I've blogged about my appointments with the consultant on several occasions, but I've never really gone into detail about what those appointments actually entail.
my trips to the consultant always start a week before the actual appointment, i always need bloods taken to check my hba1c (average sugar level), cholesterol, kidneys and thyroid sometimes i have a few more things checked but this is the usual. having blood taken is always a bit of a problem... apparently i have 'deep veins' which means they have to dig around a bit... not nice and particularly uncomfortable.
then the day of the appointment... i dread it normally for the entire day but so far i have never missed an appointment despite not wanting to go.
i get there and check in.... sit in one of the chairs in the waiting room and play spot the diabetic while i wait. its a good game if i say so myself :) im pretty much always the youngest in the waiting room and rarely have others there close to my age.... sucks a little really, would be nice to meet other diabetics my age where i live.
next i get called through by the nurses to have my weight and blood pressure checked.... they are lovely people and always try to make me feel relaxed...
back to the waiting room i go. this is when the nerves really kick in for me,.... i run through what i need to say in my head so i dont go away with questions, my sugar levels shoot up cos im nervous and i shake like mad waiting for my turn with the consultant.
now into the consultants room....
he has one of those cheesy smiles that always makes me feel just a tad more nervous. asks how im doing then turns to his pages of info on me....
consultant: so how have your levels been?
me: umm..... they havent been too bad, had quite a few hypos though.
consultant: ok, how much insulin have you been taking?
me: about 7-10units of novorapid per meal depending on its size...
consultant: thats not very much, maybe we should see if we could get you off of the insulin and onto tablets again. insulin is such a hassle, i think you would have a better quality of life with the tablets.
me: *starting to panic* no, i dont want to go on the tablets again, ive already tried to come off insulin and i was just high all the time, plus the side effects of the tablets were awful cant i just stay on insulin? i really dont mind injecting..
consultant: well.... your having a lot of hypos on insulin.... and your hba1c is at 5.8% which is very low so i think that your having hypos without knowing..... have we tried you on *yet another tablets name* yet?
me: yeah.... i was on that one last summer and it didnt work..... and ive been on *lists off all the tablets ive tried* and they didnt work either. insulin is the only thing that has kept my numbers in range..... i want to stay on it....
and it continues....
my consultant has tried to get me off of insulin since i started on it which i hate. it makes me feel like im walking on eggshells when i go and see him, hoping that he will allow me to continue on a treatment which actually works. i dont like injecting, but its a whole lot better than the tablets and their side effects.
at my last appointment we had a conversation similar to that above and he has finally agreed that i can stay on insulin for the time being. theres a possibility that may change, but its one less thing for me to worry about. soon i wil be seeing a new consultant though, so the battles may start again, im hoping this one is more understanding and listens to me a little more though.
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