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Diabetes and eye casualty appointment today

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AJLang

AJLang

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Why are some medical people so ***** patronising. Received a letter from diabetic consultant on Saturday praising my diabetes control, happy with cholesterol, all other blood tests good, blood pressure borderline but doesn't want me on medication for the moment, not to lose weight because of gastroparesis and nutrition problems etc etc etc so all good. Went to eye casualty today to be told to avoid losing the central vision in my "good" eye that I must keep my diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol under control oh and that I should eat a "healthy" diet refusing to understand the problems with "healthy" diet and gastroparesis - so who do I listen to??! Eye doctor or diabetes consultant??
 
AJLang said:
Why are some medical people so ***** patronising. Received a letter from diabetic consultant on Saturday praising my diabetes control, happy with cholesterol, all other blood tests good, blood pressure borderline but doesn't want me on medication for the moment, not to lose weight because of gastroparesis and nutrition problems etc etc etc so all good. Went to eye casualty today to be told to avoid losing the central vision in my "good" eye that I must keep my diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol under control oh and that I should eat a "healthy" diet refusing to understand the problems with "healthy" diet and gastroparesis - so who do I listen to??! Eye doctor or diabetes consultant??
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Diabetes one.
 
AJLang said:
Why are some medical people so ***** patronising. Received a letter from diabetic consultant on Saturday praising my diabetes control, happy with cholesterol, all other blood tests good, blood pressure borderline but doesn't want me on medication for the moment, not to lose weight because of gastroparesis and nutrition problems etc etc etc so all good. Went to eye casualty today to be told to avoid losing the central vision in my "good" eye that I must keep my diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol under control oh and that I should eat a "healthy" diet refusing to understand the problems with "healthy" diet and gastroparesis - so who do I listen to??! Eye doctor or diabetes consultant??
Click to expand...

I think the expression ‘healthy’ is pretty relative in this case AJ and fairly non specific. I’d simply interpret it as a diet that is healthy for your situation as endorsed by the Consultant. Do they even know what gastroparesis is? 🙄
 
Thanks Grovesy and Amigo. No the eye doctor doesn't know what gastroparesis is he said that I needed to lose weight. When I explained that two different diabetic consultants had said not to lose weight because of the gastroparesis he said that I should be referred to a dietician and there should be a multiple disciplinary approach to my health. When I said that a multidisciplinary approach would be good his reply was that he just focused on eyes. His attitude didn't help because the reason for my visit, and he supported my concerns, were there were signs that I might get an occlusion in my "good" eye like I had in my other eye which took out my reading/distance vision. Plus I've done everything I can with my diet to keep my diabetes under control and avoid emergency hospital admissions.
 
AJLang said:
Thanks Grovesy and Amigo. No the eye doctor doesn't know what gastroparesis is he said that I needed to lose weight. When I explained that two different diabetic consultants had said not to lose weight because of the gastroparesis he said that I should be referred to a dietician and there should be a multiple disciplinary approach to my health. When I said that a multidisciplinary approach would be good his reply was that he just focused on eyes. His attitude didn't help because the reason for my visit, and he supported my concerns, were there were signs that I might get an occlusion in my "good" eye like I had in my other eye which took out my reading/distance vision. Plus I've done everything I can with my diet to keep my diabetes under control and avoid emergency hospital admissions.
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Each discipline concentrates on its own field of interest in my experience AJ. Holistic care or a multi-disciplinary approach is up there with flying pigs usually.
When I was in hospital with severe pneumonia, the attending Consultant (a cardiologist) told me he had no interest in what high dosage steroids would do to my diabetes because he had bigger concerns. The haematologist would have concern that high blood sugars would feed the infection and aggravate the Leukaemia and presumably an endocrinologist would have severe concerns about not controlling the diabetes!
As for me, I just did what I needed to stay alive with minimum distress which meant dodging the hospital food! :D
 
That must have been a nightmare Amigo but you have made me laugh with your dodging the hospital food comment :D
 
I’d go with the diabetes consultant, Amanda. He’s the nearest thing to a holistic view of your particular situation. I fail to see what your weight has to do with eye health anyway if all your other risk factors are under control or normal.

Mind you, that’s just me preaching to the converted I suspect🙂
 
Thanks Mike. I've spent the whole time since being at the eye department wondering how I can lose weight whilst the gastroparesis affects nutrition - I was actually hoping that the diabetic consultant would say to lose weight but he only supported what the previous consultant had said (sorry if I'm repeating myself). I even told both of the diabetic consultants about genuine alcohol intake and neither of them commented (although I have been cutting down recently).
But Mike your reply made me think more rationally - surely if my diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol are under control then I must be doing the right thing? And hopefully if my back arthritis starts to improve then I will be able to do more exercise - having said that the amitryptylene has affected both the gastroparesis and my BG levels making them higher and more erratic...is it no wonder that I don't give up alcohol completely??
 
I’d be more surprised if you could give up the alcohol, Amanda. Although you shouldn’t drink to excess while taking amitryptiline, a couple of glasses of wine will help you unwind, without doing any harm. And as a host of multiple pathologies, a happy patient is a healthier patient. Don’t beat yourself up about it, you’ve enough to worry about already.

Anyway, you know the definition of an alcoholic- it’s someone who drinks more than their doctor.

A high bar, that:D
 
Lol thank you Mike :D
 
I have found that even Consultants in the same speciality could not agree, so don't expect those of differing ones to do so.
 
Thanks Grovesy, you are so right. The eye doctor just caught me off guard. I've calmed down now after all of your replies on here 🙂
 
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