How I ran (and managed my diabetes during) the Sheffield Half Marathon

I did it! I (somehow) ran – and survived – the Sheffield Half Marathon!

I’m not going to lie, it was brutal. I knew it would be tough, but it was even more difficult than I had imagined. I wasn’t anywhere near as prepared as I’d hoped I would be.  In my last post, I wrote about my plans for my first outdoor training run. That didn’t happen.  As prepared as I was from a diabetes perspective, I hadn’t checked the weather forecast and woke up to a blanket of snow – so I ended up running eight miles on the treadmill instead.

That meant the 13.1 mile course would be the first time I had attempted running any significant distance outside. It would also be a baptism of fire in tackling Sheffield’s cruelly steep hills. Not ideal.

The night before the race I made sure I had everything I needed to manage my diabetes. I squeezed as many SiS gels as I could fit into my running belt (five), along with a tube of glucotabs, an energy drink, my glucose tester, finger pricker and a handful of testing strips.

This is how it went…

Pre-race blood sugar: 5.7mmol/l

Shortly after meeting a friend and going to collect my race number, I decided to check my blood sugar. This was when I first realised how tricky it as going to be to test during the race.  Finding a place to prise my glucose tester from my bulging running belt, take a testing strip out of its packet and prick my finger – among crowds of people – was difficult. I was also worried when I saw the reading.  In normal circumstances, I’d be thrilled to see my blood sugar was 5.7 – but, in preparation for a half marathon, I thought it was a bit on the low side.  I panic-ate two glucotabs and had an energy gels before I’d even crossed the start line. As the race began, the atmosphere and support were incredible – but for the first two miles I was extremely anxious about having a hypo.

Mile 2 blood sugar: 5.2mmol/l

My initial plan had been to check my blood sugar roughly every three miles, but I was so worried about my lower-than-expected starting point that I decided to stop (rushing to the side of the road and balancing all my things on a wall) to test at mile two. I was really frustrated because it meant I lost the group I had been running with, but I’m glad I erred on the side of caution as my blood glucose had fallen slightly to 5.2. I took another energy gel before embarking on the toughest part of the course. The first five-and-a-half miles of the Sheffield Half Marathon are a relentless uphill slog. My treadmill-only training had not prepared me for the brutality of the course. I have to admit, there were times I was questioning whether I’d be able to make it round at all. Thankfully, I knew my boyfriend would be meeting me at mile five – giving me some motivation to keep going when my body just wanted to stop.

Mile 5 blood sugar: 4.2mmol/l

By the time I got to Andrew I was exhausted and slightly delirious. I checked my blood sugar and it was 4.2 – meaning that, if it continued to fall, I’d have a hypo. I took a couple of glucotabs, which had started to disintegrate after being shaken around in my running belt. I also took another energy gel, despite starting to feel a bit sick. I knew if I could continue for another mile, the rest of the course would be mostly (but not completely) downhill. I was desperately hoping it would become easier.

Mile 9 blood sugar: 9.2mmol/l

Thankfully it did. As the route began its descent back towards the city centre, I actually started to enjoy myself. The Peak District views were absolutely stunning and gave me a much-needed distraction from my increasingly achy legs. I wasn’t running fast, but I seemed to breeze through the next four miles. When I got to the nine mile marker I realised I hadn’t checked my blood sugar for a while, so I stopped at the side of the road to test.  I’d lost all dexterity and I fumbled my way through three failed testing strips before I managed to get a reading – 9.2.  The run had clearly got my blood pumping because my finger wouldn’t stop bleeding!

Mile 12 blood sugar: 6.6mmol/l

Andrew met me again at the ten mile point, giving me another milestone to focus on. The closer we got to the city, the louder the crowds got – and their cheers definitely helped as I started to struggle again.  I knew once I hit mile 12 I was nearly there, but the finish line still felt so far away. I stopped to test my blood sugar again – it had fallen to 6.6. I took another energy gel, gritted my teeth and kept going.

Post-race blood sugar: 7.2mmol/l

I don’t think I’ll ever forget running the final metres towards the finish line. I remember hearing the cheers of strangers calling my name as my weary legs carried me across the line.  I had been holding back tears but they spilled over when I saw Andrew.

