[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

Eurovisionmad

Okay all going well I should be applying for my learners permit soon enough, what extra requirements do I have such as medical forms etc etc. . . when applying if any?

Redmal

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

Okay all going well I should be applying for my learners permit soon enough, what extra requirements do I have such as medical forms etc etc. . . when applying if any?

All you need to have is your medical form and eyesight form filled out by your GP and to make sure your insurance company are aware of your issues.

http://www.dublincity.ie/Documents/Application_Forms/Roads_and_Traffic/Driving%20Licence/Driving_licence_medical_report_form_D501.pdf

http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/4915-1.pdf

Good luck!!

johnkenn

Is it advisable for a Type 1 diabetes person to work night shift? I don't know if it would be ok to do that

CramCycle

johnkenn wrote: »

Is it advisable for a Type 1 diabetes person to work night shift? I don't know if it would be ok to do that

I have been working nights for the past 4 years. Will you be on night shift only or switching between day and night every now and then?

If its the first, then you'll be fine, if its the second then there can be issues changing your regime so often. I know the nurses don't like me doing it.

robinph

I did a few years working nights and survived OK. It can get a bit more complicated when changing "time zones" on the off days but have a word with the nurses and they will have ideas of how to schedule things around if needed.

paddyk

Just recently got diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. While I have an awful lot of questions:D, My main one right now regards a Longish haul flight.

I am Flying to USA on Tuesday. From the time I leave home till I arrive at my final destination will be 17 hours. Will my Accu Chek, Aviva Nano pass security in my hand luggage?

Have you any advise for traveling?

robinph

paddyk wrote: »

Just recently got diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. While I have an awful lot of questions:D, My main one right now regards a Longish haul flight.

I am Flying to USA on Tuesday. From the time I leave home till I arrive at my final destination will be 17 hours. Will my Accu Chek, Aviva Nano pass security in my hand luggage?

Have you any advise for traveling?

Yes.

You will be fine taking the blood meter, test strips, finger pricker and lancets through security and you can leave them in your carry on bag. Take more of everything than you would normally expect to get through during the duration of your trip, you don't want to run out if you get delayed anywhere.

Mincork

I have only travelled around EU and had no issues taking test strips and meter in carry on , your local Diabetic Nurse can draft a letter stating you have Type 2 and you need to have your meds and test devices with you .

USA customs and security could be a bit uurrmm excessive , so I would double your meds and get a spare test meter and strips and pop one in carry on and the other in check in . ( that's what i do anyway )

Since you are using accu chek , if you register on the UK site , you can request spare batteries , cleaner and log books at no charge , and also ask your local pharmacy (where you get your meds ) for a spare tester at no charge.

Hope this helps

Cheers

M

CramCycle

Mincork wrote: »

USA customs and security could be a bit uurrmm excessive , so I would double your meds and get a spare test meter and strips and pop one in carry on and the other in check in . ( that's what i do anyway )

ionce, stupidly, asked customs in America why they never stopped me with all my stuff, the girl just turned around and said, its OK we know what that stuff is.

End of, will bite me in the ass one day but no one has ever asked but a letter from your doctor or nurse is all that is technically required.

robinph

CramCycle wrote: »

ionce, stupidly, asked customs in America why they never stopped me with all my stuff, the girl just turned around and said, its OK we know what that stuff is.

End of, will bite me in the ass one day but no one has ever asked but a letter from your doctor or nurse is all that is technically required.

I've found the US TSA people to actually be among the easiest to deal with. The security in airports in Israel wasn't even an issue where you'd expect them to be really strict. UK security in certain regional airports have been more awkward to deal with.

There is no problem taking anything that you need for treating diabetes through in your carry on luggage though. Stay calm, explain what it is if they query, they will 90% of the time know what you are on about (unless they are new on the job). When they have a search through my bag, always due to them seeing laptops and cables not the diabetes needles, then just tell the searcher that you have sharps in there as a warning to them.

tbh

paddyk wrote: »

Just recently got diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. While I have an awful lot of questions:D, My main one right now regards a Longish haul flight.

