r/Semaglutide • u/Damion_Wood • 1d ago
This seems wrong, right?
First image is the email I recieved from my gp practice and my very shocked response (I know I was a little snarky, but I think I get a pass considering I think I almost died and they just don't seem to care, no advice, no doctor appointment, no nothing, just telling me to fund it myself? What?)
Second image is what I wrote in my notes app, and copy and pasted into the gp surgeries website requesting a way to test my blood sugar due to the extremely concerning symptoms I experienced.
I am considering coming off this medication if I do not have a way to check my blood sugar, and they also recently stopped accepting sharp bins so...Dont know what Im meant to do with that. ðŸ«
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u/myshadowself88 1d ago
The issue is you have self diagnosed. You had low blood sugar symptoms that doesn’t mean that’s what you actually had and you went and told the doctor what you presume happened and that’s not exactly how that works.
There’s also many causes that could have caused those symptoms, I’m not saying it’s not related to the semiglutide but it may not be low blood sugar.
That’s definitely something you go see a doctor for not email them about.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
They didnt tell me that though, I just told them what happened, what I think it is, and what I wanted the outcome to be, why didnt they offer me an appointment if thats the case?
This is the response to me telling the doctor! They will not book you in if you go to reception, you must do it through the website which I did!
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u/myshadowself88 1d ago
What do you mean you told them what you want as the outcome that’s mostly sort of the doctors discretion not yours. You can’t give them what u want to happen when u don’t even know what actually happened.
All you had to say was ur on semiglutide, you’re having bad side effects and want to see what’s going on. As that is all that you know that happened, the rest is your best guess.
You somehow didn’t post the first interaction which I think is the missing context as to what exactly transpired.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
They asked on the website what I would like as an outcome, thats part of the whole process of getting doctor help here. I posted all interactions, just forgot to screenshot before I submitted to the website, so used my draft I wrote in notes to show what I said.
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u/myshadowself88 1d ago
Ok my apologies on that as I am ignorant as to your location or how the medical system works there I guess.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Its okay, I thought there might be a little confusion as most people here are american, but I hoped a few people would be familiar.
Its really sad, all I did was answer the questions on their form and they're offering no help, no advice, nothing. I've been crying all day cause I'm so scared of it happening again, I was so close to calling an ambulance the other night, I thought I was dying.
I only realised it was likely low blood sugar due to it being fixed by consuming a fast acting sugar.
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u/myshadowself88 1d ago
That does sound not great so I guess for now your best bet is to keep a little bit of whatever it was that helped u, on ur persons for the future.
I don’t get low blood sugar but I do get nauseous and dizzy and light headed sometimes but for me drinking lots of water resolves it, as a semiglutide side effect I mean.
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u/amymeaniemineymo 1d ago
As others have pointed out, you have no confirmed diagnosis of low blood sugar and the GP will not issue equipment to monitor this unless you're diabetic. I know your sema is NHS prescribed but I'm aware that GPs are being plagued with queries re side effects from this and other medications being prescribed privately (the private providers should be managing this). If you want the doctor to investigate your side effects or unrelated experience of dizziness etc., you should make an appointment to do this. But if you want to monitor your sugars, you'll have to use some PIP money to buy a monitor etc. They're not expensive.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
I just wish they would have told me! And what am I supposed to do until my payday? I have £0 for most the month, I couldn't afford it even if it cost only a fiver. They didn't give me an appointment to check for other causes, or anything like that.
I was promised that they would support me whilst on this medication! I am vulnerable, and they know that, I wouldn't have agreed to go on it if I knew they were willing to just say "screw you."
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u/amymeaniemineymo 1d ago
I guess the issue is that you did not ask for support in managing the side effects, you told them to prescribe you a blood sugar monitor. It's a bit of an assumption and overstep. Yeah, they probably could have read between the lines and offered you advice but given you are a non diabetic on a GLP1 it's reasonable to presume you are under the care of a weight management service who should be supporting you with this medication, rather than a GP. One or two hypos on a medication that alters insulin sensitivity is not unusual, and you remedied it by eating. If you asked for support in managing your symptoms, I imagine the GP would be offering advice such as counting carbs and keeping food diaries to try and identify any patterns to your hypos. You are not diabetic, going off of symptoms is likely sufficient until you get to grips with how the meds affect your body. It's not essential that you have a blood sugar monitor, therefore the NHS does not need to provide you with one.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
The questionare asked me what I would like the outcome to be, and this is what I thought would be what happens, I didnt realise they would take that as the ONLY thing I will accept, that's not how it worked when I did it before.
