Fishing247
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I didn’t realise how bad my so called diabetic team are until reading some of the threads on here, although still not sure where to turn if you can’t rely on your diabetic nurse.
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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Poor diabetic
- Thread starter Fishing247
- Start date
- Status
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
What sort of help have you perceived you can't get/haven't had? What do you feel you need?
Hi @Fishing247 and welcome to the forum.
The general standard of advice for Type 2 Diabetics tends to be more variable than for Type 1 's. This is because many health care professionals feel they are constrained by the 'Eatwell Plate' and '5 a Day' dietary messages that are an NHS standard for healthy people.
In some countries Registered Dieticians have been expelled from their professional associations for publicly questioning such high carb advice for (Type 2) diabetics, so it's understandable that there is professional hesitancy about suggesting lowering carbohydrate intake even though that is the logical first step.
Despite this, there seems to be increasing acceptance of low carb and indeed several whole UK GP practices are publicly on-board!
The general standard of advice for Type 2 Diabetics tends to be more variable than for Type 1 's. This is because many health care professionals feel they are constrained by the 'Eatwell Plate' and '5 a Day' dietary messages that are an NHS standard for healthy people.
In some countries Registered Dieticians have been expelled from their professional associations for publicly questioning such high carb advice for (Type 2) diabetics, so it's understandable that there is professional hesitancy about suggesting lowering carbohydrate intake even though that is the logical first step.
Despite this, there seems to be increasing acceptance of low carb and indeed several whole UK GP practices are publicly on-board!
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This link may also help you as the principals of the suggested regime is one many people find successful and there is a good basic explanation and ideas that have shown to have success at the GP group mentioned.
lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk
Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home
lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk
Fishing247
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
A brief history,
Several years ago I was put on the steroid Prednisone which bump started my first bout of type 2 diabetes, if memory serves I was on 30mg a day to to reduce joint and muscle pain. Three different doctors told me I was a very sick man, at the time I couldn’t walk without crutches get up of the sofa or in and out of the car without the help of my son. On my sixth visit to that practice in two weeks I was seen by a trainee doctor who introduced herself and said “how can I help you? I was completely stunned that firstly I was seeing a trainee and secondly that she hadn’t even looked at my notes, I was unable to fully explain for the fourth time what was wrong so she got a more senior doctor, by the time he entered the room my mind was made up that I was going to change practices which I did. On my first visit to the new practice an appointment was made with a diabetic nurse in the diabetic clinic, something I never knew existed until that point.
It took me the best part of two years to come down off the Prednisone and firstly Glimepiride then the Metformin through diet and was eventually diagnosed as having got rid of the type 2 diabetes and left with a glucose intolerance and told to watch my diet as the diabetes could and probably would come back.
Sure enough a couple of years later it came back this time symptoms were completely different only really manifesting themselves as MR angry, I wasn’t a nice person to be around at that time and I know I upset those closest to me.
At the time Dr Michael Mosley was running an series in the daily mail about his 800 calorie a day diet and the book he had written. I spoke to one of the Doctors about this who after doing some research on the book and diet advised me against it as there wasn’t enough research done on the subject, needless to say I ignored her advice and went on the diet I lasted 6 of the 8 weeks by which time my blood sugars were completely normal, it had worked as brutal as it was most meals just made me more hungry.
Roll on to December 2020 and COVID pandemic, I knew things weren’t right, my weight had dropped 7kg in little over a month my feet were on fire keeping me awake at night, again MR angry had returned and my vision was like looking through a slight mist on phoning the health centre I was told they had a new way of working and that someone would call me back at their earliest opportunity, needless to say no one called back the days marched on Christmas and new year came and went and I returned to Norway for work.
In the quarantine hotel I took a couple of funny turns where my balance was affected and just feeling horrible in myself, luckily I was able to get a doctors appointment later that day where they ran some tests and confirmed my suspension that the diabetes had returned with a vengeance, I was prescribed Metformin had my offshore medical revoked and told to go home. Due to covid restrictions I was unable to leave the hotel and get on a flight. So I hit the most minimal diet I could under the circumstances. I had my blood monitor with me a few test strips for both sugars and ketones at its worst my blood sugars were 23mmol and my ketones 4.1 Googling this last figure I knew things weren’t good and that I should be in hospital with this high level of ketones. The next Google search was how to reduce ketones, I found an interesting article which basically said to do as little exercise as possible, exercise would lower blood sugar but increase ketones, being in a quarantine hotel and confined to a small room for the next ten days surfing the internet doing a jigsaw and eating very little saw both my blood sugars and ketone levels drop to close to normal levels. Getting out of the hotel and going back to work they wanted me to have another offshore medical which I passed as I was able to prove that my blood sugars had dropped from 23 to 8mmol and looked like I was on top my control.