I can’t really describe how I was feeling. I was relieved, exhausted and in so much pain, but incredibly proud. In part because I’d tackled the distance (my chip time was 2 hours 57 minutes), but mostly because I’d managed to keep my blood sugar under control.

I’d proved to myself I could do it. That I’m stronger than I give myself credit for. And that my diabetes doesn’t have to stop me doing anything.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful people who cheered me on, offered words of advice and helped me raise £480 for the Sheffield Scanner through their generous sponsorship. I was running as part of the University of Sheffield team supporting the £2 million campaign to buy an MRI-PET scanner. I’m so, so grateful for your support!

Sheffield Half Marathon: One week to go

This time next week I’ll be running the Sheffield Half Marathon and – I’m not going to lie – I’m terrified. I don’t feel prepared on either a distance or diabetes front.

Since my last post I have been training, but not enough. A combination of work/snow/life/a knee injury has meant I haven’t been able to get out and run as often as I’d hoped, so I’m nowhere near as prepared as I wanted to be at this stage.

On Easter Monday I’m planning to do a long training run – ideally around ten miles – to give me some peace of mind that I’ll be able to tackle the route.  But I have a confession to make: this will be my first proper outdoor run. Up until now, I’ve been doing all my training on a treadmill in the gym.

This is partly due to the awful weather we’ve had recently, but it’s mostly because I’m scared of running outside.  Exercise lowers my blood sugar and puts me at a higher risk of hypoglycaemia. The thought of having a hypo, alone and miles away from home, terrifies me.

I know this is a fear I need to get over and the only way I can do that is face it head on.

This will take preparation, so I’ve decided to make a plan. Here it is…

I will:

• Brand myself. The medical alert bracelet I have isn’t very comfortable to run in, so I’ll be writing ‘TYPE ONE DIABETES’ in a Sharpie on my hand. If I end up incomprehensible/comatose because I’ve had a hypo, I want it to be obvious to any unfortunate passer-by who stumbles upon me to know what is wrong.  I also have all my medical information and emergency contacts saved in my phone, just in case.
• Check my blood sugar before setting off. If it’s a bit low, I’ll take on board some carbs in preparation. If it’s too high, I’ll give myself a correction dose of insulin to get it in back in range. I had been training with my blood sugar on the high side, but I recently saw a specialist who warned me that running with high blood sugar could put me at risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) – and the last time I had DKA I was in hospital for three weeks, so I’d like to avoid that…
• Pick a ‘safe’ route. I’ll only run on main roads where there are likely to be other people around. I’m planning to run to my boyfriend’s flat and back, so if I’m not feeling great at the halfway point I have somewhere I can stop.
• Test my blood sugar every three miles – or if I feel like I may be having a hypo. Yes, it will be frustrating to have to stop, get my glucose tester out, draw blood from my finger and test, but it’s a necessity. The symptoms of a hypo include getting hot, sweaty and shaky – so it can sometimes be difficult to spot them when exercising. By keeping an eye on my blood sugar, I’ll know when to take on some carbs to keep me at a safe level.
• Carry everything I need. When I first signed up to run this half marathon, I hadn’t realised just how much stuff I’d need to take with me when I go for a run. I need to take my glucose tester, finger pricker, testing strips, glucose gels, a sports drink… along with my phone, headphones and keys. I’ve ordered a running belt so hopefully I can figure out a way to carry everything comfortably.

If anyone has any other tips, please leave a comment below – I’d be really grateful for any advice.

And wish me luck… I’ll let you know how my first outdoor run goes!

I’m running the Sheffield Half Marathon on April 8th for the Sheffield Scanner – if anyone would like to sponsor me, visit my JustGiving page. Thanks to everyone who’s donated so far!

Sheffield Half Marathon: Training runs 1, 2, 3 and 4

I didn’t want to write about training run 1. I’d rather forget it. It was awful. The conditions weren’t great and I was ill-prepared.

1) It was freezing. The wind was battering my face and I couldn’t feel my fingers.

2) I couldn’t get my earphones to stay in my ears. In fact, I was so frustrated that less than 30 seconds after leaving the house I ran back and threw them on my doormat in disgust.

3) I was heckled by youths. And as I wasn’t listening to music I could hear every word.

