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Weight Loss Forum / Low Carb / February 2005Diabetic questions - update
So we went several hours at the Doctor's office yesterday. They took more blood and are getting that test that will give a history of his blood sugar. This doctor was not very concerned with the "chance" that he "may" be diabetic. She was more concerned about prescribing him 3 drugs for his flu, for which he is already getting better. She told him to continue taking the blood sugar pills that he received at the ER, and she would see him in a week! Does that sound crazy to anybody else? If he IS diabetic, and his blood sugar is elevated because of the flu... than as he recovers... won't his blood sugar drop? If he continues to take the same insulin dosage as when his blood sugar was 290, won't that be bad? Or am I just being overly concerned and a week isn't that big of a deal? After all, he's been getting along fine for who knows how long. I did leave (went for work) apparently just before the end of his visit when the doctor came back, gave him the scripts, and gave him paperwork, brochures, eating plans, etc., for a high fiber low fat diet. She even wrote on his food pyramid illustration "carbohydrate, carbohydrate, carbohydrate = healthy" I am so frustrated! That doctor barely spent any time with him. So I'm interested in switching doctors (actually, I was before we went to see her because her office does not page doctors on the weekend, even though the ER told them it was an emergency and they had to speak with his doctor). How would I be able to find a doctor familiar with Dr. Bernstein's work with diabetes? I am much more intersted in a natural approach to this than a drug-fix. We also have an HMO for insurance, and in our plan we are not allowed to switch primary care doctors more than once a month. So we can't just go to different doctors. I do plan on calling another doctor that the ER recommended when his office opens today, and I plan on asking what type of treatment he believes in for diabetes. Oh, and one more clarification: When we were in the ER and they gave him orange juice and graham crackers, that was before they got his blood sugar results back, and before they found out he was 290. Then when the doctor became concerned after they took it again and it had risen higher, I asked her what did she expect, because they just gave him OJ & sugar!? Oh, and yesterday at the doctors office his blood sugar tested as 245.  SignatureSpring LC since 1/1/04 260/200/170 "Before" & "current" pics at link below: http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sprgsnow/album?.tok=phX4sVBBuvxvs4Hs&.dir=/55b8 &.src=ph > So I'm interested in switching doctors Run, don't walk. > I do plan on calling another doctor that the ER recommended when his > office opens today, and I plan on asking what type of treatment he > believes in for diabetes. Good idea. What pills have they put your husband on? A low-carb diet suits many diabetics, but he might get too low on low-carb with some pills. Good luck with this! alt.support.diabetes might get more specialist advice than here. Nicky. SignatureA1c 10.5/4.5/<6 Weight 95/78/72Kg 1g Metformin, 87.5ug Thyroxine T2 DX 05/2004 ::: So I'm interested in switching doctors :: Run, don't walk. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] :: What pills have they put your husband on? A low-carb diet suits many :: diabetics, but he might get too low on low-carb with some pills. this is why monitoring is important. If he starting going too low consistently, you can up the carb level a bit. > What pills have they put your husband on? A low-carb diet suits many > diabetics, but he might get too low on low-carb with some pills. Glucotrol :: So we went several hours at the Doctor's office yesterday. They :: took more blood and are getting that test that will give a history :: of his blood sugar. This doctor was not very concerned with the :: "chance" that he "may" be diabetic. Doctors deal with diabetic people everyday. She probably didn't want to alarm you more than necessary. :: She was more concerned about :: prescribing him 3 drugs for his flu, for which he is already getting :: better. She told him to continue taking the blood sugar pills that :: he received at the ER, and she would see him in a week! given that he's already on the pills and is getting better with the flu, this doesn't seem unreasonable to me. The pills need time to start working, but him eating more carbs will likely slow progress down in terms of him getting control. :: Does that sound crazy to anybody else? :: If he IS diabetic, and his blood sugar is elevated because of the :: flu... than as he recovers... won't his blood sugar drop? If he :: continues to take the same insulin dosage as when his blood sugar :: was 290, won't that be bad? He's not taking insulin, right? Or am I just being overly concerned and :: a week isn't that big of a deal? After all, he's been getting along :: fine for who knows how long. I think you're being overly concerned for the time being. For one thing, I don't believe that simply having the flu will drive BG levels up to 290 for a nondiabetic and even for a nondiabetic, whose diet is in order. It got that high due to his diet and him being diabetic. He needs to continue taking the pills and reduce carb intake. IMO, monitoring BG levels is very, very important, as their impact with differing carb intake can be hard to gauge. :: I did leave (went for work) apparently just before the end of his :: visit when the doctor came back, gave him the scripts, and gave him :: paperwork, brochures, eating plans, etc., for a high fiber low fat :: diet. She even wrote on his food pyramid illustration :: "carbohydrate, carbohydrate, carbohydrate = healthy" :: I am so frustrated! That doctor barely spent any time with him. Typical. Also, she just made your job harder. You likely need to calm down a bit, though. :: So I'm interested in switching doctors (actually, I was before we :: went to see her because her office does not page doctors on the :: weekend, even though the ER told them it was an emergency and they :: had to speak with his doctor). How would I be able to find a doctor :: familiar with Dr. Bernstein's work with diabetes? I am much