Do you visit an RD/ Nutritionist regularly?

Do you visit an RD/ Nutritionist regularly?

  • Yes
  • No

0 voters

If not, why?

I have never visited one. I have always thought they have nothing for me that I don’t already know (like eat more greens and vegetables, less processed food, etc). Now when I am thinking about your question I am wondering if I am being ignorant? What do you get from a nutritionist and why does it require regular visits?

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I visited one once in my very early days. Dismal experience. Was told to eat 240g of carbs per day. Far more than i had ever eaten even in prediagnosis days. Determined that i know far more, and will never see a dietician again. I eat about 25g of carbs per day now, and am doing fine with great control.

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I took my son to a nutritionist a few times when he was first diagnosed but quickly learned more than they could teach. My time is too valuable to spend 1/2 hour waiting for the appointment and another 1/2 in the appointment to learn nothing of value that I hadn’t already learned from this wonderful community (and others like it).

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I resent the advice that their professional association has historically given with regard to the value of carbohydrate limiting for people with diabetes. I think their current advice is agnostic with regard to carb limits. I think they owe the diabetic community an apology for their lack of leadership on this issue. I don’t seek or respect their advice.

It took me a long time to discover the value of carb-limiting and markedly improving the quality of my life as a diabetic. They could have helped me a lot in my early years as a diabetic but they took an active stance opposing the use of carb limits as a valid and healthy tactic in treating diabetes. I share responsibility in this happening but they failed me, too.

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Dietician useless told me to eat a minimum of 100 grams of carbs per day. This would be an early death in my case. The less carbs the better. Mind you this applies to grain products which she told me to eat in copious amounts. If I ate only saurkraut carbs could be ok.

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Never found any use for them…Never met one that had a clue about the needs of a diabetic–especially on the subject of carbs!

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No–you are definitely on the right track. You might find it an interesting experience if you can afford it and are interested. But most of us find when we go that we do more teaching than learning…I blame it on their educational systems. The ones I have encountered are taught that everyone–including us–requires a completely absurd amount of carbs—and/or that grains are the only way to get them…

No doubt there are a few that understand that for a diabetic, carbs are our enemy. That one is probably a diabetic his or her/self!

Study the subject for yourself–always through the lens of a diabetic! The only carbs I eat anymore are in 1 or 2 of my favorite vegies…Good luck…Judith in Portland…

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The only medical advice I got related to meals was the exchange diet back in the late 80s, and carb counting when I started the pump.

Coming to TuD about 10 years ago, introduced me to lower carb and success at lowering my A1C. Started CGM around the same time, which provided convincing evidence that injected/pumped insulin is too slow to match the high carb loads. Added Afrezza to my routine, and now enjoy a few more carbs.

If RDs would teach the “eat to your meter” (or CGMS), then maybe more people would find them helpful.

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The Dietitians in Australia are all Low GI which is not helpful to me. Maybe I should not generalise so much, though. There seems to be a slight movement towards low carb but definitely not high fat, it seems to be low carb/low fat.

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Early days my endo insisted i meet with dietician. I was already low carbing and i showed her my charted bg reading which were amazing and told her what i eat. She said you’re not eating enough carbs and wrote me a food plan full of sandwiches and snacks. When i left i just threw it in the bin. Dr bernstein is my best dietician.

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Dr Bernstein has been my dietician too. In my almost 60 years with T1, there have been several turning points and doctors have been only a small part of that.

In January 1977, I bought my first blood sugar meter. I still have the receipt for $395. That was after a phone discussion with Richard on how to use one. I immediately started testing and trying to follow the low carb lifestyle.

There was some great information in the first edition of his book. What was missing, was tasty recipes you could actually live with. I bought the bran crispbread and farmer’s cheese he recommended, but the first was like processed cardboard and the latter went moldy after a couple of days. I struggled trying to keep my carbs down. But I was never able to get down to the levels he was suggesting.

I did take a diabetic course at one point and that made it clear that low carb was not part of the recommendations. I’ve never used a dietician and don’t intend to. Until last year, I didn’t even have a doctor beyond my GP.

For me, the final piece of the puzzle was the ketogenic diet. While I’m not trying to go keto, it gave me the realization that low-carb and tasty could be used in the same sentence! I had been in the mid to high sevens on A1c for years and sort of assumed that was the best I could do. But in this past year, I’ve dropped to 5.8 and intend to stay there.

