What should we expect from clinics after a diabetes diagnosis?

I think that a huge problem I've observed is that doctors seem very reluctant to talk about food "we are here to talk about medicine, if you want to talk about food, you can see the dietitian" which is sort of backwards. Insulin/Food balance is the essence of diabetes control. You are taking what amounts to hard drugs (T1 or T2, although I haven't tried T2 meds?) that must be balanced accurately w/ food and the doc won't discuss food? Maybe my docs are the exception rather than the rule but I think other people have reported this too. With the limitations imposed by people running the dietitian profession, it's sort of a losing battle that logically leads to a 6.5%-7% A1C goal for everyone.

This is what upsets me reading on FB today : " I was listening to the radio this morning and some guy from UBC ( my add ...University of British Columbia !!! ) was telling everybody that testing your glucose for Type 2 Diabetes is a waste of money and time. This guy then goes on to say that Type 2 Diabetics don't need to know their glucose, but Type 1 diabetes should test their glucose regularly. Can you tell how upset I am? Testing is so important for me because I also have episodes of low blood sugar. This person doesn't have diabetes, so how can they say it is a waste of money and time? Don't say anything until you walk in someone's shoes".
I know BC CDA Advocacy is trying to rebutt ...how complex all this is !!
PS my Health Team , including Dietitians ,over the past 29 years never ever subjected me to their beliefs ...if they did and I don't recall, we had a discussion / OR did it may way ( as Frank Sinatra used to sing :)

People who tell T2 diabetics not to test their glucose many times per day are...how shall I put this politely...idiots.

I am a T2 and I inject insulin at least five times per day: two shots of Levemir and a bolus before each meal. You can count on me doing at least two corrections and a snack in there somewhere, too. I test pretty much every time I inject, unless I did a very recent test/correction (and then I'll just bolus for the food.) I also test before commutes or long drives, if I wake in the night feeling funny, whenever I have hypo symptoms, etc.

Telling me not to test is pretty much telling me to careen around in and out of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and risking severe complications. No thanks!

So true! I am Type 1, my brother is Type 2 on insulin. I strongly believe that once you're put on insulin, what type you are matters much less. The medical community needs to treat all PWD-on-insulin the same.

Well I am willing to do anything!! At my diabetic screening event, I met so many people that were thirsty for knowledge. I met people that told me they have more than 3 people that are T2 diabetic in their family.

Well, I am researching and writing grants to get money. I am trying to get a non profit status with my little company/website (that I can't mention here). I have contacted a few local city government people about doing this just like how it is done with HiV/Aids people. It can be done with some hard work and research.

Thank you! I like tudiabetes as a forum to meet other diabetics but I don't see its futility in solving problems in the current manner. There are diabetics that don't use computers at all so how will this forum affect them? It won't. Most people were surprised that this type of forum exist.

Please with medical care the way it is I have a hard time trusting most doctors and their information. I want people to know they can recheck doctors information. and such.....

Amen to that sir. I was diagnosed as a TypeI 13 months ago at 24 years old with no family history. I went from eating fast food 4-5 times per week, to only twice since I was diagnosed. My triglycerides went from 300+ to low 50s, 134 overall cholesterol with 75HDL as of 4 weeks ago. A1C of 5.8%.

Alan is right, our health is our hands. It's the blessing in disguise I have found with our disease. I wish every day of my life I could cure this, but I also take life by the horns and have made improvements that would have never been made had I not been diagnosed. A applaud all of you who do the same.

Alan- I'm a LADA T1 and started on insulin just over a year ago. My husband, who has T2 in his family, has an A1c at 6.5, but his Harvard trained internist is just watching him. He did not diagnosis him! He takes no D meds and counts no carbs. He does eat what I cook, so that is a help. But I do not understand why the MD would not diagnose a 6.5 with a strong family history.

Jean , what really upsets/worries me about this scenerio ...maybe this UBC person will be listened to by our Provincial Governments and someone will decide to make fewer strips available under the Pharmacare programs ...sounds a bit like a GP I know , who asked me, when I told the person , that I test about 10 times daily , and the Doc asked: don't you think , that is excessive ? I am sure that Doc remmembers our conversation from way back !

