click to expand...

I have just said exactly what I'm up to, I have met nervous skepticism and enthusiastic support. I'm fortunate that the 3 lady GPs at the practice I go to are very good listeners.

I've only just told my GP that I'm trying the Newcastle Diet, very low everything (600 - 800 calories). She complemented me on being one of the few people she is happy to support in doing something considered to be radical, plus she has another patient who has done rather well. Still work in progress.
 
My doctor has gone from trying to give me advice, which I assume she has to do with most people she deals with, to asking me what I find useful. When I recently showed up with vastly improved numbers and good weight loss she asked if I found the DESMOND course useful. I said I found it interesting but now disagreed with a number of things they told me. She did appear to struggle for a moment before asking me about that one! They did recommend quite a lot of carbs and that does not suit me at all.
 
I don't mind my healthcare team recommending carbs, it's the kind of carbs I disagree with. I see nothing wrong with the vegetables, it's the constant, "eat whole grain" breads. I used to be a baker way back. I know what goes into these things. I never made bread where sugar wasn't used to create a reaction with the yeast to produce the gasses that cause the bread to rise. Even a lot of the "whole wheat" bread still had a small amount of white flour in it.
I find that even the "recommended" brown rice and whole grain pastas raise my bg too high for my liking.
I've been pretty much fasting and intermittent fasting for about a month now. Once my weight is down to a more acceptable level for myself, I will have to really look into what not only works for me in keeping my bg under control, but is also sustainable and still appetizing enough that the rest of my family will eat it.
 
My GP suggested trying the Atkins diet when he diagnosed me as type 2, but I got the usual Eatwell bumf from my DN! GP who is now actually responsible for me diabetes wise, has always been supportive and pleased with my results, and nurse at last review was pleased and impressed with my low carbing in spite of me going a bit backwards, so it seems that in our practice at least the advice on carbs is definitely changing.

Robbity
 
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I think it is essential we all tell our doctors/dieticians/nurses how successful we have been on LCHF. When they argue back, just nod and agree to disagree. Only by doing this can we educate them. If they continue to believe their own advice is working they will continue to spout it out.
 
My GP actually asked how I had done it so I told him, he seemed to take it quite well. With no argument.
 
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