Diabetes - expert blog

Distractions!

By Mathew Hipwood

Made a slight error with my dose this evening, reading my book, replying to a text and answering a colleague bothering me on my dinner break, I dialed the dose up to 8 units by mistake and meant to adjust it to 6 (my pen allows me to dial back).

I did the the clicks whilst looking at my colleague (attempting to shame them into desisting from interrupting my precious dinner hour) and stuck myself. It was only when I depressed the plunger and it clicked in much more than I thought it should that I realised I had clicked the wrong way and injected 10 units. Erk!

I ate my “low banana” and waited it out. 90mins later the low symptoms arrived (legs feel hot and tingly) and I started to drink full sugar fanta in small sips, testing regularly and topping up if I started to drop.

I managed to ride out the symptoms in this way and was absolutely fine.

Today goes in the book as a success!

Weighty Diabetes

By Rob Leggatt

This is my first post so apologies if I get things wrong!

I have been exercising more and more over the past few years, post my DAFNE course, in an attempt to get fitter, and less weightier in the process. Whilst I think my fitness has definitely improved to a point where I am able to take part in endurance mountain biking events, my weight has not. In fact, it has increased! For a cyclist, this is a bit of a problem with the uphills (not so bad on the downhills but you have to get up them first!)

Part of the problem appears to be a fear of a hypo following a cycle ride and the need to 'carb up' prior to longer rides. This has led to me eating more than I need to and, whilst I am burning 3000+ calories on weekend rides, it is not enough to counter my calorie intake.

I am hoping to monitor this over the coming months to see what changes I can make to my regime to continue to increase my fitness levels whilst trying to bring my weight back to what I would call comfortable (approx 12stone or less). I currently weigh around 13stone so I am looking to lose one stone or more (not alot I know but I have been trying to lose this stone for some time....)

To give you a little bit of info about myself, I am 41 years old, husband and father of three boys, stressfull job in the city (London) and an incurable love of mountain biking. My challenges this year are 100miles in a day across the South Downs way and a 24hour non-stop mountain biking event (this is a four man team event as I am not mad enough to do this much cycling on my own!). I have been a type one diabetic since I was 26. I am currently taking humalog and levemir.

I will post more as I progress!

my diabags

By Mathew Hipwood

In response to the "What I really, really want" post down there:

Here are the bags I use to cart my bits and pieces around:

I tend to use the one on the far left more often than not but the one on the right can accomodate a mini sharps box as well as everything else I need.

What do you guys (and girls/women) use to carry your external pancreas about?

The ever-changing rules for insulin dosages

By Richard Surridge

I will admit that this is not the most exciting title in the world to use for my first blog, but it's what's weighing on my mind at the moment.  So here goes.

About a year ago (and I really can't believe it was that long ago!) I did the DAFNE course.  For those of you who have not come across this yet, DAFNE is a course designed to help you adjust your insulin dosages to account for what you eat, theoretically meaning that you can eat whatever you want as long as you inject accordingly.  Sounds fairly simple, and the basic rules are.

But, of course, it's all the subtle refinements which confuse me.  Every single thing I ever do seems to have an affect on my dosages.  If I do any sort of exercise, I have to half my dosages.  This has to continue into the next day.  After that I can return to normal.  Apart from my evening meal, which remains halved.  Sex has to be taken account of, although only for the next meal.  But I need a quick snack after ("Excuse me darling, I just need to nip off for a cracker...").  My background dosages are a law unto themselves which I won't try and explain.  Needless to say it's taken me a long time to come even close to understanding all of this.  And, of course, it's all unique to me, so there's no point in asking for advise from the nurse.

All of this is currently weighing on my mind as I've just returned from holiday.  I'm a teacher and have just spent 5 days relaxing in Brussels and enjoying the fantastic food.  However, my sugar levels have been going through the roof.  And I was sure I was calculating my meals correctly.  Eventually I worked it out.  I wasn't working.  I was too relaxed.  More insulin needed!

Now I need to remember to take something else into account - I am enjoying myself too much?!

What I really really want

By Kate Wentworth

Life for me over the past couple of weeks has been pretty hectic and stressful, helping my daughter through some rather ghastly health problems with her new baby. They are now fine - and the baby the most beautiful baby in the world. Looking back over these events, I realise how my diabetes management has become second nature: packing up my fast acting insulin pen, monitor and dafne record book first thing in the morning; dealing easily with irregular snacks and missed or very late meals (and neatly recording it all in my little book); and enjoying the patisserie and coffee my daughter and I shared this afternoon to celebrate recovery. But things could be made easier... I would really really like to have an insulin pen with a memory, enabling it to record at least the last dose delivered. Then I wouldn't have to concentrate so hard to remember whether I have actually delivered a jab of whatever quantity while carrying on a conversation, holding the baby, thinking about catching the bus etc, etc. I also "need" a beautiful, stylish, not too expensive, handbag capable of holding all my diabetes gear and everything else... That may be easier to acquire than the smart insulin pen.

MOT Time.....I never know how to feel afterwards

By Scott Gillan

Yesterday I had that good session that is technically termed the "annual review".  I have never called it by it's proper name due to a diabetes nurse when I was first diagnosed, she explain to me what happens and described it as "a check to make sure you are all right each year, just like your car gets it's MOT so do you".  From that day on I have always referred to it as my MOT...........

Yet again my report card read OK but could do better, however it was good to see my HbA1c is going down rather than the previous trend of increasing every time!!!  Which brings me on to the point of this blog.....I never know how I should feel after my MOT......

My HbA1c of 10.4 six months ago led me to consider that I had completely failed my MOT but how do you class it this time, have I done enough work to pass??  9.2 is down but still not good enough (in my mind as well as the doctors!) however on the plus side my kidneys are fine, eyes OK, feet perfect (not as good as Ronaldo's but we can but try), BP spot on........should I be happy or sad with those result? 

I suppose the answer is happyish, be happy that things are OK and getting better but not complacent enough to forget that there is still work to do to get myself completely road-worthy!

First post from me. A diagnosis story.

By Mathew Hipwood

Hmmm, my first post on a new blog, do I write about something that has happened this week? An anecdote from the past? Or should I just introduce myself?

Well, firstly my name is Mathew Hipwood, I am 26 and have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes since 31st of March 2007. I had the usual symptoms of extreme thirst and fatigue and after a battery of tests including an abortive glucose tolerance test early February  (I was too high first thing in the morning for them to continue) my GP made the diagnosis of Diabetes but could not decide on the type. He put me on Gliclazide, gave me a glucose monitor and made an appointment for me to see a specialist in a months time.

After 4 weeks where I felt awful with glucose readings as high as 32.6 mmol\l I saw the specialist who immediately diagnosed Type 1 and began insulin. It made an enormous and almost instantaneous positive difference to my energy levels. After 3 months of trial and error (mostly error) in balancing diet, insulin and exercise (with a huge amount of support from my nurses and dietician) I was very pleased to have lowered my diagnosis HBA1c of 10.4 to a healthier 6.3 which I have maintained since then.

I am taking Lantus as my Basal insulin and novorapid as my bolus. I use the disposable novopens and I am currently using an autopen24 for lantus but I am changing that to the Sanofi Avensis Solo Star soon, the autopens are pretty cheap and nasty feeling plus the numbers rub off the dial after about 3 months use. Hardly ideal!