"I need to eat, I'm a diabetic!"

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I get a little tired of patients and their visitors demanding food because "I'm a diabetic". Last time that line was used on me by your typical overweight type 2 diabetic, I took his blood sugar. It was over 200 of course. I told him that, you only HAVE to eat when your blood sugar is low, and no, I'm not getting you a sandwich, your blood sugar is actually high. This was an ER patient with a minor complaint. :banghead:

OK, ready to be flamed. It is so very, very sad that a simple gripe (that did, to me, sound condescending, whether she meant it that way or not) by OP has been twisted and turned inside out. A student has been thrashed. Diabetics as a whole have been bad-mouthed, and Nursing itself has been dragged through the mud.

And I really do wonder why the remark about the accent was used. Is this a racial remark? A geography remark? I am so sad and confused about this.

Diabetics whose bodies are accustomed to high sugars are likely to feel low even if we get a high reading when we test them. Just keep some grahams and milk available and feed them if they're not NPO. The families are not our concern and should KINDLY be informed that we are strictly watched, supplies are strictly counted, cameras are everywhere, even if the pt gives them his food it will be seen and no more will be provided by the pt - not our rules but the hospital's rule, we're so very sorry - even if we hate the patients and families and hate Nursing as it is practiced these days.

I guess this is all just human nature, but it makes me just want to cry, just win that lottery and move away from everyone except those I choose to be near.

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I see this was directed at me.

You do not know me, therefore you have no idea as to my level of understanding on any topic. I am entitled to my opinion as you are to yours. And I am sure we can all have a healthy debate without taking potshots at each other.

Not a pop shot, it was an response to your comment about them using it as an excuse. Which needs to be discussed if we want to help patients who deal with this. And it is directed at all who have that same thoughts about this disease. Open forum, open discussion, etc. I highly doubt your the only one who has these thoughts. Actually, based upon this thread, it seems to be rather common. Which is why I pointed it out.

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I agree. I think my frustration with many (not all) diabetics is the lack of personal responsibility. Such as the patient in question, in my original post. He reeked of cigarettes, came to the ER for the sniffles, was getting impatient because of the wait. Then he demanded food, saying he was a diabetic.

I asked him what his sugar was because, of course I was concerned that maybe he was dropping. He said he had no idea. So I took his blood sugar and it was over 200. He actually wasn't my patient at the time, but we do a lot of teamwork in the ER.

But you compliant, responsible diabetics out there, please don't take this thread personally! We love and care about you, and sympathize with your struggles!

I actually totally get all that, except only respecting only the compliant ones. But read this whole thread, and take the attitude as a whole, then maybe you will get the problem as I see it. We have all sorts of people who come into the ER, for reasons that are their own fault. Even we, don't always make healthy choices. That includes us too, and we know better. Geezes, I remember years ago when I was a smoker, smoking with my own doctor, AFTER getting a lecture about how it was killing me. Are we really suppose to be that judgement towards our patients and only sympathize with the ones we deam as deserving?

This whole issue is about responsibility. At that moment, the patient is our responsibility. And part of that is education. Please read the responses to how others handle this. As it was pointed out, some of it can be directed to what the patient has all ready been taught. Another part is what the patient hasn't been taught.

I come from a family of diabetics and the hardest part is getting the person in control. Dealing with bring the sugar in line the first time. They have to deal with these same issues. Yet the educators never explain to them it will happen. It scares them to death. Many people can deal, if they know what to expect and that it is normal. The first person to EVER educate me about this was a MA. Not a DR or any sort of RN. But a MA who was a friend and we were just talking. Talking about lack of responsibility.

I have since talked about this with other family members. And that opened the discussion on how to deal with this part of the disease. Many wished they knew this from the get go.

As a student the Dr that taught my A&P2 course said that if he could, any time he diagnosed a new diabetic patient, he would like to send them to one of the mental drs. Since food is used to solve so many issues that people deal with, they will NEED such help in the process. But Dr's don't suggest it, because people will be offended. Patients need help, not acting like we are clueless to their issues.

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Specializes in ER.

