November 15, 2001
Other
Question from Portland, Oregon, USA:
How do I get my endocrinologist to understand me? I have had type 1 diabetes for almost 24 years and have been down this road before, but I never went back to that particular physician. I want to try the pump, but he says, “no” and keeps on increasing my insulin. I am large doses of insulin, I still am having a hard time trying to get them to stay under 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L], and they they have been averaging about 350 mg/dl [19.4 mmol/L] for over three weeks. In addition, I have a lot of complications, yet he just pushes me off. How can I make him understand?
Answer:
Sometimes physicians do not feel comfortable with insulin pumps. Although I do not know if this is the case, I would try to get your physician to communicate with you the reasoning and strategy behind your insulin regimen. I feel that if patients know the reasoning behind something, they are much more likely to participate. You have to be your own advocate for your treatment. It is your body. Your physician is your teammate in the treatment of the disease. If you cannot work with your physician you may want to see someone else.
JTL