On returning home I managed to get my bloods taken another prescription for Metformin issued although it wasn’t till the following time home I got an appointment with the diabetic nurse.
My cholesterol was off the scale as I had stopped taking the statin due to them inflaming my joints causing me considerable pain the practice pharmacist called me and recommend another drug for reducing cholesterol which after getting approval from a doctor I started taking, I have no idea whether this drug is working or not because during my diabetic review I was told the practise no longer tests for cholesterol. I did ask for second lot of bloods taken at this review to be tested for cholesterol but they were not.
My Metformin prescription was increased from 850mg twice daily to 1000mg twice daily no further checks have been done to monitor progress,
At the diabetic review I was told my feet were dry and a prescription would be written out for some cream to help with this, this was not done. I have since bought some very good cream which has helped immensely.
I also told the nurse about the pains in my feet and tingling in my toes along with the cramps in my calf’s. I haven’t heard back on this subject either. I have found that using a tens machine with pads placed on my feet has helped reduce the pain on the occasion it has been really bad, even as I type this the toes on both feet feel like they have a mild hot electric current passing through them and I know sleep won’t come easy again tonight.
One thing I do is recommend every diabetic should have in the house is Iodine, there have been a couple of occasions where a toe nail has got a little red and sore one time there was pus coming out of it, the rig medic bathed it twice a day for for three days and it cleared it up. I like fishing and find it helps heal the small cuts I get from a day out on the boat.
After the last diabetic review I did get a call from a nurse, I think it was the same nurse who I had seen at the review, she offered no help or advice just kept asking me what I wanted to do about about my condition when I said shouldn’t I be asking you that question the call was terminated shortly afterwards.
So do I feel like I am being looked after? No.
Do I feel I can talk to someone? No
Do I feel like like I am on my own? Very much so.
So hey ho chin up and soldier on.
Several years ago I was put on the steroid Prednisone which bump started my first bout of type 2 diabetes, if memory serves I was on 30mg a day to to reduce joint and muscle pain. Three different doctors told me I was a very sick man, at the time I couldn’t walk without crutches get up of the sofa or in and out of the car without the help of my son. On my sixth visit to that practice in two weeks I was seen by a trainee doctor who introduced herself and said “how can I help you? I was completely stunned that firstly I was seeing a trainee and secondly that she hadn’t even looked at my notes, I was unable to fully explain for the fourth time what was wrong so she got a more senior doctor, by the time he entered the room my mind was made up that I was going to change practices which I did. On my first visit to the new practice an appointment was made with a diabetic nurse in the diabetic clinic, something I never knew existed until that point.
It took me the best part of two years to come down off the Prednisone and firstly Glimepiride then the Metformin through diet and was eventually diagnosed as having got rid of the type 2 diabetes and left with a glucose intolerance and told to watch my diet as the diabetes could and probably would come back.
Sure enough a couple of years later it came back this time symptoms were completely different only really manifesting themselves as MR angry, I wasn’t a nice person to be around at that time and I know I upset those closest to me.
At the time Dr Michael Mosley was running an series in the daily mail about his 800 calorie a day diet and the book he had written. I spoke to one of the Doctors about this who after doing some research on the book and diet advised me against it as there wasn’t enough research done on the subject, needless to say I ignored her advice and went on the diet I lasted 6 of the 8 weeks by which time my blood sugars were completely normal, it had worked as brutal as it was most meals just made me more hungry.
Roll on to December 2020 and COVID pandemic, I knew things weren’t right, my weight had dropped 7kg in little over a month my feet were on fire keeping me awake at night, again MR angry had returned and my vision was like looking through a slight mist on phoning the health centre I was told they had a new way of working and that someone would call me back at their earliest opportunity, needless to say no one called back the days marched on Christmas and new year came and went and I returned to Norway for work.