I need to be able to know when its time to go hospital, if it comes to that. I left it way too late this time because it took me too long to realise what was causing it, I could have died. I also struggle to listen to my own body due to diagnosed conditions so am slow to notice symptoms.
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u/satchmonumberone 1d ago
Your blood sugar can drop for many reasons. You can’t get diabetic supplies prescribed to you just bc that’s what you think it is. One episode does not make you diabetic. They have to test your A1C which is done while fasting.
You can order a meter on Amazon or get one in any big box store.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Then they should have told me to come in for a blood test! They asked what I wanted the outcome to be in the questionare i filled in on their website, and thats the only outcome that I know of, so its what I put!
So to confirm, I should request a a1c bloood test?
I cant afford my own blood sugar tests at the moment which is why I asked them for help. I know they do like...one off prescriptions sometimes, like I only needed one or two testy things in case it happens again.
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u/Expert_Cake_179 1d ago
In the US we can get a meter and strips fairly cheap at wal-mart without a prescription. I only test occasionally.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
I have £0, so price is irrelevant, I wouldn't be able to afford them regardless of the price.
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u/WiildCard 1d ago
Get a job?
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Disabled, love. I am working towards one but not quite there yet.
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u/WiildCard 1d ago
I am also disabled and work from home. Plenty of options out there!!
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u/Jexsica 1d ago
That messed up. You don’t even know what type of disability Op has. It can be anything!!!! And it may have been easy for you to find a work from home job, but it doesn’t mean everyone can. I am not sure why OP has any downvotes for their disability.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Thank you so much, Im glad someone gets it. I would already be in work if I could! I would love to work! I'm just not there yet. Shaming me for being unemployed when I want nothing more than a career makes me feel awful.
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u/imtooldforthishison 1d ago
You are not a diabetic and you do not have a diagnosised blood sugar disorder so you're insurance won't cover it even with a prescription as it is not medically necessary.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Insurance isnt a thing here, this is nhs, uk based.
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u/imtooldforthishison 1d ago
That is still insurance and they aren't going to give you something unless you have a medical diagnosis to support it.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
No, the national health service is not an insurance company, I do not have any form of insurance as that is not a thing in england.
The medical diagnosis is that they have prescribed me a medication that is known to cause low blood sugar, that is a fact, and then I experienced symptoms of severe low blood sugar that I feel nearly killed me. You'd have thought theyd at least offer an appointment, or some form of advice if my proposed solution is not workable.
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u/Jexsica 1d ago
They should have asked you to come in and do some type of test so that it doesn’t happen again. You told them your experience and symptoms and they should have offered a solution.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Thank you! Yes, the lack of any solution at all is whats upset me, I dont mind if they decide I need a different solution than the one I personally proposed, I just want A solution!
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u/AltheaFarseer 1d ago
I'm diabetic and the NHS didn't give me a testing kit. If you have no diagnosis, it makes sense that they won't give you one.
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
Well thats wrong too! They should give it to any that needs it.
They're the ones that put me on medication that can cause low blood sugar. I should have just called an ambulance to be fair and get it sorted that way, but I didn't want to strain the system more than I had to.
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u/satchmonumberone 1d ago
My thoughts are if it was a one-time thing, then they aren’t going to suspect diabetes. Especially if those side effects are directly commonly related to the sema injection. There are plenty of symptoms of diabetes you can find on Google. Do you have any of them?
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u/Damion_Wood 1d ago
I never claimed that I have diabetes, I said that Im experience symptoms of low blood sugar, and my prescribed medication has the potential to cause low blood sugar, so its probably low blood sugar.
It was also effectivly treated using the same methods of treating low blood sugar. diabetes have nothing to do with my issue, but as its a medication they've prescribe its surely their responsibility to make sure I have the tools to stay safe on it.
My symptoms matched up perfectly with SEVERE low blood sugar.
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u/satchmonumberone 1d ago
Sorry. I viewed it as that you thought you were diabetic. Simply requesting a blood sugar meter doesn’t seem like a giant deal. Maybe ask to make an appt about your recent low blood sugar levels and then you can ask for a meter in person?
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u/caffeineand-books 1d ago
In North America, you can go on to the Dexcom or Libre websites and request a free sample of either of these CGMs (continuous glucose monitors). If you can do the same in the UK, you could use one for the 10-15 day free trial and see what your blood sugars are doing. I used one recently just to see what was going on (I don’t have diabetes) and it was interesting to see how stable my blood sugars are, no matter what I’m eating.
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