National Diabetes Health & Awareness Exhibit

I decided to post a little earlier this week given the day that's in it. And what a day it has been! The internet has been "hopping" and so far diabetes has been all over my local radio station and two national ones not to mention one national TV news programme.

Every year in Ireland I would watch for, even a brief mention, in any sort of media, of diabetes on World Diabetes Day but it never happened. Hip, hip, hooray, for "Let's talk Diabetes".

Anyway, my post this week is a review of the National Diabetes Health and Awareness Exhibit.

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On Sunday, 13^th November (the day before World Diabetes Day), Diabetes Ireland organised a National Diabetes & Health Awareness Exhibit in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork.

I walked into a large conference room filled with stands; everyone from the world of diabetes was there. There were lots of fancy glucose meters on offer, dietitians, diabetes nurses, podiatrists, etc. willing to give you their time. There was so much information on diabetes that it was easy to become overwhelmed.

There was also lots of health checks free to the public; I had my cholesterol  and blood pressure checked recently but I did have my BMI measured at the exhibition, which was just a tad over the recommended 25 but the lads were so nice about it. Thankfully, I had suspected that I was over and it wasn’t a shock to me.

Diabetes Ireland also held their Annual General Meeting, which is usually eye-opener for me as I realise just how much is going on behind the scenes to make things better for me and for all people with diabetes and their families.

Not to mention that they do it all on a teeny-tiny budget and with just a small number of dedicated staff. I jotted down a couple of things that I thought were astounding.

During the period of 1^st November 2010 to the 31^st October 2011;

·         The diabetes helpline received 7,000 calls, with 88% of that number calling for general information on diabetes.

·         A Schools Resources pack was produced and sent to all primary and secondary schools in Ireland to ensure that both teachers and parents know what is expected of them in relation to having a child with diabetes in school.

·         The National Teen Activity day was attended by 87 adolescents (in my opinion this number was too low).

·         There are 12 groups of parents who meet regularly around the country.

·         Thanks to Diabetes Action’s campaign the HSE committed to providing 22 podiatrists dedicated to performing annual foot screening for people with diabetes.

·         Again thanks to Diabetes Action the HSE committed to ring-fencing €4 million to the setting up of a free retinopathy screening service for people with diabetes.

·         A research study was launched on what factors influence self-care and quality of life in the 23-30 year old age group. Apparently, this age group has an extremely difficult time dealing with diabetes and a study of why has never been done before.

 Diabetes Ireland’s objectives for 2012 are:

·         To continue to maintain all the services they currently have; the helpline, the members’ magazine, raising awareness, education and health promotion, etc.

·         To ensure that the podiatry service is delivered.

·         To ensure that the retinopathy service is on track for a national roll-out by the end of 2012.

·         To ensure that the HSE make progress on delivering a better service to children and adolescents with diabetes.

·         To continue to raise awareness about type 2 diabetes and put more emphasis on prevention.

·         And to highlight how care for people with diabetes needs to be integrated.

The Budget:

Diabetes Ireland receives 34% of its funding from the HSE for providing services that should be provided by the HSE (Type 2 diabetes education). They are hugely reliant on funding that comes from the general public. Their income for 2010 was just over €1.3 million which in my opinion is peanuts!

Diabetes Ireland is the only organisation Ireland has for people with diabetes and is dedicated to making the health service serve us better. People with diabetes need this organisation as a source of support and resources as well as to keep fighting for us and Diabetes Ireland needs more of us, the people with diabetes, to support it.

It’s a two-way street and we all win.

“The Slumps” Do you every have them?

My positivity about my diabetes is in a bit of a slump at the moment. Let me fill you in.

During the summer I went overseas for a month with my family. Normally, I let the holidays slide but this was 4 weeks so I tried my best to stay on top of my diabetes. However, it was impossible to maintain a routine and the food just kept changing from week to week. So about half way through I threw my hands up in the air and comforted myself with the knowledge that once I got home everything would go back to normal.

We came home but the children were still off from school and I decided to enjoy two more weeks of “lie-in’s” rather than set the alarm and get my daily walk in before the day started. Again I comforted myself with “when school starts things will go back to normal.

Well, its two months since the children went back to school, my old routine is re-established, daily walk included and I still feel like I’m drowning.

