No support from my diabetes nurse ☹

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Clairsey

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all, I'm new on here but was diagnosed with type 2 in November. My diabetes nurse put me on metformin, took all my measurements and told me I was very overweight (which of course I knew). I was very anxious and when I asked her about diet she just stated the obvious "just eat less carbs" and she didn't expand on that. I felt extremely unsupported and later when I checked the notes she had made about the consultation in my records I was very upset to see "full education on diet given" written down so I complained about it - she did not give me any education!

I came away from my first (and only so far) consultation completely confused and quite scared actually, when I expected to have received good advice all I got was a huge rebuke on being overweight and a distinct impression that it's all my own fault because of that, although it is in my family and she didn't ask me that. I also know that being overweight is not the only factor to getting type 2 diabetes. She gave me a form to get another blood test done in 3 months time. This test was done nearly a month ago at the hospital and my results passed to my GP practice which I was able to see on the NHS app was still showing a reading in the borderline high category.

I was expecting my GP practice to contact me to ask me to make another appointment with the nurse to discuss the 3 months results but I have heard nothing. I feel like they don't care and now I'm wondering what is the next step - do I just keep on taking the metformin and not get checked up again?

I bought myself a blood glucose monitor so I can do readings myself but when I told my aforementioned friend about it (because I wanted to know if the metformin was making my readings lower) she said they don't like you to do your own monitoring during the first 3 months as it's transistioning and then afterwards they will tell you to do readings as necessary but I've not heard anything after my 3 months so (apart from my friend) I have absolutely no support and no clue what happens now. Can anyone please advise if this is normal? Many thanks.
 
Sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately it's not that unusual and is something that pops up here on the Forum time and time again. The good news is that whatever questions you have, and whatever advice you're looking for, you'll find it here. I would expect that within a few days you will know all you need to know about managing your diabetes, from people who are managing theirs day-to-day.
 
Thank you for that Martin. I am glad to hear that it is quite common. It's not right though is it? I guess state of the nation with the NHS. Thank you for your support. I am sure I will find what I need on this forum - we will support each other.
 
Sorry to hear this but my GP and nurse are the same. I take my own blood sugars and a have a diabetic review once sometimes twice a year..not once in 13 years have GP's ever contacted me. My advice would be to contact your GP and arrange a Hba1c blood test and an appt with GP. Hope this helps
 
Thank you. I would really have liked them to ask me to make an appointment to discuss my results and whether they want me to take my own readings and how often and how long before I should get another Hba1c done etc. I get that if I'd been managing this for a few years and I got my Hba1c results if they were ok I wouldn't need to go and see the nurse but when it's all new they really should provide that information. I also have high blood pressure and have had regular tests for that and the GP calls me to discuss the results and medicine changes or the practice messages me to make an appointment so it's just the diabetes nurse I have to see who is rubbish, I wish it was my GP!
 
Hi @Clairsey and welcome to the forum!

I am sorry to hear you've had such a rough start after your diagnosis. It's unfortunate you didn't get much information out of that meeting, however you're doing great in being proactive - asking questions, checking your results and - well - joining the forum! Things might take a while, before they're fully settled, but do speak to your GP about your blood tests and all the questions you might have.

Meanwhile, any gaps in knowledge or advice will surely be answered by the members here so if you'll have any questions - fire them away!

You might also find the Learning Zone of the forum quite useful if you're looking to gain more information, as well as the different Meal Plans that focus on various needs (low carb, low cal etc.).
 
Hi leva, thank you so much, I will take a look at those links as I am sure they will help a lot. One thing with me is I've never been one for exercise in the past - I've always found it boring after a couple of sessions - but after my diagnosis I decided to get a PT instructor who comes to my home a couple of times a week - I wanted it that way so I've no way to talk myself out of going to sessions To my surprise I find that I really look forward to seeing him! I lost over 10lbs in the first 2 weeks but progress has been a lot slower ever since which is disappointing to me but he says is normal. I never thought I would ever see the day I said that I enjoy exercise - it was definitely the best decision I have made to choose him.

I just need to sort out the diet now but here too I've never really enjoyed cooking as I'm not very good at it. I bought a couple of diabetes diet books and managed to follow the meal plans for about 2 weeks but it was difficult for me to maintain - I found there was much more food than I usually eat which is a bit odd to me and I hated the rigidity of eating 3 meals a day and snacking too. In the past I would often skip breakfast and only have lunch and dinner in a day (very little snacking too) but I had to change all that when I was told to take metformin in the morning with food. I often wonder if I don't eat enough maybe but I don't want to force food down if I'm not feeling hungry which is also what we are logically told when we are dieting.