I am Flying to USA on Tuesday. From the time I leave home till I arrive at my final destination will be 17 hours. Will my Accu Chek, Aviva Nano pass security in my hand luggage?

Have you any advise for traveling?

I do a lot of traveling with work, and frequently fly long haul. Diabetes is more common than you think, and all the security staff will know exactly what it is you're carrying - it won't be a problem. I don't even take my insulin out of my bag when going through security.

paddyk

Thanks all, I was stressing myself out over nothing:D. I have registered on the UK Acu Chek site.

CramCycle

Damn it, missed appointment by 3 hours, misread card, no talking to anyone about a pump till november now :-(

Modified-IRL

tbh wrote: »

I do a lot of traveling with work, and frequently fly long haul. Diabetes is more common than you think, and all the security staff will know exactly what it is you're carrying - it won't be a problem. I don't even take my insulin out of my bag when going through security.

I'm a type 1 diabetic since 2004 and in the beginning told airport security I'm carrying needles etc til I was interrogated in Brisbane airport 2 years ago, I should never have said a thing, I got the Spanish inquisition for my troubles and all my bags checked, metal detector you name it... I was absolutely furious with the girl for embarrassing me, whilst I was the only eejit she had stopped even though she said it was a random test

RUCKING FETARD

BCG's latest feat, though, is perhaps its most unexpected. Several years ago, Harvard professor Denise Faustman showed that BCG could be used to treat diabetes in mice. She demonstrated that the vaccine helped mice to produce a protein which kills off T-cells, which are responsible for type 1 diabetes. With bated breath, the scientific community waited while the same experiments were replicated in humans. What was at stake? A positive finding could mean that diabetes patients no longer had to inject themselves with insulin.


Four years later, Fausmtan and her colleagues have published results from a very small-scale trial in PLoS One. Their work is limited and caveat-laden—the study looked at three patients for just 20 weeks—but the researchers observed the same protein production and T-cell death as they saw in mice. While it's not quite time for diabetes sufferers to pop the champagne corks and stop injecting insulin just yet, it's certainly a major finding that promises a great deal.


Perplexingly, we don't even really know quite what makes BCG so successful. There are hypotheses that suggest that it activates a protein called the "tumor necrosis factor-alpha"—and the diabetes study lends some weight to that idea—but the research community isn't 100 percent sure yet. Put simply, though it seems to be helpful across many conditions, we don't yet know exactly why.

http://gizmodo.com/5934555/the-miracle-cure-thats-hiding-in-plain-sight


4 years to get a poxy trial started and then with just 3 people, that's some top class delaying right there.

tbh

There's an interview with that doctor where she states that she's disappointed with the way that trial was reported and emphasises that bcg will not be a cure for diabetes. Its more to prove that long term type 1 can be suseptible to treatments. The trial was delayed so long because the drugs they wanted to use weren't approved and would have cost millions of dollars to approve, just to prove a point. BCG was an example of the drug they wanted to use - I'm paraphrasing here!! - but the doc was clearly stating that it wasn't a cure itself. I'll try to dig it out. Disappointing, but still has value I guess.

tbh

http://asweetlife.org/a-sweet-life-staff/featured/faustman-lab-research-how-excited-should-you-be/28902/

ElBarco

tbh wrote: »

There's an interview with that doctor where she states that she's disappointed with the way that trial was reported and emphasises that bcg will not be a cure for diabetes. Its more to prove that long term type 1 can be suseptible to treatments. The trial was delayed so long because the drugs they wanted to use weren't approved and would have cost millions of dollars to approve, just to prove a point. BCG was an example of the drug they wanted to use - I'm paraphrasing here!! - but the doc was clearly stating that it wasn't a cure itself. I'll try to dig it out. Disappointing, but still has value I guess.

