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A Patient’s Perspective of Diabetes

A Patient’s Perspective of Diabetes. Judith Coggles. Introduction. Who am I? How and where did I discover I had diabetes? - Lost 2 babies – sugar in urine at booking clinic, King’s College Hosp , weight loss! - How was I treated? - I was 32, diet, medication, insulin Type 1

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A Patient’s Perspective of Diabetes

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  1. A Patient’s Perspective of Diabetes Judith Coggles

  2. Introduction • Who am I? • How and where did I discover I had diabetes? - Lost 2 babies – sugar in urine at booking clinic, King’s College Hosp, weight loss! - How was I treated? - I was 32, diet, medication, insulinType 1 • What effect did it have on my life/how did I feel? • Always there at the back of my mind even now. • Livable with, but boring.

  3. Needles!!!! • Blood glucose monitoring. - Old equipment, quite scary!! - Time consuming, painful, lots of blood • New equipment - Quick, less blood, less pain! • Insulin - needles long, not on prescription, quite painful. - now needles short, on prescription, no pain.

  4. Blood Glucose monitoring • Everyday. • Where and how to test. • How do I respond to results. • If low? • If high?

  5. Hypos • 4’s the floor! • Those treated with insulin start to loose hypo symptoms if this occurs frequently. • How do I feel? - Sleepy - Trembles - Vague/Slow - Blurred or double vision - Quiet - Sweaty

  6. How to treat Hypo’s FIRST AID • Treat with quick acting carbohydrate - 3/4 jelly babies, ½ tea cup orange juice or Lucozade, 2 sachets of sugar into the cheeks. - Check sugars again in 10 mins and repeat. - If meal some time off add slow acting carb too! A sandwich, fruit or 2 biscuits - Feel a fool, left with a terrible headache nothing takes away.

  7. Driving • Tell DVLA and insurance! License renewed every 3 years and Doctors notes checked. • 5 to drive!! • Test during 2 hours before Idrive. • Stop and test every 2 hours. • If hypo - get out of the driving seat - check my sugar - take some quick acting carbohydrate - don’t drive again till sugar up to 5 for 45 mins

  8. Eating out and difficulties! • How and where do I inject myself? • Unusual food, sugar in vegetables in hotels!! • How do I gauge how much to give? - Carbs and Cals - Some folk can go on DAFNE courses

  9. Holidays • Holidays abroad -Travel vacs - ID, letter or ID card for airports - Insulin and supplies in hand luggage - Double supplies - Where to keep my insulin – Frio bags - Affects of heat, sunbathing/swimming

  10. Babies • Plan in advance and go to pre pregnancy clinic. • Looked after in hospital, not primary care. • Really important that blood sugars are as perfect as possible as higher sugars increase risks of miscarriage and still birth. • I lost 4 pregnancies and have 7 years between children despite normal HbA1c!

  11. How my disease progressed • Numbers of injections - 2 a day - 4 a day - 5/6 a day • Dawn phenomena • Pump!

  12. Pumps • Will not suit everyone but:- • Complete freedom • Must blood test at least 3 times a day • Only short acting insulin

  13. Understanding Diabetes

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