Am not a doctor, I just play one on TV

I am drawn to the puzzled expression on Sam’s face, he is sitting in the Endocrinologist’s lobby with a box of lancets in his hand. A few minutes earlier as I walked into the exam room for my regular check up he had the same puzzled expression on his face only this time it was much deeper, the furrows above his eyes screaming ” and what the hell am I supposed to do with this”.

Sam’s story might not be unique except it just happened to coincide with one of my worst Endocrinology visits in recent years.

You see Sam had joined a select group of about 24 million others with his brand new diabetes diagnosis and at this particular time, no thanks to the Endocrinologist, he was at a loss on what to do next.

For in all her might and glory, all she had said was simply this.

“ Sam you have type 2 diabetes, am sure you have heard about it. I will put you on a Drug called Metformin to control your blood sugar and have you talk to a dietitian about changes in your diet and you need to exercise, I am including a prescription for your blood glucose meter which you will need to check your blood Glucose levels on a daily basis and I suggest you get on the Internet and learn all you can about diabetes”.

The bad news handed in a matter of fact way left Sam shocked and speechless, and without a single question, he faltered towards the pharmacy to get his bag of goodies.

The Items in the bag as alien as the diagnosis itself, the surreal environment and the clueless thoughts  of what lay ahead was the man I saw as I was walking out of my own nightmarish episode of a visit.

Sam Looked over and said to me, “I couldn’t help but overhear, your visit in there, but my Name is Sam and I have just been diagnosed with diabetes, do you mind if I ask you a few questions”?

As much as I was steamed, I just couldn’t walk away, I knew that puzzled expression would haunt me if I did not at least give him a crash course in diabetes ABC’s.

Our conversation naturally started with the why.

• Sam was not over weight, he did have a history of diabetes in his family and while he didn’t exercise much, his diet was not bad enough to warrant diabetes he said to me.
• I tried to explain the risk factors  and some of the mitigating factors for a diabetes diagnosis.
• I assured him that it wasn’t his fault or anything he did to warrant it.
• There was no diabetes cure regardless of what he would come across on the web.
• Expectations Included both high and low days, there wasn’t a cookie cutter solution to diabetes management, Effective day to day management would facilitate better long term a1c numbers.
• Change in diet, limiting carbohydrates and experimenting on different foods before he added them.
• Benefits of exercising even if It was just walking for 30 minutes everyday.
• Those lancets and how to use a blood glucose meter.
• Last but not least finding the right Endocrinologist which we both felt was obviously necessary in our cases.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to the medical profession because of some deep rooted experiences I had growing up, both my parents are in this profession, My old man and younger brother are  doctors, my mom is a nurse and pretty much 80-90% of my extended family are either doctors, nurses or clinical officers.

I still believe that Healing is  the highest form of a calling and those that practice it  should be treated like rock stars. That having been said, I also believe Bed side etiquette should be a make  or break course in medical school.

Maybe it was because Sam was a pro Bono case that the practice takes in or maybe this Endocrinologist was having a bad day, or she was overworked, these are valid reasons for the way we both were treated on this particular day.

The sad part is, as much as Sam felt rushed and tossed to the wolves he had no insurance which meant no choice but to keep coming back for the free but critical health care he needed now. I am assuming the practice is looking to fill in Dr. K’s spot so hopefully the new Endo will have a better bed side manner, as for me I am quietly shopping for a replacement.