In the quarantine hotel I took a couple of funny turns where my balance was affected and just feeling horrible in myself, luckily I was able to get a doctors appointment later that day where they ran some tests and confirmed my suspension that the diabetes had returned with a vengeance, I was prescribed Metformin had my offshore medical revoked and told to go home. Due to covid restrictions I was unable to leave the hotel and get on a flight. So I hit the most minimal diet I could under the circumstances. I had my blood monitor with me a few test strips for both sugars and ketones at its worst my blood sugars were 23mmol and my ketones 4.1 Googling this last figure I knew things weren’t good and that I should be in hospital with this high level of ketones. The next Google search was how to reduce ketones, I found an interesting article which basically said to do as little exercise as possible, exercise would lower blood sugar but increase ketones, being in a quarantine hotel and confined to a small room for the next ten days surfing the internet doing a jigsaw and eating very little saw both my blood sugars and ketone levels drop to close to normal levels. Getting out of the hotel and going back to work they wanted me to have another offshore medical which I passed as I was able to prove that my blood sugars had dropped from 23 to 8mmol and looked like I was on top my control.
On returning home I managed to get my bloods taken another prescription for Metformin issued although it wasn’t till the following time home I got an appointment with the diabetic nurse.
My cholesterol was off the scale as I had stopped taking the statin due to them inflaming my joints causing me considerable pain the practice pharmacist called me and recommend another drug for reducing cholesterol which after getting approval from a doctor I started taking, I have no idea whether this drug is working or not because during my diabetic review I was told the practise no longer tests for cholesterol. I did ask for second lot of bloods taken at this review to be tested for cholesterol but they were not.
My Metformin prescription was increased from 850mg twice daily to 1000mg twice daily no further checks have been done to monitor progress,
At the diabetic review I was told my feet were dry and a prescription would be written out for some cream to help with this, this was not done. I have since bought some very good cream which has helped immensely.
I also told the nurse about the pains in my feet and tingling in my toes along with the cramps in my calf’s. I haven’t heard back on this subject either. I have found that using a tens machine with pads placed on my feet has helped reduce the pain on the occasion it has been really bad, even as I type this the toes on both feet feel like they have a mild hot electric current passing through them and I know sleep won’t come easy again tonight.
One thing I do is recommend every diabetic should have in the house is Iodine, there have been a couple of occasions where a toe nail has got a little red and sore one time there was pus coming out of it, the rig medic bathed it twice a day for for three days and it cleared it up. I like fishing and find it helps heal the small cuts I get from a day out on the boat.
After the last diabetic review I did get a call from a nurse, I think it was the same nurse who I had seen at the review, she offered no help or advice just kept asking me what I wanted to do about about my condition when I said shouldn’t I be asking you that question the call was terminated shortly afterwards.
So do I feel like I am being looked after? No.
Do I feel I can talk to someone? No
Do I feel like like I am on my own? Very much so.
So hey ho chin up and soldier on.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Goodness! What a time of things you have had @Fishing247 - no wonder you are exhausted by it all.
I hope is has eased the burden a little to pour all that out and get it off your chest. Sharing experiences with others who face the same daily battles can sometimes be quite cathartic in itself.
Glad you were able to come off the prednisolone - steroids can wreak havoc with blood glucose levels.
Reading your account, it feels like you have gone through several periods of very intense intervention, and then after a while your diabetes has re-appeared when those interventions have finished. I wonder whether it might be helpful to look for a more moderate way of sustaining in-range blood glucose levels which you can maintain in the long term?
More consistent and even blood glucose levels are often found to reduce nerve pain or discomfort - if that is what is causing the tingling and pain in your feet and legs.
I hope is has eased the burden a little to pour all that out and get it off your chest. Sharing experiences with others who face the same daily battles can sometimes be quite cathartic in itself.
Glad you were able to come off the prednisolone - steroids can wreak havoc with blood glucose levels.
Reading your account, it feels like you have gone through several periods of very intense intervention, and then after a while your diabetes has re-appeared when those interventions have finished. I wonder whether it might be helpful to look for a more moderate way of sustaining in-range blood glucose levels which you can maintain in the long term?
More consistent and even blood glucose levels are often found to reduce nerve pain or discomfort - if that is what is causing the tingling and pain in your feet and legs.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Many people don't realise that the measures they have taken to reduce blood glucose levels to normal have to be maintained to keep them there and although they can be relaxed a bit for some people, many do need to keep it up essentially for ever or they end up in a YoYo senario.
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