My mother is completely opposite to me - her blood pressure etc is generally always very low yet she continually drinks tea and coffee with 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar in all day long and eats cakes, biscuits and sweets and always has a sugary pudding after dinner. I have one cup of tea a day without sugar and I don't like coffee, I have sweets and the odd cake occasionally and don't add sugar to anything if I make it myself because it tastes too sweet for me, yet she hasn't got diabetes when I have ‍♀️
 
Oh @Clairsey that's great to hear about your PT! I have a love/hate relationship with the gym as well, and it was only when I found a good PT that it changed - I understand the surprise of actually wanting to see them and work out. It helps to have someone supportive like that in your circle, who can be a positive motivator, so keep at it! And don't be discouraged by pauses in your weight loss or in other factors - they say the first weeks (or 2 months) are the 'newbie high' when the progress will be quick. Afterwards it slows down, however becomes more regular and other changes start happening in the background (strength building, higher energy etc.), so even if it doesn't look like it in the moment - the progress is still happening!

Nutrition will be a tricky one to sort out, but it's another habit to build, just like working out. Cooking can become tedious (I will forever be jealous of those who feel a calling for it :D ) and if you make food in bulk to save on cooking time, it can become very boring to eat the same thing too. That's why I think the meal plans might help, and also thinking 'outside the box' a little bit - cooking up some protein for the day and then throwing it with some veg to turn it into a warm crunchy salad, and making the rest into a curry for the evening. It all depends on your preference, habit building and, more often than not, what you have in the fridge. There are great threads on here where people share different recipes or alternatives to their food choices pre-diagnosis so take a gander and I hope you'll find something that works for you!
 
She gave me a form to get another blood test done in 3 months time. This test was done nearly a month ago at the hospital and my results passed to my GP practice which I was able to see on the NHS app was still showing a reading in the borderline high category.

Was this an HbA1C test @Clairsey ? What do you mean by “borderline high”? What was the actual result in numbers?
 
Clairsey said:
Hi leva, thank you so much, I will take a look at those links as I am sure they will help a lot. One thing with me is I've never been one for exercise in the past - I've always found it boring after a couple of sessions - but after my diagnosis I decided to get a PT instructor who comes to my home a couple of times a week - I wanted it that way so I've no way to talk myself out of going to sessions To my surprise I find that I really look forward to seeing him! I lost over 10lbs in the first 2 weeks but progress has been a lot slower ever since which is disappointing to me but he says is normal. I never thought I would ever see the day I said that I enjoy exercise - it was definitely the best decision I have made to choose him.

I just need to sort out the diet now but here too I've never really enjoyed cooking as I'm not very good at it. I bought a couple of diabetes diet books and managed to follow the meal plans for about 2 weeks but it was difficult for me to maintain - I found there was much more food than I usually eat which is a bit odd to me and I hated the rigidity of eating 3 meals a day and snacking too. In the past I would often skip breakfast and only have lunch and dinner in a day (very little snacking too) but I had to change all that when I was told to take metformin in the morning with food. I often wonder if I don't eat enough maybe but I don't want to force food down if I'm not feeling hungry which is also what we are logically told when we are dieting.

My mother is completely opposite to me - her blood pressure etc is generally always very low yet she continually drinks tea and coffee with 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar in all day long and eats cakes, biscuits and sweets and always has a sugary pudding after dinner. I have one cup of tea a day without sugar and I don't like coffee, I have sweets and the odd cake occasionally and don't add sugar to anything if I make it myself because it tastes too sweet for me, yet she hasn't got diabetes when I have ‍♀️
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I have reversed my type 2 eating 2 meals a day at 12 hour intervals, no snacks but also no Metformin, as it made me really ill.
Perhaps the rigid meal plans are holding you back from losing weight and more normal glucose levels.
I felt that all the advice on diet I got in the half century before diagnosis with diabetes was simply wrong, as it made me feel unwell to eat so much carbohydrate, but the ones advising were absolutely adamant that theirs was the only way to eat.
 
Ieva DUK said:
Oh @Clairsey that's great to hear about your PT! I have a love/hate relationship with the gym as well, and it was only when I found a good PT that it changed - I understand the surprise of actually wanting to see them and work out. It helps to have someone supportive like that in your circle, who can be a positive motivator, so keep at it! And don't be discouraged by pauses in your weight loss or in other factors - they say the first weeks (or 2 months) are the 'newbie high' when the progress will be quick. Afterwards it slows down, however becomes more regular and other changes start happening in the background (strength building, higher energy etc.), so even if it doesn't look like it in the moment - the progress is still happening!

Nutrition will be a tricky one to sort out, but it's another habit to build, just like working out. Cooking can become tedious (I will forever be jealous of those who feel a calling for it :D ) and if you make food in bulk to save on cooking time, it can become very boring to eat the same thing too. That's why I think the meal plans might help, and also thinking 'outside the box' a little bit - cooking up some protein for the day and then throwing it with some veg to turn it into a warm crunchy salad, and making the rest into a curry for the evening. It all depends on your preference, habit building and, more often than not, what you have in the fridge. There are great threads on here where people share different recipes or alternatives to their food choices pre-diagnosis so take a gander and I hope you'll find something that works for you!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much leva - you have got me exactly! I feel so happy I have come here for support, it's actually making me very emotional now I've started on the Learning Zone already and got so much more to read on here, the support is absolutely amazing
 
Inka said:
She gave me a form to get another blood test done in 3 months time. This test was done nearly a month ago at the hospital and my results passed to my GP practice which I was able to see on the NHS app was still showing a reading in the borderline high category.

