Type 1 Diabetes Archives - Page 2 of 15 - Diabetes Counselling Online

Research: why does it matter? The Endia study

October 16, 2014 by helwild Leave a Comment

As the parent of someone with Type 1 diabetes, it can seem that the only organisation in the world doing research into diabetes is the International Charity, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or as it is more usually known nowadays, the JDRF. For many years, I have ‘walked for the cure’ hoping that one day it would happen. And of course many people connected by Type 1 diabetes, all over the world, are supporting JDRF, working, hoping for the day ‘the cure’ will come.

However, it is good to know that there are many other wonderful organisations undertaking vital research to assist people managing Living with diabetes, and researching possible ‘triggers’, causes, and even treatments, including some that are based right here in Australia.

One of these is a very interesting Australian study known as ENDIA, or “environmental determinants of islet autoimmunity”

We have posted information about this wonderful Australian Study before, but we have many new members who may be unaware of it. One of our Facebook Closed Group ‘Pregnancy and Parenting’ members has asked if we can ‘share’ the links here, hoping to get some more people to commit to the study. Note it is Australia only.

“Hello Helen, I am a member of one of your diabetes closed groups on FB. I have a son who is T1 and has been so since he was 18 months old (he is now 9). Here is a link about the ENDIA study that is being conducted around Australia. We are part of this study and it is about Type 1 diabetes in children. For example, studying what the ‘trigger’ could be for the onset of T1; studying using cord blood to prevent or delay the onset of T1; and studying whether cord blood can be used in assisting T1 children to ‘kick start’ the pancreas. One positive is that being part of this study the storage of cord blood is very cheap. Here is the link, and I hope you do post it, thank you so much”

Thanks to our group member for her story.

Helen

Helen Wilde

Senior Counsellor

Helen has been the parent of someone with diabetes since 1979. She has lived with Type 2 diabetes herself since 2001, and has been a Counsellor with the service since 2002.

www.endia.org.au/about/the-endia-study
The ENDIA study | ENDIA
www.endia.org.au
We are asking women who are pregnant and have Type 1 Diabetes themselves or have a family member with Type 1 Diabetes who would be a first-degree relative of the baby, i.e. the baby’s father or the baby’s older sibling, to consider participating.
The ENDIA study | ENDIAendia.org.auThere is also a Facebook group which you may like to visit, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/endiastudy?fref=ts

The ENDIA study | ENDIA

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Carb Counting Queen: am I really good at Maths, or is it an illusion?

September 5, 2014 by helwild Leave a Comment

I’m always so profoundly moved by what people are so prepared to share with me. Recently I received the following lovely piece of writing from one of the Parents in our ‘Parents of Kids with Diabetes’ group on Facebook. Check out the link if you are the parent, carer or grandparent of someone with diabetes.

Thanks to Maureen Campey for sharing of your thoughts. Fabulous writing Maureen. Yes, the tears come, even if in secret. There are the times we ALL feel like the ‘carb counting Queen’, whether we have a child with diabetes, or have diabetes ourselves! As you say, it helps to be able to see the funny side. I think it also celebrates our confidence in our skills & knowledge, a confidence that we need to stay sane.

“Sometimes I feel sad, but there are times when you just have to laugh at the craziness of life as a mum of a Type 1 child. We were at a friend’s bbq recently and when I came home, I started to write this. Do you feel like this too? I’m happy to share this and just give you a laugh. x

The Carb Counting Queen

I am the carb counting queen. No carb is too complex for my capabilities. This title, it has to be said, was totally uncontested. There was no bloody revolution. There is no pretender to the throne.

A Saturday afternoon bbq? Sure, we’d love to come! Watch me as I glide, seemingly effortlessly, towards the buffet. Greeting friends on either side, they are totally unaware of my inner calculations. Think synchronised swimmer – all smiles above the water, craze of activity below. If karma exists, my maths teacher would be rolling about laughing.

Ok, here we go! Salad, all good: nice and plain. A top ‘filler upper’! Protein, yip: lots of chicken, and sausages. Fine, but wait! Was the chicken marinated? Best stick to sausages! Which carbs though? At least a modicum of healthiness! Bingo! Corn on the cob! One exchange down!

