Struggling to get appointments

[Clo]

Hi

Was wondering if anyone has some tips on getting appointment. Basically at the hospital were I go to see doctor, ,y doctor has recently left and they have yet to replace them. They told me that I cannot have an appointment with another doc and have to wait for an appointment. Obviously this is terrible as I just want to see someone! I then went to GPS to try get one but this see,s to be taking ages. My appointment is now overdue by about a month and just wondered if anyone has any tips on getting seen by a diabetic doctor as soon as thanks

Thanks

 

[Northerner]

Hi Clo, welcome to the forum 🙂 It's very poor that you can't get an appointment Is there any particular reason you need the appointment? Would you be able to discuss things with a DSN if a doctor is not available? I had a situation once where the diabetes clinic I attended for my reviews closed a week before my annual review and I had to go back to my GP to get referred to a different clinic, which took about month. If you don't have a DSN as a contact I would go back to your GP and ask what is being done, you should not be left without care.

 

[AlisonM]

There were similar problems at my clinic until last year. There were swingeing cutbacks made and a consultant left, just as another was made redundant along with a couple of the DSNs, leaving them very short staffed. It took almost a year and loads of complaint letters from irate diabetics to make them take on another consultant and a DSN, now the waiting list for appointments has gone down from 3 months to 1 week. Now the only problem is getting the DSNs to return phone calls or answer emails, they don't usually unless I copy the consultant on any email I send.

Having said that, if it just your annual checkup, I wouldn't worry too much unless you're having problems, just contact them from time to time to remind them you're still waiting. If you are having difficulties I think the only things you can do are: Ask to see the DSN if that's an option, and write to the clinic manager expressing your concerns at the long waiting times.

 

[trophywench]

I highly recommend that course of action - I had a 2 year plus gap in appts once, and I was really really struggling at the time too.

So I complained to PALS and Lo! - an appointment appeared. It transpired there were A LOT of people who'd done that so they HAD to do something.

Trouble with that was, some years later I heard the hospital story during a diabetes event where there were about 100 patients plus others. The diabetes houseman the - a lady! - was preg and had had a sicky pregnancy so off quite a bit with no pror notice, plus all her usual appts. Then she went on Maternity Leave, having told the Trust she was coming back at the end of it. Which wasn't actually true .... so they were paying her and holding her job open, and thus preventing recruitment. And the D consultant said it was almost impossible to recruit 'good' staff because it seemed nobody wanted to work in such a busy clinic. Which he could understand.

Someone else chipped in with, 'Oh yes, 2 years ago, you had to cancel your holidays to do extra clinics, didn't you? and I sank down in my seat .......'

 

[Clo]

Well I like to go regularly, been having bit trouble with it and just had results from eye screen thing and they werent great so I wanted to chat with someone about it. Went to GPS after I found out the hospital won't give me appointment but they won't till I have a hb1c blood test. They tried chasing the one I did at the hospital two weeks ago but can't get it so have to get new test done. So it's all getting rather drawn, and is still just need bit of help.

 

[Northerner]

Well I like to go regularly, been having bit trouble with it and just had results from eye screen thing and they werent great so I wanted to chat with someone about it. Went to GPS after I found out the hospital won't give me appointment but they won't till I have a hb1c blood test. They tried chasing the one I did at the hospital two weeks ago but can't get it so have to get new test done. So it's all getting rather drawn, and is still just need bit of help.

Well, we can't offer medical advice, but perhaps if you want to tell us about your concerns then others might be able to help by sharing their own experiences - there's nearly always someone who has been through the same things and it's easier to deal with if you know you're not alone with it 🙂

 

[Clo]

My eye results came back saying I had beginnings of problems with eyes. I know this is either caused by blood pressure or unstable blood sugars. The past few months its been very up and down and not really sure why all if a sudden it's not very welled controlled, when it had been for a while. I think the eye thing is reversible at the moment but need to get sugars under control. Any ideas why they have gone so up and down recently ?

 

[AlisonM]

It's hard to tell what the cause could be without a good deal more detail Clo. There are so many things that could cause fluctuating numbers. Food, exercise (or lack of), an infection, the weather or even the diabetes fairy when there's no-one and nothing else to blame. Sometimes we do everything right and it still goes pear shaped.

Is there any kind of pattern to the cycle of highs and lows? Such as low at bedtime and high in the morning, or the other way around perhaps. Or getting higher/too low through the day. Or unexpected variations after meals. Also, what insulin regime are you on?

 

[trophywench]

Hi Clo,

Apart from the stress of unstable blood glucose , which is mega stressful - that was what turned me from a person under quite a lot of stress one way or the other, but able to cope, into a quivering wreck under a blankie in a corner. And unable to get an appt with someone who might just have a clue !

I actually turned to the internet meself, in 2007 when this forum was in it's infancy and not much help (far far different place now) and only due to the help I found on another, similar forum - I'd actually started to make inroads when SUDDENLY without prior warning , the hospital got it's act together and I got ALL the help I needed.

I therefore was forced to conclude, just as our grannies used to tell us, that God really does help those who help themselves !

Are you otherwise under more stress than 'normal' or have you been so, not necessarily bad things - Hatches and Matches can give stress as can Despatches, whereas you'd probably only imagine the last one affecting you that way.

What does the letter confirming what's wrong with your eyes actually say?

 

[Clo]

Type 1 for 16 years. i am on nova rapid, and lev emir as my long acting and meteformin twice a day. No there's not really any pattern at all (I wrote them down to help see if there was anything obvious but there wasn't). Not under any stress that I am not normally under so I am sure that's not it. Been fairly unstable for about 3 - 4 months, so could be weather but not sure. The eye letter just says I have the beginnings of background ( and can't remember the long word) . It was really stable for a while and managed to get my hb1c to drop from 11 to 7 and was around 7 for 6 months. My last one in April went up to 8 and just waiting to get another done, but have a feeling it must have creeped up as I never had a problem with my eyes before.

 

[Northerner]

Type 1 for 16 years. i am on nova rapid, and lev emir as my long acting and meteformin twice a day. No there's not really any pattern at all (I wrote them down to help see if there was anything obvious but there wasn't). Not under any stress that I am not normally under so I am sure that's not it. Been fairly unstable for about 3 - 4 months, so could be weather but not sure. The eye letter just says I have the beginnings of background ( and can't remember the long word) . It was really stable for a while and managed to get my hb1c to drop from 11 to 7 and was around 7 for 6 months. My last one in April went up to 8 and just waiting to get another done, but have a feeling it must have creeped up as I never had a problem with my eyes before.

Clo, background retinopathy can come and go, or it can remain just that - in the background - for decades. The letters are never worded very well, but it is not something to overly concern yourself about, so please don't let it worry you unduly 🙂 Even with really good control it can appear, or sometimes it can happen if your levels drop rapidly over a few months as this can put extra strain on the tiny blood vessels in the eyes.

But you really ought to be able to speak to someone about this, to explain it and to put your mind at ease. Hope you can see someone sooner rather than later 🙂

 

[Clo]

Thanks that's helpful, still want to talk about it with someone to help get my good control back but that sort of helps explain it and not worry about it too much! Thanks all for help never realised how helpful these groups can be. Thanks guys!