My Diabetic Camp Experience

Hi, I'm Rachel and I'm 12 years old.  I have been going to Abernethy Diabetic camp for the last few years.  The first time I went it was a bit daunting but Ally and Pesty who ran the holiday soon made everyone settle in.  From day 1 it's non-stop activities like from playing borad games, swimming, dry-slope ski-ing, raft-buliding, movies, day trips and much more.  The staff were very approachable to questions and any worries I had.  I soon made some really good friends when I was there, and who I sometimes meet up with.

This was a great experience for people to learn about their diabetes and to also have fun.  My little brother who has diabetes too has started going to the holiday and he really enjoys it.  He was only 8 yrs when he first went and his favourite Activity was climbing and abseiling down a tree.  I would recommend going on this holiday as you find new friends and have a great time.

This Hypo Won't Stop!

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Elspeth and I have been a Type 1 diabetic for just over 21 years, today I wish to tell you about an incident that happened to me quite recently.

It was a pretty normal Sunday, I went to the gym, read the Sunday papers and walked the dog.  I felt fine.  After dinner I felt a hypo coming on, so I drank some lucozade and ate a couple of biscuits.  I didn’t worry too much about it, although it did cross my mind that this hypo was somewhat unexpected.  However the treatment didn’t work, I tested my blood - it was 3.2 - that’s definitely a hypo in my book.  Somewhat alarmed, I drank more lucozade and ate some chocolate.  This time it worked for a while but half an hour later I felt hypo again, I tested again, 3.8 this time. I was starting to panic now and feel somewhat nauseous.  Having been hypoing for around 2 hours I felt it was time for action and rang NHS 24.  The lady I spoke to was very nice and reassuring and encouraged me to try eating more, however nothing worked.  I was feeling very nauseous by this time and couldn’t bear to put anything else in my mouth, she decided I should go to the local A&E and she let them know I was coming.  Fortunately, my husband was around to drive me to the local hospital, as I was definitely in no fit state to drive, and we quickly got en route.

The duty doctor rapidly diagnosed a stomach bug, and it was a relief to know that what was happening was that my stomach had stopped absorbing food, so neither my dinner nor any of my hypo treatments had gone anywhere, they were just sitting there.  I should like to gloss over at this point the involuntary removal of said stomach contents, I’m sure you’ve been there at some point and do not need a graphic description.  At this point however I started feeling much better, my blood sugars got up to 6.2 and the doctor decided I didn’t need to be admitted after all.  I went home with GlucoGel, anti nausea tablets, and a very relieved husband!

The point of the story?  In 21 years I have always been able to cope with hypos, but this time I couldn’t.  If I had had GlucoGel in the house, I might’ve avoided a trip to hospital, because this gel can be absorbed through your gums, so even if your stomach’s upset you can still raise your blood sugar.  I hope I never need it, but I’ll always keep some handy.

Just A Thought

Do you enjoy a walk each day
Do you like some fun
It`s great to see the kids at play.
Running around in the sun.

But what if you haven`t the energy
To enjoy a clear blue sky.
What if you`re always so thirsty
You could drink a river dry.

Do you always feel very warm
Even in the snow.
Do you suffer from night sweats.
Well there`s somewhere you should go.

Go and see your Doctor.
Tell him how you feel.
Make the visit really soon.
`Cos Diabetes is for real !.

Hilary Egglestone
May 2007

Diabetes - Who Cares

I am not a Doctor or a health care professional.  I am a retired aerospace engineer.  When I was offered early retirement at 58 I thought great, now for some quality time doing what we wanted to do. My wife had been given early retirement a year before.  How wrong I was. Within months I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  A year previously I was told I had impaired glucose tolerance, but it was not expected to become Diabetic so soon.

I was about 16 kilograms over weight, my cholesterol was very high, the triglyceride levels were bad and my BMI was 35. My wife and I had both stopped smoking in 1990 some 11 years earlier, I am very glad we did it has helped a lot in reducing the risk factors.  When diagnosed with impaired glucose intolerance I did not take it very seriously and carried on with little regard to diet and no change to life style.  However, Diabetes is a progressive disease perhaps if I had reacted in a more positive manner to start with it may not have become type 2 so quickly. Having paid into my pension scheme for many years, I was determined to try and control my diabetes as best I could to increase the chance of living a good healthy life.  I set about finding out as much as I could about the disease and with the help of my wife a retired SRN, and a friend who was still in that profession, I began to get a clearer picture of what to do and the serious consequences of poor management.

An alarming number of people with Diabetes appear to have the misconception that because they are taking tablets and not insulin they do not have bad Diabetes and can eat and drink what they like.  If it was so simple there would not be a problem. There is no good Diabetes it is a life threatening disease and must be controlled. Getting the balance between eating, drinking, activity and the amount of insulin or medication to take is very important and can be complex.

In Type 2 Diabetes ether the insulin cells in the Islets of Langerhan are dying and therefore not enough insulin is being produced to control the sugar content in the blood, or when excess insulin is being produced which is not being utilised by the body and is therefore ineffective. The main cells in the islets which effect sugar control are the Alpha cells that secrete glucagon , Beta cells that secrete insulin. Glucagon secretion is stimulated by a low blood glucose level and uses body reserves to increase glucose.  Insulin secretion is stimulated by high sugar and amino acid levels.  A sustained high level of glucose in the blood is toxic to the whole body. This is one reason why the Islet cells are dying as they have to work overtime to produce more insulin.  It is very important to reduce the glucose level. Carbohydrate foods are all broken down and contribute to the sugar in the body. They come in two forms complex and simple.  A complex carbohydrate is food in its natural form such as brown bread,brown rice,brown pasta,potatoes and vegetables. Simple carbohydrates are sugars, naturally found in fruit or refined found in chocolate. There is none in diet drinks.  It is important to control your weight by eating a healthy diet low in fat and high in fibre.

