Diabetes is a disease that can kill you. It doubles the risk of heart attack and affects every system in your body. This is because elevated blood sugar impacts every organ, muscle and nerve that needs blood. That is why you change your lifestyle! That is why doctors take it seriously when you are diagnosed.
But, if you are not seeing a specialist you are making a HUGE mistake! I know, when I was diagnosed my sugar was 325 that's 3 times normal. My HMO's Dr. prescribed a pill that the insurance company declined to fill. At the time I was angry with the HMO, but they were right it was the wrong treatment for me. I asked for a referral to an Endocrinologist and it took 2 weeks but I finally got in. By that time I had blurred vision, and overall was very ill.
Immediately I was given insulin. My sugar was normal within a week. I stayed on insulin for 3 months and was able to manage my diabetes with diet and exercise for the next 4 years. Eventually I switched endocrinologists to Dr. Michael Harris, Director of Diabetes at Cedars Sinai. He is a type 1 Diabetic which I've found to be a big plus for me. He gets it and personally knows the impact diabetes has on me.
Our company Granola Gourmet sells products at the Newhall Farmers Market every Thursday. Recently I met a woman that said, "I've just been diagnosed with Diabetes, how does your product help with that?" There are a lot of ways the product helps Diabetics, but I asked her to tell me about her situation. She just found out that her blood sugar was 275 and her Dr. had prescribed 500mg of Metformin 2 times per day. She does not know what her sugar reading is today because they did not provide a meter yet, but she is being referred to a nutrition class to learn how to eat.
Something is very wrong with this picture. I asked if she was on a PPO or HMO..."I have an HMO she said." Ugg, HMO's haven't changed in 15 years I thought to myself. I told her that she needed to ask for a referral to a specialist. I'm not a Dr. but my personal experience tells me that she needs a meter to measure her blood sugar immediately! She probably needs an aggressive treatment to bring her sugar under control and then can go on a maintenance program. But since I'm not a Dr. I told her to go back to her HMO and get a referral AND Blood Glucose meter.
I am regularly amazed about how much more I know about my diabetes than my General Practitioner. Having an Endocrinologist for the last 15 years I have found some real benefits. A few of them are:
- They know more about Diabetes than General Practitioners
- They will do an HBA1C test while you are in the office (THIS IS HUGE!)
- They treat Diabetes aggressively & know about the latest advanced in treatment
- The pharmaceutical reps that call on them, give them samples and supplies the General Practitioners DON'T get
- They can usually give you a blood glucose meter immediately
Why don't HMO's send you to an Endocrinologist? Money, they cost money. It's not a big expense individually, but since 1 in every 14 people have Diabetes and 1 in 5 people have PreDiabetes they need to control their costs. You need to advocate for yourself and get to an Endocrinologist. In time with the right support you'll know your body, what it needs and how to manage your blood sugar. For now get the right help.
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