So Dr. Bernstein has been my doctor too, although I’ve never met him. His book and video seminars have given me more office time than any doctor could. For those of us who choose to get educated about our disease, having medical consultants seems more about writing prescriptions. Of course doctors have knowledge of medical conditions other than diabetes and their advice is helpful in those areas.

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Because they are ignorant. My only experience was shortly after diagnosis when my health insurance required I visit a dietitian. She proceeded to give me the ridiculous ADA diet that far exceeded the amount of carbs I normally consumed. After questioning her for a few minutes, I decided to ride it out without comment. She then started a telephone campaign to badger me. Finally, after more than 3 of her phone calls, I threatened to file a formal complaint with the hospital she was part of. She was rude, dictatorial and, most importantly, wrong!

1 Like

@Mila, can you also do a poll on what CGM the members here use?

  1. Dexcom
  2. Dexcom Tandem
  3. Dexcom Vibe
  4. medtronic enlite
  5. Freestyle Libre
    Feel free to re-order/design the poll.
    Thanks.
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I’m LADA, so when first diagnosed and before starting to inject insulin, I had to see a nutritionist and a CDE. This is standard procedure in Ontario, Canada.
After that, I don’t go and visit the nutritionist anymore. I am also supposed to see my assigned CDE regularly but I don’t.

Why?
There are more relevant information on Forums like this than from nutritionist/CDE.
It looks like most members here are like me.

But I do visit my Endo and GP at least once a year. I need them for my scripts. For treatment, I buy books and consult with other members of forums like this one. That’s where you will find REAL knowledge and experience.

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This article is interesting, although several years old.
Says ADA supports low carb for weight loss, but to be limited a year.

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I also thought i knew everything about diet, exercise, etc. 50 years T1 and a few years ago, just lost ability to make things work. Probably menopause. Anyway, endo sent me to CDE/ nutritionist. She is awesome , filled with knowledge and suggests changes in insulin /basals/etc with food that I overlook. I believe its good t get a second eye on things when we get in a rut. Sometimes we cannot see clearly( literally). I see her a few times a year now and she has proved very helpful Hope you can have open mmd.

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I find it doesn’t have to be either-or. I also read books and learn a lot from forums. But I put a premium on my visits with my CDE, whom I have been seeing for 25 years. She has worked with pumpers every day for more than 30 years, and I find that translates into “REAL knowledge and experience.” When I have a problem I can’t solve on my own, she brings the insight gained from working with hundreds and hundreds of patients over the years. That is just as valuable as any one person’s personal experience in a forum or a book.

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Why would I visit an RN or nutrioninst?

I did visit one once, in the mid '80s, at the suggestion of my specialist, however it didn’t seem particularly useful at the time (I wasn’t paying much attention to anything connected with diabetes then - too young, still in my 20’s).

I can see the point if you don’t want to spend the time to learn it off the web or from books like Bernstein, but are these guys really up-to-date? What are they saying, for example, about managing the insulin requirements of protein and how to deal with fat and insulin uptake rate?

John Bowler

I’ve had a few different experiences with dietitians throughout my life. The outpatient clinic I attend has a dietitian that you can see with each appointment if either the CDE or the Endocrinologist request, or if you have specific things you’d like to discuss.

I’ve personally used this a few times. Before I followed a low-carbohydrate diet, I consulted with the dietitan before I embarked on a four month backpacking trip through south east asia, and I found her advice regarding carbohydrate counting when you’re eating out for all meals very useful.

Since going low-carbohydrate, I have consulted with the dietitian at my outpatient clinic once. She didn’t have a lot to add specifically, but also wasn’t discouraging of what I was doing, her main concern was to ensure I was still eating enough vital nutrients. However when she realised I was keeping detailed food logs, and looked at what I ate on a daily basis, I think she quickly realised there wasn’t anything to worry about.

My fathers partner is actually a RD, and I have found her an infinite source of wisdom. She fully supports my low carbohydrate approach to eating, but also has a lot of excellent advice for foods that would work well for me that I may not have considered.

It’s a shame that so many people seem to have had such negative experiences with RD, as I think nutrition science is an important and interesting field, and a lot of the research is quite valid for managing a condition like diabetes.

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