I’m truly grateful for the medical care I receive. Every time I go to the diabetes clinic (which is at least 3-4 times a year) I am surprised at the time and effort put into my visit. I never feel rushed and most of my questions are answered, or at least addressed. The team, especially the doctor, seem to take my diabetes very seriously. I am reminded to take my pills, go to the eye doctor and check my blood sugar. Sometimes I am scolded for not being as good as I should be, but it doesn’t really bother me since I know it is me they are looking out for and I really deserve the scolding.
My last visit to the clinic really proved to me how seriously the team takes my condition. Both the endo and the nutritionist/diabetes educator went over all of my numbers, from my pump, glucometer and blood test results, trying to figure out how to change my medication – insulin and oral – to get things back on track.
I was very grateful for the effort they made but at the same time I felt like something was missing. It wasn’t that I needed comforting but I did want them to know how hard I work, and how frustrated I’ve been and how I bombed at the Milano marathon because of my blood sugar (and other stupidities). I wanted them to see me.
There really isn’t any special information I want my medical team to know about me or not know about me. I have no secrets or things I’m ashamed of but, I do wish they would acknowledge how hard it is, and how much time and effort go into those not so good numbers they see on their computers.
If I could have my way I would have my medical team read two or three posts from my blog before my visit. It doesn’t really matter what the posts are about. It’s more about seeing me and getting an understanding of my life, my running, and all of effort I put into my diabetes care.
That’s a great suggestion-to have our endos read a couple of our blog entries before seeing us-it’s so easy for them to just go over the numbers but diabetes is so much more than that and if they could get a better understanding of us, they could really help us better
Let’s face it, we’re all pretty good at looking at our numbers and brainstorming for ways to make them better. And at times, it is useful to get an outsider’s expert review and opinion. But really, I believe the time with the ‘diabetes team’ could be better spent exploring how diabetes affects the rest of our life, review of health issues, etc. For example, my endo never checks my feet or talks to me about how my heart condition may or may not affect my d-health. So maybe the time is not best spent talking to me about how to… Read more »
I must be the luck one. I am often asked questions and feel like my input is wanted. I am asked if I know why I have certain lows and a high. I can normally tell them and I can point our trends which they agree with. As a type 2, my lows are seldom very low and certain trends have become very apparent in the last six months. Now that we have discussed this, they suggesting making certain changes which have reversed the trend and leveled out my blood glucose readings. Is everything perfect – hardly, but I enjoy… Read more »
I totally agree – I think it’s hard sometimes for the doctors to de-objectify the diabetes problems in front of them and see the whole package.
I could not agree more. I had a very frustrating visit last week and I really wish they would take time to see just a little bit more of how hard my day to day life is with diabetes.
I train hard, and whilst it has many positive affects it sometimes produces bad numbers too. When that is all they are looking at they are never going to get a clear picture.