Time to change doc's again sooner rather than later.

[pav]

I know I have to change doctors as they don't cover my new place, but stayed with them as under a the specialist spinal hospital and did not want to risk anything going astray.

Today changed my mind and take the risk of moving doctors Had an appointment with the diabetic doctor as per previous occasions I was having problems with gliclazide in one minute it's not working and the next it's working to well even when I have reduced what I take to a quarter of what I was on. Last weeks crappy hypo of 2.8 and having what was I thought was the annual diabetic check up where if there are any problems make an appointment with the doc, duly done.

I thought when I saw the doc and he said they would try something else instead of gliclazide and put me on a different type of med, I thought at last someone is listening to my problems 🙂. That's where the good news finished, when the doc said the name of the drug and the family of them my heart sank, as have already tried the med around 3 or more years ago and my levels rocketed into the 20's. Then the next blow was I don't need to test as the med does not cause hypo's, I need to test as from experience I will be through the roof and will increase the nerve and other damage already done previously when levels shot through the roof.

When will doctors listen to the patients as we know how are bodies work or rather don't work with the dreaded D.

To cap it all my HbA1c is up again to 58 so know things are going astray yet again. Like on Saturday went out for a meal with friends and made a pig of myself for once two hours or so later levels were 6.6 which was great, but they should of been a lot higher especially with the timings etc.

 

[Northerner]

You've had such a struggle trying to get meds that suit your requirements @pav Shouldn't be that hard! I hope you manage to find another GP that is a better listener.

 

[AndBreathe]

@pav - I absolutely appeciate you shouldn't have to, but have you considered having a private consultation with diabetes specialist Endo; especially now as you appear just to have had bloods done?

Most of these guys "know the score", when folks are self funding, and will often ask the person's GP to order up bloods, should any be required, after the consultation.

I know when I saw an Endo, privately, some months ago (not for diabetes), between appointments with him, he asked my GP to write up over 30 blood tests, and asked her to refer me to him, for his NHS list.

I am fortunate enough to know a hospital DSN, socially, and she suggested exactly who she felt to be the best of the bunch in my area, so I was able to name whom I wanted to see.

Of course, that may not be a panecea, but surely it has to be worth it, as a potential gateway to better care?

 

[pav]

@pav - I absolutely appeciate you shouldn't have to, but have you considered having a private consultation with diabetes specialist Endo; especially now as you appear just to have had bloods done?

Most of these guys "know the score", when folks are self funding, and will often ask the person's GP to order up bloods, should any be required, after the consultation.

I know when I saw an Endo, privately, some months ago (not for diabetes), between appointments with him, he asked my GP to write up over 30 blood tests, and asked her to refer me to him, for his NHS list.

I am fortunate enough to know a hospital DSN, socially, and she suggested exactly who she felt to be the best of the bunch in my area, so I was able to name whom I wanted to see.

Of course, that may not be a panecea, but surely it has to be worth it, as a potential gateway to better care?

It is tempting to have a private consultation, funds are so tight at the moment as having to maintain and sort the new house first as the buyer of my place pulled out of buying my place at the very last minute and had to fund the new house in it's entirety plus all the repairs and getting the electrics and heating sorted out as the starting point.

Not even sure who a decent one is in my area, the hospital don't want to know me as in their eyes I am not bad enough, yet I know I am at the danger point where things start going pear shaped very quickly, and every change of doctor even within the same practice means starting at square one again.

On the other hand I give the specialist spinal hospital at Gabowen top marks for how they have looked after me since it was found that I have damaged my spinal cord at L3 and L4. Appointments and treatment have been very quick in coming through.

 

[pav]

You've had such a struggle trying to get meds that suit your requirements @pav Shouldn't be that hard! I hope you manage to find another GP that is a better listener.

There are only two doctors that cover my area and both have bad reviews or ones I am not happy with, the possible better of the two is the most local one, so will pop down to see about changing to soon as possible as due back at the spinal hospital in March.

 

[mikeyB]

As a matter of interest, I did a little survey of GP practices in East Lancashire to see how many doctors boasted of an interest in Diabetes. Works out at around 1 in 10. Make of that what you will.

