As a former registered nurse I have difficulty following advice from the diabetic nurse. I feel that my own personal experience in looking after diabetic patients gives me good insight into how to look after myself. Does anyone else have this problem? Either former or current qualified nurses feel that their own personal experience gives them the expertise to look after themselves. I am aware that there are also all sorts of experts on the internet telling people what to do.
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Following advice.
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
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- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I personally feel that my own knowledge of my lifestyle and my response to the insulins I use and the food I eat and the exercise I do, gives me a massively greater insight into my diabetes than anyone else be they a DSN or a consultant.
That may sound a bit arrogant but diabetes is highly individual. I put a lot of time and effort into my diabetes management and I experiment a lot to find what works best for me and if a medical professional thought they knew better from spending 10 mins or even half an hour looking at my data, then they would be welcome to come and spend a week 24/7 in my shoes and see if they could do better.
That may sound a bit arrogant but diabetes is highly individual. I put a lot of time and effort into my diabetes management and I experiment a lot to find what works best for me and if a medical professional thought they knew better from spending 10 mins or even half an hour looking at my data, then they would be welcome to come and spend a week 24/7 in my shoes and see if they could do better.
Healthcare professionals often end up having to generalise things for various reasons, whether that's to save time or simply due to lack of knowledge of all the different possibilities to a same situation, so more often than not a 'one size fits all' approach gets applied. However as with most things in life - that doesn't always work. People's bodies are very different, so are everyone's life circumstances, lifestyles etc.
I'd say look at it with a 'curious' mindset, taking everything with a grain of salt. No, the DSN might not know everything, however they could have some good information or things you might choose to try out, so it's 'worth a listen'. At the same time, while we know our bodies best, I've heard it's sometimes difficult for health professionals to remain kind to themselves and not treat one's self as a patient all the time. So do a bit of both - listen to your body, apply your knowledge, experiment and at the same time still be willing to learn where there's room and reason to do so
I'd say look at it with a 'curious' mindset, taking everything with a grain of salt. No, the DSN might not know everything, however they could have some good information or things you might choose to try out, so it's 'worth a listen'. At the same time, while we know our bodies best, I've heard it's sometimes difficult for health professionals to remain kind to themselves and not treat one's self as a patient all the time. So do a bit of both - listen to your body, apply your knowledge, experiment and at the same time still be willing to learn where there's room and reason to do so
CliffH
Well-Known Member
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- Type 1.5 LADA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Great points! I'm a healthcare professional (although not in the field of diabetes) and yet I'm still subject to the same foibles (including confirmation bias, denial, grief reactions and primacy and recency effects) as anyone else, so I need to listen to other healthcare professionals when it comes to my own body, even if I happen to know a lot in general terms about the particular issue at hand.Healthcare professionals often end up having to generalise things for various reasons, whether that's to save time or simply due to lack of knowledge of all the different possibilities to a same situation, so more often than not a 'one size fits all' approach gets applied. However as with most things in life - that doesn't always work. People's bodies are very different, so are everyone's life circumstances, lifestyles etc.
I'd say look at it with a 'curious' mindset, taking everything with a grain of salt. No, the DSN might not know everything, however they could have some good information or things you might choose to try out, so it's 'worth a listen'. At the same time, while we know our bodies best, I've heard it's sometimes difficult for health professionals to remain kind to themselves and not treat one's self as a patient all the time. So do a bit of both - listen to your body, apply your knowledge, experiment and at the same time still be willing to learn where there's room and reason to do so
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I should say that if my results were poor I would absolutely be open to ideas and advice.
I guess I am just feeling rather indignant from another recent post where a consultant has either deliberately or unwittingly put down a patient who is working really hard on their diabetes management and doing really well, by suggesting that their diagnosis might not be correct. The suggestion or implication being that their results are too good for them to be Type 1!
I guess I am just feeling rather indignant from another recent post where a consultant has either deliberately or unwittingly put down a patient who is working really hard on their diabetes management and doing really well, by suggesting that their diagnosis might not be correct. The suggestion or implication being that their results are too good for them to be Type 1!
goodybags
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
My thoughts are we are all different, and react differently to different medication and different foods, I’m sure for a member of the HCP’s that support us sometimes for them this might not be be an easy job, especially when the advice they are giving might be beneficial to some but not heeded by the patient, I admit that was me in the past not listening and therefore making my condition worse
on the other hand some of the patients will indeed understand their own care and needs better than the HCP’s themselves
and some of us will fall into a category as a mixture of the two, and welcome the advice, but will sometimes politely try and tell them if we think there’s a better way, im thinking that’s where I am these days.
on the other hand some of the patients will indeed understand their own care and needs better than the HCP’s themselves
and some of us will fall into a category as a mixture of the two, and welcome the advice, but will sometimes politely try and tell them if we think there’s a better way, im thinking that’s where I am these days.
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