Any teachers with type 1?

[sg295]

Hi all!

I’m currently a trainee with recently diagnosed type 1.

Just wondered if anyone has any tips for managing diabetes in school please?

I haven’t (yet!) had a hypo at school but only been teaching for 3 months so I expect it’ll happen at some point and I’m a bit nervous about when it does so any advice about this or anything else would be much appreciated!

Thank you 🙂

 

[C6H12O6]

I'm a very seasoned teacher but fairly new type 1. Things I have found helpful is having a constant supply of glucose/dextrose tablets everywhere - desk, pocket, pencil case, pigeon hole, so I can 'top up' even with half a tablet if I start to get warning signs. I find the Libre invaluable for keeping on top of this and would really advise a conversation with your consultant about having this prescribed. Self funding is possible too but it's £100 a month. I also wear a MediAlert bracelet and find that this and the Libre strap mean my students are really interested in helping me out (Secondary teacher). I'm a Science teacher so they make great props for a starter . Make sure you do have a snack when needed and do stop to test and eat properly. Tobe honest I've clearly been ill for a while so now I'm on a proper regime, I feel better than I have in ages!

 

[Bloden]

I was going to say the same as @C6H12O6. 🙂

When I was teaching, I’d use the Libre to keep an eye on my BG and prick my finger if I felt it was necessary. I’d always have hypo fixers at the ready - jelly sweets, oj, etc. - and I’d eat/drink them mid-class if I needed a boost. My students (aged 4 to 12) all knew I was diabetic, even the tiny ones. If I was feeling wobbly, I’d give them a written task to do while I sorted myself out.

What subject and age group do you teach @sg295?

 

[sg295]

I'm a very seasoned teacher but fairly new type 1. Things I have found helpful is having a constant supply of glucose/dextrose tablets everywhere - desk, pocket, pencil case, pigeon hole, so I can 'top up' even with half a tablet if I start to get warning signs. I find the Libre invaluable for keeping on top of this and would really advise a conversation with your consultant about having this prescribed. Self funding is possible too but it's £100 a month. I also wear a MediAlert bracelet and find that this and the Libre strap mean my students are really interested in helping me out (Secondary teacher). I'm a Science teacher so they make great props for a starter . Make sure you do have a snack when needed and do stop to test and eat properly. Tobe honest I've clearly been ill for a while so now I'm on a proper regime, I feel better than I have in ages!

Brilliant thank you so much!

I do keep a few dextros in my bag but yes I should probably also keep them around the place just in case too!

I also make sure I wear an alert bracelet at school just in case something happens.

I do have the freestyle libre on prescription and I find it incredibly helpful!

Yes before I was diagnosed I felt terrible for a while and people commented on how I looked tired, pale, thin etc so I feel a lot better now definitely 🙂

 

[sg295]

I was going to say the same as @C6H12O6. 🙂

When I was teaching, I’d use the Libre to keep an eye on my BG and prick my finger if I felt it was necessary. I’d always have hypo fixers at the ready - jelly sweets, oj, etc. - and I’d eat/drink them mid-class if I needed a boost. My students (aged 4 to 12) all knew I was diabetic, even the tiny ones. If I was feeling wobbly, I’d give them a written task to do while I sorted myself out.

What subject and age group do you teach @sg295?

Brilliant thank you very much, great advice and ideas there!

I teach secondary school age 🙂

 

[freesia]

Hi. I'm a TA in primary with 5-7 yr olds. I can only say what has already been said above, keep hypo treatments handy and everywhere. I made sure other members of staff knew about my diagnosis as well so they were aware of my libre alarms and where my treatments were if needed. The children are great, being little they don't really take any notice if i'm treating a low now i've explained it in simple terms.

 

[sg295]

Hi. I'm a TA in primary with 5-7 yr olds. I can only say what has already been said above, keep hypo treatments handy and everywhere. I made sure other members of staff knew about my diagnosis as well so they were aware of my libre alarms and where my treatments were if needed. The children are great, being little they don't really take any notice if i'm treating a low now i've explained it in simple terms.

Hi, thanks for your message!

That’s great thank you!