Complex carbohydrates provide a slower and more sustained release.  For people on insulin or some types of tablet for their Diabetes it is important that they recognise if they are becoming hypoglycaemic (hypo) and to treat this correctly.  If you have a sugary drink this will give you quick fix but will not last very long so you need some complex carbohydrate to sustain it. ie, bread, fruit or biscuits. This will help sustain you until you can have a proper meal.  I have a fairly active life I play golf once or twice a week and have 1/4 an acre of garden 2 dogs and bees to look after.  When you are using insulin or some types of tablet it is necessary to adjust your dose in accordance with the days expected activity.

For people like me with Diabetes who are on insulin or some types of tablet is important that they carry some thing visible to identify them as having Diabetes.  A simple identity bracelet with INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETIC engraved on it will do.  It is also important that people who do not have diabetes recognise the symptoms of a hypo so that person staggering about in what appears to be a drunken manner may be a person with diabetes going into a hypoglycaemic state.  If they are prone to having hypos they may be carrying some glucose tablets.  Always ask.

Being the correct weight is important to the control of your Diabetes.  The Medical profession calculate the overall body weight in conjunction with your height, and refer to it as the Body Mass Index or BMI. To calculate BMI divide your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.  A perfect BMI would be 24 or less.  However this may be more if you have a very physical job requiring strong muscles. Alcohol can effect the blood sugar. Taken in moderation with food and in conjunction with medication and self blood tests it should not cause you any harm.  Healthy limits for alcohol are 2 or 3 units a day for men and 1 or 2 a day for women maximum.  Remember alcohol is high in calories.

Taking on board what I had learned and what I was told at the clinic, eating a healthy diet not a starvation one is very important, I lost 15 kilograms in 6 months and managed to keep my Diabetes under control for 2 years without the need for medication.  At this point I was asked if I would transfer to the diabetic clinic at my own GP surgery. The local surgeries are being encouraged to have diabetic clinics to take some of the load off hospitals.  Although the Doctors are very busy my own GP took the time to answer all my questions which I found very helpful.

The following year my condition deteriorated.  My blood sugar levels started to rise and the HbA1c tests (a test that shows what my overall control for the last 6 to 10 weeks has been) reflected this so medication was prescribed.  I had a difficult time with the medication. I had bowel problems and nausea most of the time. As Diabetes is a progressive condition, your treatment can progress from diet, to tablets and then to insulin.  If like me control by diet only does not work after a few years your doctor will try a variety of tablets and may prescribe a combination to control your Diabetes.  If the right oral medication is found and it varies as no two people are the same, you may not have to go on insulin.

It is important to keep blood pressure controlled for people with Diabetes.  This is not helped when one side effect most of the medications have is weight gain, which puts more emphasis on weight control.  I started to put on a few pounds which in hindsight was because the tablets were keeping a tighter control of my glucose.  I had to adjust my diet to accommodate this which means closer monitoring by self blood tests.  Over a period of 2 years trying various medicines, none of which helped me to control the blood sugar levels, I gained 8 kilograms. The HbA1c tests showed a rising average going from 6.0 mmol/L to 9.0 mmol/L, the Lipids were also on the increase as was my blood pressure due to the weight gain.  It was decided that I should go on insulin and was referred back to the hospital clinic.

In the Autumn of 2006 Diabetes UK held a seminar at a local hotel.  All local members of the charity were invited and a good number attended.  As I said before I had made it my business to find out as much as I could about the condition and its effects.  At the seminar it very soon became apparent that not all diabetics took the same attitude.  A number of the people there had very little knowledge of what caused the condition, or the serious effects of poor control.  Some members said that they had not had a Retinal eye screening within the last 2 years and an HbA1c done within the last year.

We live in northern Scotland an area which is not heavily populated.  Many of the small communities do not have a Doctors surgery or a chemist and may have to make a 20 or 30 mile round trip to the nearest town for either.  Some people who do not understand the need for monitoring control have a tendency to combine the visits with the monthly shopping trip into the nearest town or city with a supermarket.  If this does not coincide with the clinic appointment it is not a problem there is always next time.  An article on the Diabetes UK web site states that 56% of people with diabetes suffering the serious effects of the condition are those who do not attend clinic regularly.

Before being diagnosed, I, like most people who are not directly or indirectly affected by Diabetes, knew nothing about it and was not particularly interested.  However, Doctors and health care people who are responsible for patient welfare should, I feel, take the time to explain what is important. Young people with Diabetes are particularly vulnerable.  Peer pressure in the 12 to 20 year olds is very high and it is not fashionable to be different.  As a result many young people are putting themselves at risk by not taking control of their Diabetes.

I have taken on the position of chairman of the local branch of Diabetes UK and am determined that we will make a difference. We have enlisted the help of chemists and libraries.  We intend to have a Diabetes UK notice board in every surgery and hospital, have our own local web site and enlist the help of the high schools, to find some way of getting across to people that Diabetes is a very serious disease, and it will kill you if you do not control it.  No one can help you if you are not prepared to help yourself.  It is possible to live a normal life with Diabetes and if you are really determined an extraordinary one. Sir Stephen Redgrave won 5 consecutive Olympic Gold Medals for rowing. Not bad for a person with Diabetes.

T.L.Egglestone

For more stories from real people living with diabetes go to Diabetes UK website.