My husband wont go to see the doctor for diabetic reviews

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jo75

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Carer/Partner
Hi, My husband (Jamaican) was diagnosed with diabetes a few years back.
For the first few years he was happy to go to the diabetic reviews because he was always doing well.
He then started to not take his tablets properly. He would have to take a metformin 500mg and a ramipril in the morning, then afternoon and evening he would take one metformin each time. He was taking the first 2 then taking only one more metformin instead of 2.
This obviously started to have an impact on his results and the doctor asked questions about what he was eating, lifestyle habits and exercise.
He felt frustrated because he could not pinpoint where he was going wrong. (I suppose he felt like a kid being questioned by a parent)
He was then offered Gliclazide to offset any bad eating like after his main meal. He never really took these.
He had another appointment earlier this year because he had refused to make an appointment and the doctors refused to renew his prescription until he was seen.
I went to the appointment with him, he lied about his smoking habits, he lied about how much alcohol he drinks, what he eats and when.
The doctor was concerned that his cholesterol and HCA1 was very high. The doctor changed how the tablets were being taken as I had at least got him to admit that he had got in a mess taking his tablets.

He NOW takes 2x metformin 1x Gliclazide and 1x ramipril in the morning and 2x metformin and 1x Gliclazide in the evening.
Although he is taking these, he still refuses to go for reviews. The doctor said because he is not a traditional (fat) diabetic type 2 that his pancreas could be struggling and that he may need to administer insulin through a needle. He was really not happy about that.
He accepted the nurse coming to show him how to test his blood, after she left he wasnt bothered about using the machine. He wont make an appointment because in his words he says "They ask too many questions I feel fine, Id know if something was wrong."
He has always been a slim but muscular man in good proportion, but now he has lost so much weight, 5'6 9st 3lb now he was around 10 stone. His temples have sunken in, he has lost more weight on his stomach and his legs are really slim and he just doesnt see what I can see... he is just so stubborn!! How can I get him to see what he is doing to himself?
 
Losing a lot of weight in a short time is something that should be investigated and may or may not be diabetes related, but high blood sugar could be causing it. It is possible he is a lada or type 1.5 diabetic, this forum has several people who were initially misdiagnosed as type 2, and are actually Lada. Either way, if you can persuade him to see a gp, that would be a really great, as sudden weight loss is not good. Doing some finger pricking to see how high his blood sugars would be an interim step. If it is showing anything very high, please call 111 for advice.
 
Welcome to the forum @jo75 I am glad that you have found us.

Could he be persuaded to do a few finger pricks. What if you both did some (with different lancets).
Would that be of any help? It is quite common for people to get used to their symptoms and so ‘feel fine’ although once treated effectively they often realise how poorly they were. I know that as soon as I was out on insulin I felt so much better, and reals just how tired and thirsty I had been

With his rapid weight loss your husband could well be T1 (or LADA which is late onset T1). His pancreas may behave coped for a while as it still has some beta cells working but these may now have been destroyed too and he will eventually run out of insulin. Checking his levels in the morning before eating would be a good indication (‘Normal’ levels for non diabetics are between 4-7) especially if this is rising. It is not uncommon for adults to be misdiagnosed asT2.

His weight loss could also be caused by other things so it needs to be checked out either way.
Let us know how you get on.
 
Welcome to the forum @jo75 .
I have replied more fully in your other thread.
 
Hi @jo75 Definitely push to get Type 1/LADA ruled out. Weight loss can be a symptom of that. Also stress to him that ‘feeling ok’ isn’t necessarily a good measure of whether he’s actually ok or not. When I was diagnosed with Type 1, I was very surprised that the doctor called an ambulance. If I’d judged how ill I was by how I felt, I’d have been very misled.

You could also suggest he joins this forum. It’s great to be among people who understand, and do assure him that we don’t judge and that we understand what a pain diabetes is.
 
Last edited:
I tried to show my concern again this morning, he totally shut me down.
"Oh not this again why are you so worried?"
 
jo75 said:
I tried to show my concern again this morning, he totally shut me down.
"Oh not this again why are you so worried?"
Click to expand...

