How do you feel about your endo/doctor/diabetes specialist?

Comment

Comment by Mike Ratrie on August 26, 2009 at 8:39pm

So how did the meeting/interview go? Did she pass?

Fair Winds,
Mike

Comment by Riva Greenberg on August 24, 2009 at 7:01am

I want to thank you for your responses. It's great to know many people like their endo. The common threads seem to be he/she listens, cares, is responsive, partners and coaches. Actually, I am going to a new endo this Wednesday afternoon and hoping I'll be able to say the same nice things about her....

Comment by Mike Ratrie on August 23, 2009 at 10:51pm

I have to say my endo really gets it. She has always listened to me and takes positive steps to help me manage my disease.

Having said that, I AM a pretty easy patient in many ways. I have hardly any complications (save a bit of neuropathy in my feet - unchanged for over two years!), and I only see her once a year since I am away from my "home" state. Even on these visits though, she quickly picks up on what needs to be addressed. On this last visit she looked at all my various numbers and said, "don't obsess about the low frequency of your A1C tests." You ARE in great control as evidenced by your lack of complications. Keep up the good work, check your feet everyday and I will see you next year."

Fair Winds in finding the endo that is right for you,
Mike

Comment by Cara Bauer on August 23, 2009 at 5:03pm

I'm an endo shopper. My latest one I like, he spends time with me, doesn't talk to me or at me, but we discuss my concerns. He's supportive, esp. the last time when I took all 3 of my kids in with me. Now he "gets it". I like his nursing staff and physician's assistant too. The endos I've had in the passed have angered me because of crass comments they've made. I'd love an endo who is a type 1, this person would understand. In the end, though, I'm still my own doc. I change my basal rates, adjust my own boluses. Diabetes seems to be this type of disease for being your own doc.

I get a letter in the mail with my test results about a week after my appointment. I'd rather have a phone call, but in the big scheme of things, I can deal with the letter. At least this way I can file the letter away and refer to it when ever needed.

I think an endo is about as personal a doc as you can get other than an OB/GYN.

Comment by Holger Schmeken on August 23, 2009 at 4:26pm

I like my diabetologist but it took a while to make the step from my family doctor to a specialist. I always had the feeling that I am the only one in charge and that this kind of tight control could be provided just by me. This is still true but my diabetologist is just pointing his fingers here and there and asks me about reasons for problems in my control. Without his input I would still use Actrapid and Protaphan (NPH) and I would still fight with many lows so I am thankful that I met him. As a doctor he is acknowledging that I am doing a good job and at the same time he is reviewing the diary for things that can be improved. I am entering all my data in my free project Glucosurfer.org. So my doc can instantly start to analyse the data. In front of the computer display we get into an open discussion about areas worth to address: carb factors, problems with lows in the night, repeated highs or BG variation within one day. So it is more a feeling of having a coach than a doctor. He gives me the feeling that a patient with good control is also a big motivation for him and his work. Sadly because he knows so many examples of diabetics not caring so much about themselfes. It is still encouraging and positive motivation is all we need. Don't we?

Comment by Heidi Bruggink on August 5, 2009 at 8:45pm

I love my endo. He's one of the leadings researchers in the nation (head of the stem cell team at Joslin), yet he's met with me for 15 minutes on an hour's notice because I was worried about high BGs, and he responds to both calls and emails within the day. He actually listens to me and treats me as a partner, not someone to be lectured at - it's clear that he truly cares about his patients as patients.

I also had great luck with my last endo at Weill-Cornell in NYC... she was a Type I herself and just GOT IT. Both she and my current endo are a huge change from some of my prior docs, who seemed to view me as a boilerplate diabetic or a series of test results... Now, if someone fails to treat me as a partner in my medical choices (and to recognize that I am the one making medical decisions on the other 361 days a year in which I don't see him!), I will not see that doctor again, no matter how good he's supposed to be.

Comment by Carly! on August 3, 2009 at 9:00am

i loveeeee my doctor, my nurse practitionor, pump specialist, and dietition!
my doctor is the biggest kid you will ever meet, and he has this big "diabetes connection adventure camp" organized for us every year, and its amazing! I lovee my nurse practitioner, i'm so close to everyone at my office because for the camp half of the staff come as consellors along with previous campers from when it was first began!

alot of times, my doctor will send me my A1c or blood test results or whatever, and he will write notes about my results on the bottom of it. one time it was "tremendous job carly! no, STUPENDOUS job!!!!" and stuff like that.
:D i love them all!

Comment by MelissaBL on August 3, 2009 at 9:00am

I love my endocrinologist.

Despite having thousands of patients, she really knows me. I've seen her every 3 months for five years, and every time I come in, she'll have some reference to something I've said or done before - like "I've been telling patients about that website (TuD) that you told me about" or "I've really been thinking about what you said last time regarding feeling alone" or "this isn't the first time you've told me about binging on chocolate." LOL. I love that about her. She'll say "you know, last year, when you joined that gym, we did see a change in your A1c." I don't even get that kind of recognition of who I am from my family GP - whose son, coincidentally, was one of my private lessons students.

My endo also tells me that she learns from me. She put me on Apidra and Symlin when they came out because she trusted I would give her feedback. She asks for my input regarding the Navigator CGMS because I've been having such success with it. And she asks me what she could have done differently in our earlier days together when I seemed so much more frustrated with my care. She always comments on my lab results and when she released me for pre-conception, she personally called me to wish me luck and tell me I was going to be just fine. She's also referred me to my OB, my opthalmologist, and my podiatrist - all of whom I love.

BUT that doesn't mean every endo I've had is like her. And it doesn't mean that I've always reciprocated a healthy, cooperative approach. I've had the white coat I couldn't impress, I've had passive aggressive doctor/patient relationships, and I've also not known which questions to ask. I've fought with doctors regarding treatments, results, diet, logging, etc. And I think I'm STILL too argumentatitve with every CDE I meet. I'm not trying to put the blame on the patient though. I frequently got slapped with "non-compliant" when the real case was "lost and confused and compliant to the wrong instructions."

I think I'm in the minority by having a doctor I trust explicitly and with whom I can really communicate though. I wish it for everyone.

Comment by Riva Greenberg on August 3, 2009 at 8:41am

Matthew, I just saw your article in Diabetes Health magazine, which I also write for. Also, just had lunch with Robert Orringer who told me to look you up. I believe you're a fellow New Yorker. riva

Comment by Jim Huck on August 3, 2009 at 8:34am

I'm pretty happy with mine, but it's mainly because I'm the one in charge when I go for a doctor's visit. I have very specific goals for each visit, and I use my doctor as a resource to help me achieve those goals. I know more than my doc does about diabetes; she is aware of that and takes on a role as a helper rather than a "boss."

I think most doctors have very little practical knowledge about diabetes management. It's not really their fault....they have to keep up on knowledge about a thousand different conditions, and they just read from a script. Also, I'm sure many of them feel, "I'd just be happy if I could get my patient to test twice a day. I don't even know what to do when someone is trying really hard to control their condition." Do most doctors know anything about the latest recommendations of albumin/creatinine ratios? Probably not. Do they know what questions to ask if a type 1 is having frequent hypoglycemia? Not likely.

Some doctors have enormous egos and will not allow a patient to be in charge of their condition. Those docs need to be avoided.

It's a huge responsibility placed on the patient....overall this is a good thing. But getting a doctor to cooperate can be really tough.

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