My responsibility as a professional is to 'act' caring. I'm not required to really 'feel' compassion for every patient. I can feel fed up and exasperated, as long as I don't convey that to the patient. Believe me, I'm an academy award winner in that dept. I'm always diplomatic and behave in a compassionate manner, even for patients I find frustrating.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
My responsibility as a professional is to 'act' caring. I'm not required to really 'feel' compassion for every patient. I can feel fed up and exasperated, as long as I don't convey that to the patient. Believe me, I'm an academy award winner in that dept. I'm always diplomatic and behave in a compassionate manner, even for patients I find frustrating.

When people start threads, it's usually either to seek support, share a laugh, or vent a frustration. We're not at work; this is OUR website. So my apologies to the OP; some of us totally get the frustrations. While we can be nurturing and compassionate at work, it's nice to have a website where we can let our hair down and our frustrations out. I wish people could just try to be understanding of a fellow nurse, and tone down the self-righteousness.

I realize this should probably be a thread of its own.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
"I need a sandwich 'cause I haven't eaten in 24 hours". Of course he had money enough to get drunk last night, spend the night in the ER, leave in the morning and get more alcohol throughout the day,,,,, but no food. After all, the Hotel Hospitality & Drug Spa will provide!

You mean the Hotel Hospitality, Drug Spa & full service all night restaurant. We are all just glorified waitresses at your service and we mean to please. lol.

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I'll never forget giving a guy a sandwich who had just been cleared after a car accident (trauma). He was so happy with the sandwich he got teary… it was a young guy. He was so hungry. I love giving out sandwiches. LOL!

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Specializes in Oncology.

Wait, you won't feed patients any more if they share food with their family members? That's bizarre.

(This would make more sense if I could quote, but I can't in the mobile website now, so just go back- it's there).

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Specializes in PCCN.

Ive had lots of type 2's say 200 is usually where their fsbg runs. You mean that's high?????:facepalm:

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I got in trouble once for giving away too many sandwiches. As they said 'There are only so many and they have to last all night'. I cooled it a bit after that and explained to the family members that it was only for patients as well don't have enough to go around but that they were welcome to go the the cafeteria. Problem is when family member is there with a critical baby... I still think giving the parents a sandwich is NOT the end of the world and totally appropriate in certain situations. I needed the parent to stay with the baby... they don't always come in 2's with a mom and dad. It might just be only mom or only dad and with 3 other patients I don't have all day to hang out with the sick baby while they go get a meal... just saying...

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Story from long ago . Once worked in a LTC facility. They were celebrating a resident's birthday with cake and ice cream. Had a few diabetic pts there. We served them the cake and ice cream knowing that we could control their glucose levels. Did the accu-checks later and realized that just a few needed slight insulin coverage.

Bottom line ... It's ok to partake of the no-no's once in a while as long it is not done on a daily or even weekly basis. This was a rare celebration of 90 odd years ... Why say that our diabetics should be cast to the side. Why deprive diabetics of anything they should want as long as it is monitored and of couse with extreme moderation. "Let them eat cake".

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Specializes in Pediatric Hem/Onc.

As a diabetic (my endo classes me as "nonspecific" because I have traits of both types - it's made my treatment plan a load of fun!), I'd like to launch into a rant about the disease process and how reading the phrase "typical type 2" (as used in this context) makes me twitch. I am slightly symptomatic once my BS drops in the 120 range. That's the high end of normal for regular folks, but my body doesn't care about that. It usually presents as hunger and maybe a slight headache. Once I'm below 100, that's when the profuse sweating, trembling, labile emotions, and raging hunger starts. Before I had some BG control, I would start getting symptoms when I hit the 180s, simply because my BG had been so high for so long that anything lower than 200 felt low. Now I actually feel great when I'm 120-140.

As a nurse, I'd love to initiate some education about chronic illnesses, their effects on patients, and how our conscious/unconscious bias in managing care can affect patients. I could also rage about patients/families that try to treat nurses as waitresses. I can also rant about nurses that don't take care of themselves. I maintain that my own body function trumps patient care. It makes me so sad/mad when I read about people that don't have enough time to eat, drink, or pee during their shifts!

But instead, I'm going to let the rest of it go and hope I don't ever encounter these attitudes as a patient. It seriously sucks when the person that is supposed to be taking care of you is judging you. And sorry, OP....your first post came across as condescending, whether you intended it to be or not.

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