I was only out for 21 minutes and I ran 1.7 miles. Not terrible considering I haven’t been on a proper run in nine years, but not brilliant either.

Thankfully training runs 2, 3 and 4 (more than a week later) were a lot better and I’m now feeling a more confident that I’ll be in a position to make it round the Sheffield Half Marathon course – albeit it extremely slowly.

I went to the gym after work on Monday with very low expectations. I’ve always hated running on a treadmill.  When I was training for the Edinburgh Marathon in 2009 I did most of my runs outside because I just couldn’t get into the rhythm of running in a gym.

Beforehand, my blood sugar was 20 (far higher than I’d have liked it to be).  I thought it was very unlikely I’d have a hypo while exercising but I made sure I was prepared just in case. I must have looked a bit strange to fellow gym-goers as I carried a bag of jelly babies to the treadmill…

I didn’t have a particular goal distance-wise – I just wanted to see what I could (or couldn’t) do.  As it was, I somehow managed to run 3 miles in 37 minutes and 24 seconds.  It may not sound like much, but it was beyond my expectations.  I didn’t think I’d even be able to run a mile.

I tested by blood sugar again when I got into my car to drive home and it had fallen to 9.  I can’t remember exactly when I’d had my quick-acting insulin at lunchtime, so I don’t know if I still had some of that in my system.  It can last for around four hours.  But I do know from the limited exercise I’ve done since being diagnosed that it does seem to make my blood sugar plummet.  I think I’m going to have to be more conscious of when I eat, what insulin is still at work and try and spot patterns when I exercise.

Training run 3, three days later, was also good. I somehow managed to knock two minutes off my time from earlier in the week – running 3 miles in 35 minutes and 31 seconds.

Today, I pushed the distance up to 4 miles – running it in 47 minutes. My blood sugar started at 18 (again, too high – I swear my readings aren’t always this bad) and it fell to 12 post-run. I definitely didn’t have any quick-acting insulin in my system so I guess this is probably a better indication of what exercise does to my blood sugar.

One thing I have been thinking about a lot is my background insulin. I take two different types of insulin – quick-acting with my meals and a background insulin at bedtime. The background insulin I take is called Tresiba and it stays in my system for around 40 hours. I switched to this just over a year ago from another insulin called Lantus (which lasts a shorter period of time) to give me more flexibility if I didn’t inject at the same time everyday.

I know a lot of people with diabetes take a different background insulin called Levemir twice daily, which means they can adjust their dose if they know they’re going to be doing exercise to help avoid their blood sugar falling too low. If I adjust how much Tresiba I take, I’ve been told it can take 7-10 days for me to see the impact – so this doesn’t seem to be an option for me. I’d be really interested to hear if anyone has any advice or tips for running on Tresiba as there doesn’t seem to be much information out there.

Anyway, I’ve not had any disasters so far and I’m really enjoying running again. I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m feeling good about how my training has started.

I’m running the Sheffield Half Marathon on April 8th for the Sheffield Scanner – if anyone would like to sponsor me, I’d really appreciate it.  Visit my JustGiving page.

Running with diabetes – I’m training for the Sheffield Half Marathon

It’s official – I’m running the Sheffield Half Marathon in April. And now I’ve committed it to writing, I have to do it.

I’ve joined a gym, bought a rather jazzy pair of leggings and today I’ve been on my first training run. It was only 20 minutes and just shy of three kilometres, but I suppose you’ve got to start somewhere…

Those who know me may remember I, somehow, ran a full marathon in Edinburgh in 2009. That was back when I had a fully functioning pancreas.  This time, while I may only be running half the distance, I will also have to manage my diabetes. That’s the part that terrifies me most.

First training run

Since I was diagnosed, I’ve avoided exercise.  Physical activity lowers blood sugar levels and idea of having a hypo while on a run, alone and miles away from home, is something that (understandably) frightens me.  I’ve always said I never want to let my diabetes stop me doing anything, but the reality is that is has when it comes to exercise.

A few years ago, I decided to face the fear and join a gym – but when, at my induction, the instructor asked whether the kind of diabetes I had was ‘hypo or hyper’ it knocked my confidence that anyone would know what to do if I keeled over on the treadmill.  Consequently, I spent hundreds of pounds on a gym membership I used no more than a handful of times.