Was this an HbA1C test @Clairsey ? What do you mean by “borderline high”? What was the actual result in numbers?
Click to expand...
Hi Inka, yes it was HbA1C test and result was 52 mmol/mol which on my chart I have with my glucose monitor says borderline high. My first result in Nov was 78 mmol/mol which my chart says is high.
 
Drummer said:
I have reversed my type 2 eating 2 meals a day at 12 hour intervals, no snacks but also no Metformin, as it made me really ill.
Perhaps the rigid meal plans are holding you back from losing weight and more normal glucose levels.
I felt that all the advice on diet I got in the half century before diagnosis with diabetes was simply wrong, as it made me feel unwell to eat so much carbohydrate, but the ones advising were absolutely adamant that theirs was the only way to eat.
Click to expand...
Thank you Drummer. I will definitely look into changing up my diet and well done for reversing yours
 
I was in exactly the same boat as you, 6 months ago the DN is a complete waste of time, I ended up going to see my GP who is the diabetic lead, he told me i was doing really well and gave me Libre 2 which has helped me a lot as you can work out what foods effects your BG i only have insulin but slowly added a couple of units a day until its settled down.

The people on this forum have helped me so much on how to manage everything better than any DN who i geniunely believe has no idea, and doesn't care.
 
Totally agree with you already Pam! I think I will just read through all the really helpful advice on here and if I feel I'm not improving after that I will ask to see my GP who is a lot more helpful than the DN. I have always had an aversion to GP surgeries even though I have more faith in my current GP and always try to sort things out for myself. I feel quite bowled over today realising from all your responses on here that many of you have experienced exactly the same emotions as me since diagnosis.
 
Your result after 3 months of 52mmol/mol is a fantastic reduction from your starting point given you were floundering and given little advice. The diagnostic threshold is anything over 47mmol/mol so you were fairly high at the outset but carrying on doing what you have been should hopefully see you below that threshold in another 3 months.
However that is not the end of it and in order to get a bit lower and maintain that then your dietary regime has to become a new way of eating for life so it has to be enjoyable.
I found the principals in this link successful as it is a low carb approach which I have been able to reduce my HbA1C from 50mmol/mol to below 40mmol/mol and kept it there 3 years on. There may be some ideas you can adopt to make things easier, recipes don't have to be complicated, I tend to use meat, fish, eggs with lots of veg and salads using herbs and spices for flavours and make my own sauces or look for low carb ones. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

I hope you have had your foot and retinal screening eye checks as well.
 
Thank you Leadinglights for your review on my results which has really helped me benchmark where I am at. The DN did a rough test on my feet with a prod stick on the ocasion I saw her and said it all seemed fine and I've never felt any numbness or anything. I did have my eye screening last month and that was also fine. Ironically, I had a general eye test last summer and the optometrist told me my eye sight had improved and to stop wearing my prescription glasses!
 
Clairsey said:
Thank you Leadinglights for your review on my results which has really helped me benchmark where I am at. The DN did a rough test on my feet with a prod stick on the ocasion I saw her and said it all seemed fine and I've never felt any numbness or anything. I did have my eye screening last month and that was also fine. Ironically, I had a general eye test last summer and the optometrist told me my eye sight had improved and to stop wearing my prescription glasses!
Click to expand...
Quite a few people are diagnosed due to the vigilance of their optician as one of the symptoms of high blood glucose is changes in your eyes so your vision can become fuzzy but for may they do not notice as it has happened gradually but lo and behold when they take measures to reduce blood glucose the eyes change again and they get issues with their eyesight for a while, weeks to months depending.
 
Clairsey said:
Hi Inka, yes it was HbA1C test and result was 52 mmol/mol which on my chart I have with my glucose monitor says borderline high. My first result in Nov was 78 mmol/mol which my chart says is high.
Click to expand...

Yes, 52 is still in the diabetes zone, but a big improvement on 78 🙂
 
Leadinglights said:
Quite a few people are diagnosed due to the vigilance of their optician as one of the symptoms of high blood glucose is changes in your eyes so your vision can become fuzzy but for may they do not notice as it has happened gradually but lo and behold when they take measures to reduce blood glucose the eyes change again and they get issues with their eyesight for a while, weeks to months depending.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I will keep an eye on my vision changes, thank you. I was a bit shocked when I went for the retinal screening test of the effect of the eye drops used which caused my eyes to be very blurry for the rest of the day and I also hadn't known the effects of the outside light sensitivity. They gave me a leaflet regarding it after they had put the drops in but I don't understand why they didn't send me the leaflet when they wrote to me about my appointment which would have been more sensible as difficult to read it when you have blurred vision after receiving the drops! Although they mentioned blurriness in the appointment letter, I was expecting the drops to be similar to the ones you get from the machine at the opticians where I find the effects wear off by the time I leave. It would have helped to understand that sunglasses (even in winter) would have been helpful to have to wear afterwards - next year I will be much more prepared and take the day off work as I couldn't work until the next day when my vision cleared.
 
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