Up to this point, the practice has been about your relationship with yourself and your data. The last two days are about what to do with what you've learned in the world.
Today's idea
Your endocrinologist, your CDCES, your registered dietitian, your primary care doctor — these are partners. Not employers. Not parents. Not opponents. Partners. They have training and access to research that you don't. You have data about your own body and your own life that they don't. The conversation between you is supposed to be a real conversation, not a one-way directive.
For a lot of people with Type 1, the visit-to-the-endo dynamic has drifted into something else. The patient arrives, hands over the data, and waits to be told what to do. The endo, with 15 minutes per appointment, scans the data and offers adjustments. Both parties leave slightly frustrated. Neither has had a real conversation.
What you've spent 20 days building is the capacity to have a different kind of conversation. You have vocabulary. You have observations. You have your own pattern recognition. You're not asking your care team to do all the work — you're showing up as a partner.
The Pro Tip series puts it this way:
You bring your observations. They bring their training. The visit works best when both are on the table — and worst when only one of them is.
From Pro Tip 1447
You've got the information now. Tomorrow you'll think about what to do with it.
My care team is a partner. The conversation is supposed to be two-way.
Today, think about your most recent appointment with your care team. Notice whether it felt like a conversation or a transaction. Don't judge yourself. Just notice.
Small Sip #1483 — Just Smile and Wave
What kind of conversation do I want to have with my care team next time — and how is that different from what's been happening?