Group or family visist

[jimmys devoted]

According to a new study, it has been found that when all family members go with the family member who is diabetic, outcomes and compliance are higher than if the patient went alone.
As diabeets is affects everyone not just one, all family members from 4 years old an up can help keep the perosn
who has diabetes on target.


So we ahve been doing this for years sine i was diagnosed. And it does work a lot better. no secrets, no manipulation of information and everyone remembers!

[ladygirl99]

That is good to have your family going to doctor visits and that would be a good idea for anyone that goes through this.

[parise]

Yeah its beetter to do it with someone and not do it alone. More support. Lets you know you aren't in this alone.

[bra]

When you visit the doctor there are alot of things to remember. It's best to have a familiy or friend member with you to help you remember and also they will know how to act and treat you.

My diabetic partner just had surgery and my mother was in speaking to the doctor. Even though the doctors "send home" notes said that my partner could start driving after 24 hours, that is not the case. The doctor verbally told my mother that he could not drive for 5 days.

It's best to have family with you in all of your serious visits.

[lab_gal530]

Sometimes it is hard trying to convince somebody to go to the doctor with you. It is a boring process and they don't want to be bothered with what he has to say. Plus they don't understand half the mumbo jumbo the doctor is talking about because it doesn't relate to their own health. I try to take a companion when they will agree. Not often enough though.

[jimmys devoted]

what a lot of doctos fail to also realize is that they need to simplify and put into laymans terms what is happening, It really dos go much faster without complications, if a doctor can get into that mind set. When we went toour education calsses we found that our DE and Nutritionist laid everything out in visual and plain terms. It went so fast with complete undestanding. When they handed us our self managment books I was amazed to find it was just as simple!
They also made it accepting and encouraging to make the family as a unit instead of a diabetic individual.

[Team Diabetes]

I agree that making information simple is usually better. It does depend on the person though. A nurse, Science student, or medical-minded person may feel talked down to and/or feel they didn't receive enough information if the doctor only covers the basics. It all depends on what the patient can handle, and I think that is an important conversation that the doctor and patient need to have.

Another problem is that many Type 2 diabetics KNOW what they need to do (eat healthy small portions, exercise, test, etc.) but some don't actually do it for various reasons. In that case, the doctor needs to simply give motivation and tell them to "Just Do It", as Nike says. ;)

Many times the doctor will simply spit out a new diagnosis and write a prescription, when exercise, weight loss, a low salt diet, and quitting smoking might have worked fine for a person with high blood pressure, without drugs.

I think having family involved overall is often beneficial, but there are exceptions. You don't want your spouse to become the "diabetes police" and pester you or worry constantly.

I can see this being beneficial, especially for Type 1 diabetics, who need to have a lot of daily involvement in their care. Diabetes really is a family disease.