The thing is, there’s no textbook that tells you how to exercise with type one diabetes as everyone’s body reacts differently.  If I’m going to do this, I need to learn more about mine.

I’ll have to pay close attention to my blood sugar levels, what I’m eating and how much insulin I’m taking to ensure that I have the energy I need to run, as well as do it safely.  I’ve been reading some great websites like www.runsweet.com for advice and tips, but ultimately I know it’s going to be a process of trial and error.  Things will go wrong and I can’t let that put me off.

While I am terrified, I’m also really looking forward to running again. When I was marathon training in 2009, I (eventually) grew to enjoy long runs.  I’ll blog about my progress (the successes and the inevitable failures) and would really appreciate any advice from any type one runners or athletes who have trained for similar events.

Today’s short run was the first step – and now the fun begins…

I’m running for the Sheffield Scanner – if anyone would like to sponsor me, I’d really appreciate it.  Visit my JustGiving page.

Edinburgh Marathon 2009

Diabetes burnout: thinking like a pancreas is a full-time job

I have two full time jobs and, if I was being judged on performance, I’d probably be sacked from one of them.

I’m a media relations officer from 9-5 and a 24/7 substitute pancreas. From that job, I never get a day off.  I don’t even get a lunch break.  In fact, lunch – and mealtimes in general – are among the times I have to put the most work in.

Every second of every day I have to think like a pancreas.  I have to count how much carbohydrate I’m eating and the amount of insulin I need to inject while considering how every other task I do may be having an impact on my blood sugar. Have I been exercising? Am I stressed? Do I feel unwell?  All of these things factor into the equation.

With a job that’s so all-consuming, I guess it’s no surprise that I sometimes get burnt out and that’s definitely how I’ve felt over the last few months. I’ve not wanted to do any of these things and, more often than I’d like to admit, I’ve been skiving from my type one diabetic duties.  I can go days, sometimes weeks, without testing my blood sugar. My HbA1C – which had been improving – has become worse. I am still injecting insulin regularly, but my carb counting is haphazard. Like I said, if this was my paid employment I’d almost certainly have been fired.

I’ve had type one diabetes for six years and I feel like I should be finding it easier to manage by now. Testing my blood sugar and injecting insulin should be part of my daily routine. Fulfilling the role of a full-time pancreas should be as natural to me as breathing. But it isn’t. And so I get frustrated, disengage, feel like I can’t do it, so don’t do it… and the vicious cycle goes on.

It’s funny how my attitude is different to my two jobs. When I’m at work-work and I’m finding something difficult, I don’t hide away in the toilets or stay at home. I persist and (most of the time) I figure it out.  I need to do the same with my chronic illness.

I also need to be kinder to myself. Of course I’m going to experience burnout from time to time. If I was feeling exhausted in my day job I’d be able to book some leave, turn off my emails, put my phone on silent and take a break from everything.  I can’t do that with my diabetes. It’s inevitable there will be times I feel angry, upset or frustrated and I need to remember it’s completely normal to feel that way.

Does anyone have any tips for dealing with diabetes burnout? How do you keep motivated when the job is getting you down? Please share your suggestions in the comments.

World Diabetes Day 2017: My diagnosis story

Six years ago, almost to the day, my body began to attack itself. My immune system started to destroy the beta cells in my pancreas and my ability to produce my own insulin – the hormone everyone needs to stay alive –  was rapidly fading. I was developing type one diabetes and I had no idea it was happening.

Today is World Diabetes Day and this is my diagnosis story.

I was 26, newly single and I’d just moved into my first flat on my own. I’d thrown myself into my job as journalist on a weekly newspaper; I was focused on my career and on a constant hunt for my next front page. I was always busy – often exhausted – but rarely gave a second thought to my health. I didn’t think I needed to. I prided myself on being something of a machine and thought I was unstoppable.

When I woke up one late November morning with blurred vision I wasn’t worried.  I drove into Leeds, where I was covering a hearing at the city’s crown court. I remember leaving the court building after listening to a morning of legal arguments in a dull room filled with harsh strip lighting. My eyes couldn’t adjust to the outdoors. As I walked back to my car, I was struggling to focus on anything – the shop signs, the crowds of people, the traffic. But I still wasn’t particularly concerned. I hadn’t been sleeping well and put it down to tiredness.

