Yay!!! Diabetes Blog Week has officially begun. Myself and many others will be posting for the next 7 (seven!) days. Haven’t heard of Diabetes Blog Week? Get the lowdown by clicking on the banner above. Now, on to the first day’s subject:
Often our health care team only sees us for about 15 minutes several times a year, and they might not have a sense of what our lives are really like. Today, let’s pretend our medical team is reading our blogs. What do you wish they could see about your and/or your loved one’s daily life with diabetes? On the other hand, what do you hope they don’t see?
Well, um… my endocrinologist already reads my blog. Not every day, but enough that if I post something about a terrible low, for instance, I’ll probably get an e-mail within the next week or so.
What do I wish she, and my primary doctor could see about my daily life with diabetes? Probably that my life isn’t perfect, but I’m living. And I’m living a pretty good life. Sure, there are tough days, but I keep on going. It’s not the tough days that define me. It’s getting back up after I’ve been knocked down by this disease that means everything. And if I’m having a hard time getting my BG up into the hundreds or down into the hundreds, it doesn’t always mean I’m screwing up. Sometimes it means I’d be even worse off if I wasn’t trying so hard.
But honestly, when it comes to me and my endo, there’s not much I don’t share. What? What’s that? You’re honest and open with your endo? In what world does this happen?
It happens in a world where your doctor speaks your language. Where your doctor wants to hear what’s going on with you… so if updates are needed in your care, you can discuss them. It happens in an atmosphere where the object of an appointment is both to measure how you’re doing and to discuss what to do in the future to make you better. Such a universe does exist, and I encourage you to find it if you haven’t already.
Now, what do I hope my medical team doesn’t see? I hope my doctors don’t see how concerned I am about my weight. I’m doing what I can to keep from gaining, but my metabolism just isn’t helping me these days. Still, I’m doing what I can. But I could use the help of a dietician. I’m still eating a lot of junk. Anyway, that’s probably the top of the list.
Other than that, my medical team pretty much knows everything. And that’s good. My doctors can help the most when they know the most. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), two-way discussion without making a patient feel guilty is worth its weight in gold. Hope your medical team is 14 karat spectacular!
