I am constantly annoyed with pretty much any providers besides the Endo asking me for all sorts of info on my insulin and BS? If it’s not their specialty why waste my time to give it to you and your time to write it down? It particularly angers me when they try to change or give advice on my diabetes treatment.
I have employed various strategies over the years:
Short bull crap answers - my last sugar was 851 and I take 5mg of insulin per day (it’s amazing when they record it without question - it certainly confirms that they have no idea what they are asking and that they aren’t qualified to treat it)
I DON’T REMEMBER but I am sure if you call my endo, they can give you the numbers
Flooding them with details about hourly basil rates, hourly BS, and sick day protocols
AND even direct statements: I don’t ask my endo to makt a PT plan for my shoulder, so I don’t ask you to manage my diabetes.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand asking “are your BS in control, do you take insulin injections/pills,” etc, BUT I am tired of other providers asking for details about something they aren’t qualified to treat.
Does anyone have a strategy they have found that works to make other providers stop asking these questions?
I’m sorry that your docs are trying to get all up in some business they don’t really understand. Good on you for telling them to their face.
Usually my other doctors have just asked me questions similar to “How is your diabetes?” to which I respond “Good” and they accept that as enough information
Along those lines, to “what was your last BG?” I say 100, to “what is your daily dose?” I say 50 units. And then anything beyond that I just reply with yes, no, maybe, and sure. 
I’ve learned to not care as much as they don’t care. I actually used to put thought into my answers… until I realized I was the only one putting thought into my answers. Once I genuinely stopped being upset by that disconnect, I stopped being irritated by the process. It’s now just medical office small talk. There’s the weather and then my dosage. It’s also a completely different process when I’ve sought out treatment rather than attending a routine visit. I believe from the bottom of my heart that a doctor can’t find what they’re not looking for, so it really is in my best interest to be accurate in certain scenarios.
@glitzabetes said it better, but I said it longer.
I don’t discuss specific numbers with any doctor. What would be the point? The only numbers I discuss with them are my daily basal and bolus amounts in case they need to write an rx. I don’t understand how it seems like some patients just sit there going over their blood sugar traces with their doctor… that really doesn’t seem to me like an effective or productive use of their time or my own…
I make general statements like “my average is around 100 and I try to keep my standard deviation around 20…” if they want details, but generally I’ll just say “it’s a pain in the ass but I’m managing tight control” and then we move on…
Any doctor I see that is not an endocrinologist is told my A1c. They’re happy with the result, so the conversation ends there.
I just tell them I’m well controlled if they happen to ask. I have never seen a diabetes educator ( in 48 years) so the questions never came up.
And what’s the problem with giving a doc a few good stats that are likely on the tip of your tongue? Doctors are generally just trying to help you. If you give them information and they utilize it in a way you don’t like just find another doctor.
True enough. A doctor who’s not an endo might be interested to know how well your diabetes is managed because that impacts your health overall. Or an answer that might indicate you’re not doing a good job of self-managing might influence what treatment regimen this doctor chooses for whatever you’re seeing him or her for.
No health issue exists in isolation.
This is so true! I practiced dentistry, and I would always ask my insulin dependent patients what their A1c is, how much IOB, when was the last injection of rapid, when and what was the latest finger stick Bg? When was the last time you ate, and how much? All of this was very relevant to how I would conduct the appointment.
Thankfully, I never had a patient smartass me over these questions.
I guess I really don’t understand how whether I ate 16 hours ago or 6 hours ago is going to change my dental treatment?
The problem really comes when the doc feels the need use those stats to give me advice on how to manage my diabetes.
I certainly have no problem telling them my diabetes is well managed, but when they want lists and lists of specific information is when I have a problem with them.
@Dc53705 There is a big difference between having 2u on board and having eaten 6 or 16 hours ago. I think what you don’t understand, and what I went to school for 6 years to learn, is how your diabetes and it’s treatment is going to impact my treating you safely.
And I often continued the conversation with how my patient could improve his control if he so desired. I never thought I was out of line.
@docslotnick I feel like you’re playing both sides of the fence here, unless I am misunderstanding your comments:
As the patient - “I just tell them I’m well controlled if they happen to ask.”
As the provider - " I would always ask my insulin dependent patients what their A1c is, how much IOB, when was the last injection of rapid, when and what was the latest finger stick Bg? When was the last time you ate, and how much?"
@docslotnick I also feel like YOUR connection to diabetes is more significant than 6 years of education. I dont think my dentist has a clue what any of these numbers mean and (before the advent of electronic medical records) what the numbers should be.
Please don’t feel like I am picking on dentists specifically either. Case in point - every provider out their now seems to take BP. I usually let them do it once, following their instructions, they say ‘it’s a little high, are you being treated for high BP? .’ Then I have them redo, putting my arm in the correct position (like they do in a cardio office), and they say ‘it’s normal, maybe a little on the low end.’
If that’s all they ask and are satisfied, I guess that is all they want to know. Some providers may not think it impacts their situation too much.
But in dentistry it can have a dramatic impact, and that is why I asked the questions I did.
@Dc53705 My colleagues’ diabetes knowledge certainly may not be up to snuff, but am I going to let that affect how I treat my patients? Certainly not.
And if I go to another doctor who does not want to treat me as a diabetic patient, I guess I’ll just go find another doctor. Professionally I am certain I am not unique, there are doctors who can treat their diabetic patients with great skill and knowledge.
The question I really hate is, “So who looks after your diabetes?”
Um, who the **** do you think? Me!
I see an endo approximately every 4 years for a new pump. I might see the same one this time, but I don’t always…
I have a non D HbA1c, and use DIY looping. I don’t think there is much an endo can add really. And honestly they don’t try.
I think the difference here is the medical person’s algorithm. Now, I think we can all agree that a Type1 physician of any type is going to be more aware of diabetic issues and probably thought about how to include that in their personal medical algorithm, i.e. when thinking about how they want to be treated as a patient. The fact is that each physician has a personal treatment algorithm that includes different data points based on their training and experience. I think to expect any medical professional, outside of an endo, to include the data points that doc mentioned is crazy, simply because they don’t have the experience needed to include that data. I always give my medical providers all of the information they ask for, assuming they have a need for it. With that said, unless I have an issue to discuss, I probably am not providing anything more than they ask for. What is interesting to me is how different the same appointment is with different providers.