Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Good timing! 🙂
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Diabetes UK - Living with Type 2 Diabetes Days
- Thread starter Northerner
- Start date
- Status
Well done Sydney ! I have volunteered at Newcastle 1 on the 5th of Feb 😎 You are bound to pick some info up, let us know pls
Even old hands can learn new things Stitch 🙂
Sydney Bristowe
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
That's good to hear! I'm looking forward to Friday now
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Let us know how it goes Sydney 🙂
I went to the Living With Diabetes Day at Burnley on 12 Feb, and it was excellent
Although I thought I knew quite a lot, I still learned more, and it was a good refresher for things I knew
Although I am retired it would have been well worth taking a day off work for. I recommend these sort of events to everyone
There were about 90 to 100 people; food was excellent; sessions were interesting; and everyone was friendly. It was just nice to meet others in the same boat, but I was a bit surprised at the lack of knowledge & understanding shown by some people
Just one thing I noticed
As we know, people of Asian origin are more susceptible to diabetes, and that area - Burnley, Nelson, and other old mill towns have a large ex - Pakistani population. Yet I think all the attendees, and all but one of the organisers & advisors seemed to be white British
I mentioned this to one of the organisers , and she said that is quite typical
They are very reluctant, to the point of refusal, to take any interest or responsibility for their diabetes
Although I thought I knew quite a lot, I still learned more, and it was a good refresher for things I knew
Although I am retired it would have been well worth taking a day off work for. I recommend these sort of events to everyone
There were about 90 to 100 people; food was excellent; sessions were interesting; and everyone was friendly. It was just nice to meet others in the same boat, but I was a bit surprised at the lack of knowledge & understanding shown by some people
Just one thing I noticed
As we know, people of Asian origin are more susceptible to diabetes, and that area - Burnley, Nelson, and other old mill towns have a large ex - Pakistani population. Yet I think all the attendees, and all but one of the organisers & advisors seemed to be white British
I mentioned this to one of the organisers , and she said that is quite typical
They are very reluctant, to the point of refusal, to take any interest or responsibility for their diabetes
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I think there is a big cultural problem, in that diabetes is misunderstood and can be seen as a possible reason for not making a good marriage match, so the subject is very much taboo in many families. I can't remember where I read it now, but there was a story, possibly in Balance, of an Asian lady who was diagnosed Type 1 after marriage, but wasn't allowed to speak of it or mention it in any way - even though her father-in-law was Type 2
It was simply unacceptable that she might (however unlikely) pass the condition on to her children. It can take a great deal to overcome these cultural barriers in order to seek help and support.Well done for going Zuludog ! You do pick info up at these type of events 🙂
Sydney Bristowe
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I went to the same event as zuludog. The day was in general really well organised and ran at a great pace. The Diabetes UK staff and volunteers were so engaging and warm that it felt a real pleasure to be there. I honestly could not praise them enough
Unfortunately the workshops I was in with my assigned group got easily side-tracked so I'm not sure I got as much learning as I would have liked thought it was invaluable to spend a little time with two specialist DNs. The pack of info we were given was useful and not too overwhelming and it was lovely to sit an chat with other people who have the condition and who brought a wealth of their own experience. Its very clear how even in such a small area the quality of diabetes care is so varied - one gent hadn't had his eyes checked since diagnosis 18 months ago! It was exciting to hear about the changing our CCG is bring in over the next 12 months to focus diabetes care in to the communities and give a 'one stop shop experience' this proposal most closely matches the care I've had so far which I can't really fault
My only grumbles were that the session I was most interested in about Diet was run so that what you took from it was very much dependant on which dietician was allocated to your table - I think other groups got much more out of it than mine did - one gentleman on my table left more confused that he had been at the start!
The other very slight grumble was the lunch - it was a fantastic spread with a lot of variety but it was very difficult to make low carb choices. A few attendees also commented in the morning about the prominence of a very large bowl of sugar lumps when they couldn't see the sweetener for teas and coffees
Overall, if you get the chance to go alone grab it with both hands
Unfortunately the workshops I was in with my assigned group got easily side-tracked so I'm not sure I got as much learning as I would have liked thought it was invaluable to spend a little time with two specialist DNs. The pack of info we were given was useful and not too overwhelming and it was lovely to sit an chat with other people who have the condition and who brought a wealth of their own experience. Its very clear how even in such a small area the quality of diabetes care is so varied - one gent hadn't had his eyes checked since diagnosis 18 months ago! It was exciting to hear about the changing our CCG is bring in over the next 12 months to focus diabetes care in to the communities and give a 'one stop shop experience' this proposal most closely matches the care I've had so far which I can't really fault
My only grumbles were that the session I was most interested in about Diet was run so that what you took from it was very much dependant on which dietician was allocated to your table - I think other groups got much more out of it than mine did - one gentleman on my table left more confused that he had been at the start!
The other very slight grumble was the lunch - it was a fantastic spread with a lot of variety but it was very difficult to make low carb choices. A few attendees also commented in the morning about the prominence of a very large bowl of sugar lumps when they couldn't see the sweetener for teas and coffees
Overall, if you get the chance to go alone grab it with both hands
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thanks for the feedback Sydney 🙂
davie533
Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Thanks Sydney that's good to hear what happens at these events I would love to attend one but the nearest event to me is 140 miles away and train times mean I would have to travel the day before and stay overnight so the expense makes it difficult for me to attend. I have registered my interest in attending an event so hopefully if more people in my area do the same they might have one closer to me.
I have registered my interest in attending an event so hopefully if more people in my area do the same they might have one closer to me.- Status