Does anyone else just give a blank stare when asked this by a doctor? It’s usually not my endo, but the ophthalmologist or GP asking. If that question were easy to answer, I probably wouldn’t have diabetes. I can tell you my latest A1c, my last blood sugar level, or give you a log from the last few weeks. But how do you expect me to sum up the ups and downs of diabetes in a sentence?
Do you want my sugar when I wake up in the morning? When I go to sleep? When I underestimate the amount of food I ate or overestimate? When I estimate just right, but have an infection? When I’m having my period? When I’m working or during the weekend? When I’m stressed? When I’m relaxed? When I’ve been gardening? What answer are they expecting me to give?
I simply choose to interpret their question as looking for either “controlled” or “uncontrolled” and nothing else. On the other hand, when I go to more holistic practitioners (Chiropracters, Naturopaths, Acupuncturists, etc) they tend to want more detail about trends and such–even if they aren’t well versed with the endless ins-and-outs of diabetes. Those practitioners tend to try to learn, whereas the others seem to just want to gauge if I’m in control, and if not how that might affect their corner of the medical world.
If I’m not sure what they want I’ll ask them, “Do you want the real details, or a broad glimpse?” and let them make that call. We can spend days describing “how my blood sugar is!”
My answer to this one is "I have diabetes. How do you think my blood sugar is?" It's cynical, I know, but a doctor should know better than to ask the question that way.
I love your post! I too, find it frustrating to get jut 15 minutes with my doctor who freaks out about any 1 extreme high or low. Even if the rest of my numbers are stellar, she thinks those few “off” readings mean I need an entire adjustment to my regime. It’s like she has no exceptions. I find myself bringing in notes for the past two weeks, so that I can defend the reasons for those off numbers and let her know I am in control, but sometimes life just happens. I have a really hard time getting my doctor to understand that even if I’m eating consistent, working out consistent, and am taking the right amount of insulin, that sometimes an odd number is just part of the game. Frustrating.
Haha… I was JUST thinking this yesterday when I went to the dermatologist. Luckily she didn’t ask me (like every other type of doctor does) but I was cringing, bracing myself for it. The last time I went to the dentist and he asked me what my blood sugar was that morning, I was really considering asking him if he understood what a normal range was. I had answered 200 and something (I had eaten late the night before) and he just nodded and said “okay, good.”
Hi Mollyjade and you are right on the money. The short answer is to just give the most honest short answer you can (yea I know, an oxymoron ha ha). You may notice that when I respond to anyone’s letter(s) very rarely is it a short response. The reason is that diabetes is SO VERY COMPLEX that it is difficult to consider numerous possibilities and be accurate no matter what you are talking about.
I had a Neurologist tell me that nerve damage from diabetes was as complex as diabetes itself, and I believe him. As time goes on we are learning more about diabetes and the human body than ever. We are very bright, but we certainly don’t know it all and some times we act like we do.
Please have patience for those who although even though they are a doctor or a specialist or just (perhaps especially) the average person they really don’t have a clue. Those affected MUST understand that and try to help them at least be aware. Tudiabetes is well, facebook with a purpose. A MAJOR one and unfortunately in time may have even more subscribers.
I have learned a great deal since 1974, and I still learn everyday. We are not only end users, we learned from the practical side and then the theory came later on. There really is no school however maybe there should be. This means a lot of people would have to agree on a lot of things which is most often difficult at best of times, and when it comes to diabetes all of us can understand why.
To know is only to be aware, to experience is to understand! In the mean time there are numerous resources (you know like tudiabetes etc.) and of course the magic moment when you believe. You take full responsibility and say “There is something attacking me and I will give it everything I’ve got to make it’s job impossible” because although difficult it IS possible. Yes there will be an ebb and flow it happens everywhere. When it gets a punch in, I punch it back twice as hard, and will do so until I am gone. “I’ll give you my glucometer when you pry it from my cold dead hands!!!” ha ha. Bad comparison from Charleton Heston, but you get the idea.
I don’t think I could easily answer “controlled” or “uncontrolled” either. It’s not a clear distinction. I test my blood sugar several times a day, count my carbs, see the endo four times a year, the eye doc, the dentist, get my feet checked. But how often do my blood sugars have to be in range before I can claim my diabetes is “controlled”.
I think it’s just a quick question trying to gauge whether you are paying attention to your condition and what kind of results you are getting. When my eye Dr.s nurse asked me my number that morning, I couldn’t remember even though I always check on rising. It’s just not something I store for later retrieval. But i think it would tell them a. how much do I test and b. within rough parameters how I was doing. I’ll be ready for her this year, hope its a good one:)
Well, about an eye doctor asking about one’s blood sugar. It probably would be more appropriate for him/her to ask, Is your blood sugar in a normal range right now? the reason for this question is that if it’s not in a normal range, you’re not going to get a very good exam. In fact, if you’re getting a prescription for new glasses, the prescription probably won’t be correct. At least, this is what a very good ophthamologist told me once, and ever since I’ve always been careful to be around 100 when I went in for an eye exam. In fact, I’ve been known to sit in his office and munch on a glucose tab to quickly bring it up, or run up and down the hall for a few minutes to bring it down!
I’m very fond of my primary care doc and when he asked about lows I just told him it was inevitable with Type 1. He was actually satisfied with the answer and I think he was trying to gauge how I felt about my control more than anything.
That’s nice your doctor is a bit more understanding. Mine absolutely freaks if I have one reading at 50 mg/dl. I’ve been seeing her for years, and am convinced she’d rather I sit in the high 100s all the time just to avoid going “too low.” When I tell her I might have some lows here and there because I prefer tighter control to avoid long-term disabilities from diabetes, it falls on deaf ears. I would love some credit once in awhile rather than the resistance I always receive. I have had type 1 for 22 years now and have never been hospitalized nor had any major reactions or emergencies because of my diabetes. When I ask her what an acceptable number of lows is, she has no answer. I get it, she sees some crazy stuff, but it does get tiresome and I do dread my appointments. Now days I just nod and say, okay, I will try that, and then just go home and do my own thing.
I get the same questions, and I try to tailor them to who’s asking and why/what they want to know. An ophthalmologist needs to know if your bg is in a good range right now (if they’re checking your prescription), and probably wants to know if you’re having rapid swings between a wide range (because that’s been linked to certain eye problems).
A larger problem is how many doctors just do not understand diabetes, particularly Type 1 diabetes. I have what’s actually an excellent standard of deviation in my bgs, and I still had one doctor ask me why I had such a “wide range of blood sugars.” I said, “because I have diabetes.” He didn’t understand what I was getting at. Apparently there’s some magical button we can push to make our bgs “stable” and we’re all just too lazy to do it. Or something.
I just want to answer “three”.