In fact, I was so convinced I was just a bit exhausted that, when my editor insisted I go to A&E, I thought I was wasting NHS time. After a brief spell in triage, I was sent away and told to see an optician.  One of the questions I’d been asked was about my family’s history of certain conditions and I’d told the doctor I had an aunt and uncle with diabetes (I didn’t know which type), but it didn’t seem to trigger any alarm bells for either of us.

It was actually my news editor who first suggested I may have diabetes after Googling my ‘symptoms’.  I thought I only had one, but she’d noticed several.  I’d lost some weight, which I knew but had put down to my recent break-up. I was always thirsty and drinking litre-bottles of water at lunchtime. I was going to the toilet more frequently and I’d been complaining I wasn’t sleeping well which was, in part, due to getting up several times a night to go to the loo.  I didn’t know it, but the four most commons symptoms of diabetes are known as the four Ts: Toilet, Thirsty, Tired and Thinner. I had them all.

After seeing an optician, who pointed out that it wasn’t normal for someone’s vision to deteriorate so rapidly overnight, I made an appointment with my GP.  He initially told me to go to a different optician for a second opinion, but eventually agreed to do some blood tests. A week later I was summoned to discuss my results.  My blood glucose reading was high. It was 19mmol/L, when a normal reading should be between 4-7mmol/L – however, he wanted to repeat the test because he ‘didn’t believe it’. I remember the doctor saying: “I don’t want to alarm you, it could be diabetes – but you don’t fit the profile.”  He suggested I was too old to have type one, but too slim to have type two.  I now know that both of these assumptions were wrong.   When I came out of the appointment I called my mum and cried.  I just wanted answers.

While I was waiting for the results from my second blood tests – when I’d already had to wait a week for an appointment to have my blood taken – I was feeling increasingly unwell.  I was supposed to be going to Stoke for a weekend with my friends, but I was exhausted and didn’t feel comfortable driving such a long distance with poor vision.  My friend Becky is a doctor and when I told her why I couldn’t visit, she urged me to call a friend immediately and to get them to take me to hospital. As soon as I put the phone down I got in my car and drove there straight away.

When I arrived, doctors tested my blood sugar and it was in the high 20s.  My ketone levels were also extremely high.  At the time, I didn’t know what ketones were – I now know they’re an acid created when the body has insufficient insulin to get glucose from the blood into the cells to use as energy.  I was told I was seriously ill and it was lucky I’d arrived at hospital when I did as diabetic ketoacidosis can be fatal.

By the time a doctor confirmed their diagnosis – that I had type one diabetes – I’d already known it for weeks. I’d prepared myself to hear those words, but I was not prepared for the reality of living with the condition. For the rest of my life I’ll have to inject the insulin my body needs but can no longer create itself.  I’ll have to monitor my blood sugar, count the carbohydrates I eat and make potentially life or death decisions about how much insulin to inject on a daily basis.  It’s a reality I still find difficult to accept now.

Within 24 hours of diagnosis, I had been sent home from hospital with a bag of insulin and needles and a new way of life.

Six years on, I’ve had to learn what diabetes is.  As it’s a condition you largely manage yourself, I’ve had no choice.  I’ve had type one diabetes for 2,162 days now and have given myself more than 10,000 injections in that time.  I don’t always get things right – I’ve had more hypos than I can count and have had one serious hospital admission – but I am constantly learning to manage my diabetes.

My diagnosis story is unusual because it took so long – more than three weeks of appointments.  I didn’t know the symptoms, so I didn’t recognise them.  My doctor wrongly thought that, as I wasn’t a child, it was unlikely I had type one. I’ve since learnt that type one can develop at any age. Once I was out of hospital and recovering, I complained about my GP’s conduct as I believe his failure to diagnose me left me dangerously ill. I live on my own and it’s awful to think about what could have happened if I had not gone to hospital when I did.  I now trust my own instincts more when I know something doesn’t feel right.

