can you change diabetes nurse

[mikiboo]

I went to my appointment today. told her i had stopped taking my metformin as it gave😉 me severe side effects. she told me that my blood test had gone up and i have to eat like a thin person (she is very thin and then went on to tell me what she ate!) she also said that my arms were the too big for the blood pressure cuff it worked ok. i asked how i should take control of my blood glucose levels as i haven't been given a monitor as she says i can do it by diet. and gave me slow release tablets
i have been type 2 for 1yr weigh 18 st (was 20 stone at one point) and told her what a rubbish couple of months, have been in a car crash and was off work with post traumatic stress, fell over and hurt my knee badly, care for.my dad who had a stroke but she never said anything. I dont know where to turn. i have depression, anxiety and agrophobia so going out of the house i have to have someone with me. sorry my first post was such a moan .

 

[Northerner]

Hi mikiboo, welcome to the forum 🙂 So sorry to hear you have been having such a tough time of things lately It doesn't sound as though your nurse was much help or had much of a 'bedside' manner. If your blood sugar levels are on the high side then this will probably also be affecting your mood, so bringing them under control would certainly help. But how to do that without a meter, so you can monitor the effect of different foods on you as an individual? It's all well and good telling people to lose weight and eat healthily, but if you're not given much information or the tools to do that, then that's not much help at all

Have you spoken to anyone about your depression? Your GP would probably be a better bet than this nurse, as he should be able to prescribe treatments or refer you to a specialist.

Unfortunately, many people find themselves in a similar position to yours, where the nurses and doctors don't believe you need to test, but for some people that is their best route to learning about their diabetes and how best to deal with it. One approach that has helped members in the past is to purchase a meter and strips themselves and use them to gather information about what areas you might be able to improve things. Then, you could present this information to your doctor and he/she would see that you are serious and highly motivated, and that the testing you are doing is actually helping you - in the face of such evidence, they would need a good argument to deny you the test strips on prescription.

A lot of meters have expensive test strips, but there are a few around that are adequate for the task, and much cheaper. One is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips that are around ?7 for 50. You would need to folow an efficient testing regime, such as Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S , so that you can make each test count. At the same time, keep a food diary of everything you eat and drink, including the amount of carbohydrate so that you can build up an idea of what you are consuming and where you might be able to make some changes for the better.

Finally (sorry if I am overloading you with information!) I would recommend reading Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter, and getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - these will all help you to understand diabetes better, and how to tackle it.

You ask about changing your nurse, well I suppose it is possible, but perhaps instead of changing her to a different person, why not try changing her mind by showing her that you can do this, and that you know what you are doing. Do not rely on the healthcare professionals for all your care - 99% of the time it is down to YOU to look after yourself and learn what you need to do, as you are living with this all the time. Please feel free to ask any questions here, whenever you wish - you are not alone in this, there are lots of friendly people here who have a vast range of experiences and will be able to help and support you!

Well done on your weight loss to date, and I hope that the slow release metformin is much kinder to you 🙂

 

[pav]

Hi Mikiboo, welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately you are experiencing an all to common feeling that you are not getting the support you need. There's are several of us at the moment going through this problem.

The slow release metformin will help with the need to be by a loo and the windy problems.

Is your nurse an in GP surgery or a hospital DN? If a GP practice nurse you would probably find there is only one diabetic nurse. One thing that you can look into is there an alternative GP practice that you can switch to? Before doing that its a question of asking around what other practices are like.

If in a hospital there should hopefully be more than one in the diabetic team. Don't know how you get to see a different hospital nurse, but the hospital should have a PALS team who could maybe point you in the right direction or other members on here could well of experienced how to change your DN.

Regards to testing, this is getting to be a pain, as its a post code lottery to whom GP's will provide a prescription for test strips. Even some people who are on meds that can cause hypos and are type 2 are fighting hard to get strips. Doctors are saying that type 2's do not need to test as they will monitor your progress, which I found in my case they don't.

A meter is a valuable thing to use as with it you can identify which food or groups of food affect you and in what way, then you can then start to manage your diabetes in a decent manor.

Meters from the main range of suppliers will very often send you a meter for free. The strips from these suppliers are generally around ?25 per tub of 50, to expensive to fund oneself. Abbott medisense sell strips I believe direct to the public around ?15 per 50.

The cheapest strip option if self funding is the SD code free system which uses strips that are around ?7 per 50.

Regarding some of your other illnesses have you considered talking to a councillor, which should be available via the GP. I found a councillor very helpful when I was off work for 2 years with stress. I aspirate you have problems getting out and if the councillor was an option to you, I would say that you would have to have full faith and trust in the person that went with you to a session with a councillor.

As a carer do you have access to the local carers contact centre? Normal in my area there carers group meet once a month and is where carers can get together to discuss things and offer support to each other. The group also put on activities for the people with advice coming from various professionals.

As part of this scheme there are a couple of grants available one is for up to ?240 and another is for ?60 (in my area). The higher grant is based on a discussion with an advisor who between you can see if and what would help you, can be anything from a hobby to relaxation treatment etc. This grant is receipt based as once approved and agreed what you need , you spend the money and they upon receiving the receipt (must be on what you agreed on) they will reimburse you the agreed amount.

The other ?60 grant is where you apply for it, they ask you what you want to spend it on, its totally up to you. they then send you a cheque, the letter does say they may ask for a receipt, I have not been asked to provide one yet. This one has a limited fund and once used, you would have to wait until the next financial year to re-apply.

 

[LeeLee]

Hello Mikiboo, welcome to the forum. There are a lot of us here who have been exactly where you are, so can sympathise.

I found that concentrating on just one thing had a domino effect and improved all my medical conditions. In my case the root of all my troubles was weight, and dealing with that has made my blood sugar, mood, asthma and blood pressure better.

I was fat for my whole life. I'm talking really fat, my worst BMI was 53 (over 20st at 5'1") so I know what it's like to get stuck in a turnstile and having surgery staff go hunting for the extra-large blood pressure cuff.

My saviour was a slimming group. Meeting other people on the weight loss journey and sharing their battles as well as my own has been essential. I tried the one-to-one approach the surgery offered, but it simply didn't help me. With the support of Slimming World, I've lost over 6 stone while eating lots (and I mean lots) of really healthy food, and I'm a new person.

Do you have a friend who could go with you to try out the group approach? The people at the group soon become friends as well - you would have so much in common with them!

 

[yorksman]

she also said that my arms were the too big for the blood pressure cuff it worked ok.

If you need a large cuff and they measure your BP with a normal cuff, your BP will read lower than it really is.

But, what I cannot understand is why she didn't go and get a bigger cuff. She really should have it there anyway but, if someone else has borrowed it, she should go and get it. I cannot see the point in saying this is the wrong cuff but we'll use it anway. Hope she doesn't have the same attitude with drugs.