Ask him how he’d feel if the situation was reversed. Would he not care about your health? Would he not want you to be in the best health you could? Would he not worry about the possible complications of diabetes?
 
He does care, he actually said he'd care if I'm unwell.
My stomach bloats out because of ibs and he worries about that!
 
I get where he’s coming from, I was originally diagnosed type 2, as I was skinny and kinda athletic some test were done which showed an antibody for type 1. So now I’m LADA. This type can develop very slowly. I’m sure many on here will agree that sometimes there can be a certain element of GP’s and DN’s talking down a little bit to type 2’s and there can be a feeling of judgement. I’ve been treated as both type 1 & 2 and the contrast was quite shocking. I was diagnosed over the phone, told to lose weight and cut the carbs and work out, I said I’m a size 10, I run everyday… she said well you must be skinny fat, your organs will be covered in fat! I insisted on a face to face and more testing. No fatty organs and type 1 antibodies. My practices attitude towards me instantly changed. I strongly suggest your husband should get some investigation done, ask for antibody testing and c peptide. I would say the weight loss alone warrants it.
 
EmmaL76 said:
I get where he’s coming from, I was originally diagnosed type 2, as I was skinny and kinda athletic some test were done which showed an antibody for type 1. So now I’m LADA. This type can develop very slowly. I’m sure many on here will agree that sometimes there can be a certain element of GP’s and DN’s talking down a little bit to type 2’s and there can be a feeling of judgement. I’ve been treated as both type 1 & 2 and the contrast was quite shocking. I was diagnosed over the phone, told to lose weight and cut the carbs and work out, I said I’m a size 10, I run everyday… she said well you must be skinny fat, your organs will be covered in fat! I insisted on a face to face and more testing. No fatty organs and type 1 antibodies. My practices attitude towards me instantly changed. I strongly suggest your husband should get some investigation done, ask for antibody testing and c peptide. I would say the weight loss alone warrants it.
Click to expand...
I’m so glad you posted this. I have been told I have an HBac1 of 48, on re-test 44 and advised at 7,5 stone to lose weight and cut carbs down to less than 100 per day. I have done both and blood sugars run at between 5.8 to 8.5 depending on when I measure. They can be higher before I eat or before breakfast. I’m very active and really don’t want to lose any more weight. Our doctors are closed due to staff with covid and was told that I didn’t need re-testing until at least 6 months had elapsed, it’s now about 3 months. I had never heard of LADA before i saw the forum but think that maybe it would be prudent to get tested. I feel fine and look fine, only 5ft tall but hitting the scales at 6 and a half stone. I don’t know if they refuse me if you can get tested privately?
 
Sueizz said:
I’m so glad you posted this. I have been told I have an HBac1 of 48, on re-test 44 and advised at 7,5 stone to lose weight and cut carbs down to less than 100 per day. I have done both and blood sugars run at between 5.8 to 8.5 depending on when I measure. They can be higher before I eat or before breakfast. I’m very active and really don’t want to lose any more weight. Our doctors are closed due to staff with covid and was told that I didn’t need re-testing until at least 6 months had elapsed, it’s now about 3 months. I had never heard of LADA before i saw the forum but think that maybe it would be prudent to get tested. I feel fine and look fine, only 5ft tall but hitting the scales at 6 and a half stone. I don’t know if they refuse me if you can get tested privately?
Click to expand...
I will just reply real quickly, apologies as I’m just running out the house. The best way Ive found to go about these things are to book a private consultation with an endocrinologist, this will range from £120-£250, as long as they also work through the nhs which most do, in my experience all the testing is then pushed through nhs at no further cost to yourself. Xx
 
EmmaL76 said:
I will just reply real quickly, apologies as I’m just running out the house. The best way Ive found to go about these things are to book a private consultation with an endocrinologist, this will range from £120-£250, as long as they also work through the nhs which most do, in my experience all the testing is then pushed through nhs at no further cost to yourself. Xx
Click to expand...
Thank you for this, that’s helpful. I’m about to take a vacation and then will see what I can arrange.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top