On World Diabetes Day, I hope more people learn the symptoms and raise awareness of type one diabetes. If you have any questions leave a comment below. I’d also be really interested to hear others’ diagnosis stories.

Flash glucose monitoring is available on the NHS – so what happens next?

This morning I woke up to the fantastic news that flash glucose monitoring will, at last, be available on the NHS. Common sense has prevailed and the NHS Business Services Authority has decided to put the FreeStyle Libre on the NHS tariff, which means areas that want to make it available on prescription will be able to do so for the first time.

This is, of course, a cause for celebration.  My last blog post was about the reasons I think this life-changing technology should be available to everyone with type one diabetes – not just those fortunate enough to be able to afford it.

But the campaign is not over. As the availability of the FreeStyle Libre will be down to local health economy approval, today’s announcement does not guarantee it will be available to everyone.

Individual Clinical Commissioning Groups will need to decide whether this technology should be made available to all people with insulin-dependent diabetes, or if it will only be prescribed where certain criteria are met.  This could mean access to flash glucose monitoring – like many other aspects of diabetes care – becomes a postcode lottery.  I hope this isn’t the case.

As I’ve said before, at the very least the Libre should be freely available to all children with diabetes – regardless of where they live.  They should be able to live as normal a childhood as possible, without having to endure intrusive finger-prick tests, day and night.

But I really hope it will be offered to anyone who can benefit from it.

I haven’t used the Libre for almost five months and I know my blood glucose control has slipped.   I’ve desperately missed the convenience of being able to swipe a sensor (instead of drawing blood) for a blood sugar reading.  I’ve felt the guilt that I’ve not been testing as often as I should and the fear I’m potentially damaging my health.

Of course, I know the Libre won’t transform my blood sugars overnight and there are no excuses for failing to take responsibility for my own regime, but I believe it is the best tool available to allow me to take control.

So while today’s news is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, the fight goes on.

For anyone who’d like to know more about the Libre, how it is different to current blood glucose monitoring and the benefits it can bring, Sky News’ Stephen Dixon (who has type one diabetes) did an excellent piece on it today.  Watch it here.

 

 

 

 

The technology that changes lives for people with diabetes – and why I think it should be available on the NHS

Most people assume the worst thing about living with type one diabetes is having to inject insulin four times a day. I’m not going to lie, that isn’t fun.  But for me, without doubt, the most frustrating aspect of daily life with a defective pancreas is testing my blood sugar.

Firing a tiny needle into my finger to draw blood multiple times a day doesn’t just hurt – it’s not the easiest thing to do quickly and discreetly amid a busy life.  This means that, although I know good blood sugar control is important for both my long and short-term health, I probably don’t do it as often as I should.

When I was diagnosed, I was given a glucose meter and finger-pricker, prescribed lancets and testing strips and told to check my blood sugar before meals, before driving, before bed, when I think my blood sugar is too high, too low, when I’m ill, when I’m exercising…

On some days, this can mean testing ten times or more – each time, stabbing my finger, squeezing some blood onto a testing strip and then waiting for the meter to reveal my blood sugar level.

In the UK, this is currently the only method of blood glucose testing available free of charge on the NHS.  But for those who can afford £1,200+ a year, there is a far easier way of doing it.

Flash monitoring is a new technology – a small sensor that you wear under your skin. It stores your blood glucose levels continuously and you can access your readings whenever you want by scanning the sensor with your glucose meter (or even your mobile phone).

 

While it doesn’t entirely take away the need for finger-pricking, it minimises it massively.  And instead of getting a picture of what your blood sugar is doing at the exact moment you do a finger-prick test, you can see what your blood sugar is doing all the time.

You can upload your results to create graphs and charts of your readings to help you spot patterns and trends.  And for a condition which you’re largely left to manage yourself – calculating how much insulin you need to inject based on your current blood glucose level and the amount of carbohydrate you’re about eat – this information is invaluable.

It can help you stay healthier for longer, prevent hospital admissions and potentially avoid some of the horrific complications of diabetes that are so costly to the NHS.

The government is now due to decide whether flash glucose monitoring should be available on the NHS in England and Wales – and to me it’s a no-brainer.

