Blame it on the diabetes!

[Kerry Meade]

Hello, No matter what illness or condition I go to see my GP about, they always blame it on the diabetes rather than anything else! This is a great worry to me as I could be suffering with something life threatening and it goes undiagnosed because the GP will not look past the diabetes. I am getting that it is pointless going to the Doctor's at all! Does anyone have the same problem?

 

[Pumper_Sue]

All you need to do is look astounded when the diagnoses of it's your diabetes is given, say very sweetly I've never seen that in a medical dictionary could you point me in the right direction so I can research this further.

 

[Amigo]

I suspect that's true Kerry. Even when I went to hospital abroad with a fracture and torn shoulder, the doctor (in broken English) homed in on my diabetes. They see it as the medical equivalent of having termites in your foundations I think and it absolutely must cause EVERYTHING! 🙄

And of course if you don't have diabetes, it's because you smoke! Failing that it will be 'a trapped nerve!'

 

[Kerry Meade]

@Pumper_Sue I think I will definitely do that the next time they try to pull that one on me. In my case, the Diabetes is making me have hot flushes, insomnia, mood swings, weight gain around my waist, it really has nothing to do with the fact that I am 50 and am possibly going through the menopause, LOL 🙂

@Amigo Are you sure it wasn't the diabetes that caused your torn shoulder? The doctors are always right, apparently, and if you do have termites in your foundations, it's definitely diabetes that has caused that too! LOL 🙂

 

[Owen]

I had the exact opposite problem. It took two years to link the gastric, nerve etc to diabetes. Even now they are not convinced that it is gastroperisis and that the numbness in my hands is carpal tunnel syndrome, even though I get it in my feet as well.

 

[Matt Cycle]

It works both ways though in that it's not only HCP's but the patients themselves. I'm amazed on here the amount of times I've seen - "I've got this, that or the other" which can be any old random disease, symptom or ailment and asking "is it anything do with the diabetes?"

 

[Owen]

It works both ways though in that it's not only HCP's but the patients themselves. I'm amazed on here the amount of times I've seen - "I've got this, that or the other" which can be any old random disease, symptom or ailment and asking "is it anything do with the diabetes?"

I can see that, I honestly thought I had diabetic blisters, turned out to be something else. I was amused with the panic at my retinopathy exam, when u could only see the top letter. Until I told him it had been like that for forty five years.

 

[Rosiecarmel]

I dunno about you but this also happens in my personal life. I will mention to a friend that I'm feeling under the weather or something trivial and I'll get the "is it your diabetes?" reply.

 

[mikeyB]

In your case, Rosie, it might well be true. Wait till you're on MDI to see how often you won't feel under the weather!

 

[KookyCat]

With GPs my stock reply is "and if I didn't have diabetes what would be considering then?" Let them tell me then quick as a flash say "well let's consider that shall we". Smile sweetly and watch the penny drop. To be fair though diabetes can be a pretty powerful beast, so I have no issues with them suggesting it as a root cause, I just don't allow any suggestion that it's always the root cause of any and all human maladies that might befall me. Actually I'm fairly amused they keep suggesting my tendonitis is related to diabetes, when actually it's entirely normal for me and unless I'm superhuman and went 40 years without a functioning pancreas but didn't notice it'll be the EDS that causes that just like it always has been. Silly creatures, I've taken to openly laughing at them now, they can either choose to laugh with me or bubble with incandescent rage, I care not

 

[pottersusan]

In the days before diabetes, for me, it was my age or my weight were the root of all evil😱

 

[onefooteight]

I've not been diagnosed long but since diagnosis I have had impetigo in the back of my head. I was told that this was due to diabetes. However, I run a parent and toddler group and it turns out quite a few of the children have had it and its very contagious. Do you think they all have diabetes or did I just catch a very contagious disease?

 

[Lilian]

Most definitey, especially if you have something which has similar symptoms. The reason is that with diabetes they can blame the patient with non compliance.

 

[mikeyB]

I've not been diagnosed long but since diagnosis I have had impetigo in the back of my head. I was told that this was due to diabetes. However, I run a parent and toddler group and it turns out quite a few of the children have had it and its very contagious. Do you think they all have diabetes or did I just catch a very contagious disease?

You're right, you would have caught it diabetic or not. Impetigo is a highly contagious disease. It's less common in adults, possibly because of a degree of immunity produced by prior infection, but more likely because adults don't mingle intimately like toddlers do. It spreads like wildfire among wrestlers.

 

[DeusXM]

Aside from KookyCat's excellent approach, the other one is to have properly on-point control backed up by evidence. You can have a very good conversation with a doctor when their line is "it might be to do with your diabetes" and your gambit it "well, my A1C is substantially better than the NHS standard for 'controlled diabetes', so I think we can assume my diabetes is controlled and less likely to be factor...unless of course, you believe well-controlled diabetes is a problem?"

Works even better when your A1C is non-diabetic, but that's a pretty big ask of course and a card I've only ever managed to play once.

Or why not do a song and dance routine and do your best Jacksons impression - "Don't blame it on shingles, don't blame it on measels, don't blame it on goitre, blame it on the BGs....."

 

[Amigo]

Oh I love that little ditty Deus! Lol

 

[Andy HB]

But why blame the Bee Gees?

 

[Jonsi]

In the days before diabetes, for me, it was my age or my weight were the root of all evil😱

I've said it often in the past but ...I could walk into the Drs surgery with a javelin through my neck and they'd still say what was wrong with me was because I was overweight (for my weight I should be 8'7" )

On Friday last week despite not needing to see me for another 6 months my Dentist tried to sell me a tooth clean and polish, dental x-rays and some other nonsense I didn't want under the warning that without it my diabetes would make my teeth worse.