Hello - another newbie here

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MargB said:
Thanks Northerner. So a diabetic needs a lower level than is normally classed as OK?

Pretty sure my last cholesterol reading was about 4.6 and the doc said that was fine. It has been fairly static for a couple of years.

Mmmmm, lot to all this, isn't there!
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Apparently they keep shifting the goalposts! It used to be that they considered anything around 5 or below as fine, but now it seems that if you have diabetes you need to be at 4 or below. 5 is still good for non-diabetics.🙄
 
Well, I had my long awaited appointment with the doc and it was more annoying than anything else. He eventually looked at my records after he had gone into a long explanation that he might put me onto a drug to lower my cholesterol (I have been taking Simvastin for around 15 years), then might put me on some blood pressure tablets (currently taking 3 different lots). When he did start to read my records he hummed and hawed, said he must have been feeling generous when he put me on one of the blood pressure tabs, muttered he might take me off the beta blocker and put me on an aser inhibitor (sp) - but he didn't. He did however change my simvastatin from 20 to 40 - and I was so ill over the weekend it was scarey!

Supposed to have started Metformin on Saturday but could not keep anything in so spoke to the dispensing chemist who said it would be ok to hold back until Monday.

I have decided I am sticking with the original dosage of 20mg Simva, not starting the Metformin until after Easter and seriously considering changing to another Health Centre that has a diabetes clinic, dietician, etc. etc. Where I am now, there are 2 docs and one practice nurse who is a jackie of all trades!

Fed up.

One thing he did say was there was a 1 in 2 chance I would get diabetes and although western lifestyle plays a part, not the whole story in my case. My mum, her brothers, two of my brothers all have diabetes type 2 so it was only a question of time.

Still fed up though.
 
Marg this doesnt sound like a very good appointment...big hugs...you can't be feeling very confident in you care with your gp acting like that ....could you go and chat to the practice manager at the other clinic and see what services they can offer... i think you maybe right in thinking about moving practice ...good luck 🙂
 
Hi Marg, it really isn't good enough when doctors show such a lack of professionalism! Not knowing your drug regime before he started discussing your situation is dreadful. You wouldn't expect them to know your complete history (maybe you should though) but this is slapdash.

Regarding simvastatin, there was a report recently that anything above 20mg has no greater benefit :

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4125594&c=2

I had problems with it when I increased to 40mg. I've since stopped taking it as my chol dropped to 2.4.

Also, if you have problems whem you start with metformin, you should ask for the slow-release version Glucophage SR which people report has fewer side effects.

Good idea to check out changing team - good luck, I hope you find someone who takes a closer interest in their patient's well-being!
 
Thanks both - that is an interesting link Northerner!

The health centre I would move back to is the one I moved away from when my doctor left the practice and she said I could transfer to her new practice. She is brilliant but only works 1.5 days a week so difficult to get to see. Currently waiting for her to phone me back and 'ok' me not switching to 40mg Simvastatin. The original health centre is part of the infirmary and most of the 17 docs there are part time as the rest of the time they lecturing or other hospital posts. The main reaon for switching, apart from my doc moving, was they had/have a stupid appointment system whereby you could not pre-book an appointment but could only make an appointment for the same day. Lines opened at 8.30am and by the time I got into work at 9am, sit on the phone trying to get through, all the appointments had gone. Hasten to add, I did not see my own doc on Friday!

But, the facilities were first class. Practice Manager - mmmm, good idea. They have a website these days and it all sounds excellent but ... I remember why I moved.

I would love an easy life.
 
My doc has just phoned me back. Said fine to go back to my old dosage and fine to put off starting the Metformin till next week. Asked what symptoms I had and said d&v not a usual side effect of Simvastatin and wonders if I had picked up a bug. That thought had fleetingly crossed my mind and I suppose I could have picked up something whilst in the flipping waiting room!

She is so nice and caring that to move or not to move is a big thing. She actually phoned whilst I was printing off a form to register at the other health centre - so now I can add guilt to my list of feelings!

I am not depressed so this is only an observation but the fact that my dad and his siblings died in their 40s from heart conditions meant they never went through any of this stuff. Heart conditions, have lived with the inevitability of developing them since I was a little kid - this other stuff like kidney failure (one brother), liver failure (another brother), diabetes (3 of us) -all new territory to us.
 
Wish me luck. Going to see the practice nurse after work and not looking forward to it. Have an appointment with my GP before that to discuss me moving back to the Health Centre we both used to be with. When she moved, she allowed me to move with her although I am outside the catchment area. The thing is, the old HC has many more facilities than this one and I want to talk to her and see what she thinks about me moving back.

Like I said, wish me luck!!
 
MargB said:
Wish me luck. Going to see the practice nurse after work and not looking forward to it. Have an appointment with my GP before that to discuss me moving back to the Health Centre we both used to be with. When she moved, she allowed me to move with her although I am outside the catchment area. The thing is, the old HC has many more facilities than this one and I want to talk to her and see what she thinks about me moving back.

Like I said, wish me luck!!
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Oh, good luck Marg, sounds like a tricky decision - hope all goes well 🙂 Try not to worry and make sure you get what's best for YOU.
 
Well, it went tons better than I expected!

Ifeel so much better about everything now I have had chance to talk to my own doc who always listens and never attempts to do 10 other things whilst pretending to listen. Explained things had been different for a while but were getting back to normal and also gave me some news I didn't know about where we used to be. That news makes a big difference so for now I am happy to stay where I am.

From that appointment went back to the waiting room for the appointment with the nurse and that also turned out much better than expected. She told me the Health Authority will contact me to arrange an eye test and will give me a pin code to give to the optician.

I asked for my levels which are:
cholestorol 4.5
HDL 1.1, LDL 2.6, triglycerides 1.8
Hba1c 56 mmol

I asked if that last one was very high and she said they are changing the numbers this year but 56 mmol would have been 7.36%. These are the ones I don't know much about so any light that can be thrown on them would be very much appreciated! Should say that since those results my Simvastatin has been upped from 20 to 40mg.

Next blood test June and I feel so much better about things.

I have also started on 2 Metformin from today and will see how that goes.
 
Hi Marg, looking good! Glad to hear everything went better than expected - always a pleasant surprise! 🙂 The HbA1c is a little on the high side as the ideal is below 6.2%, but I'm sure you will get there, it is very early days yet 🙂
 
you are similar to me on DX ...after 3months they reduced my metaformin to one a day and took me off the Simvastatin all together x i got my next set soon good luck xx
 
I forgot to ask about self testing though. It wasn't mentioned.

I don't feel ill, no idea if levels are going up or not.

Will wait and see what the next results are and take it from there. Already losing weight through Slimming World and exercising more. Maybe the diabetes will mean I won't give up like I usually do!
 
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