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[BG] About 6 weeks ago, when I had a checkup on my arthritis, my blood pressure was pretty dang high. Like 190/110. (I’ve been treated for high blood pressure for over a decade.) But I wasn’t having any symptoms, so they had me follow up with my GP asap. Unfortunately for me (good for her), my GP is on maternity leave. So I saw a different doctor. Because of the pandemic, it was a telephone call. From my home testing, my BP had dropped to about 145/105. Still high. The doctor was naturally concerned. She changed my meds and said she’d have a dietitian call me to set up an appointment.
3 weeks later, I hadn’t heard from the dietitian, so I messaged the doctor. She sent in the referral again. I got a call, got an appointment set up (which finally happened this morning), and I thought we were hunky dory. Also, my BP has dropped to 125/93, so better again, though I understand the bottom number is still high. [/BG]
Here’s where I get confused and annoyed: Yesterday, I got a call from someone at the “weight management team” at the clinic. They said they had a referral to make an appointment for me from the doctor I spoke with last month. The first question I had was, was this from the referral a month ago or last week? She couldn’t answer that.
Me: I have an appointment with a dietitian tomorrow.
Her: They’re not going to tell you the same thing we are.
Me: Huh?
Her: Let me tell me what we do. Then you can decide whether to keep the appointment you have or make an appointment with us. [starts to explain what a carb is]
Me: You don’t have to talk to me like I’m 12.
Her: Well! We have a lot of clients who don’t understand what carbs are or how they work.
Me: Ok, whatever.
Her: We have a plan that’s backed up by research [what is this, clickbait?] and developed by doctors [red flag #2] that will put your body into a ketogenic state [red flag #3] so your body burns fat instead of muscle.
Me: So you’re promoting a keto diet?
Her: No, we won’t have you reduce carbs by that much.
Me: Ok…. What about sodium? The doctor said she wants me to reduce sodium, too.
Her: Well, we don’t actually recommend reducing sodium, since most of the things we suggest you cut out are high in sodium, like pasta, and, um… [she seemed to have a hard time coming up with a second example]
Me: Maybe I should just keep the appointment I have.
Her: Our plan is backed up by research. If you want to lose weight, this is the plan we recommend. [Yes, she started repeating herself. I decided to end the call.]
Me: I’m going to talk to the dietitian tomorrow, and if I need more information, I’ll call you back to make an appointment. Goodbye.
Later, I was thinking about the whole “the things we recommend cutting out are high in sodium” thing. Like beef jerky? Cheese? Nuts? These are good low-carb snacks, but tend to have a ton of sodium.
Also, why is the receptionist (I assume - she was the one calling me to make an appointment) trying to convince me of the efficacy of their diet plan? Isn’t that the job of the person who I actually have the appointment with?
I’m still kind of mad about the call, even a day later. I’m just not sure if there’s anything to be done about it. I have the woman’s first name and the name of the person whose office she works in, but I’m not sure if what she said was particularly inappropriate, even if she seemed rude to me.
On the nice side, my appointment (virtual visit) with the dietitian went well. She gave me some good advice and numbers to shoot for as far as carbs and sodium. And she didn’t talk down to me about any of it.
3 weeks later, I hadn’t heard from the dietitian, so I messaged the doctor. She sent in the referral again. I got a call, got an appointment set up (which finally happened this morning), and I thought we were hunky dory. Also, my BP has dropped to 125/93, so better again, though I understand the bottom number is still high. [/BG]
Here’s where I get confused and annoyed: Yesterday, I got a call from someone at the “weight management team” at the clinic. They said they had a referral to make an appointment for me from the doctor I spoke with last month. The first question I had was, was this from the referral a month ago or last week? She couldn’t answer that.
Me: I have an appointment with a dietitian tomorrow.
Her: They’re not going to tell you the same thing we are.
Me: Huh?
Her: Let me tell me what we do. Then you can decide whether to keep the appointment you have or make an appointment with us. [starts to explain what a carb is]
Me: You don’t have to talk to me like I’m 12.
Her: Well! We have a lot of clients who don’t understand what carbs are or how they work.
Me: Ok, whatever.
Her: We have a plan that’s backed up by research [what is this, clickbait?] and developed by doctors [red flag #2] that will put your body into a ketogenic state [red flag #3] so your body burns fat instead of muscle.
Me: So you’re promoting a keto diet?
Her: No, we won’t have you reduce carbs by that much.
Me: Ok…. What about sodium? The doctor said she wants me to reduce sodium, too.
Her: Well, we don’t actually recommend reducing sodium, since most of the things we suggest you cut out are high in sodium, like pasta, and, um… [she seemed to have a hard time coming up with a second example]
Me: Maybe I should just keep the appointment I have.
Her: Our plan is backed up by research. If you want to lose weight, this is the plan we recommend. [Yes, she started repeating herself. I decided to end the call.]
Me: I’m going to talk to the dietitian tomorrow, and if I need more information, I’ll call you back to make an appointment. Goodbye.
Later, I was thinking about the whole “the things we recommend cutting out are high in sodium” thing. Like beef jerky? Cheese? Nuts? These are good low-carb snacks, but tend to have a ton of sodium.
Also, why is the receptionist (I assume - she was the one calling me to make an appointment) trying to convince me of the efficacy of their diet plan? Isn’t that the job of the person who I actually have the appointment with?
I’m still kind of mad about the call, even a day later. I’m just not sure if there’s anything to be done about it. I have the woman’s first name and the name of the person whose office she works in, but I’m not sure if what she said was particularly inappropriate, even if she seemed rude to me.
On the nice side, my appointment (virtual visit) with the dietitian went well. She gave me some good advice and numbers to shoot for as far as carbs and sodium. And she didn’t talk down to me about any of it.
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