GP won't sign medical form!

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andy2000

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi
I recently booked an adventurous holiday but because I have type1 diabetes they require me to get a medical form signed by my GP.

unfortunately my GP has refused to sign it not for any medical reason they just say they are unhappy to sign it and that I should take it to a private GP. This is something I feel reluctant to do as 1) a private GP doesn't know me and 2) they will charge the earth for the privilege.

has anyone experienced something similar and got any suggestions?

thank
 
Welcome to the forum

Are you under a hospital clinic? If so, why can’t they sign it?
 
andy2000 said:
Hi
I recently booked an adventurous holiday but because I have type1 diabetes they require me to get a medical form signed by my GP.

unfortunately my GP has refused to sign it not for any medical reason they just say they are unhappy to sign it and that I should take it to a private GP. This is something I feel reluctant to do as 1) a private GP doesn't know me and 2) they will charge the earth for the privilege.

has anyone experienced something similar and got any suggestions?

thank
Click to expand...

I have that.

MY GP will sign my form to say what my results are for diving certification, purely as a statement of fact, but can't sign it to say I am fit to do the sport, as it isn't within their knowledge to decide one way or the other.

I just use a dive doctor with the relevant knowledge, about half an hour to an hour medical, and she signs me off as fit.
 
My GP would have no knowledge or understanding of my diabetes management as a Type 1 diabetic, so I would not expect them to be able to sign such a form. Your consultant or nurse at the diabetes clinic should be able to though.
 
travellor said:
I have that.

MY GP will sign my form to say what my results are for diving certification, purely as a statement of fact, but can't sign it to say I am fit to do the sport, as it isn't within their knowledge to decide one way or the other.

I just use a dive doctor with the relevant knowledge, about half an hour to an hour medical, and she signs me off as fit.
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I'm type 1 and the dive doctor I have used is not my GP. There is a physical examination and the Doctor will ask you all the relevant questions. There is a small charge.
 
Benny G said:
I'm type 1 and the dive doctor I have used is not my GP. There is a physical examination and the Doctor will ask you all the relevant questions. There is a small charge.
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Yes, it needs to be specific to the sport. or the activity, it's not really just "diabetes"
 
andy2000 said:
Hi
I recently booked an adventurous holiday but because I have type1 diabetes they require me to get a medical form signed by my GP.

unfortunately my GP has refused to sign it not for any medical reason they just say they are unhappy to sign it and that I should take it to a private GP.
Click to expand...
If the company that you have booked your adventure with can provide you with more details of the specific activities you could print them out and show your GP what would be involved. If you can also show that your Hba1c is reasonable and that your can and do handle intensive exercise, this may make the difference for your GP.
 
Ahh two divers on the forum. When I started I had to visit a navel doctor in southampton, now its just self certification, recreational diving though.
 
rebrascora said:
My GP would have no knowledge or understanding of my diabetes management as a Type 1 diabetic, so I would not expect them to be able to sign such a form. Your consultant or nurse at the diabetes clinic should be able to though.
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My thoughts entirely, last letter I had was from hospital clinic.
 
I agree with all of the above. Your GP could provide facts about your medical condition but could not, reasonably, be expected to confirm your fitness to dive. Or paragliding, parachuting and so many other similar adventurous sports.

2 questions leapt out at me: how long have you been T1 and how are you managing it? A third question might be how well are you able to manage your T1? A fourth would be how experienced are you already as a scuba diver?

There are significant physiological and bariometric stresses arising from Scuba diving and even before I had diabetes I needed a full medical to confirm my fitness to dive. Once the T1 is added to the medical mix, you are asking someone to confirm that you are unlikely to go hypoglycaemic and possibly unconscious while, perhaps, 20 metres down. This is not reasonable for a GP. It is also essential that you are paired with a dive buddy who can confidently and appropriately rescue you if you are hypoglycaemic or unconscious; don't underestimate your brain's ability to confuse yourself when hypo and confusion at depth is a natural reality from nitrogen poisoning, even without a hypo state. Such a rescue should not be done by any other, inexperienced, diver.

I suspect that just from you asking this question you don't have a solid grounding in dive theory and it's effects on one's metabolism. I am a now lapsed British SubAqua Club (BSAC) Advanced diver and BSAC Instructor and did a considerable amount of training to get those BSAC qualifications. I am also a lapsed Technical Diving Instructor (TDI), then allowing me to dive with twin tanks and down to 55 metres. I no longer dive because, with no pancreas, I consider myself a liability to others, unless I stay above 10m depth and potter on a shallow sea bed - something I've done enough of while instructing.
 
Just to clarify, the OP has not mentioned diving specifically, just an "adventurous holiday"..... which could be something like skiing or sailing or ranch riding or white water rafting or a hundred other activities, so I suppose it depends on what it entails as to whether a consultant would have enough knowledge of the activity as well as the patient, to make a judgement.
 
Yes, thank you @rebrascora, well spotted. Apologies, I got carried away! I still understand a GP's reluctance to sign a generic approval for adventurous activities. The response by @Benny G, #7, is more balanced than mine and might be a helpful start for the OP.
 
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