Bits and Pieces......

Had a nice long break from Diabetes blogging and now it's about time I got back into it so here goes......

Not much to report really at the moment......had a great holiday in Turkey.  We spent the entire 2 weeks doing virtually nothing which I'm sure sounds incredibly boring but it was exactly what we needed and we have come home fully rested, nicely tanned and a fair few pounds heavier....the all-inclusive constant eating regime was too good to resist I'm afraid.  I would certainly recommend Turkey if you want fantastic weather, gorgeous scenery and friendly people and we really want to go back at some point. 

On the Diabetes front the holiday went smoothly apart from the odd low which was easy to deal with with an extra ice cream or two and a couple of extreme highs, one of which was entirely my fault as on our last night I somehow managed to forget to inject with my evening meal....DOH!!!! At least I knew the reason for it though so I corrected and made sure I kept myself hydrated and everything was fine.

Before I went away on holiday I read about the JDRF's request for people to contact their local MP's to ask them to sign up to Early Day Motion (EDM) 122 regarding Type 1 Diabetes research, which Adrian Sanders MP had put down for the JDRF.  Early Day Motions provide a formal mechanism for MPs to raise issues in the House of Commons.  '

The full text of Early Day Motion 122 is below:

"That this House supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in its campaign to increase awareness and understanding about type 1 diabetes; notes that type 1 and type 2 diabetes are very separate and distinct conditions; acknowledges that type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life-threatening auto immune condition and is not caused by eating sugary food, by being overweight or by lifestyle choices; further notes with concern that type 1 is a leading cause of kidney failure, adult blindness, stroke, heart attacks and nerve damage and that incidence of the condition is increasing by four per cent. year on year; further notes that approximately five per cent. of the entire NHS budget is spent on treating type 1 diabetes; recognises that JDRF is the world's leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research and the only organisation dedicated solely to finding the cure for type 1; and believes that more funding for medical research will lead to the development of better treatments for type 1 diabetes, resulting in fewer complications and hospitalisations, improve cost efficiencies for the NHS budget and lead to a cure."


I contacted my local MP for Wolverhampton North East, Emma Reynolds, by e-mail and have now had a letter back from her saying that she has signed up to the EDM, which I am really pleased about.  At the time she replied a total of 36 MP's had signed up to it.  If you would like to contact your local MP to ask them to sign up click on the JDRF website link below where you can find out more.

http://www.jdrf.org.uk/news.asp?section=23&itemid=1489

At my last appointment my DSN gave me one of the new Bayer Contour USB blood glucose meters to try, on condition that I do a review of it for her.  I've been looking at the Contour USB for a while so to get one given to me for free was great.  I have only started to use it this week so I haven't got much to say on it yet in terms of using the Glucofacts Software which allows you to view your meter readings and can produce a variety of reports but in terms of the look of it and how easy it is to use then I only have positive things to say.  It looks really modern and funky and comes with multi coloured lancets which I quite like (Yes, I am very easily pleased I know!!!).  When setting it up you can put in what your target results range is for before a meal and also for after a meal.  Once you have put the drop of blood onto the test strip it asks you whether the test is before or after a meal and then when analysing the results it will tell you how many of your results have been on target or above or below the range you have set depending on whether the test was done before or after a meal.  You can also add notes which you could use, for example, if you are ill and have a high result, you can add a note to the result so you have an explanation for it.  You can also set reminders for when you want to do your next test.  Once I have made use of the software and looked at the reports and graphs that can be produced I will do a proper review of it.

As I think I've mentioned before I have signed up to be a distributing volunteer for Diabetes UK and have just received my first box of materials.  There are a few posters and a variety of leaflets.  I can take some into work and will take some into my GP's and to the Eye Infirmary and Stafford Hospital next week.  I will leave some at my local library also but I'm not sure where else to go with them if I'm honest.  So if anyone has any ideas please let me know.....Thanks!!

Also before I went on holiday I e-mailed Diabetes UK about posting a link to my blog on their website.  When I got home I still hadn't had a reply so I contacted them on their Facebook page and was told that they thought they had replied to me.....they hadn't so I sent my email again.  The next day I had a response.......they aren't interested at this time as they already have someone blogging for them who is around my age and uses a pump.  Bit disappointed if I'm totally honest but they have however, suggested that I can be a "guest blogger" at some point so watch this space......

Through an old school friend of mine I have got in contact with a girl in Canada who has been on a pump for 6 years.  This is great as she has been able to tell me all about it and has re-iterated what I keep on hearing about how much the pump has changed her life. 

Whilst I was on holiday I was contacted by a guy in America called John who had read my blog and liked the way I write so wanted my help with creating a new Facebook group called 'Diabetics with Neuropathy'.  I'm not too sure at the moment exactly how I will be able to contribute as I do not have neuropathy myself but the group is now set up and with the help of Lee (Nevitt) I hope we can raise awareness of the condition and get the facts out there about this painful and debilitating complication of Diabetes. 

I love making contact with new people who have Diabetes or have children with Diabetes as it means that this Diabetic Online Community of ours is just growing and growing and that can only be a good thing!!!

FINALLY I have some ketone test strips........after my unsuccessful trip to the GP's when the doctor had never even heard of ketones never mind strips that test for them, I got in touch with my wonderful DSN (Heidi) at the GP surgery and she got it all sorted out for me and put them onto my repeat prescription.

I've recently bought a couple of new Diabetes related books which I want to get started with really soon.  One is called 'Pumping Insulin' by John Walsh and Ruth Roberts and the other is called '50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life and 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It' by Riva Greenberg. 

The first one was recommended to me by a friend who has a pump and is apparently everything you need to know for success on an insulin pump.  I have made a start reading it and so far it seems to be really informative and quite easy to follow.  I think this one is going to be my "bible" over the next few months.  I will do a proper review of it once I have read it all and maybe I can recommend it to other people who are soon to start with a pump.

I read an article on a website by the author of the second book and decided to buy her book.  I haven't started it yet but I think it will be an interesting read.  As I have said before, I'm currently trying to re-educate myself on all things Diabetes and learn about things to do with the disease that I have always ignored in the past so I think this book will be a good way of helping me to do that.  Again, once I have read it I will do a quick review and let you know whether it's worth a look or not.....

A week today I will be going to the Eye Infirmary for more laser surgery on my right eye for my Retinopathy.  Not looking forward to it one bit (obviously) but it's got to be done!!! I'm sure I will be able to get through it by thinking about my appointment the day after at Stafford Hospital with Gill, my DSN, to get 2 infusion sets put in so I can take 2 pumps home filled with saline to try them out and make my final decision on which one I want to have (I'm still thinking it's going to be the Medtronic - in pink of course - but I'll have to wait and see how I get on)......it's sooooo exciting and I can't wait!!!!!

Anyway, I think that's all the Diabetes related bits and pieces that have been going on recently.......thanks for reading!!!   :o)