Diabetes Counselling Online / The Farmhouse - Diabetes Counselling Online

Welcome to our “Farm House”

Pull up a stool, grab a cuppa and join us in the Farmhouse! This is a place for rural and farming families living with diabetes to learn, connect and get support.

This programme was made possible with a grant from the Aussie Farmers Foundation http://www.aussiefarmersfoundation.org.au/ to support the Farmhouse programmes, which we gratefully acknowledge.

Farms and Farmers are often talked about as the “backbone” of this great country. The problem is that there is only so much a back can take before it gets broken and there are many challenges faced by people who earn their living from the land. The many stresses and pressures experienced by farming communities can lead to a reduction in both physical and mental wellbeing.

Diabetes in particular is an increasing problem across all communities and has an even bigger impact on people in rural and remote regions, and Farmers in particular.

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common chronic (ongoing) conditions in Australia. There is also growing evidence that farmers have high rates of diabetes or pre-diabetes. Pre diabetes occurs when the body is struggling to use its own insulin but there are still relatively normal blood glucose levels. This can quickly progress to type 2 diabetes if lifestyle factors are not addressed.

What is diabetes?

There are many different forms of diabetes, but the main two are type 1 and type 2 diabetes. These are very different diseases with similar effects on the body – you can read more about these on other pages of our site. Spend some time looking around the different areas of the site to learn more and make connections with other people living with diabetes.

In basic terms, diabetes is a condition where the levels of glucose (sugar) in your blood are too high. This happens because your pancreas is no longer producing enough (or any) insulin to process the glucose from the carbohydrate foods we eat, or your body is no longer able to use the insulin you do produce properly.

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease and over time the management of type 2 diabetes will change. Type 2 diabetes is usually first managed with dietary changes and additional activity and exercise being added in to life. Many people require oral medications and in time (usually about 7 years of diagnosis), many people need insulin injections.

Read more about type 2 diabetes here.

People with type 1 diabetes require insulin from diagnosis, for life. A person with type 2 diabetes will never “become” a type 1 diabetic – the change to insulin is simply part of the progression of the disease. Type 1 diabetes is what we call an Autoimmune Disease, as the body’s immune system is switched on and attacks the insulin producing cells (Islets) in the Pancreas. Read more about type 1 diabetes here.

Type 2 diabetes is what we call a Metabolic Disease, which involves high blood glucose, high blood pressure and high blood fats or cholesterol. It is often called the metabolic syndrome in the pre – diabetes stages. Being overweight or obese and inactive is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Activity and exercise help our muscles and liver to use the glucose from the food we eat and make us more sensitive to insulin – thus this remains a cornerstone of diabetes prevention and management throughout life, even if medications and insulin are needed.

There are other risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as being over 40, being from certain cultural groups such as Aboriginal and Vietnamese groups; and having a family member who has type 2 diabetes. Having gestational diabetes and/or a large baby are also independent risk factors for type 2 diabetes. We are learning more all the time about the reasons why some people get type 2 diabetes and others with similar risk factors, don’t develop this condition. We do not understand why type 1 diabetes occurs and as an Autoimmune Disease, this is very complex. There is much research happening in to a cure for diabetes.

Taking care of more than the Farm!

Often farmers are very busy and put off taking care of their health. Working days are centred on various priority jobs; seasonal needs and timelines; stock needs; and crop timing.

For all people living in rural and remote areas, you may be a long way from health and support services, and it all just seems too much of an inconvenience to take the time out to visit a city or regional health care centre – we can offer counselling, diabetes education and support you can freely access in your own time – all you need is access to a computer and the Internet!

Online Counselling and diabetes education

You can access online counselling and diabetes education here

You can also find us on Facebook across a number of groups that may be relevant to you such as:

Parent’s of kids with diabetes chat group

Rural Diabetes – chat for Aussies in the country with diabetes – this may be of particular interest

Aussie Men With Diabetes

Pregnancy and Parenting With Diabetes

Once again we welcome you to the Farmhouse and look forward to “meeting” you in one of our chat rooms, forums, facebook groups, or in email counselling and education with our team.

Please look around the site. We welcome your feedback and ideas to contribute to the Farmhouse programme.

You can also join us on the Diabetes Counselling Online Facebook and Twitter pages.