 

[AndBreathe]

It is tempting to have a private consultation, funds are so tight at the moment as having to maintain and sort the new house first as the buyer of my place pulled out of buying my place at the very last minute and had to fund the new house in it's entirety plus all the repairs and getting the electrics and heating sorted out as the starting point.

Not even sure who a decent one is in my area, the hospital don't want to know me as in their eyes I am not bad enough, yet I know I am at the danger point where things start going pear shaped very quickly, and every change of doctor even within the same practice means starting at square one again.

On the other hand I give the specialist spinal hospital at Gabowen top marks for how they have looked after me since it was found that I have damaged my spinal cord at L3 and L4. Appointments and treatment have been very quick in coming through.

Pav - Were I choosing without the benefit of someone "on the inside", I would look at the local hospital website and staff lists for Endocrinolofy and Metabolic Medicine, then start looking at the local BUPA, Nuffield or Spire hospitals and see whom I could find where, then rreead as much as I could about them.

If I had a local DUK group, I'd get my bones down there and ask around for whom people see. Of courrse, one man's opinion can be good, bad or indifferent. In addition to that little lost, I'd Google those I found to see what they had published, and when.

I'm also fortunate to be involved at the local research centre, which is diabetes, metabolic issues and lifestyle focused, so I'd have or get some insight from there.

Pav, you have been struggling to get the support you seem to need for as long as I have been reading here. You can't, surely, go on too much longer like this?

 

[trophywench]

I never realised before that the Robert and Agnes was in Gobowen - I should say it IS utterly fantastic for spinal stuff, it's been their specialist subject for long enough! LOL

Are you actually in Wales, or Shropshire, or where? I'm asking for a reason - I know someone who is highly involved in diabetes practice in Wales at the moment - but in any case someone on the forum might live quite near you and be able to say whether their GP is good bad or indifferent, privately to you.

I've no idea what the catchment area is for the specialist hospital - though I know that people from West Bromwich, Dudley, Wolverhampton, most of Worcestershire would be referred there when they needed it, it's a wide area when only they and Stoke Mandeville have that level of expertise really. Elsewhere it's spread very thinly, so it's brill that you're getting that help.

 

[pav]

I never realised before that the Robert and Agnes was in Gobowen - I should say it IS utterly fantastic for spinal stuff, it's been their specialist subject for long enough! LOL

Are you actually in Wales, or Shropshire, or where? I'm asking for a reason - I know someone who is highly involved in diabetes practice in Wales at the moment - but in any case someone on the forum might live quite near you and be able to say whether their GP is good bad or indifferent, privately to you.

I've no idea what the catchment area is for the specialist hospital - though I know that people from West Bromwich, Dudley, Wolverhampton, most of Worcestershire would be referred there when they needed it, it's a wide area when only they and Stoke Mandeville have that level of expertise really. Elsewhere it's spread very thinly, so it's brill that you're getting that help.

I am in Telford Shropshire about an hours drive from Gabowen. When one of the medical practices closed down, the GP surgeries had their capture boundaries set in concrete and won't take anyone who's post code is outside their area. Only at my current practice because I am still registered at my old address which unfortunately still have. Even tried the 2015 ruling that allows you to register at a practice outside your normal area, but no joy. My local hospitals are not good in some areas or rather a lot areas and think I must be on their awkward people list with the complaints I have put in when mom was treated so badly and when I caught them red handed falsifying medical records.

 

[pav]

Pav - Were I choosing without the benefit of someone "on the inside", I would look at the local hospital website and staff lists for Endocrinolofy and Metabolic Medicine, then start looking at the local BUPA, Nuffield or Spire hospitals and see whom I could find where, then rreead as much as I could about them.

If I had a local DUK group, I'd get my bones down there and ask around for whom people see. Of courrse, one man's opinion can be good, bad or indifferent. In addition to that little lost, I'd Google those I found to see what they had published, and when.

I'm also fortunate to be involved at the local research centre, which is diabetes, metabolic issues and lifestyle focused, so I'd have or get some insight from there.

Pav, you have been struggling to get the support you seem to need for as long as I have been reading here. You can't, surely, go on too much longer like this?

That's my fear as already have deteriorated health wise from being at the worst GP practices in the area, the practice was even was news papers about themselves. Some of it was my own fault as put up with them so long and gave up on myself for a good while.Part of the problem is me in that I react to so many meds badly, and can't take them at the dose required or cannot take them at all.