Diabetes and medical

[amykathleen2005 441]

Hi everyone,

My fiance is having his medical soon. He has diabetes and with this has scars and cuts on his arms and mainly on his legs. Because of the diabetes everything takes awhile to heal. Do you think this will be a problem with the medical?

[SunDrop 59]

Hi everyone,

My fiance is having his medical soon. He has diabetes and with this has scars and cuts on his arms and mainly on his legs. Because of the diabetes everything takes awhile to heal. Do you think this will be a problem with the medical?

Hiya

Are the scars and cuts directly related to his diabetes? Does he have any history of mental illness for which he was seen by his GP or treated in any way by a professional (either through therapy or meds)?

The diabetes shouldn't be a problem but depending on the cause of the scars and cuts, they may have concerns about self-harming. If he does have any history of mental illness, he should approach the treating professional (even if it was years ago) for a letter confirming what the contact was for, what treatment was given and was it successful and resolved. They basically need to be told that there is no cause for concern that he may now or in the future present a risk to himself or others.

In short, as long as the scars and cuts do not raise questions of self-harm, he should be fine

[FrostyMist 1]

I have a medical condition, and take quite a fair amount of medication each day, so I've known from the start that the medical is going to be an extra worry for me.

When I phoned the receptionist to make my appointment, she told me that I need a letter from a doctor to confirm my condition.

Originally, I did get a letter from the specialist I see at the hospital, but because there were a few problems with the letter (spelt my condition wrong, didn't list dosages of my medication, didn't really explain what my condition is) I wasn't confident at all about taking it to the medical.

So, I asked my GP to also write me a letter. Success with this will depend entirely on the GP practice. Some of them are notoriously slow, and might even charge. Mine didn't, and although it's taken me a long time to get my medical letter from the GP, all of the delay was the result of my old GP (we just moved) who took SIX WEEKS to transfer my notes to my new GP. My new (current) GP couldn't write me a letter until they had my notes. Once the notes arrived though, it didn't take the doctor long to write the letter at all - saw the doctor on Friday, had my letter on Wednesday.

The letter that my doctor wrote for me was actually written by me. It basically states what medical condition I have, and declares that my condition is well managed. It lists my medication and states how often I take everything. Because, in my case, my condition is extremely rare, it also explains (in very, very basic terms) what my condition is. It also states that I see a specialist at the hospital and how often I see that person.

I have a number of medical conditions, and for each one I had the doctor states the name of the condition, confirm that it is well managed and write what medication I take for it. So, for example, because I take prescribed pain killers, the doctor has the dosage listed and states exactly where the pain is and what the pain is caused by (in my case, mild back pain due to injury).

My doctor was very happy to use the example I gave her, and to simply have her secratary write it up on practice letterhead and sign it. I feel a lot more confident with this than I do with the letter from my specialist at the hospital.

When I go to my medical, I will however take both letters, plus I also have a letter the specialist wrote for me prior to my travelling to the US, just in case I was sick whilst out of the country and needed medical treatment. This also confirms my condition is stable, so I think it'll make good supporting evidance that my condition is well managed.

The receptionist at Knightsbridge doctors seemed really, really nice, so I think if there are any concerns or doubts, the best thing is to phone them and ask for advice.

Edited November 13, 2009 by FrostyMist

[*julez* 124]

Hi everyone,

My fiance is having his medical soon. He has diabetes and with this has scars and cuts on his arms and mainly on his legs. Because of the diabetes everything takes awhile to heal. Do you think this will be a problem with the medical?

My husband is Type 1 diabetic. When he went to his medical - nearly 2 years ago - he made sure he brought his medical history, which illustrated that his A1c levels have been excellent for many years. The doctor explained that he appreciated seeing the "bigger picture" and that it was vey helpful to see that my husband is so concientious about his diabetes care.

If your fiance has had any ancillary conditions to the diabetes - such as neuropathy or high blood pressure, for example - he should bring along statements from his doc that these conditions have been or are being addressed and how.

If you have any more specific questions, just shoot me a PM and I will pass them along to my husband and he will be happy to help.

The healing cuts shouldn't be a problem. Doctors know that diabetics have longer healing times.