Working With Your Healthcare Professional

Your care may be at your family doctor or at the hospital diabetic clinic if you have multiple diabetic complications, and may be with a doctor or nurse.   At you consultation, your blood pressure should be checked, ideally using automatic equipment. Ask what the value is exactly, do not accept “it’s O.K.” or “it’s a bit high”. Know what it should be and ask heath care worker how it with be normalized if it is not at target. Ask what your HbA1c and cholesterol values are. Are they at target? If not, why not? Try to avoid vague rationalization and procrastination. Every day that you are away from target is damaging you body.

Be proactive with you healthcare worker is getting your values to target. If there are specific problems with glucose control or hypos, this should prompt diabetic nurse involvement + dietetic review and an alteration of therapy.  It is essential in patients with Type 1 that care is taken to discuss hypoglycaemia awareness and hypos needing help sections and take appropriate.

The health care worker will assess whether you have any diabetic complication. They will need to look in your eyes, look sat your feet to test the circulation and sensation and for risk factors for foot ulcer.  If there is risk of foot ulceration, you will need to have prompt foot care education and chiropody referral.  You will also need a general examination of you chest, heart, major arteries and abdomen. It is not necessary to have either a chest x-ray or ECG unless there are specific symptoms.