Its bad for those who are given that diagnosis but it also is bad for those without insurance. I went without insurance for 5 years and struggled to pay for my appointments out of pocket. Luckily there were prescription assistance programs. It wasn't until October 2010 that I was able to get back on insurance (my husband's) and recently have been able to see an awesome endocrinologist after my primary care doctor told me who was the best to see. He also recommended a Diabetic Educator that is awesome as well. I've heard horror stories, one example is my half brother is pre-diabetic. They aren't doing a very good job with him because he's having issues with high blood sugars that are throughout the night to the morning but then will drop down to normal. The only way he can see an endocrinologist or internist is with a referral and his doctor refuses to give him one.

I am so GLAD that you have posted your concerns, Christalyn. So proud of your efforts.. YOU GO, GIRL!!! Thanks so much to the others who have chimed in with support and anecdotes...
Diabetes education in this country, and in many others, generally, please excuse me...SUCKS!!!.. The horror stories you have all described are the norm, not the exception.
The majority of us on the D.O.C, are committed to self-care, have the background knowledge to challenge misguided medical guidance, and question dubious treatment paradigms..The majority of the diabetic population.. and their medical teams DO NOT KNOW THAT THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW what even begins to be best practice protocols for diabetics on insulin or not.

I think that most medical practicioners follow the outdated treatment protocols they were taught based on the following myths: 1)Diabetes is a disease,regardless of what you do,that will eventually shorten your lifespan and diminish your quality of life greatly.
2)A healthier lower carb diet is both impossible and unecessary for diabetic patients to follow,
3) Too much information in the hands of those poor peple is too much for them , let the doctors do as little as possible, giving them meager care. a (Insurance and goverments say "Look how much it would cost to properly re-educate the medical teams treating diabetics and to educate the patients themselves";
4)Just "Keep them happy, unknowing, and sick..because.. 5)..They are going to rot away anyway."

I resent these unspoken assumptions and want us, as caring, concerned and comitted PWD, to do something about it. I like,Christalyn and all of you.. have seen so many people who are not getting the best care and are suffering as a
result. Even if they do not know it.

God Bless,
Brunetta

+1 Well said Brunetta!

Thanks Brunetta. We have to be able to say exactly what you just said. We are all tired of the lies!!!

I believe this is a huge issue AR. These 5 min appointments with doctors are ridiculous! People die daily because they are unable to balance food with the "hard drugs". Also, the side effects of all these drugs including insulin are not monitored or reported.

In that scenario I want to retort: "Well, blindness is excessive. Foot amputation is excessive. Kidney failure is excessive. I guess my strategies for preventing these things had better be excessive, too!"

Why are these strips still so expensive??? They arrive in too many containers which must add to the cost! Why should something so essential for survival be liquid gold? How many people are out there driving with sugars so high that they are in danger of falling asleep at the wheel just because they can't afford the strips? I believe that T2s are not to test because then they would discover that the treatment doesn't always work!

Thank God we can restrict carbs without government approval, or the complication rate for T2's especially would double.

I know several people with metabolic syndrome who are going it alone on low or low-moderate carbs plus ramped up exercise because their doctors are too arrogant/ignorant to offer them metformin or any other assistance until they progress across the magic invisible line of "two fasting readings of 126 or above". My own doctor watched my fasting go from 89 to 105 to 110 without every checking my post-prandials. I had blurry vision the entire time. Grrrrrr....

Your wife is blessed to have you.

That's because doctors are IGNORANT about diabetes and insulin.

I regularly tell people, "I would rather get diabetes and insulin-managememt advice from a smart 12-year-old T1 with early diagnosis than from 98% of the doctors I have seen. I'd be safer, get better advice and have a lower chance of serious complications."

I'm not kidding.

"few people are capable of making major, lasting changes" Probably true Margret Mead said β€œIt is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet.” But there are more than a few people around here that have done it. I cut carbs drastically at the age of 59, cold turkey. I'm 62 now and have no plans to change because my diabetes is not going to go away and I want to make full use of the years I have left.

To deny patients this information is unethical IMHO.What they do with it is their business. We are bombarded with information about a heart healthy diet, why not a diabetes friendly diet sans the "health whole grains" and other carbs that are slowly killing so many people whose metabolisms can no longer process them properly.

Cost of strips is price gouging. They charge that much because they can. Interesting that with the exception of the Wal-Mart brand, they all cost the same. Makes me question if there's price fixing.

Strips need to be packaged in small amounts because moisture & air adversely effect them.