It's hardly a surprise at this stage though. How often do we hear about another cure being found? I think it's the curse of August with the news outlets in this case. "Diabetes cure found" is alot more exciting than "A potential impact on insulin production has been observed, maybe".

It's hard to explain to people that you aren't that excited when they send you on links to this kind of thing. It's really hard when someone who has recently been diagnosed, or worse still has a child in that position, wants to talk about it. I try to strike a balance between not wanting to crush their dreams and trying to bring some sense of reality to the conversation.

CramCycle

I remember a study from possibly the same lab years ago stating that there were no real effects in a small clinical trial, maybe they had the doses wrong, the only reason they are claiming a response now is a more sensitive test for C peptide IIRC, in work and can't search at the minute.

Far from a cure.

BlackEdelweiss

I know it is a different story for Type 1's as most have had it since childhood and missed out on lots of enjoyable things other kids and adults could enjoy but I think a cure for type 2 diabetes would just let all the people who work hard at living as healthy a lifestyle as possible slip back into all their old bad eating habits and ultimately lead them to an earlier grave than diabetes will bring them. As a Type 1.5/LADA diabetic only diagnosed 3 years ago I know that if a sudden cure came about I would drift, slowly at first but fairly soon I would be back on the fresh cream chocolate sundays in Tesco's, supersize portions and all the other crap I used to fill my mouth and stomach with. I hope to live longer with diabetes than I would have if I carried on with my previous lifestyle so I for one hope they dont find a cure.Not an outright cure anyway, maybe ease the effects it has on my body a bit.
If they can find a cure for childrens Type 1 then go for it, I'm all behind that.

graflynn

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I know it is a different story for Type 1's as most have had it since childhood and missed out on lots of enjoyable things other kids and adults could enjoy but I think a cure for type 2 diabetes would just let all the people who work hard at living as healthy a lifestyle as possible slip back into all their old bad eating habits and ultimately lead them to an earlier grave than diabetes will bring them. As a Type 1.5/LADA diabetic only diagnosed 3 years ago I know that if a sudden cure came about I would drift, slowly at first but fairly soon I would be back on the fresh cream chocolate sundays in Tesco's, supersize portions and all the other crap I used to fill my mouth and stomach with. I hope to live longer with diabetes than I would have if I carried on with my previous lifestyle so I for one hope they dont find a cure.Not an outright cure anyway, maybe ease the effects it has on my body a bit.
If they can find a cure for childrens Type 1 then go for it, I'm all behind that.

You make a really interesting point and do it so well.

johnkenn

I have just been diagnosis with T1 diabetes months ago and have been on insulin,but have been have frequent hypo before lunch which has been given me some concern so much. I have told the nurse and the stop me from take insulin before breakfast because they said maybe i am producing more insulin in the morning,but that did not help. My question is that is it possible they take me off insulin?

graflynn

johnkenn wrote: »

I have just been diagnosis with T1 diabetes months ago and have been on insulin,but have been have frequent hypo before lunch which has been given me some concern so much. I have told the nurse and the stop me from take insulin before breakfast because they said maybe i am producing more insulin in the morning,but that did not help. My question is that is it possible they take me off insulin?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but people with type 1 cannot live without injecting insulin. You are in the "honeymoon" phase right now; this means that your body is still producing a bit of insulin but is still attacking the cells who make it and will eventually kill them all.

This book might give you some more information on adjusting to life with diabetes. http://www.diabetes.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/T1-Starter-Kit.pdf. There are lots of other things you can do to prevent your lunchtime hypo but one step at a time.

Good luck.
Grainne
Type 1 for 19 years.

BlackEdelweiss

I'm no expert either but I do have lots of hypos. The most important thing I do to prevent them is to remember to have a decent snack between insulin doses. Want I find best for me is a good slice of homemade brown bread.

For anybody interested this is the recipe I use, it is so basic anybody can make it.

400g whole meal flour - I usually substitute 100g of plain flour, makes it a bit lighter.
450ml buttermilk
1teaspoon bread soda
1 teaspoon salt.