I was fortunate enough to trial a flash glucose monitoring system, the FreeStyle Libre, at my diabetes clinic and found it so helpful I decided to self-fund it for a few months.  I was allowed to keep the glucose reader I’d been given (which would normally cost around £50) but then had to pay £50 for new sensors every two weeks.

I’m not going to pretend the Libre led to perfect blood sugar readings, but it certainly took away many of the things that put me off testing. Yes, I had to apply a new sensor every two weeks (which was daunting, especially when I first saw the size of the needle) – but it was relatively pain-free. I could easily test whenever and wherever I needed to. And as I wore the sensor (which is about the size of a £2 coin) at the top of my arm, most of the time I could scan it through my clothes and no one would even notice.  It was far more convenient than having to get my full blood glucose kit out every time I needed to test, particularly when out and about or at work.

The Libre also improved my blood glucose control.  I went from testing a few times a day to scanning so often I had a full picture of what my blood sugar was doing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  It stopped the massive swings in my readings which often leave me feeling rubbish, improved the accuracy of my insulin doses and helped me prevent hypos when I could see my blood sugar was starting to plummet.

But perhaps most importantly, flash glucose monitoring meant I started to engage with my diabetes properly for the first time since my diagnosis.  I learnt so much about how my body reacts to carbohydrates and insulin; I was interested in the data I was collecting and how I could use it to improve my regime.  I finally started to feel like I was taking control of my condition in a way that didn’t stop me living a ‘normal’ life. It was liberating.

But you’ll notice I’ve been writing in the past tense.  That’s because as much as I’d love to use the FreeStyle Libre all the time, the expense means I can’t. I plan to start using it again soon, but for now I’ve had to return to my patchy regime of finger-pricking.  I’m lucky I can afford to use it for even some of the time though – many people can’t.

I believe flash glucose monitoring should be available free of charge on the NHS and I’ll be writing to Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy.  In total, an estimated £14 billion pounds a year is spent on treating diabetes and its complications, with treating complications representing the much higher cost.  Surely giving patients the best tools to manage their condition as effectively as possible will not only lead to the better health and quality of life for those with diabetes, it will also save money in the years to come.

I’m realistic, and I know the NHS can’t fund everything.  But I think this method of glucose testing should at least be available to children with diabetes, who often struggle to live a ‘normal’ childhood having to follow such an intrusive regime. It would also bring some much-needed peace of mind to their anxious parents who are left to manage their son or daughter’s condition. Many wake their children up multiple times throughout the night to prick their fingers and spend their days worrying about their blood sugar levels.

But ultimately, I believe this technology should be accessible to all – not just those who can afford it.

For more information about Diabetes UK’s campaign to make flash glucose monitoring available on the NHS visit: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Get_involved/Campaigning/Flash-glucose-monitoring/

 

 

No sugar coating it

I am Hannah and I’m a snackaholic. I have an insatiable lust for anything sweet. I am the girl who, I am ashamed to say, has uttered all of these:

“I didn’t have any milk for my cereal, so I had a white chocolate Magnum for breakfast.”

“I ate a whole tube of Pringles for tea last night.”

“I wanted a doughnut, but they come in packs of five – so I had them all.”

Not the words you’d expect hear from a type one diabetic. Or a functional human being, for that matter.

I sometimes wish I’d been diagnosed at a time when you were told you couldn’t eat chocolate or cake. I managed the transition from full fat Coke to Coke Zero because I was told I couldn’t have sugary drinks, so I clearly have some willpower.

But when it comes to snacks, I fail every time.

This is a problem when it comes to monitoring my blood sugar.  Before every meal, I’m supposed to test my blood glucose level to help me calculate how much insulin I need to deal with what I’m eating.  But, chances are, I’ve probably grazed between meals – and this throws the numbers out.

When I was diagnosed, I was told there was no need to inject every time I ate – that if I wanted a snack all I needed to do was count the carbohydrates in the next time I had insulin with a meal. But this means when I do test my blood sugar my numbers are high.

I’ve already explained how I feel about numbers and that feeling of failure when they’re not quite right – so sometimes I don’t want to test and it is the beginning of a vicious cycle.

I think this is partly an act of rebellion. I know I’m not supposed to binge on sugary treats, so it makes me want to do it more.  It’s one of those instances where I don’t want to let diabetes stop me living the same life everyone else does – but I know at times I take it to extremes.