A few people at school know about my diabetes but not many (think I’m just a bit shy to tell people being new but I’m sure I’ll get the courage at some point to tell more people!)

I think the main thing for me to do now is keep a few stashes of dextros/sweets around the place!

Thanks again 🙂

 

[rebrascora]

Just out of curiosity I know some teachers get cover before lunch to inject their insulin so that they can prebolus..... Would any of you consider just injecting in the classroom before lunch with the kids in situ. Kids are so much more accepting of this sort of thing than adults can be and I was just wondering if witnessing that part of diabetes treatment might also make it more acceptable for any Type 1 pupils to be open about it. I think a discussion with the head might be appropriate before just doing it, as I can imagine some parents might have something to say about it if the kids told them, but just curious how you would feel about that yourselves.
We tend to encourage people here on the forum to inject in public at restaurants etc, rather than go to the toilets so not that different to my way of thinking.

 

[C6H12O6]

Just out of curiosity I know some teachers get cover before lunch to inject their insulin so that they can prebolus..... Would any of you consider just injecting in the classroom before lunch with the kids in situ. Kids are so much more accepting of this sort of thing than adults can be and I was just wondering if witnessing that part of diabetes treatment might also make it more acceptable for any Type 1 pupils to be open about it. I think a discussion with the head might be appropriate before just doing it, as I can imagine some parents might have something to say about it if the kids told them, but just curious how you would feel about that yourselves.
We tend to encourage people here on the forum to inject in public at restaurants etc, rather than go to the toilets so not that different to my way of thinking.

Whilst I agree with the educational value of 'demystifying' insulin treatment I wouldn't do it at the end of a lesson just because you need your wits about you to get 30 young people organised, monitor and manage behaviour, answer any questions about their homework/missing shoe/who you think is going to win the world Cup in 2024 , prevent them escaping early😉. Even with a lovely class I wouldn't be able to confidently calculate, bolus and record. With others I wouldn't even have my kit with me, too risky!

I would however happily do it as an organised and approved demonstration - get them tidied up and settled around you so all is safe and calm and then explain it all 🙂

 

[freesia]

Just out of curiosity I know some teachers get cover before lunch to inject their insulin so that they can prebolus..... Would any of you consider just injecting in the classroom before lunch with the kids in situ. Kids are so much more accepting of this sort of thing than adults can be and I was just wondering if witnessing that part of diabetes treatment might also make it more acceptable for any Type 1 pupils to be open about it. I think a discussion with the head might be appropriate before just doing it, as I can imagine some parents might have something to say about it if the kids told them, but just curious how you would feel about that yourselves.
We tend to encourage people here on the forum to inject in public at restaurants etc, rather than go to the toilets so not that different to my way of thinking.

I wouldn't inject in front of the children i'm with atm, though i have no qualms about injecting in public. I think parents and head teachers might have something to say about that. If a child in school had to inject and was struggling with the thought of having to do it, with parents/school permission i might talk to them about how its nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[Ivostas66]

Hi @sg295 I have been teaching for over 20 years and also train SCITTs, ECTs, NQTs across the county (or whatever acronym is applied at the time to trainee teachers!) I was diagnosed 4 years ago and must admit it has been a real challenge. Things that have helped for me are as follows, as you have already been in school for some time, they may already be things you are doing:

• Lunch times tend to be very short in schools. You need time to pre-bolus, carb count and eat. The only way that this works for me is to ensure the time is completely free and to have the final ten minutes of my period 3 lesson covered (this means I have 30 minutes in which to sort myself out).
• I have always suffered from dips in my BG around 11am and so having snacks to hand is really useful.
• Speak to your department about your condition/ needs and explain what could happen when high or when low. Having someone who can watch your group whilst you grab a couple of jelly babies if you feel your BG dropping can be really helpful - there is nothing worse than having a hypo when in a classroom as you naturally end up feeling guilty about leaving the room and will think you can just wait out the next 10 minutes to break etc. It doesn't work and can write you off for the rest of the day.
• Speak to SLT and HR to explain your needs - there is a great deal you are entitled to especially in terms of 'reasonable adjustments', it's just a case of explaining that. Hopefully your HR department is clued up, sadly far too many are really poor in schools based upon the experience of a lot of fellow type 1 teachers whom I know.
• Find out if there is a patrol during lessons and ping them an email (or whatever system your school uses) so that they can head to your room and cover the lesson in an emergency.
• Also find out cover arrangements. There may be times when illness hits you (fingers crossed there isn't) but some schools insist upon all lessons having cover set. Although I think this is madness - how can one spend an hour or more at home setting cover lessons when ill and trying to keep on top of BG levels - the school may have a policy where you are expected to do so.
• Finally, ignore ignorant comments from other members of the school - hopefully you won't come across many, but they can be hurtful.

