I once again ended up in the hospital due to a severe gastroparesis attack. This is the last time I am going to allow the doctors and nurses to make me take off my insulin pump and switch me to injections while I am there. Every time they do that they only have me on short acting insulin and they are surprised that my sugars are so high. I feel that the nurses don’t understand the diabetes and when I try to explain to them that the reason that my sugars are high when I’m there is because they are not treating me with long acting insulin.
The doctors allowed my pump to be put back on I felt back in control and my sugars got better immediately. The nurses attitudes changed towards me after I showed them how to insert the pump and how it worked. They then realized that I wasn’t an idiot and I actually knew what I needed to do for my diabetes.
It’s the worst feeling to leave your life in the control of people who don’t really care or understand first hand. I’ll never listen to them again to take off my pump again. While I am conscious and able it’s staying ON!
That's why doctors "practice" medicine. The nurses just want to be in control. It never hurts to be your own advocate and also have someone else advocating for you while you're in the hospital. Does the hospital you use have a team of people specializing in diabetic care? Does your endocrinologist or one of their associates have privlidges at your hospital? Feel better.
Thanks David. I just relocated to Florida from Boston. I just got a new pop and I have been in this hospital a number of times in the past on vacation and they do have an endo (who is going to be my new one) the put a call in to him but it was over the weekend. When I mentioned to my GI the situation that the endo hadn’t been in to see me yet in 3days his response was a sarcastic “well those endos aren’t peons like me and you, they don’t come in on the weekends!”. But you worded it perfectly in your response. Doctors practice and nurses want to be in control. I have already learned by experience that you really have to be your own advocate. It’s sad and scary really! I am still pretty new to the pump so this was just another new lesson! It’s not coming off EVER!
Sorry you were hospitalized. Staggering they didn't know about basal! One of my greatest fears is turning control over to doctors & nurses. A T1 friend was in the hospital & his wife had to battle for him to use his pump. Ooo, how his doctors hated not doling out his insulin. He's now got a letter from his doctor stating he can keep his pump & determine his own settings. Ridiculous that people have to turn to authority to okay something for the other authority figures to accept it.
I know exactly how you feel. You'd think that in a hospital surrounded by health care professionals, the latest diagnostic equipment, controlled diet, etc. that BG readings would be perfect. For me, each trip to the hospital achieves the opposite result.
Those of us on a pump are incredibly knowledgeable about managing diabetes when compared to GPs, hospitalists and nurses. We know our individual ratios and sensitivities cold. TO give them the benefit of the doubt, we are unusual patients, and by the time they figure out a pump (which is a relative rarity) we are discharged.
After my last admission, I was so annoyed that I typed up an "Insulin Pump Information Sheet for Health Care Providers." It explains what a pump is, what it does, my ratios and sensitivities, etc. The idea is to help them to understand how to incorporate it into my treatment under the assumption that it is a device they are not experienced with. On my next endo appointment I'll give a copy to her and see if she thinks this is worth doing - something like an advanced directive.
One thing most Type I folks share is that we are key players in our health care, and if we don't speak up we are likely to suffer from sub-optimal but well intentioned care.
I exactly. I often feel that th e nurses treat us like we don’t deal with this every day. They “prepare” us for the ouch of the finger stick or the needle pinch or they are shocked that I want to give my own shot cause they usually bruise me or that I take the shot so fast. They ask me if I know my basal rate like they are quizzing me but when I give the nurse the info they don’t even know the difference between a basal rate and a bonus rate. I’ve been doing this for 27 years. They tell me that me that I don’t know what I’m doing cause my a1c is a bit elevated. What they don’t know is that it’s very hard to have a perfect a1c with gastroparesis. I just want to strangle them! Thanks all for listening to me complain!
