Andys angel saying hi and asking questions.

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andys angel

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Type 2
Hi my name is Victoria and I am 29 and have type 2 diabetes (BOO)
and at the beginning of December I went to the hospital and was given a new injectable treatment (EXENATIDE) to try. I haven't started it as yet well because Christmas came and I need an appointment with the nurse to show me how to inject it.
I was wanting to know if anyone had been put on it and what to expect from it.
Plus I have a quarm about my treatment from my Diabetic nurse, well I was at my doctors surgery a year ago then we moved out of the area and my treatment was good they were helping me getting hospital appointments and referals all going well then we moved back into this area and its all gone pear shaped. I was sent a letter from the doctors asking if i wanted to opt out of eye screening which i didn't but the letter didnt say anythng about if i wanted to opt in for the screening. Is that normal for one, and then there is the nurse M who practically calls me a liar each time i go in. Asking me what i eat everytime and saying stupid things like "well i didn't know what was in Icecream its creams and sugar and flavourings." and I am sitting there thinking how stupid does this womanthink i am.
I tell her i dont have fizzy drinks not even the diet kind, i eat brown or granary bread, eat plenty of vegetables and don't eat alot of red meat. Plus i go walking every other day. But all she does is look at me say some rubbish about icecream i mean come on. I may be overweight but i am not Stupid I know what i eat, does she want to look at my poo or something to prove it.
I am trying to help myself but i dont get anything back from nurse M she seems just to look at me with a look of your a liar on her face.
Oh i nearly forgot I am on metformin and wondered if anyone had a bloodsugar monitor when on it as Nurse M said i dont need one.
Well I have had my rant now and i feel alittle better.
 
hi there and welcome andys angel, i think and im not sure if im right but what you are to start on is known as byetta also, I was also introduced to this and told i would go onto it if my blood sugars did not lower, i am yet to go onto it but i have looked into it quite abit. I think i remember some one(THEDAME i think it was ) a little whole ago saying they had gone on to it but im not sure if that person comes on here anymore if they do maybe they can come on and tell you there experience.
As for the treatment you have been giving i can only symphasise with you as i went through terrible treatment when i was first diagnosed in february i was left to sort myself out until at least june and i was chasing them up and doing all the running around and when they did finally contact me they lost me details 2 times and it put me back again by about a month i was fuming,It sounds to me like you need to change nurses she is doing nothing for your confidence you sound like your doing things right walking etc and your getting no positive feedback from her it is not right , she would proberly prefer it if you just sat around and did nothing then it would give her some kind of job to do , but because you seem level headed enough to be doing it for yourself it seems like she is trying to discourage you.As for the metformin i have been on it since may and i have had a meter since the day i was diagnosed in february it has been an essential part of my kit as it can give me idea of what food is good and bad for my levels.
 
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Hi Victoria, welcome to the forum🙂 Can't help with the Exenatide, but I think there are one or two people on here who are on it.

A very strange letter about asking if you want to opt out of eye screening - I would consider it an essential part of your diabetes care! Definitely get it done - I'm pretty sure asking people to opt out must be contrary to the NICE guidelines.

Try not to let the nurse's ignorance get to you. Some nurses are excellent, some are very poor communicators. And it sounds like you are yet another person being told that self-monitoring is unneccesary, no doubt to save the PCT a few pounds. Personally, I think it is a very useful tool in your efforts to discover how well your adaptations to your diet and lifestyle are working, and which foods suit and which don't.
 
Muddlethru that's me

Hello I'm Type 2 and and diet controlled.Hve been for almost five years. I have very good medics looking after me .I have what I call my M.O.T. once a year where I'm given a good going over and one in between which is just a mini check, so no complaints. I go to a clinic once a year to have my eyes looked at and "photographed", and once a year to my opticians incase I need no specs. I'm lucky in the fact my nurse is very caring and treats me as a human being with feelings. I have two diet sheets one for the diabetes and one for cholesterol. I am pretty good and juggle them around and so far so good. I'm 8st 4lbs but never have been more than 9st as I come from a skinny family. I do have five stents but all in all OK. My biggest bug bear is lack of sleep,and running to the loo all the time, drives me mad. Anyone else have this trouble? I'm also rubbish on computers.

I'm sorry to hear Andys angel that you are having such a rough time with your nurse. Any chance of changing her or putting a complaint in. There is no way you should be treated like that. Hope things get better for you.

Wrong icon at top meant to put smile
 
Thank you everyone sometimes it is good to know others are out there going though the same things.
So is there a way of demanding a monitor as i am going on a new treatment. When i went to the hospital they asked if i was monitoring and they seemed suprised I wasn't.
Sorry I forgot Happy new Year
 
opting out of eye screening?

There are so many ways of getting eye screening, that it may not be unreasonable to opt out of one scheme, provided you are getting screened somewhere. In my case, I declined my PCT's letter offering retinal screening at a local (but not particularly convenient) optician, as I got my eyes checked yearly at hospital clinic, plus attend an optician, which I know, like & trust, for annual contact lens & general sight / eye health checks. So opting out from a scheme that was less convenient and duplicated care I was aleady getting, was wholly appropriate, resulting in less hassle for me and the NHS.
But, it all depends on being able to make informed decisions - and too many type 2s don't get the chance to, for example, use blood glucose monitoring to improve their control.
 
Hi Victoria and welcome to the forum.
 
Happy new year Victoria

I'm sorry to hear about your crap treatment. I'm so glad my nurse isn't a diet nazi, coz i swear i'm not that good!! I'm also somewhat overweight, but as my mum keeps telling me, it's not about what shape you are, it's about trying to be healthy and getting your blood sugars under control. Funny how my mum keeps coming up with this advice, which sounds great and is, but it takes me a while to accept it😱.
Exenatide is supposed to reduce insulin resistance and help you lose wieght, it's not a complicated injection to take, it comes in a pre-filled pen and typically, you inject it into the skin around your belly. It can cause stomach upsets, nausea and the like, pretty much like most diabetes meds, it's not for everyone. I've never tried it, but like you i'm on Metformin, and it seems to be working ok for me.
Blood Glucose meters are a sticking point for many of us type twos. My local diabetes team told me i should only test when i'm ill, and can have only one pack of 50 strips a year. I don't nessasarily agree with this, coz all the evedence sugests that it's in everyone's best interests (yours, your doctors and the NHS) if you can keep your blood sugars in range. Ok, i do get a bit paniccy if mind go above 9 at any time, so i can see thier point in that respect but i'd be a heck of a lot less paniccy if i knew they were coming down again...by testing more! You can buy a monitor in any retail chemists, off the shelf in boots, but the strips cost a fortune (I'm using one touch ultra, they cost me 25 pounds for 50). You should get free prescriptions if you're taking Metformin, but you may struggle to get strips on prescription. Also bear in mind you make need lancets as well, and i don;t know how to get hold of more of those (yet).

Rachel
 
Well tomorrow if i am lucky i have an appointment with nursey to show me how to use my new treatment, and then one with the dietitian later on, but if i can get there or not with all of this snow up here in south yorkshire i don't know. My husband has to come with me so i have a witness to everything now. by the way i had my eyes tested and everything was fine,
 
Well I was half lucky today I didnt see nursey as she was stuck in snow but I did see the dieitian and she was pleased and we had a good talk. Going is good.
 
Good news andys angel well done hope you get to see your nurse asap .
 
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