Hello everyone. I was diagnosed type 1 at 18 months of age back in 1959, yes probably before many of you were born! I have seen many changes in the treatment & management of diabetes from both sides of the fence as I became a nurse, senior sister & manager of a diabetes outpatient department as well as a diabetes wound care specialist before taking early retirement in 2015. Managing my own diabetes has never been easy, but since retiring even more difficult & I now wear a Libre 2 sensor & take long acting Tresiba & bolus novorapid before meals. Diabetes strongly runs through the family, with grandfather & father having had type 2, myself, my son & my granddaughter all have type 1. Looking forward to exchanging views, ideas, help & support with you all.
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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Hello
- Thread starter DDodd
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- She/Her
Hi and welcome from me too.
Just want to say many thanks for your service within the NHS. I am sure many patients in your diabetes clinic particularly, really appreciated receiving treatment from someone who could relate to them and their situation because they wore the same T-shirt, so to speak.
Sorry to hear you are struggling a bit more with your diabetes management since retirement. Have you had Libre for a while or is that a new addition? Most of us here find it a game changer when it works well but can be a bit unreliable for some people and you have to be careful not to let it tempt you into chasing the dragon's tail.
Quite surprising that you haven't been offered or perhaps not wanted a pump in that long management of diabetes.
Did you ever wonder if your father and grandfather may actually have been misdiagnosed late onset Type 1s? It is something I wonder about a lot when people say their previous generation relatives were Type 2, particularly when many people of that era were not able to have the GAD and C-peptide tests. Being a late onset Type 1 myself and seeing many others coming to the forum misdiagnosed, it makes me wonder about how many were misdiagnosed before us down the generations, particularly as it is still thought to be a childhood condition by many GPs.
Anyway, I hope you find the forum as beneficial as I have over the last 3.5 years since diagnosis and look forward to perhaps learning a few tips and tricks from both your own vast personal and professional experience. Great to have you on the forum.
Just want to say many thanks for your service within the NHS. I am sure many patients in your diabetes clinic particularly, really appreciated receiving treatment from someone who could relate to them and their situation because they wore the same T-shirt, so to speak.
Sorry to hear you are struggling a bit more with your diabetes management since retirement. Have you had Libre for a while or is that a new addition? Most of us here find it a game changer when it works well but can be a bit unreliable for some people and you have to be careful not to let it tempt you into chasing the dragon's tail.
Quite surprising that you haven't been offered or perhaps not wanted a pump in that long management of diabetes.
Did you ever wonder if your father and grandfather may actually have been misdiagnosed late onset Type 1s? It is something I wonder about a lot when people say their previous generation relatives were Type 2, particularly when many people of that era were not able to have the GAD and C-peptide tests. Being a late onset Type 1 myself and seeing many others coming to the forum misdiagnosed, it makes me wonder about how many were misdiagnosed before us down the generations, particularly as it is still thought to be a childhood condition by many GPs.
Anyway, I hope you find the forum as beneficial as I have over the last 3.5 years since diagnosis and look forward to perhaps learning a few tips and tricks from both your own vast personal and professional experience. Great to have you on the forum.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @DDodd . That is some years under your belt. I have seen some amazing developments in my short time of just 14 years with T1.
Retirement takes away consistent structures, and can make life a lot more legible, and so less predictable. I know that left me with some challenges at the start. Are you able to identify the specific issues that are causing you concern with your management. There are so many different options available to us now, and different things suit different people.
I look forward to hearing more from you, especially with such a wealth of experience to tap into.
Retirement takes away consistent structures, and can make life a lot more legible, and so less predictable. I know that left me with some challenges at the start. Are you able to identify the specific issues that are causing you concern with your management. There are so many different options available to us now, and different things suit different people.
I look forward to hearing more from you, especially with such a wealth of experience to tap into.
Disco3
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I have been a type 1 diabetic since 1977. I was on a 2 injections of long acting insulin ( Lantus Solo Star @ 06.00am and 18.00hrs also and Novorapid injections just before I ate. Yes I too had the Stainlesd steel needles and glass syringes to start with which I had to boil them in boiling water then store the needles and syringes in industrial Meths. In the 70s we had to use cotton wool and industrial Meths to clean the injection site and a urine test kit to check my glucose levels in my urine. I stayed on the above twice daily injection and rapid acting before I ate until I developed Covid 19 in Early May 2020. I ended up in intensive care for just over 3 Months being ventilated. I was woken up on the 24th August 2020 wondering where I was and had a tracheostomy tube inserted into my throat. It took around 3 days to bring me fully round and removed tracheostomy tube out of my wind pipe and it was lovely too talk again. I too worked in the NHS as a operating department practitioner for 35 years. One of the biggest problem I had after waking up was keeping my glucose levels below 20 mmol . Before Covid my blood glucose levels were between 6 -10 mmol. In the end my diabetic consultant suggested I was put onto a pump. He handed me over to the diabetic nurses who showed me the range of pumps I could have. The Hospital had too apply for NICE approval before they could order a pump for me. I got Nice approval in January 2022 and decided on the
Medtronic MiniMed 780G and a Guardian 4 Glucose sensor. I was connected to my Medtronic pump on the 4th April 2022 and the Guardian 4 sensor I was given it 2 Months later. It is absolutely fantastic, My glucose levels are within range now 90-95% of the time and I’ve now lost nearly 2 stone. What’s more the guardian 4 sensor only needs to be changed every Severn days and the infusion set for the pump every 3 days. What’s better still is the guardian 4 sensor needs no calibration, I do one though every sensor change. Your pump supplied which consist of Pump infusion sets, Pump syringes, Guardian 4 sensors and AA battery’s and AAA batteries which you order from your hospital every 3 Months. I’m better controlled now than I ever been since being diagnosed at the age of 16.