It seems so much more difficult to achieve the consistency I had four months ago; maybe since I’m getting older I’m feeling more tired and weary of diabetes. I wish diabetes had small periods where it was easier to manage, where very little effort was required to have all my blood glucose readings to be reasonably within target and not have any huge swings.

I pride myself on trying my best with my diabetes management but when my HbA1c goes upwards from 7.0% to 7.4% (54mmol/mol), I can’t hide my disappointment.

Thank goodness for my doctor, who is very supportive.  I had my visit with her yesterday. She always perks me up a bit, she tells me not to be so hard on myself and that we will get there with the numbers.

I know what I need to do to get back on track but I don’t seem to have the energy to break the circle.

But I will get back on track; the alternative is not an option. I have too many people in my life that I want to stick around for!  Today, I will draw up all the negativity and the weariness and expel it.

Tomorrow, positivity and the energy to crunch the numbers will prevail. :-)

A Step in the right direction

Ever since I had my second child and had to spend seven days in a maternity hospital I have had a huge fear of ever being admitted to hospital again. That might sound a bit extreme but it’s the truth. I did not have any confidence that any of the staff in the hospital had the ability to care for me should I become incapacitated.

When I was invited to speak at a nurse’s diabetes training day I thought that I might charge in there seeing them as the enemy. Thankfully, my husband, who is very, very, very smart said that I should see it as a chance to let these very important people in the health service know how important it is to me that they are knowledgeable in diabetes and to commend the health service for providing the nursing profession with this opportunity.

Basically, this one day was part of an intensive diabetes training course for people working in the nursing and midwifery profession. And I was invited to give a patient’s perspective.

I talked about all the things I did on a daily basis to management my diabetes, such as the blood glucose testing, carb counting, record keeping, etc., and all the things I felt were important extras, like a good support system in the background and knowledge.

Afterwards, I had loads of really interesting questions. They seemed really interested in learning from me and in my 18 years of experience.

When I walked into the room my objective was to try and explain how diabetes was so complicated to manage and that it wasn’t just as simple as following instructions from a medical professional; I hope I achieved that.

And in return, I received hope that the next time I have a stay in hospital, (because let’s face it, there is no way that I will live out the rest of my days without ever being admitted into a hospital), that I have a bit more confidence in the staff to looke after me.

World Diabetes Day in Ireland

November 14^th is World Diabetes Day. All around the world the diabetes community will mark the occasion in some way or another as we remember those who have passed from this life because of diabetes and  those who are struggling to stay ahead of their complications. We will also be thankful for every day that those who are living well with diabetes continue to do so.

It’s the one day I know I’m not alone in the world of diabetes.

This year the diabetes community in Ireland seems to be mobilising and making sure that the occasion doesn’t go unnoticed.

In doing so, I’m happy to spread the word that the following buildings will be going blue for World Diabetes Day; PricewaterhouseCoopers, Dublin, The Convention Centre, Dublin, The Round Room and Fire Restaurant Business & Events Centre@ The Mansion House, Dublin

On the Sunday the 13^th of November, Diabetes Ireland will hold a “Diabetes Health and Awareness Expo” in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork. Diabetes Ireland is also looking for people to come forward and “Go Blue” for World Diabetes Day.

It’s my hope that this year World Diabetes Day make the 6 o’clock news in Ireland, so that everyone living in Ireland hears about it.

The cost of Diabetes in Ireland

People with diabetes are very fortunate when it comes to the cost of living with diabetes in Ireland.

Under the Long Term Illness Scheme, diabetes medications and supplies, such as test strips, needles, insulin, etc., are free to all people with diabetes. This scheme was set up in 1971, specifically to help people with diabetes manage the astronomical cost of medicine and subsequently covers another 14 illnesses.

The cost of a box of 50 test strips for my One Touch Ultra Glucose meter is $61 (€46). I use approximately 7 strips per day which means that it I were to buy a one month supply it would cost me €188 (ouch!!!). That’s just for the test strips for my glucose meter! I’m not going to give anyone a heart attack by telling you what my insulin, needles and the glucagon kit would cost! Believe me you don’t want to know!

