@LarissaW, I talk a lot and tell a lot of stories. I like to think it gives context to what my opinions are…so if my opinion is stupid, at least you’ll have context for why it is stupid. 
I was diagnosed at 21. I was living many states away from home on a 6 month internship at the time. I left work one day in a daze and one of my kind coworkers called me and gave me the name of her daughter’s GP. I got in that afternoon and was diagnosed Type 1.5. I was sent home from that appointment with no meter, no gameplan, but with some Metformin!
Another coworker called me that night. A pilot whom I had not flown with (it was a flight internship…I only mention this bc it is actually relevant…not to sound like I am hung up on myself) had been diagnosed Type 2 and lost his flight status for quite a while until he got his A1C down and blood sugar under control. That’s a lot of pressure for a man supporting a family! Anyway, he called me that night, gave me his condolences, and set up a meeting with me that week. He was my Self-Appointed Mentor. He told me to ask the GP to send me to the local three-day diabetes clinic, he told me to ask for a meter, and he taught me how to count carbs, cook, and log food. He was AMAZING. His wife was also Type 2 and also super supportive. He also taught me to do my homework before meeting with doctors and to be my own advocate. I carry that approach with me today. It may not be right for everyone, but it has saved my health and my immediate well-being more than once, unfortunately.
I’ve had seven endos that I can remember. I’ve fired two. I’ve been fired by one crazy one (bc I deviated from her I:C ratio for dinner one night when I ate potatoes and padded my bolus). I hear everything they say…but I evaluate everything they say. I mostly find myself in the position of having more experience than they do and get to tutor them on Dexcom and podding. My current endo asks me a lot of technology questions.
The most important thing for my care is knowing how the endo office works and how to get prescriptions and prior authorizations timely filled. My endo’s office is controlled by the nurses. Each endo has one nurse and that nurse makes or breaks my care. I’ve been working on my relationship with my current endo’s nurse for a few years now. She’s a tough cookie but I’ve finally broken through. Although I was disappointed in my A1C results from my endo visit the other week, I was thrilled with how my interaction with the nurse went. She called me “sweetie” and chatted it up with me like we were old girlfriends!! Prior to that, our only interaction was her rote questioning of whether I bruise easily or have migraines or GI issues. So when I messaged her the other week to ask for an insulin switch and for Rxs for vials and pens (which she used to refuse to do point blank…I had to pick either vials or pens), she sent them both in with a stern warning it might not go through! That’s Progress!
Anyway…endos for adults are slim pickin’s where I live. We have a shortage. However, we have fantastic pediatric endos at the children’s hospital. It seems that T1’s under 18 in our area get fantastic care. Adults…not so much. My endo usually just asks me for help in quietly unionizing the hospital staff. When I pressed him for his opinion on my injection welts, he kept changing the subject until I cornered him on it. He just put his hands on his head, stared at his desk, said, “Yeah…that’s bad” and changed the subject.
I get my best info from FUDders. I hope you have a more progressive relationship with your endo than I do mine. But mine has ended up as a learned behavior after trying to trust past endo’s recommendations with no follow-through on executing the new plan. And when I’m really in a pinch, I pay for consultation with Gary Scheiner’s group. I’ve done that twice now and they’re worth it. They’re all T1D’s who have tried the different therapies they coach about.
