Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Prince on January 15, 2013 at 4:21am

Exactly! And it is terrible for someone newly diagnosed because, naturally, you think that the doctor knows best.
People like that should be sued for malpractice. The crazy thing is that I went into her office a year ago with a 555 BG, and she shot me up with Humalog on the spot...Yet she still wanted to treat me as a 2. Horrible.

ALSO, she did not want to treat me with insulin because, "It will make you start gaining weight."
And there I was, in her office, after an episode of DKA, weighing in at a whopping 123 pounds (down from 155...at 5'8 inches tall)...Yet, she did not want me to gain weight.
She was a horrible doctor. I would write her name so that other T1's can avoid her but I don't want to have a libel charge.

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Permalink Reply by Helen Howes on January 15, 2013 at 1:26pm

My doctor said to me "You have a couple of diseases, I have 10,000", and accepts that I have more specialised knowledge (and have read a lot more research) than him.. He is pretty good with referrals, supplies, and support. The PCT here (Primary Care Trust) has decided that T2s do not need to test more than once a week..(Apparently, it makes us "anxious"!) I wrote a long and fairly impassioned letter, and he said "Ah, well, you're on these other drugs so you need strips" and told the PCT this too.. It's worked so far..
I think that we can sometimes be too honest with GPs, they don't need to know exactly what we do on a Tuesday night if they only see us on the fourth Wednesday for 10 minutes
HH

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Permalink Reply by Capin101 on January 16, 2013 at 6:26am

Difficult question. I prefer doctors that are honest and listen. My PCP, told me right away that he was not knowledgeable enough and referred me to an endo. I found this great, he didn't give me bad information or medical care and wanted the best for me. My endo will listen to me and the we work together for a treatment plan. In my opinion this is how any long term T1 should work with docs concerning diabetic treatments. I also like doctors that ask questions, they are showing that they want to learn and I can teach them. The doctors that I have problems with are the ones that tell me what to do without reason or knowledge to do so. I have been T1 long enough that I will tell them why that won't/can't happen and possibly leave their practice.

This all changes based on the profession/specialist. Such as my optometrist, he is great with eyes, but he has limited knowledge of diabetes. I give him much more slack, but still correct him. I once told him my A1C was 5.6 and he responded that that was great and if I got my A1C even lower I would be cured. I laughed at him with a full, hearty laugh, then he said well that not entirely true. Point being that he is very competent with eyes, so I will see him for eye exams and correct him when he steps out of line.

Pharmacists and Dieticians are the medical "experts" that often mean well, but say the darndest things.

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Permalink Reply by Capin101 on January 16, 2013 at 6:39am

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Permalink Reply by JohnG on January 16, 2013 at 8:06am

I go to a clinic that specializes in Endocrinology but I have not actually seen one of the doctors in about 6 years. I see a RN/CDE/CPE they have several and it really makes no sense to see a Endocrinologist if your just getting what I refer to as a tune-up.The Doctors are generally not good educators and the 15 min of time with them is not enough time to take care of all of my needs, If I'm having some issue it will take more time and my clinic can schedule up to 1.5 hours of time if I'm having some issue that needs investigating or counseling.

All I can say is never stick with a doctor that your not happy with for what ever reason...trust is my #1 objective when selecting a doctor. I'm older than most of my doctors and most of them treat me with respect and listen to what I have to say. I can also say that when my doctors where much older than me I did not receive the same kind of treatment I receive now, as a older diabetic they value my experience and success's. 

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Permalink Reply by smileandnod on January 16, 2013 at 10:47am

I feel very fortunate to have the medical team that I currently have - an endo and a primary care doc (internist) in the same clinic. Being in the same clinic, they work really well together and share information (which I've found is hard to make happen between doctors in different groups/clinics).

I was diagnosed initially (and incorrectly)by another doc as Type 2. I was 27 and not overweight, had all the classic symptoms of unquenchable thirst, constant urination, eating everything I could get my hands on and losing weight rapidly, and so tired I would lay my head on my desk at work unable to function. Yet my internist kept pushing the oral meds. I was literally begging for insulin.

Finally my gyno told me at my annual exam "you need to get to an endocrinologist fast, even if you have to mortgage your kids to do so" (really that's a quote, it's stuck with me all this time). I was young and I didn't even know endocrinology existed. But my gyno gave me the name of someone he knew from med school and off I went to the endo. About 25 years later, I'm still with the same doc, who correctly diagnosed me as Type 1.

What I like about my endo is that he listens, he doesn't rush me, he doesn't make me feel judged based on numbers or make me feel as though it's my fault when my efforts aren't successful. He's always available if I have an immediate problem. I feel lucky because he's really good at what he does - so much so that he now only accepts Type 1s as new patients. Most importantly, I feel like my medical team respects me - and I feel like as long term Type 1s, we've earned that - so I appreciate it.

One of the biggest problems that I see for Type 1s is the lack of endos or even primary care docs with experience in treating people on insulin, particularly in smaller communities. In my community, there is one clinic in town with a knowledgeable endo group - that's it. So if you "fire" your doctor, there aren't alot of other options anywhere in driving distance. I feel badly for those people who aren't in an area where they can find a doctor that they are comfortable with and don't have alot of choices.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on January 16, 2013 at 10:58am

Wow, that really makes a lot of sense for an endo to specialize in treating Type 1, that way he can be an expert in one thing that not many doctors specialize in because of the lower population.

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Permalink Reply by DeeJay on January 16, 2013 at 11:47am

I'm sure someone already mentioned this but general physicians usually don't know much about diabetes. They are there to diagnose and prescribe medications as they see fit. I wouldn't see a general physician about my type 1 diabetes because they don't specialize in diabetes. Endocrinologists are the only doctors who fully understand since they specialize in endocrine disorders such as Diabetes.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on January 16, 2013 at 12:00pm

That is generally true, Desi. But many of us have learned to manage our own D. I have only seen an endo once.From what I've heard their are excellent ones and ones who don't know as much as you'd think or follow ADA guidelines. I use a PCP to write my prescriptions and manage other issues and manage my D myself asking questions on here when something befuddles me. Since we are using to dealing with our Type 1 24/7 we are usually more able to tweak doses, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Prince on January 18, 2013 at 7:51pm

Zoe, I am learning that myself. I am finding it more beneficial to learn from other Diabetics online as opposed to going to the doctor. I just go to my endo for check ins and if I need changes to my prescriptions.
Primary care doctors are definitely not the ones to go to for advice. Again, they believe that everyone is type 2 and if you're a 1 you could be losing valuable time and Beta cell function.
The PCP's that I went to TOLD me that they wanted to wait until my pancreas stopped working to put me on insulin. I am not kidding.
Yeah, totally forgo the honeymoon and throw me right into the seven year itch why doncha.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on January 18, 2013 at 8:22pm

Unbelievable, Toddy. (But delightfully put..lol)

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Permalink Reply by Spock on January 19, 2013 at 1:23pm

I think doctors are only good for one diabetic thing---prescriptions.

I have had some pretty bright endo/researchers at major universities over the years. They love to write papers about me and all my weirdness. But they have been able to give me very limited help in management of this disease. That is up to me.

I find most docs are pretty clueless about diabetes, so I am not surprised when they are.

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