In a recent survey of medical professionals only half said they were confident about having THE TALK with NASH patients. What has your experience been like?
Are you surprised? Half of all liver ... - Living with Fatty...
Are you surprised? Half of all liver specialists are not confident discussing lifestyle change with patients.
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nash2
Partner
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7 Replies
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I havent spoken to a lot of doctors but so far this has been the case for me too. I have also found that in general doctors love to tell you to mind your diet but will never tell you what that means. Meanwhile the government thinks milk is a food group
Oh i can relate to this. very frustrating when told i had fatty liver on top of long term cirrhosis.. liver consultant just said watch your diet. Plenty of veg etc.. Well we know that but in my opinion they should refer us to see a specialist dietician even if its only once so we can get the right information.
I am not suprised by this outcome. I would find it difficut telling someone not to eat chocolate Easter eggs this year when I know that I will be doing it myself.
My friend is an orthopaedic doctor and likes the big M products, she drives outwith her practice area to avoid bumping into patients. She obviously doesn’t want to be judged and therefore feels unable to judge others who might have weaknesses for fast foods, sugary products or alcohol.
People like us with liver disease know what we need to do but we lack support. It’s not enough for doctors to simply spout forth lifestyle modifications we need active interventions like gymnastic classes, walking groups etc.
We often spend hours in waiting rooms, during that time we could all be chatting together, supporting one another, getting dietary advice or exercising and the doctor could call us out of this group. The hospital would score brownie points, the doctors will have another positive, interactive health intervention to add to the CV and last but not least the patients will benefit.
That is a really good suggestion. I'll try to work it into the materials we are working on. We have been asked by some of the drug companies to help create educational materials for doctors and patients. Support is one of the major failings of our system so clever ways to encourage interaction is something we need.
Wayne
