Yesterday I was diagnosed as having Type II Diabetes. That makes me one of millions world-wide and one of thousands in Alberta. Since I am somewhat unhappy with the support, or lack thereof, that my doctor has provided I thought it would be somewhat useful to chronicle my experiences.
The “official” diagnosis took a lot longer than I think it should have. There is a history of diabetes in my family. My father has it, my paternal grandmother has it and one of my paternal great-grandmothers died from it back in the 50s. I had several screenings that showed high blood glucose levels and I told my doctor that when I first started seeing him. Nevertheless, it took 2 months with 2 results from the lab before he finally said “You have diabetes”. I could understand this better if he had had me get several lab tests done but he did not. Just one test at the beginning and one at the end of the 2 months. Kind of ridiculous really.
So what happened when he gave me the diagnosis? Well not much really. He gave me a prescription for Metformin. 500mg x2 twice a day which is 2000 milligrams a day. And he said I needed to get a glucometer and start testing my levels. That was it. He didn’t even give me a bloody pamphlet. No direction on the use of the glucometer or the frequency that I should test myself. Absolutely nothing except a prescription and instructions to see him in 2 months.
I asked the doctor if there was anything that I should know about taking Metformin and he said: “There is a chance of diarrhea and a chance of weight-loss”.
Did the doctor tell me what my target blood glucose level should be? No he most certainly did not. All I know is that my last 2 lab results were over 8.0 and that is too high. From what I gather from the internet it should be between 5.0 and 6.0 for my A1C. The A1c is apparently a 3 month average (I think). The other information I have found is a bit confusing. Apparently there are different optimal levels for fasting (before eating I guess) and after meals.
As I said my doctor gave me absolutely no guidance on how often I should test. The internet has been less than useful on this point also. All the sources I looked at pretty much agree that the frequency should be determined by the doctor based on the treatment plan, severity of the case, etc. Ok here’s my question: What bloody treatment plan??? He gave me a prescription, told me to test my blood and said to see him in 2 months.
So I’m kind of angry and frustrated at the moment. I hate not knowing what I should be doing to look after myself. And this is complicated by the fact that the city of Lethbridge appears not to have any easily findable resource center for diabetes. There appear to be lots of them in Calgary and Edmonton but not here. I would like to be able to go in to some place and talk to someone about the questions I have that my doctor did not provide guidance for. I found listings for 3 different places for aboriginal people with diabetes to go but nothing that seems to be geared towards my situation. The only thing I found here in Lethbridge was some kind of health and Wellness place that requires a referral from a doctor. Yeah right. Maybe in 2 months.
I will be visiting the pharmacy on Monday to get my prescriptions filled and get the diabetic supplies that I need to start testing my blood. I am hopeful that the pharmacist may be a little, or even better a lot, more informative and helpful than my doctor. We will see.
