I have to tell you, most GPs are not competent enough with diabetes to diagnose T1 and initiate insulin therapy. This is particularly true if they were educated more than two decades ago and have not done any continuing education on diabetes. I would note a couple of things. Young doctors right out of school are probably the best ones to understand T1 diagnosis and insulin treatment, so choose a young doctor. Second, understand that doctors avoid risks that may make them liable. The decision to initiate insulin is one such situation. In the end I decided that starting insulin was “MY DECISION.” Having a doctor unwilling to make the decision was an obstacle, but they don’t have the final say. So, here it is, seven years after I started insulin and I am doing great. You can read about how I started insulin by buying NPH and R off-the-shelf at Walmart and then when I returned to the GP already using insulin they had absolutely no problem prescribing it for me.
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