Fiona

Fiona has asthma, type 1 diabetes and epilepsy. Her asthma is well controlled with inhalers. She has good and bad days with her diabetes. Drugs have stopped her epileptic seizures, although she has become forgetful.

Fiona was diagnosed with asthma at age 11. However, she had no problems with it until she was 18 years old, then had a really bad attack and it never really sort of recovered. She was diagnosed with type I diabetes at 13. She used to have 4 insulin injections a day; now she has 5 as she is pregnant and stricter control is necessary. She was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago and has absence seizures. Her seizures are successfully controlled with medicines. She does not see her health conditions as related. Her understanding of her epilepsy is that she was basically born with it.

Fiona sees her diabetes care as being especially good. It is more difficult to get neurology appointments. Fiona feels that GPs listen to her but she has no control over which one she sees. She feels that mental health issues can get lost within a focus on single conditions and criticises the disease-specific organisation of the medical system:

I think they focus on the individual conditions, really. I mean when I was diagnosed with the epilepsy, it would be sort of, I used to be the go-between until I suggested myself that my consultant and my neurologist actually wrote letters to each other.

Fiona has felt depressed because of her diabetes and thinks she should have been offered more in the way of emotional support because she is living with three conditions.

When Fiona was diagnosed with diabetes as a teenager the doctor advised her: You control the diabetes. It does not control you. Effective drugs and open communication with doctors can help find control.

Age at interview 25

Gender Female

Fiona doesn’t feel she needs counselling right now as she has a supportive family. Ideally, she would like to meet other people face-face who have both diabetes and epilepsy.

Age at interview 25

Gender Female

When Fiona attended her GP with depression it was suggested at first that she take anti-depressants. The GP listened when she said she didn’t want them and did not prescribe them.

Age at interview 25

Gender Female

When Fiona was first diagnosed with epilepsy she confused the side effects of the medicines prescribed with symptoms of her diabetes. It is no longer an issue now that her body has got used to the medicines.

Age at interview 25

Gender Female

Fiona judges doctors according to whether they appear to listen to her or not. She thinks that the quality of care depends on who you see.

Age at interview 25

Gender Female

When she became pregnant, Fiona had help from a diabetic team immediately. However, it took 4 months to get an appointment with a neurologist about her epilepsy.

Age at interview 25

Gender Female