Sorry to hear you were disappointed with your appointment. I can quite understand why, but reading your posts where were a couple of positive things among the dreadfulness...
Hi again let me update you so far. I went to the dn this week....tbh i was very disappointed with the appt at first I had to wonder if she was a dn because she wasn't very informative at all......
You might be right. There are different versions of what are called a 'Diabetes Nurse', some of these are a practice nurse who has done a small amount of extra training, some are very experienced with a great deal of knowledge, and others are fully qualified Specialist Diabetes Nurses (what used to be called DSNs) who have had extensive training - pretty much degree-level in all things diabetes. It sounds like your was one of the less qualified ones?
I asked questions in which actually being on this very useful forum has given me the answers to already it was like we was just passing the time. I thought she should have been ready with info, leaflets etc to pass onto me....nothing at all like that! She weighted me did my height and proceeded to tell me what foods to cut down on or to cut out......carbs!
Actually you *could* see this as a positive, going forward. Some members have appointments where their healthcare professionals insist that they 'need' to eat lots of carbs in order to survive, and issue grave warnings about limiting carbohydrate in the diet. Some even convince people to eat MORE carbs after diagnosis (with predictably poor results). At least yours is likely to be supportive of your carb reduction/moderation!
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bananas, grapes, strawberries.....i was quite disappointed as I love these fruits....i asked her about raspberries as the evening before a friend brought round 6 punnets from a farmer's market i could have easily just ate a whole punnet but i didn't ..... the dn then proceeded to ask me if they were a little bit citrus because if they were that's fine to eat because citrus fruits are fine also apples with the skin on are fine too.....wow!
This is a very odd list. Somethings really jubmled, and others downright confusing! Strawberries seem (on forum experience) to be relatively easy on most people's BGs, as would rapsberries and other berries in reasonable quantities. Bananas tend to be more tricky for many but fine for some, as do oranges, apples and pears tend to be OK but all the big fruits are 20-30g of carbs apiece so you have to be a little cautious. The honest truth is that there is no definitive list of what is or isn't fine. Your nurse's suggestions are just guesswork, because you as an individual, need to work out which foods are fine work you and which don't. It doesn't matter two figs whether 'most' people struggle with bananas if you really like them and they are absolutely fine for you. All that matters is the results YOU get when eating different things. Which leads us to...
I asked if I should buy a blood glucose monitor and she said that was not needed at this point.
I think she isn't used to people being so invested in their health and wellbeing as you are. Who are seeing their diabetes diagnosis as a chance to adapt and make some real changes to food choices in order to improve outcomes. Having seen how you have been posting it seems very clear that a BG meter will really help you understand how your diabetes is affecting you - have you read AlanS's Test Review Adjust (
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html). It's a great guide to using BG testing to improve your diabetes management.
bascially was told I needed to lose weight and be more active. At the end I asked her when do I have another blood test she said not until about 6 months time. I came out of the surgery feeling quite deflated as I thought I would have received alot more support....how wrong was I. So thank God for this forum it's a blessing.
That is poor and dismissive - I can completely understand why you felt disappointed. Here you were, a motivated intelligent woman, really wanting to tackle this thing and you were given very little help and support to do so. What a shame! Losing weight and being more active will undoubtedly help, but I really cannot imagine you felt inspired to action by that appointment!
