The supercomputer used to count the Shoot Up poll results, yesterday
Hurrah! Some time has passed since we published the last poll. I’ve long given up describing it as the “monthly” poll as it’s almost never monthly. If you have complaints about the irregular timing of the polls then feel free to write me a very stiff letter. On cardboard.
Anyway, last time we asked what your food related nemesis is. Your culinary Moriarty, if you will. Every diabetic has one and it seems that buffets topped the list with 26% of the vote. I remember once going to a party that had a buffet – tables laden with food as far as the eye could see. The puddings were so good – in particular a fantastic apple pie – that I had to inject a total of eleven times over the course of about two hours. Painful, perhaps, but worth every mouthful.
The infamous Chinese takeaway reared its head next with 23% of the vote. Everyone seems to find the combination of fried rice, MSG and prawn crackers difficult to deal with. I think I’ve finally conquered my Chinese takeaway nightmares with the cunning application of the pump’s dual wave bolus – but the time I got it right was probably just a fluke. Isn’t it always?
Pizza came next with 21% – with thin crusts I’m okay, but thick crusts are a hellish nightmare of mad, swinging blood glucose. Sticky puddings (9%) and Indian takeaways (7%) brought up the rear. With the “comedy answer” (I eat nothing but salad) trailing in in fourth place with 14% of the vote. What’s wrong with you readers? I thought it was tradition that the silly answer always won.
Anyway, moving on to this month’s poll, we ask “Who do you think is the most useless member of your healthcare team?” Define ‘useless’ and ‘healthcare team’ however you like and vote over there (points downwards if you’re on the front page and over to the right if you’re on any other page…)
Those results in full:
Buffets – 26%
Chinese takeaway – 23%
Pizza – 21%
None – I eat nothing but salad – 14%
Sticky puddings – 9%
Indian takeaway – 7%
The voting button’s gone all grey and illegible (grumble, grumble, grumble…)
You should get buffets with barcoded stock – like you get in some supermarkets where you can zap your shopping as you wander round, then just upload it at the end without having to unpack and repack it all – zap what you eat as you eat it, and keep a running total so you can just keep checking your boluses are up to date (always my downfall – did I allow for that last sandwich/handful of snacks/etc in my last bolus – how much did they count anyway…)
What’s wrong with the button? It looks okay to me – if you email me a screenshot then I’ll have a look, but don’t forget the Whole New Design(TM) is coming soon…!
A barcode zapper sounds cool – there’s actually one as part of an Android app (MyFitness Pal) – you can zap things and it calculates the carbs, calories and so on. It’s designed with diets rather than diabetics in mind but it’s quite interesting in showing what can be done.
I have an objection to your new poll – it doesn’t feature Dietitians. As a practising Dietitian (who has just applied to be part of the team at a DUK Family Event) I feel it is only fair that my chosen profession is given the opportunity to be the most useless member of the healthcare team. Come on, feel the love! Vote Dietitian!
Also on the subject of the new poll… It’s not an option but I vote for the doctor’s receptionist as the most useless member of the team. One once told me that the insulin I was on was too strong for me and wouldn’t add it to my prescription. Last month I was told that BD needles didn’t exist because it they weren’t on the system (they were listed under B-D).
I was actually just about to say I would vote dietician if the option was available… but you beat me to it, Lola. Hope you don’t take offence! I’ve yet to meet a dietician who wasn’t lovely, I just don’t see the point in being told to eat more fruit the whole time. 😉
Oh no, the Dietitian bible says only a handful of fruit at any one time for you sugar freaks. Vegetables and salad, that’s what you’ve got to eat more of. And remember, we’re Healthcare Professionals so we know better than someone who’s lived with the condition for, oh, twenty years.
I should say that there really is a role for a (good, not useless) Dietitian in diabetes, but not for the sort of experts who lurk on this website. This website is where I learn from you.
Listening to well informed patients, while giving less informed patients the help and support they need while keeping an eye on how diabetics actually live? What next? We like you Lola, we like you a lot 🙂
Why thank you Tim. Let me be the second person to suggest that you are entirely right.
😀 Hurrah! Twice in one thread!
Your wish, dear readers, is my command. I have added Dietician. I’m afraid I agree with @MartynP – my dietician is also lovely, but I already eat quite healthily so we never have much to say. The first time I spoke to her post-diagnosis we mainly talked about my recipe for homemade Baileys ice cream
I think dietician would win for “nicest member of the the team”. I too have never met one who wasn’t lovely. I met a few scary ones who didn’t know how to carb count and thought this was a good thing, but they were still lovely while they were being ineffective.
Well that’s next month’s poll sorted then – “Who’s the nicest?”
Hooray! Dietitians can win both polls – you know it makes sense. Vote Dietitian!
@tandcake – welcome to Shoot Up! I was thinking about your request on the bus and I’m afraid I can’t put doctor’s receptionists into Room 101. This is because 1) they would easily win 2) they would probably get so many votes it would crash the server c) I’m not convinced they’re part of the “healthcare team”. They’re more a two headed, slavering Cerberus designed to keep you away from your healthcare team and hinder your general healthcare.
Your horror story is so bloody typical that I’ve started a new thread just so we can bitch about doctor’s receptionists over here: http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/user-groups/shoot-up/forum/topic/doctors-receptionists/
Thanks Tim, you’re right of course. I’ve got some great stories for that new thread…
My God! That’s the first time in three years that a reader has said I’m right. I’m printing this page out and framing it.
@tandcake Welcome to ShootUp. We’ll make allowances because you are new to the blog, but I must point out to you that @Tim is never right. And telling him he is right is very dangerous, it can cause his ego to balloon to uncontrollable sizes 😉
I’ve already had my doors widened so my massive ego can fit through 😀