It doesn’t help that I am one of those sickening people who can eat whatever they want without putting on any weight.

One of my problems is a lack of routine. I eat at erratic times – sometimes not having tea until ridiculously late at night.  Part of this is down to me snacking when I get home from work because I’m too tired to cook.

I am going to try and get into a better routine so hopefully I won’t feel the need to snack as much. And when I do snack, I’m going to try to eat healthier.  I don’t want to deprive myself of the things I enjoy, but I know I need to deal with my sugar addiction.

Being hypo-aware

It’s 5.26pm and I’m still in bed. There’s a bag of jelly babies that looks like it’s been mauled by some feral creature on the floor next to me and there are granola crumbs lining my bedsheets. My head is throbbing, as though I am recovering from some sort of bender.  But I haven’t been drinking.  At 10.34am, I had a hypo.

Hypo is a word I had never used before I was diagnosed with diabetes and hypoglycemia was something I had never heard of.  I now know it is when your blood sugar falls below 4mmol/l – a level too low for your body to function effectively.  Without treatment you can fall unconscious and it is a risk I face every time I inject myself with insulin.

The symptoms of hypoglycemia are listed as hunger, sweating, dizziness, tiredness, blurred vision, trembling or shakiness, going pale and experiencing palpitations. This is all true, but a medical list doesn’t really portray the reality.

Having a hypo is a little bit like being drunk, but without the giddiness of being at the party.  It’s like your body and brain have become disconnected and you have no control over either.

This morning, the first thing I noticed was that my little finger was shaking.  At first I put it down to a trapped nerve, but I was trying to write a message and realised my typing was more terrible than usual.  I could tell I wasn’t making sense but didn’t know why.  My heart started racing, I could feel my body burning up and I became increasingly confused and panicked.

I knew something was wrong and I should probably check my blood sugar, but my brain was already becoming too muddled to figure out how to do it.  In this addled state, I had to fumble with lancets, testing strips and squeeze a sample of blood to confirm what I already knew: I was having a hypo. With my body and brain becoming increasingly incapacitated, I then had to treat it.

It is ironic that most people with diabetes probably sleep within an arm’s distance of something sugary. I keep a bag of jelly babies in a drawer in my bedside table.  I started doing this after once suffering a hypo in my sleep.  I woke up so disorientated and had nothing sugary to hand, so I had to crawl out of bed and raid my kitchen. The next morning I found Minstrels strewn across the floor and a frozen garlic baguette in my laundry basket.  I have no memory of how this happened. I now know it’s important to have something sugary to hand at all times – whether that’s when you’re in bed, at home or at work.

To treat a hypo, you need to eat 15-20g of fast-acting carbohydrates.  My treatment of choice is jelly babies (five of them), but others use glucose tablets, sugary drinks like Coke or Lucozade or energy gels.  You then follow this up by eating slow-acting carbohydrates, like a cereal bar or a piece of fruit, and retest your blood sugar to check it’s gone back to normal.

This all sounds simple in theory, but in the chaos and confusion of a hypo having just five jelly babies doesn’t seem like enough.  I panic-eat and then my blood sugar goes too far the other way, which leaves me feeling the hangover. Despite having a hypo this morning, I am still experiencing the aftermath now.  I’ve been sleeping on and off all day and have had a pounding headache. My blood sugar is too high and I’m now afraid of giving myself too much insulin in the battle to get it right.

So why did this happen? I clearly got my sums wrong.  I woke up at 6am to find my blood sugar was a little bit high – 14.7mmol/l when it should be between 4-7mmol/l.  Wanting to start the day on the right track, I thought ‘I’ll give myself a correction dose now and when I wake up my blood sugar will be perfect’.  My intentions were good, but my execution apparently poor.

As I have written previously, I am trying to be much better with my diabetes control and with this comes an increased risk of having hypos.  Just one unit of insulin too much can push my blood sugar below that perfect 4mmol/l.  This means I need to get better at treating hypos and understanding the reasons I have them. I need to recognise the warning signs early, ensure I am prepared and resist the temptation to over-eat.

But, right now, I need to tidy my room and change my bedsheets. I don’t want to sleep in a bed of granola tonight.