I really really don’t want this one to sound preachy. So if it feels that way
to you, please accept my apologies. I just really believe in this one.
I think one of the most important ways we can improve our lives with diabetes (type one or type two or one of the other four unnumbered types) is by taking charge of our medical care.
From the mental side of things to the physical side, there are about three kazillion things we think about all day and night every day when we live with diabetes.
So why do we allow things we CAN do something about to languish and fester and eat at us? One thing I try and do all the time is to identify my biggest stressor and do what I can to get rid of it.
If that includes my medical care, you can bet I’m going to make some changes. It is so much easier to fix something like that than it is to work to lower my A1c it just makes sense to do the easy stuff first.
Deal With Your Doctor/CDE Situation
If you feel your doctor or CDE is judging you, there are hundreds of other doctors out there who might not. Check with your insurance, Yelp the covered people, ask around. Find someone you can be comfortable with most of the time.
If you are incredibly anxious when you have an upcoming appointment, when you next see your doctor or CDE, tell them that. Talk about how it feels for you to sit there for an hour and nitpick what you’ve done every day for the past few weeks. Maybe they need a wakeup call, too, about what it’s like.
If you aren’t sure why your doctor is suggesting a treatment or drug or avoiding it with you, find out why they are making the choices they make for your body.
Heck, they ask us why we go high and low and what we eat and yaddah yah; it’s perfectly appropriate for YOU to ask THEM why they are doing something with your health.
It’s a responsibility you have when you inhabit your body: you need to know what’s going on when someone else is making changes (or not).
The thing about living with diabetes: you are the expert on YOUR BODY and YOUR DISEASE. Sure, they went to medical school and see a
lot of people with diabetes and they know a lot about the science involved… but the one thing they don’t know is one of the most crucial when it comes to life with diabetes: they don’t know YOUR body
like you do (from the inside!).
And that’s as it should be: if it were something simple enough like a broken bone, you’d see them, they’d fix it, and you’d go on your way. But
with diabetes, there isn’t anything you can point to. It involves a lot more communication and a lot more thought and a lot more trial and error.
So if your medical team isn’t up to snuff, take charge.
You owe it to yourself.