Optional: sunflower seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds etc

Mix and bake in a tin for just over an hour @ 180 oC.

Buttermilk usually comes in a 1000ml carton so just double the recipe and you get 2 loaves which last for ages in the fridge or freeze one and defrost the night before you finish the 1st one.

It is also handy if you feel a hypo coming on and need a sugar boost, just spread a bit of jam on it and you have your sugar and carbohydrate in one beautiful mouthful.

As I said I am no expert but this works for me.

johnkenn

I found that book so interesting and helpful. Thanks graflynn. I am new to this so am getting use to it day by day

gerrybbadd

Is it possible for insulin dependent Type 2s to get an insulin pump? I'm forever asking about this in my clinic and can't get a straight answer.

BlackEdelweiss

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Is it possible for insulin dependent Type 2s to get an insulin pump? I'm forever asking about this in my clinic and can't get a straight answer.

I am doing one of those diabetic education courses at the minute, I cant remember what it is called but its not the DAPHNE course. It is all about carbohydrate counting and we are getting a new meter today that the nurse and dietician both said is the exact same as a pump except you just inject the insulin yourself. All the calculations etc are the same as for the pump, you just dont have to wear it all the time.

When I remember the name of the course I will tell you and I'll give you the name of the meter when I get it. That might be easier than going down the whole pump road.

robinph

For some reason I have DESMOND in my head as being another course along the lines of DAPHNE?

BlackEdelweiss

Would you believe I have forgotten the name of the course again, I am only home from it about an hour ago. The meter I got is the Accu-chek Aviva Expert - Bolus Advisor System. It is very impressive, you check your blood, enter the amount of carbs you are going to eat for your meal and include any snack you plan on having in the next few hours, add stress or exercise factors and the meter will tell you exactly how many units to inject. Your insulin carb ratio and insulin sensitivity have to be calculated by the diabetic nurse before you begin and these figures are entered into the meter on setup. You can also set time periods for when you may be more sensitive to insulin such as the morning like I seem to be and the meter will correct the dose for you.
I have calculated my evening dose based on the carbs I will be eating and a fairly big bag of crisps to have later on and my insulin is going to be 1 unit less than I would usually use. We have been told we can basically eat whatever we want from now on, just count the carbs correctly and away we go. Obviously this is not a free ticket to eat crap, the usual health risks still apply with fatty foods etc but we can basically eat like non diabetics now. So the story goes anyway, I will have to see how it all fares out but it is meant to be very good at reducing hypos to an almost non existent level which will be life changing for me as I have so many of them.

I'll post the name of the course when it pops back into my mind.

gerrybbadd

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

Would you believe I have forgotten the name of the course again, I am only home from it about an hour ago. The meter I got is the Accu-chek Aviva Expert - Bolus Advisor System. It is very impressive, you check your blood, enter the amount of carbs you are going to eat for your meal and include any snack you plan on having in the next few hours, add stress or exercise factors and the meter will tell you exactly how many units to inject. Your insulin carb ratio and insulin sensitivity have to be calculated by the diabetic nurse before you begin and these figures are entered into the meter on setup. You can also set time periods for when you may be more sensitive to insulin such as the morning like I seem to be and the meter will correct the dose for you.
I have calculated my evening dose based on the carbs I will be eating and a fairly big bag of crisps to have later on and my insulin is going to be 1 unit less than I would usually use. We have been told we can basically eat whatever we want from now on, just count the carbs correctly and away we go. Obviously this is not a free ticket to eat crap, the usual health risks still apply with fatty foods etc but we can basically eat like non diabetics now. So the story goes anyway, I will have to see how it all fares out but it is meant to be very good at reducing hypos to an almost non existent level which will be life changing for me as I have so many of them.

I'll post the name of the course when it pops back into my mind.

That sounds amazing! I learned to carb count, and calculate the insulin due based on that, but far too often, I tend to guess, rather than look at the carb count on the back of packets.

I'll definitely look into getting one of those meters though!