more :: intersted in a natural approach to this than a drug-fix. I think it's best to look to a drug-fix first until you can get him on LC and get his BG levels under control. Then he can possibly stop using oral meds, eventually. Also, while having a doctor familiar with Bernstein would be nice, it isn't necessary. Why don't you go buy the recently released Atkins book on diabetes. You could go to the Bernstein website, BTW, and see if you can find some info there on good doctors for his type of diabetic care. We also :: have an HMO for insurance, and in our plan we are not allowed to :: switch primary care doctors more than once a month. So we can't [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] :: it had risen higher, I asked her what did she expect, because they :: just gave him OJ & sugar!? Well, for a normal person it would never have gotten that high...so unless they knew he was diabetic. it doesn't seem unreasonable... :: Oh, and yesterday at the doctors office his blood sugar tested as :: 245. He needs those pills. And he needs proper diet. You need a meter and he needs to test frequently. LC and meds could potentially, eventually, drive BG levels too low, too. But my guess is that will take a while to happen, espeically if he doesn't do a lot of exercise and follow a strict LC diet. Hang in there, you'll get it figured out before too long. Try not to panic. :: -- :: Spring :: LC since 1/1/04 :: 260/200/170 :: :: "Before" & "current" pics at link below: http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sprgsnow/album?.tok=phX4sVBBuvxvs4Hs&.dir=/55b8 &.src=ph You might want to check out the alt.support.diabetes newsgroup too. -- Cheri >:: So I'm interested in switching doctors (actually, I was before we >:: went to see her because her office does not page doctors on the >:: weekend, even though the ER told them it was an emergency and they >:: had to speak with his doctor). How would I be able to find a doctor >:: familiar with Dr. Bernstein's work with diabetes? I am much more >:: intersted in a natural approach to this than a drug-fix. Just in case: http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/ :: So we went several hours at the Doctor's office yesterday. They OK rather than fight the primary care doctor, get on his good side while not eating cookies and orange juice or overloading on carbohydrates. You can request going to an endocrinologist since it is a newly diagnosed case of diabetes. If you can't get to a specialist any way around your HMO, try to find an Osteopathic doctor to switch over to. They are as OK as an MD is, just ask for a DO. Most are more in tune with nutrition and its consequences on health. My DO doesn't want me to go into ketosis but agrees with me being on a low carb diet, especially after my lab tests have come back so well. FTR, long before my problems started I went to nursing school. I still have my nutrition books. Carbs are great if you pick the right ones and use them in moderation. Just once I'd like to see someone explain to the patient that not all carbs are good. Stay away from white flour, bread , rice, sweets, white sugar, etc. One thing you need right away if you don't have one is a glucose meter. When he is recovered from the flu, take blood sugar in the am, take it before meals and take it 2 hours after he eats. Illness does cause the blood sugar to increase but it doesn't always go down significantly when the illness is over. He may also have given him a low dose glucotrol but he should be monitored on a daily basis. I check up to 5 times a day, even low carbing:) Yeah, I know, they are still using the old food pyramid but experts are still confused as to why there are so many diabetics and relate those problems to obesity. OH, another thing, watch out for some of his meds, especially OTC drugs. Most are sugar based. Try not to worry. When he is over the flu, the doctor can adjust his treatment program. Give that fella some chicken soup and some sugar free Tang! > So we went several hours at the Doctor's office yesterday. They took more > blood and are getting that test that will give a history of his blood [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > her what did she expect, because they just gave him OJ & sugar!? > Oh, and yesterday at the doctors office his blood sugar tested as 245. So today he went back to the doctor and to get a 3rd medicine for his awful cough. I was not aware of this visit, so I did not accompany him. They gave him the results of his hba1c test - he was a 12. They did not bother checking his blood sugar during today's visit. I find that odd. Even while taking his glucotrol pills, his blood sugar was 245 last visit. Is that really considered okay? She told him to just keep taking the same pills and she would see him again in 2 weeks. Stupid doctor that she was, she didn't even give him a new prescription for it, and he only has 3 pills left (The ER doctor only gave him 5 pills). ~sigh~ > So today he went back to the doctor and to get a 3rd medicine for his awful > cough. I was not aware of this visit, so I did not accompany him. > They gave him the results of his hba1c test - he was a 12. They did not > bother checking his blood sugar during today's visit. I find that odd. > Even while taking his glucotrol pills, his blood sugar was 245 last visit. > Is that really considered okay? No 245 isn't OK, but they didn't check it because they didn't need to. They already know he is diabetic and that he has been for a while or his A1c wouldn't have been that high. Call the dr's office and ask that they call in a prescription for the drug they want him to take and also for a meter and test strips, if he doesn't have one, yet. http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/Newly%20Diagnosed.htm http://www.drugs.com/glucotrol.html > So today he went back to the doctor and to get a 3rd medicine for his > awful cough. I was not aware of this visit, so I did not accompany [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > prescription for it, and he only has 3 pills left (The ER doctor only > gave him 5 pills). Get another prescription....get a meter and strips. Start testing. Start him on a LC diet. Get that BG level down. |
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