Good Help is Hard to Find
You know the old saying that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone? Well, this past year I had to get a new endocrinologist, and I’m finding out that not only was my previous diabetes educator fantastic, but it’s incredibly difficult to find someone whose really good in the field.
Dr. Wolfart (my old endo) was great–she was funny, friendly, meetings were quick, she gave good advice if there were any issues, and she had enough faith in my control to not micromanage.
Some of you may be laugh at this, but I assumed all endos were the same.
Last year I finally had to say goodbye to her and get a new doctor, and what a process this has been. I was referred to an endo she trusted, and for a little bit, things were fine. We got along very well, and she shared a bunch of the qualities I appreciated in Dr. Wolfart. Unfortunately, she soon gained a position teaching at a local university, and now only works at the hospital one day a week (Wednesdays, oddly enough). Given that I work in NYC and her office is in Upstate New York, that doesn’t really work out.
So now I’ve been through her “helpers”, who are anything but ( you can check out my earlier post HERE on my experience with them). One of the problems with managing diabetes is finding a solid endo who balances understanding with helping you improve your control. So far, my experience has run the gamut of not trusting me ( despite the fact that my H1C is almost always 6.0), to being easily confused by my questions, or being wholly unavailable.
Are you happy with your endo? Has finding a good one been like picking your way through a “Where’s Waldo” book? What have your experiences been like?
Until Next Time
-Nick
My daughter is 9 years old, and she has type 1. We don’t have an endo doc. We get the pleasure of seeing a nurse practitioner at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The NP is so afraid of confronting my ex-husband about my daughter’s BG readings it is sickening. My daughter has BG readings very close to normal while at my house, and then has readings upwards of 400 at her dad’s house. The pattern is there, and I even pointed out where my daughter is residing for each of the readings. The endo NP told me to keep an eye on patterns, and if she’s still high at 3AM, to up her Lantus dose when my daughter’s Lantus dose is just fine.
Of course, to complain to anyone at Children’s is impossible as they have the place locked down tight.
I say this all the time, and at risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say it again. The best way to find an endo, in my opinion, is via recommendation from your insulin pump representative (If you use a pump). That’s how I found mine, and of the six endos I’ve seen over 30+ years, he is without question the best.
The pump reps deal with all the doctors in your area. They know which ones know the pumps well and which are keenly interested in learning everything they can do, and which offer feedback back to the manufacturers (meaning they ask for feedback from patients). Unless you have a friend to get feedback from, this is the way I would go.