I’m just thankful that this fortune doesn’t come directly out of my pocket because I could not afford it. I know that my taxes goes towards this cost but I don’t think I pay enough taxes to cover all the free things that most of us get but that’s not an offer to pay more!!!

We are not the only country who provides people with diabetes this benefit. I came across a discussion thread on  about how many glucose meter test strips GP’s in the UK allow their patients.

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, does provide test strips for free to people with diabetes but because of cost cutting measures some GP’s are placing restrictions on how many test strips a person with diabetes can get, regardless of using insulin or not. Some GP’s feel that 4 test strips per day is sufficient but if you are a person with type 1 diabetes (like me) on an insulin pump the pump manufacturers insist you test 6-8 times a day. Plus, if you are an active person or you drive a lot this is just not safe or practical.

I would hate for someone to tell me that I’m not allowed to test my blood sugar levels as many times as I feel necessary. After all, I’m not doing it for fun – it’s not fun at all, believe me!!

I use the information from my blood sugar readings to correct high & low blood glucose levels, to calculate my insulin to carbohydrate ratio for meals and food types. I thing that my having a decent HbA1c is because I can test as many times as I do.

I really am very fortunate to have this scheme and I will never forget it.

Beta Cell Syndrome a.k.a. Type 1 Diabetes

Back in May 2011 I blogged about encouraging the media to be Type Specific when it comes to diabetes and over the course of the Diabetes Action’s paediatric diabetes campaign I thought there was some progress in this area.

I have to say that both Diabetes Action and the Diabetes Federation have been really considerate and careful to be type specific since that campaign’s launch. Well done to them.

However with the launch of safe food’s “Stop the Spread” campaign this progress has taken a huge fall backwards.  This campaign has really maximised its exposure, its broadcast on local and national radio as well as national television.

The ad states, “It is well known that carrying excess weight around the tummy is linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases such diabetes and heart disease and more recently cancer. By measuring our waist, we can each get an early warning about our weight and begin to take steps to address it”, Dr. Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, Director, Human Health & Nutrition, safefood.

The campaign’s message is everywhere and because they overlooked one minor detail stating “diabetes” instead of “Type 2 Diabetes” we are back to square one to educate the general public about the differences between the types of diabetes.

I’m just wondering if it would be more beneficial to rename Type 1 Diabetes altogether – we would avoid this confusion and it’s been done before when the name was changed from Juvenile Diabetes.

We could call it “Beta Cell Syndrome” or something similar that does not have any affiliation to sugar or obesity.

Slave to my insulin!

I needed to clean my house, so, I jumped right in to the hovering. Low (pun intended) and behold about 15 minutes into the project I’m sweating and I’ve got the shakes. I’m annoyed because I have to get the job done before the school collection run and now I have to take time out to treat a hypo.

I have never let my diabetes stop me from doing anything; I’ve travelled, worked, got married, had children. I did not climb any mountains but I didn’t want to. But when it comes to the blasted house cleaning, diabetes gets in the way every time!

In the end I would try to synchronise the vigorous house cleaning with blood glucose testing time, which would also coincide with two hours after a meal and thus lessen the risk of a hypo. But, that just resulted in needing to sit down and have a snack before I started.

Now I don’t know about others but if my mind is geared up for a bit of cleaning I would just as soon get into it than to sit around thinking about it (cos then I run the risk of putting it off altogether).

I felt I would never have the upper hand in blood glucose control.

However, that all changed when I got an insulin pump. An insulin pump is kind of like the intravenous drip you see hospital patients with. The pump is programmed to deliver insulin at different speeds throughout the day (known as a basal programme) and the speed can be as little as .025 of a unit per hour.  And if you need to have more insulin you can dial up the required dose and make the pump give you that insulin all at once, for example like with a shot to cover the carbohydrate in a meal.

 I feel I have more of the control. I know I will never be able to predict what stress and hormones do to my blood sugars but the problem of how the insulin is behaving in my body has been simplified.

So now when it’s time for a bit of cleaning I have the option to either suspend my pump (stop insulin delivery temporarily) or reduce my basal rate by a percentage. No need for snacks unless I’m in the mood for one.

Sometimes, I still feel like I’m a slave to my insulin especially when I get the estimates wrong but it’s not as often and not as frustrating because I use that information to make the next estimate more accurate J