 

[SB2015]

I am a retired teacher. In school I happily tested in front of the children and used the results where appropriate as an end of lesson activity. I also did some calculations of carbs with them, understanding labels, or estimating (I taught secondary Maths). I didn’t inject in class, mainly because I knew there were often distractions as my tutor group came back to my room And I couldn’t be sure when I would get round to eating.

I was in early stages with T1 when I left so still in the honeymoon,so things could be a bit unpredictable. Like others I had stashes of JBs everywhere, and at both ends of the school, in case I got caught out when doing cover.

I told staff in my department and we had a system that if I had a hypo I would ask one of the students to let my neighbouring teacher know.

I think @helli has an arrangement to enable her to test and pre-bolus for her lunch.

 

[Ivostas66]

... and you will find that your union can be incredibly helpful if you need to speak to them. I am fortunate that I have a good friend who is head of HR at a massive multinational corporation and she has been able to tell me what school are not allowed to say or do, something that our HR lead seems oblivious too. However, my union are also extremely knowledgeable/ helpful. Sadly I know of too many teachers who left the profession due to issues linked to diabetes (usually not through their own making, but unreasonable pressures and expectations from school leadership) and there are lots of teachers currently resigning across the country. Stick at it - it is such a phenomenal profession!

 

[Lily123]

I’m not a teacher but I’m a student in secondary and a piece of advice I can give you like everyone else here has said make sure you have plenty of hypo treatments

 

[sg295]

Just out of curiosity I know some teachers get cover before lunch to inject their insulin so that they can prebolus..... Would any of you consider just injecting in the classroom before lunch with the kids in situ. Kids are so much more accepting of this sort of thing than adults can be and I was just wondering if witnessing that part of diabetes treatment might also make it more acceptable for any Type 1 pupils to be open about it. I think a discussion with the head might be appropriate before just doing it, as I can imagine some parents might have something to say about it if the kids told them, but just curious how you would feel about that yourselves.
We tend to encourage people here on the forum to inject in public at restaurants etc, rather than go to the toilets so not that different to my way of thinking.

Hi,

I actually have a real phobia of injecting in front of people.

I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s still quite new to me but I’m very self conscious and always tend to hide myself away.

The only people I’m comfortable to inject in front of is my family and very close friends, other than that I’m very fearful, making things like eating out and just socialising in general a bit of a nightmare!

Any advice on how to overcome this would be much appreciated!

Thanks 🙂

 

[Lily123]

Hi,

I actually have a real phobia of injecting in front of people.

I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s still quite new to me but I’m very self conscious and always tend to hide myself away.

The only people I’m comfortable to inject in front of is my family and very close friends, other than that I’m very fearful, making things like eating out and just socialising in general a bit of a nightmare!

Any advice on how to overcome this would be much appreciated!

Thanks 🙂

Have you got a room you can go to at lunch to do your injections? Like an office you can use or medical room. Just avoid using the toilets as they may look clean but you never know and injecting in toilets wouldn’t help you get over your fear

 

[sg295]

Hi @sg295 I have been teaching for over 20 years and also train SCITTs, ECTs, NQTs across the county (or whatever acronym is applied at the time to trainee teachers!) I was diagnosed 4 years ago and must admit it has been a real challenge. Things that have helped for me are as follows, as you have already been in school for some time, they may already be things you are doing:

• Lunch times tend to be very short in schools. You need time to pre-bolus, carb count and eat. The only way that this works for me is to ensure the time is completely free and to have the final ten minutes of my period 3 lesson covered (this means I have 30 minutes in which to sort myself out).
• I have always suffered from dips in my BG around 11am and so having snacks to hand is really useful.
• Speak to your department about your condition/ needs and explain what could happen when high or when low. Having someone who can watch your group whilst you grab a couple of jelly babies if you feel your BG dropping can be really helpful - there is nothing worse than having a hypo when in a classroom as you naturally end up feeling guilty about leaving the room and will think you can just wait out the next 10 minutes to break etc. It doesn't work and can write you off for the rest of the day.
• Speak to SLT and HR to explain your needs - there is a great deal you are entitled to especially in terms of 'reasonable adjustments', it's just a case of explaining that. Hopefully your HR department is clued up, sadly far too many are really poor in schools based upon the experience of a lot of fellow type 1 teachers whom I know.
• Find out if there is a patrol during lessons and ping them an email (or whatever system your school uses) so that they can head to your room and cover the lesson in an emergency.
• Also find out cover arrangements. There may be times when illness hits you (fingers crossed there isn't) but some schools insist upon all lessons having cover set. Although I think this is madness - how can one spend an hour or more at home setting cover lessons when ill and trying to keep on top of BG levels - the school may have a policy where you are expected to do so.
• Finally, ignore ignorant comments from other members of the school - hopefully you won't come across many, but they can be hurtful.

Hi,

Thank you so much for your message, full of lots of really helpful info!

It’s also nice to see from you and others in this thread that teaching with type 1 is definitely possible - you just have to be prepared!

Only I must admit, I’ve not always found it easy at times, especially as I’m quite shy and don’t like to tell people about it and I’m absolutely phobic of injecting in front of people!

Sometimes I skip lunch if I don’t feel comfortable injecting which I know is a silly thing to do but I can’t seem to get over the fear I have

Luckily I don’t seem to hypo doing this and it just means I eat my lunch at the end of the day in my car before I drive home so I’m not too low to drive but I need to somehow get over my fear to make my quality of life better!

 

[sg295]

I am a retired teacher. In school I happily tested in front of the children and used the results where appropriate as an end of lesson activity. I also did some calculations of carbs with them, understanding labels, or estimating (I taught secondary Maths). I didn’t inject in class, mainly because I knew there were often distractions as my tutor group came back to my room And I couldn’t be sure when I would get round to eating.

I was in early stages with T1 when I left so still in the honeymoon,so things could be a bit unpredictable. Like others I had stashes of JBs everywhere, and at both ends of the school, in case I got caught out when doing cover.

I told staff in my department and we had a system that if I had a hypo I would ask one of the students to let my neighbouring teacher know.

I think @helli has an arrangement to enable her to test and pre-bolus for her lunch.

Hi, thanks for your message!

Unfortunately I’m not a maths teacher, otherwise that could be fun!

I will ensure to keep dextros/sweets nearby and all around the place thank you!

 

[C6H12O6]

Hi,

I actually have a real phobia of injecting in front of people.

I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s still quite new to me but I’m very self conscious and always tend to hide myself away.

The only people I’m comfortable to inject in front of is my family and very close friends, other than that I’m very fearful, making things like eating out and just socialising in general a bit of a nightmare!

Any advice on how to overcome this would be much appreciated!

Thanks 🙂

Can you break down your phobia to try to pinpoint where the problem actually lies? For example, I inject into my stomach but always wear dresses to school. It was only when I realised I would have to flash my colleagues that I spotted the problem! I injected (awkwardly) into my arm and have worn tops and skirts since 🙂

 

[sg295]

Can you break down your phobia to try to pinpoint where the problem actually lies? For example I inject into my stomach but always wear dresses to school.it was only when I realised I would have to flash my colleagues that I spotted the problem! I injected (awkwardly) into my arm and have worn tops and skirts since

Hi,

I’m honestly not too sure, I almost always wear trousers and a shirt/top of some sort but I’m still just rather nervous about it.

I think I just hate the idea of people watching me do it, wondering why I’m doing it, asking questions etc.