It’s because you know what you’re facing. The doctor will go through your Blood Glucose diary and highlight all of the high readings and then you will realise that there are so many of them. You then have to sit through the judgement and lecture that you’ve heard time and time again. You’d think the doctor would know by now that this tactic doesn’t work and that (s)he should try a new one.
I finally realised after I don’t know how many years that my doctor is supposed to help me not hound me. My attitude has changed; I prepare for my appointments now. I go through my blood glucose diary beforehand and walk into my appointment with my own opinion of what changes need to be made to my insulin regime and if my doctor thinks otherwise they have to convince me of it.
If I feel that my doctor is not educating me about how to better manage my diabetes then I shop around. I mean if we don’t get a good meal in a restaurant then we don’t go back for more do we? Why should I settle for less where my health is concerned? (Aside; it paid off because I now have the nicest, supportive & competent doctor I’ve ever had).
What my change in attitude means is that there is a two way conversation about the management of MY diabetes and that I’m not pushed around. I understand that my doctor is depending on me to provide him/her with the information (s)he needs to serve me best and how can (s)he get that information if I don’t speak up?
The level of understanding we get from healthcare professionals is limited because not very many people with diabetes go into the profession – why is that? Maybe that’s a question for another blog entry?