Stitch147
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- MODY
Yesterday I went along to the first ever diabetes UK professional conference insider event. The professional conference happens each year but this is the first time highlights from the conference have been delivered to people living with diabetes. It was about research and what's going on. It was quite a good day. Apologies in advance for the length of this post!
After arriving and registering got a goodie bag from diabetes UK and got a chance to have a look at the few stands that were there.
Welcome address - given by Chris Askew (chief exec of diabetes UK)
Welcoming everyone to the event and gave us a breakdown of what the day was going to be like.
Banting memorial lecture: Diagnosis Matters - Professor Andrew Hattersley (university of Exeter)
I thought this was a very useful talk about getting the correct diagnosis and being on the right course of treatment. I spoke to him at the end about my gp suspecting that I may be MODY. He explained that the genetic testing was very expensive and that's why it can be difficult to diagnose MODY. I explained my story on how I was diagnosed, family history and treatment and he said that it is very likely that I am MODY!
We then had a tea break before going into separate talks. There were 3 geared towards type 1 and 3 geared towards type 2. I went to the 3 for type 2's.
Will resistant starch change the way we think about carbs? -Dr Denise Robertson
Useful talk for someone like me who doesn't do very low carb. It was explaining about a study done into carbs and the best way to prepare them and the impact these have on BG levels. Picked up a few useful tips about carbs. Some stuff I knew already but other bits were useful. Mash potato isn't the devil after all!
The DiRECT route to type 2 diabetes remission - Professor Roy Taylor
This was an in depth look into the weight loss program trial that was done including a low calorie diet. More details on DiRECT study can be found on the diabetes UK website.
My thoughts - Although this study may work in the short term I do wonder about the long term effects on people.
Not for me.
Psychological support and type 2 diabetes - Dr Kirsty Winkley
Report into clinical trials about whether better and ongoing psychological support will help type 2 achieve better BG control.
Quite useful talk in places and I do think this sort of thing can definitely work for some people. Some people don't like talking about things though, especially with medical professionals. But I can see how it would help some.
Time for lunch - nice selection of salad or sandwich, fruit or popcorn, cereal bar or mixed nuts and a drink. All provided for us. Was a nice lunch.
The afternoon session then started with everyone back together in one room.
Diabetes stigma and the use of language - Bob Swindell
Diagnosed with type 2 Bob spoke about stigma surrounding living with diabetes and how using language can influence people including the healthcare professionals. He also spoke about the benefits of parkrun and he is a parkrun outreach ambassador for diabetes. Great talk.
Social media and peer support - Dr Partha Kar and the Grumpy Pumper
The first part of this talk was given by The Grumpy pumper, this definitely got people laughing. I've read his blog in the past and he is very honest about living with type 1. The second speaker was Dr Partha Kar, I wish he was my Dr!
A great talk about how using social media, forums, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, can be a great and positive thing for people living with diabetes. As they allow people to learn from others. This was probably one of the best talks of the day.
Tomorrow's world panel discussion: what's the biggest opportunity and challenge around diabetes research in the next 10 years? Chair - Alex Riston, BBC presenter who had a hypo live on air.
This was a panel discussion given by some of the professionals who gave talks during the day. Gave people the chance to ask questions about the future research that may be going on. I can't really remember many of the questions though.
Closing address - Bob Swindell
Thanking us all and closing out the day.
Overall I thought it was a good day. If you get the chance to go to one of these days in the future, go. Next years professional conference is in Liverpool, so hopefully they'll do another one of these for people living with diabetes.
After arriving and registering got a goodie bag from diabetes UK and got a chance to have a look at the few stands that were there.
Welcome address - given by Chris Askew (chief exec of diabetes UK)
Welcoming everyone to the event and gave us a breakdown of what the day was going to be like.
Banting memorial lecture: Diagnosis Matters - Professor Andrew Hattersley (university of Exeter)
I thought this was a very useful talk about getting the correct diagnosis and being on the right course of treatment. I spoke to him at the end about my gp suspecting that I may be MODY. He explained that the genetic testing was very expensive and that's why it can be difficult to diagnose MODY. I explained my story on how I was diagnosed, family history and treatment and he said that it is very likely that I am MODY!
We then had a tea break before going into separate talks. There were 3 geared towards type 1 and 3 geared towards type 2. I went to the 3 for type 2's.
Will resistant starch change the way we think about carbs? -Dr Denise Robertson
Useful talk for someone like me who doesn't do very low carb. It was explaining about a study done into carbs and the best way to prepare them and the impact these have on BG levels. Picked up a few useful tips about carbs. Some stuff I knew already but other bits were useful. Mash potato isn't the devil after all!
The DiRECT route to type 2 diabetes remission - Professor Roy Taylor
This was an in depth look into the weight loss program trial that was done including a low calorie diet. More details on DiRECT study can be found on the diabetes UK website.
My thoughts - Although this study may work in the short term I do wonder about the long term effects on people.
Not for me.
Psychological support and type 2 diabetes - Dr Kirsty Winkley
Report into clinical trials about whether better and ongoing psychological support will help type 2 achieve better BG control.
Quite useful talk in places and I do think this sort of thing can definitely work for some people. Some people don't like talking about things though, especially with medical professionals. But I can see how it would help some.
Time for lunch - nice selection of salad or sandwich, fruit or popcorn, cereal bar or mixed nuts and a drink. All provided for us. Was a nice lunch.
The afternoon session then started with everyone back together in one room.
Diabetes stigma and the use of language - Bob Swindell
Diagnosed with type 2 Bob spoke about stigma surrounding living with diabetes and how using language can influence people including the healthcare professionals. He also spoke about the benefits of parkrun and he is a parkrun outreach ambassador for diabetes. Great talk.
Social media and peer support - Dr Partha Kar and the Grumpy Pumper
The first part of this talk was given by The Grumpy pumper, this definitely got people laughing. I've read his blog in the past and he is very honest about living with type 1. The second speaker was Dr Partha Kar, I wish he was my Dr!
A great talk about how using social media, forums, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, can be a great and positive thing for people living with diabetes. As they allow people to learn from others. This was probably one of the best talks of the day.
Tomorrow's world panel discussion: what's the biggest opportunity and challenge around diabetes research in the next 10 years? Chair - Alex Riston, BBC presenter who had a hypo live on air.
This was a panel discussion given by some of the professionals who gave talks during the day. Gave people the chance to ask questions about the future research that may be going on. I can't really remember many of the questions though.
Closing address - Bob Swindell
Thanking us all and closing out the day.
Overall I thought it was a good day. If you get the chance to go to one of these days in the future, go. Next years professional conference is in Liverpool, so hopefully they'll do another one of these for people living with diabetes.