The Pump gives you advanced warning when your glucose level hits 6.4 mmol and automatically freezes your insulin supply until your glucose rise above 6.4 mmol again. I would thoroughly recommend a insulin pump to you and even downloading your results to your diabetic clinic via a Medtronic app is so easily done through a smart phone.
Many thanks for the welcome & good wishes. The Libre is fairly new for me, just a couple of months & is highlighting how erratic my blood sugars are, even more than suspected!! Having had type 1 for so long I have been used as a Guinea pig for various trials over the years, the first being the very first insulin pump. Unfortunately it put me off for life. Daft I know. Having said that, I have seen the major advantages & improvements in them, as my granddaughter initially had one when diagnosed. However I’m put off by the tubes that are with it & having to wear a belt to contain it all the time. I’m currently waiting for approval for the Dexcom G6 to replace the Libre. Only on small amounts of insulin, but still experiencing lows almost daily. Seeing a dietician soon so hoping some advice there may help.
Many thanks for sharing your story & I’m so glad you have had such a positive outcome as a result of such a traumatic experience. I have been considering a pump, as I know they have improved dramatically since I last used one when they first came to the U.K. in the late 70’s! Silly I know but the tubes & belt put me off. My blood sugars are within range 60-75% of the time, but when out of range are dramatically out. I’m only on small doses of insulin (20-30 units total per day) but tend to react significantly to changes in dose & activity. Could do with losing weight too but with almost daily lows I’m finding it frustratingly difficult. Seeing Drs, DSN’s & dietician regularly.
Bruce Stephens
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Well, closed loops are a practical thing now (if you qualify for a pump, which I don't currently).
Thanks for the welcome & support. Since retiring I’m far less active than I was, but have found my insulin requirements reduced to just 20-30 units total per day. The slightest activity sends me low which is driving me bananas as it’s almost a daily occurrence. Have recently tried Levemir twice a day instead of Tresiba once a day, to try more flexibility, but that seemed to make it even worse, so am back on Tresiba. Seeing a dietitian next week so hoping that may give some answers.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @DDodd - nice to meet you! The 'nurse who looked after the diabetics' at our GP surgery had Type 1 herself and I well remember her saying she wouldn't recommend the D clinic at 'her' hospital to any Type 1 because "they couldn't stop her night time hypos" - and I thought well no, no hospital clinic can physically stop them cos YOU have to take whatever steps are necessary, not somebody else. Deep sigh.
Having met at least two of the D consultants there doing different things locally and later a DSN when I was an inpatient there instead of 'my' usual hospital after an accident, all lovely people and all helpful to me - so I concluded from that, that perhaps she might not have been a good listener .......
😉
Having met at least two of the D consultants there doing different things locally and later a DSN when I was an inpatient there instead of 'my' usual hospital after an accident, all lovely people and all helpful to me - so I concluded from that, that perhaps she might not have been a good listener .......
😉
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Oh and PS - I had my first pump when I was over 60, now on my third. You might know all the theory, BUT - it really isn't like anything else you've known before so it's a bit of a challenge (!) getting out of the old treatment habits and embedding the revised ones. However - yes you certainly can train an older dog to do new tricks !
Hello, I quite agree with you. As a professional they can only offer advice, it is entirely the responsibility of the individual as to whether they take it or not. It is also the responsibility of the professional to offer all options available, regardless of their own opinions, so that the individual can make their own informed decision. Unfortunately this doesn’t always happen & people are often treated as items from a textbook rather than individuals with varying situations & circumstances rarely found in the textbook! Despite having diabetes I never once said to any of my patients “I know exactly how you feel”. I am not that person, with their family, friends, lifestyle etc so I will never ever know how they feel.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
This was one of the frustrations that Inhad, until I switched to a pump. This enabled me to ‘turn down’ my basal insulin delivery for a short while where I was going to be active. The usual reductions in bolus beforehand also helped.
How often have you done a basal rate test? I was amazed at how often my basal needs tweaking. My needs vary with the seasons, and I had had no idea that this was necessary. I also find that my carb ratios have to change too. Diabetes certainly likes to keep us on our toes.
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