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Hello

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J

jaitkenhead

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I am just introducing myself. I am Chris, and I have had diabetes type 1 for 42 years - since I was two years old. I also have Addison's Disease and an Under active Thyroid.

I've seen the technology used to treat diabetes change massively over the years and I am hopeful for more tech in the future.
 
Hi Chris and welcome from me too.

I was a late starter with Type 1, just 2.5 years ago so still pretty new to it and hugely grateful for the tech that we now have after reading how people used to have to boil up urine samples to get BG levels and boil and sharpen syringes! Also very appreciative of this forum and it's wonderful members for sharing their experiences and teaching me most of what I needed to know about diabetes and some of the tech available to help manage it.

Would you like to tell us which insulin(s) and tech you have and how you find them?

Look forward to learning from your vast experience and perhaps getting to know you a little better.
 
rebrascora said:
Hi Chris and welcome from me too.

I was a late starter with Type 1, just 2.5 years ago so still pretty new to it and hugely grateful for the tech that we now have after reading how people used to have to boil up urine samples to get BG levels and boil and sharpen syringes! Also very appreciative of this forum and it's wonderful members for sharing their experiences and teaching me most of what I needed to know about diabetes and some of the tech available to help manage it.

Would you like to tell us which insulin(s) and tech you have and how you find them?

Look forward to learning from your vast experience and perhaps getting to know you a little better.
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Hello Barbara,

Thank you for your warm welcome. I have to say that although I have 42 years of experience with the disease, in many respects I am still learning. And I am also needing to reeducate myself - for example, doing a carb counting course two years ago. I still struggle to carb count and tend to estimate. When the Novopen was invented (I was 11 I think) there was a culture that you no longer had to count 'lines' as it was called then and it took me a long time to realise that's not true.

There's a long history of diabetes in my family. I have death records from the 19th century showing my ancestors had it. My dad died of diabetes heart disease 15 years ago. He used to boil syringes and refused to the end to go from porcine to human insulin. He struggled with his diabetes a lot and had weird hypos. Pretending to be an aeroplane, etc.

I remember Rupert Bear was the mascot for the BDA charity, as it was then called, and I found that helpful as a boy. I did avoid the BDA teenage camps though, I just didn't want to be identified as a 'diabetic' with other youngsters. My mum would use a hyperguard to inject me, until I did my first injection by myself when I was 7. I think the insulin was monotard and Actrapid. There was no blood sugar machines, just urine testing. When blood testing machines became available, you couldn't get them on the NHS. My little sister did a bike ride to raise money for me to buy one. Novopens weren't free at first, either. Thankfully it's changed and I must have done something like 60,000 injections now. I actually find injecting harder now than I used to. I think my mind has worn down over time. I think two big things which have really helped are the novopens that tell you how long it is since you last injected. It's easy to forget,as the years go by, whether you did inject or not. And the timer really helps. Libre 2 (or Aunty Bleep as I call it) is also a big game changer. Being woken up before you go hypo or hyper is very helpful. For the first time since I was a child, it can feel as though someone else is watching out for you. I am on Lantus and Novorapid and have been for years. I've also had a lot of laser therapy in my eyes and a successful vitrectomy in my right eye in 2009, when I went totally blind in that eye. It's amazing what the surgeons can do. I also take Candesartan to protect my kidneys. My former Endo told me that Candesartan is at lot more effectual than people realise. I have been getting acid reflux lately and that's concerned me, although it's been tied up with some kind-of chest infection. As I say, I am still learning and glad to see the diabetes community really pushing for further technological advances. I am intrigued by pumps but doctors so far have told me they are not for me. I think I am more interested in smart novopens. Well, thanks again.
 
That's a really interesting story. Thanks for sharing it.

Yes the Novo Pens are really useful for those "did I or didn't I??" moments. I have those occasionally already. Maybe they are more age related than associated with long term diabetes routine.

It must have been really scary to lose the sight in one eye. So pleased they were able to fix it for you.

I have been going through periods of indigestion and acid reflux recently and Gaviscon has been hit quite heavily. For me I have had to ease back on my evening tipple. A small glass of red wine or port most nights with a chunk of cheese or some olives seems to have been aggravating it, so I have had to cut back on the frequency. Hope you can find a simple solution to your digestive upset.

My consultant has mentioned pumps a couple of times (not offered as such but definitely opened the conversation to see if I am inetrested) but I am happy to continue with MDI for now. If I didn't have Levemir as my basal I would struggle to manage but I love my split dose Levemir as it provides so much flexibility.

I have the original Libre and to be honest I am loath to upgrade. Some people seem to have had lots of problems with the LIbre 2 and the original works well for me. I used to worry about nocturnal hypos until I had a few but now I am more reassured that I will wake up and can deal with it. I do however sleep with the Libre under my pillow and wake up and scan and drop back off to sleep immediately (unless I need to chew some carbs), maybe once or twice most nights, so I do really appreciate the ease and convenience and reassurance it provides.

Shame that your Endo has not been encouraging for you to try a pump. I wonder if you actively made a case for yourself and pushed them, if you could reverse that opinion. I know that many people had to do that to get the Libre, myself included and even when it is turned down the first time, find out why they refused and work on gaining evidence to change that decision. Going on a DAFNE course or whatever your local equivalent is can help to show that you are actively engaged with your diabetes management and that can sometimes help with getting a foot in the door for tech funding. I firmly believe it helped me get Libre and I know at least 2 others who were on my course (there were only 6 of us), who subsequently got pumps within a few months of the course. One of them a lady who had been diabetic for 50 years.

Anyway, good that you have joined the forum and hope you find sharing experiences with other diabetics as beneficial as I have over the last 2.5 years.
 
Hi @jaitkenhead and welcome, glad you’ve joined us 🙂

I’ve also done 42 years of Type 1- it’ll be 43 years tomorrow. Definitely learning new stuff all the while, joining this forum and reading what others are doing and tech they’re using has helped me so much with my control and helped me talk about diabetes which I’d pretty much kept hidden for about 30 years. I’d forgotten about Rupert the Bear & the BDA - I’m sure I had a pin badge!

Good to hear Libre 2 is working well for you, it is a fabulous bit of tech, a million miles from the Clinitest urine testing kit of yore!
 
Thank you, I am better now. I am curious about pumps but am more interested in the smart pens at the moment. Pumps do seem a bit complicated. But I am open to these things. I just think technology can be over-relied on. Libre 2 is a great help but yes, it does not a back-up with blood tests sometimes. A few weeks ago I was in a hotel and nearly ate food for a reading saying 4ish - but it was actually 16! Thankfully I tested propely first so didn't eat!
 
Flower said:
Hi @jaitkenhead and welcome, glad you’ve joined us 🙂

I’ve also done 42 years of Type 1- it’ll be 43 years tomorrow. Definitely learning new stuff all the while, joining this forum and reading what others are doing and tech they’re using has helped me so much with my control and helped me talk about diabetes which I’d pretty much kept hidden for about 30 years. I’d forgotten about Rupert the Bear & the BDA - I’m sure I had a pin badge!

Good to hear Libre 2 is working well for you, it is a fabulous bit of tech, a million miles from the Clinitest urine testing kit of yore!
Click to expand...
How could you forget Rupert.....!
 
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