LegeFrank I am sorry for your frustration, and I understand it! I had to go through many doctors before I found my current one. I can remember many frustrating visits where I felt as if I was slamming my head against the wall but I kept going. After 10 years I finally found my current doctor. I explained everything to her and she went through all my documents and that was when I realized not all doctors are the same. I currently have only these type of doctors now. If I can’t get through to them and they refuse to listen, I make a complaint and request a new doctor or go to a new practice. It has worked. It’s not easy but if I don’t who is going to look out for my health? I have found many great physicians but I had to be bolder to get what I need. Sending prayers for you. Have a great day

I was at 10.2 when I first found out I was Type 2 Diabetic, I am proud to say I am at 4.9 and 53 pounds lighter. Was this easy, hell no, it was/is hard. I work hard and yes I slip up, make mistakes. My point: listen, ask a ton of questions, log daily activities, food intake, fluid intake, research and live. Surround yourself with good friends , doctors and family. Keep a solid support network for yourself. Most importantly don’t beat yourself up over the little things that trip you up. Yes doctors give statistics because each case is different, you are unique and what may work for someone may not work as well on you. I developed allergies to 3 different diabetic medications and struggled. My current doctor realized what was happening and sent me for tests, tried new things and before I knew it I started to respond to them in a positive manner. It took time. And a lot of frustration on both the doctors and me. They call it practicing medicine for a reason.

I do understand what you are saying but you (and I and most in this group) are the exception and not the rule.

I work with T2's and for 9 out of 10 of them if they were told it "might be" or it "could" they would hear "bad things can happen but NOT TO ME so I can stop listening".

Yes, there needs to be a balance between scaring the crap out of someone and blunting the message so much that it applies to neither.

In the case of Diabetes "for most, and overwhelmingly most" it will progress to problem status. The message is meant for the masses not the exceptions.

Now if your particular doctor is aware of your engagement and management practice and your dedication to self management they should talk differently to you. When I talk to either my Family Doc or my Dietitian about "my diabetes" the conversation is quite different then when they are talking to Joe/Jane Average Diabetic who ends up leaving the appointment, still uncontrolled, complaining that they are not getting enough credit for how hard they are trying.

Why because they have no idea of what is coming, wouldn't believe it if someone told them and because they feel fine "today" have the absolute belief that they will "get a pass".

And I can tell you from experience dealing with Type 2's in an educational setting. Most will not lift a finger to help themselves no matter what they have been told until some "pain" sets in and that finally motivates them to believe that "things can happen", but until that day they are the epitome of excuses.

That is the "reality" that doctors face every day - and after a while they get tired of banging their heads against the wall trying to help people that are totally uninterested in helping themselves. So after a while you get the "canned company blanket statement" that actually applies to nobody in particular but is rather just a regurgitation of the statistical average compiled by the likes of the CDC.

(ya, I'm jaded, but you can't smack people in the head and make them listen even though you know they are killing themselves)

@A DiabetesTeam Member Some/many/most medical professionals are on a power trip. The whole concept of consultation is foreign to them.

There used to be an excellent TV series in the UK called Trust Me I’m a Doctor (yes the title had a tinge of irony) and it was like a breath of fresh air. They looked at different therapies whether Allopathic or Western Medicine and were very balanced in their assessment sometimes supporting the Allopathic approach other times not. The programmes presenters were all doctors and my favourite section in each programme was where they had two experts talking about a subject (say blood pressure) and each expert had an opposite view to the other! This showed us that medical professionals are not infallible Gods (although if my memory serves me right Greek Gods used to sometimes screw up) and it was up to us to form an opinion based on what those contrasting experts said.

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A Diabete...

I can understand your frustration. I sometimes have a difficult problem with understanding what doctors tell me also. My theory is if you haven't lived through what we live through and understand our daily struggles. Then you really don't have any idea of what we're trying to relate to you. So I pay attention to what they say, take it with a grain of salt and weigh it out on my own