Clinic

It has been a very long time since I have posted something. I really need to get back into the swing of things- I think when my days are a bit more structured once I start sixth form it will be easier to do more posts. Summer has been very hectic with going on holiday to Somerset and my cousins having been over for the last 7 weeks- but they have gone home now back to America (which we are all very sad about) so ordinary life is kicking back in.

I suppose now is the part when I tell you what I've been up to.

Wednesday I had an appointment at the hospital- I thought it was my Hba1c appointment and I was stressing out and very apprehensive about the whole thing, but as it turned out the receptionist had messed up the appointments and so it ended up being an appointment with the nurses instead of with the consultant. Which was annoying but the appointment was very productive anyway, I got my annual review blood test done- I am now down 8 vials of blood...

I cannot tell you how incredibly supportive my diabetes team is- the nurse really made me smile the other day.

It really makes me frustrated when I hear about people being shouted at because of high a Hba1c- I can't stand it because I just think...how can you shout at someone for that? They do not know what it's like to live with diabetes so I honestly don't think they have the right to get angry. Diabetes teams should be a group of people that patients with diabetes feel they can turn to when their blood sugars are high or if they have a problem...they shouldn't feel like anyone will judge them.

Thankfully, my diabetes team really are people I can turn to. Not once have they ever got mad at me for having a high Hba1c, it's all about encouragement and Wednesday really showed me that they do understand how hard it is and I have never felt more understood by a person who doesn't have diabetes. Here is how the conversation went:

Mum: It's not that hard Els! (My parents call me Els)
Nurse: Well actually, it's funny you should say that because we all think it's easy. Because we don't have diabetes all we see is the finger prick and inject side of the story- but we don't see anything else and the rest is what the young person with diabetes has to deal with too.
Mum: Yeah it's true, we don't see the psychological side nor a lot of the physical.
Nurse: We don't know what it is about teenagers but a lot of them have trouble doing what they're supposed to do and if we knew what it was we would pin-point it and obviously we could do a lot more to help and it would make things ten times easier.

That sentence- my brain just screamed YES.
I have said this many times before in times that I have struggled with my diabetes and I always say- if I knew what it was in my head that stops me from doing what I'm supposed to be and testing my blood sugars, things would be a whole lot simpler for me when I hit a wall when it comes to controlling diabetes. My mum and the nurse both managed to understand me on Wednesday and it was just amazing to see.

I literally sat there grinning, thinking "Is this really happening? Am I seriously being understood?" With out evening saying anything to the nurse she knew exactly what I was thinking and my mum agreed too! (not that she wouldn't)

All in all Wednesday was a good appointment- my old doctor is also back so I am seeing him in October- Yay! He left to re-train for a higher position as his contract ended and wasn't sure if he was going to be back, but he is and the nurse said I could just book the next appointment with him which I did.

I got my blood drawn by a moody woman- actually I'm not sure if she was just moody or if she was bored of doing the same thing over and over again (I know I would be) she just about addressed the fact that my mum and I were even in the room. Anyway eight vials of blood later it was over. I'm glad I'm not afraid of blood tests otherwise that lady would have really made me uneasy...but I'm not fearful of blood tests so I just let her get on with it.

Yay for understanding!