Difficult appointment yesterday with my endocrinologist

My appointment with my endocrinologist was not good yesterday and left me angry with him and angry with myself.

I really wanted to tell him to try living with Type 1 diabetes, a full time job, two teenagers, and a husband that doesn’t do much to help me daily.

I stopped using the CGM with my pump because of these reasons and my endocrinologist was not happy about this.

  1. I was using it on my abdomen and when I would pull down my pants sometimes it would rip out the sensor. They are expensive and hard to insert. I would try to be careful, but it happened often.
  2. It was not accurate at all
  3. The beeping at night drove me crazy and kept me awake. I am a light sleeper and when it would beep I would look at my pump and then couldn’t get back to sleep.

My A1C is too high. It was actually lower than my last appointment, but not at 7.0

I did not start taking my cholesterol medication that he prescribed me. My total cholesterol is 207 and he wants me on the medication. I don’t want to take it, but I guess I have to.

I lost 5 lbs and my A1C was lower than last time, but he wasn’t happy about those two things. I was happy about that!

Another difficult appointment.

Maybe next time I will be the obedient patient and do what he wants me to do. I will start taking my cholesterol medication, but I am not sure I will go back on the CGM.

I have a busy life and Type 1 diabetes is a constant reminder of how much more difficult is is than everyone else.

Rebecca

Not everyone. I think most of us here share that same feeling.

I use a CGM in part because I am very active. You aren’t alone in having to manage diabetes. Remember you can do as you wish; your doctor doesn’t run your life. He/she is just trying to do their best for you and it’s up to you which advice you want to follow.

I had to change cholesterol meds after more than 4 years on it because it started messing with my liver numbers. When I told my endo I wouldn’t take the Pravastin any more he wanted me back on a statin. I said not if it ruins my liver. He said there are other drugs that act differently and may be safe for me, so I reluctantly agreed and asked for the lowest possible dosage. Now I am on Simvistatin and that’s worked out really well. My liver numbers have been normal ever since and I haven’t had leg weakness which I had on Pravastin.

What’s your reason for not being on a statin?

Sorry you had such difficult endo appointment. I think we all have had “bad appointments” for one reason or another. I fired my last endo after my last “difficult appointment.”

Everyone is different. For example, my cholesterol is more or less like yours; however, because I tend to “find” adverse side effects from medications, I have refused to take statins and my docs have all agreed to let me alone on that. If I were not diabetic, no one would bother me about statins, so even though I’m T2, they’re ok with just “watch and see.”

As to the CGM, I think I’d be lost without it! It has vastly improved my life. I am not a light sleeper, but my wife is, so when I expect the possibility of high alerts overnight, I turn off the high alarm - I can fix those later. The low alert overnight to me is more important. I wear my sensors high up on the side of my chest (nearer the armpit). I find excellent, accurate results there and it’s much more out of the way than anywhere on my belly – I, too, was ripping them off otherwise.

Finally, I envy your weight loss!! Try as I might, my scale HATES me!

I refused statins as well. Did more research, came back and asked to have my thyroid function tested (as high cholesterol is one of the markers for hypothyroidism)) I insisted on TSH, free T-3, free T-4 and thyroid antibodies… turns out that once I got on thyroid medication (natural desiccated thyroid for me :wink: ) cholesterol levels went back to normal range.

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The best blue diabetes circle I ever saw had a tiny slice taken out of the top. The blue represented the amount of time a person manages their own diabetes and the slice represented the amount of time that your physician spends helping to manage your diabetes. I celebrate your success! Please don’t let this bad appointment keep you from going back. If it happens again you have every right to tell him how he’s making you feel; you also have the right to change endocrinologists.

Golly, Rebecca, sometimes I think that we Type 1’s deserve a medal just for getting up everyday and managing our chronic diseases with our pumps and ingesting food, while managing our lives.

Honestly - to do it as a wife and Mom??? Yikes! Info tonite how you do it while taking care of the needs of your family as well!!! I am a late onset insulin dependent MODY 3 Diabetic - so was not diagnosed til 58 and it came on pretty suddenly - and I’m really insulin sensitive - so
Went on a pump fast. A Godsend.

My Dad had same sxperience at about 56 and he manage with the old insulin 1 shot a day I think and had to eat to the insulin and if he didn’t he’d drop like a rock - we were always pushing food on him - he’d get meaner than s snake when he went hypo!

But my point is that you are deserve queen for a day crown and not to beat yourself up. You can’t be perfect and the doctor should live a day in your shoes.

Perhaps a 5 minute gratitude list (5 things I can be grateful) for to start out each day . . .

You know your body the best and what’s right for you. As to the station. Pravastatin was not the right drug for me. Now on Crestor and actually I only have to take it a 2-3 X per week and it controls my #s beautifully. No side effects. Always take with Co-Q10 supplement as well. Helps muscle cramps.

Blessings.

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Firstly, congratulations on losing 5 lbs and lowering the a1c!
I don’t know if you can get it where you are - but i use a Freestyle libre - it is kind of like a CGM, but without any bells, whistles or alarms. You wear a sensor on your body, and there is a separate scanning device that you hold up to the sensor and it gives a reading. It also has a graph showing bg over the last 8 hours.
The sensor itself goes on the back of the upper arm, and so far the only problem i have with it is that i couldn’t do the crow position in yoga - although if we are totally honest, i probably couldn’t have done the crow position in yoga anyway…
Just a thought.

Try not to be too mad - it won’t help the diabetes go away.

I saw this from @askmanny
http://askmanny.diabetesblogs.com/2015/10/of-time-spent-by-people-with-diabetes-with-a-medical-professional-in-a-year/

Hi I am 47, have had type 1 almost all my life. I have a medtronic pump and sensor. I know exactly what you are saying about the stupid sensor but I persever. I’m som sick of this D I really don’t have a life. I am living for my Great Dane. After him, I do not know. Good for you! Donot take cholesterol meds- thye will killyou; they CAUSE type 2 and make you lose memory… I am in Canada and
All endos are dorks. Arm yourself with knowledge. You can know just what they know. They are pretty useless. You can write to me at J------@bell.net. This disease really suck.

Wish there was some way hcp’s could all experience a day in the life of a person with diabetes. Not just wearing cannulas but experiencing hypos and hypers the bit non pwds do not understand or appreciate.

What did the doc tell you to do to do "better"
As they put it? A pump might make their job easier, in the to think they do a great job tracking stuff but they are hardly a cure-all. If the doctor didn’t have any concrete solutions besides a pump, and did not seem helpful, I think you may want to consider firing them and trying a new doc?

This is a big difference in uk you can’t ‘shop’ around for a consultant. Most people don’t use private medicine and self fund care. We tend to just accept what told. V grateful for my pump as very difficult to get on nhs and cgm unheard of to get funded. However, still better than obviously having no access to insulin and ensures a safety net for society.

Are you actually prevented from doing this or is it just very difficult?

I have read posts on a UK diabetes board where people talk about going to another, more distant hospital rather than to the one closest to them because they felt they might have more options there. I got the impression you could switch doctors, in that sense. But it would involve a lot of time spent traveling and you still wouldn’t be able to pick a specific doctor, just one different from the one you might see “locally”.

Yes? No:? Maybe? :confused:

Hi you’re correct. Sorry to clarify I just meant we don’t ‘fire’ consultants in uk. You can travel if wish also depends upon waiting lists. Majority use nhs most people don’t use health insurance. I would say if people use private health it’s mainly for acute situations eg cancer scare and want reassurance of tests done quickly privately. Hope this answers.