An endo w/ good bedside manner

It's #ThankfulThursday , and I'd like to share my gratitude for my new endocrinologist. His name is Charles Morales, and he is an Endocrine Nurse Practitioner and Certified Diabetes Educator at Sierra Endocrine Associates.

I switched to him because I was really unhappy with my prior endocrinology appointments. I won't be petty and name names, but I simply wasn't receiving quality care from the woman I was seeing for diabetic care previously.

Look. It's no secret that I am not the most successful type-1 diabetic. I have struggled to get my numbers under control, and that's MY responsibility. (Though I will note, for the record, that having a chronic disease like diabetes sucks. It's no fun.) But prior to my switch, I felt like I was being chastised (shamed, even) when I went in for periodic check-ups. So I took care of myself in a way that I'm proud of: I made a change.

And I'm so happy that I did! What I appreciate about Charles is that he wants to help me get better. And the path he has chosen feels a lot like I'm his student, and he's a really good teacher. He has allowed me to attempt my own diabetes regulation in the ways that I thought would work best for me. He has gently led me down a road where my numbers are (kindly) presented to me in such a way that I simply cannot deny that my way is not working. Then he proposes a new path. But he doesn't grab my pump from me and adjust my numbers. He teaches me. He explains why I might want to consider another way. He answers my clarifying questions, recognizing that I wasn't challenging him by asking them...just seeking to understand better.

He has taught me more in our three appointments than I have learned from an endo in quite a while. Also, he noticed something in my bloodwork that led to treatment of another condition I have that had gone undiagnosed for who-knows-how-long! He taught me some next-level pump tricks...stuff that I totally should have been shown before.

I suppose I still can't say with certainty that he has improved my diabetes numbers...but for some reason, I feel very confident that things are looking up!