I bet there’s a loaf of bread somewhere, hopefully wholegrain! Always a ‘failsafe’ but so, so boring. Can I check out the pantry without seeming like a crazy lady? Ah look! Potato bake! Now, how did I calculate carbs in that one I made at home? Get the Mobile ‘phone out and have a look. There might be one on the ‘Carb Counter App’ or my faithful knave the ‘Traffic Light Guide’.

Is there a dessert I wonder? Fruit? Maybe iceblocks for the kids? Which brand? Would it be rude to ask? Please let it be at least font size ten on the packaging! So unseemly scrambling about for those newly prescribed glasses.

All that in a ten metre walk! Pass me a glass of bubbly! Now for the rest of the family!”

Maureen Campey

If you have some thoughts you’d like to share about living with diabetes, we’d love to hear from you. Send your writing to: [email protected] OR just write your thoughts after this post in the Comments.

Regards

Helen Wilde

Helen is a Senior Counsellor with www.diabetescounselling.com.au She has been the mother of someone with Type 1 diabetes since 1979, and has lived with Type 2 diabetes herself since 2001.

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While we’re busy making other plans..

August 7, 2014 by helwild 2 Comments

A diagnosis of diabetes brings the ‘C’ word into everyday life: Control. We get bombarded with information, instructions, advice. We’re told to ‘test’, given pieces of paper to go to a clinic or hospital for a variety of even more ‘tests’. We’re monitored, measured, & judged. For some people, this becomes more important than anything else. They become hyper vigilant, testing, checking, measuring, exercising, dieting. Almost everyone diagnosed with diabetes begins their journey like this; driven by fear, anxiety, guilt, the notion of ‘control’ becomes all consuming. For some, this is relatively short lived, and things become all too hard. Those who ‘drop the ball’ early give up, bury their head in the sand, ignore advice, feel hopeless, helpless. Their diabetes remains ‘uncontrolled’. For others, the steady mantra of ‘control’ rules their lives. No matter what they achieve, no matter how ‘good’ their diabetic ‘control’ is, they strive to be ‘better’, to be ‘perfect’. To all intents and purposes, and according to most measures, their diabetes is ‘controlled’. Yet they still feel unsuccessful.

How do we find balance?

Ive been thinking a lot about this lately. Those who have a child diagnosed with diabetes come to this with a rather different perspective. For us, the worry, anxiety, need to achieve control are driven by the primal urge to protect our child. It can be harder for us to let go of the notion of ‘control’ than for the child themselves. After all, our main role in life is to care for our child, to make life the easiest, the best, it can be. We will access the best technology and resources available to us, whether thats a new insulin, a new way of measuring, a new test, an app, a new alarm or monitor, a hypo dog. It can be hard to relinquish that ‘control’ to our child. At what age do we ‘allow’ them to make their own decisions about management? For many of us, the decision is taken out of our hands. Our child will refuse to allow us to administer insulin, conduct tests, record results. They may lie to us, and we have the moral dilemma of respecting their autonomy, their right to privacy, and reconciling that with our parental role to manage their health. In some families, difficult topics are discussed. In others, they are not spoken of, they are ignored. Either way, the hard subjects, sex, death, religion, war, family secrets, unfairness, prejudice, injustice, and overnight hypos, all exist. Our children will learn about them. We do have the right to choose whether or not to speak of them.

We tend to judge ourselves very harshly around these changes in our ‘control’. Yet in the end, the vast majority of children with diabetes grow up to manage their diabetes well, to live good, productive lives, to participate fully in other aspects of life, work, socially, and also often with a strong social conscience, a sense of advocacy and participation in supporting others with diabetes. Through struggle & difficulty many are very compassionate human beings, people to be proud of. In managing our own diabetes, although some Health Care professionals may seem, or indeed be, somewhat judgemental, in the end we are all doing the best we can at the time. There may be ‘scope for improvement’, but judging and blaming have no part in our Mental Health, nor in our Physical Health. We need to find our motivation in self love and in our sense of our own worth. We deserve kindness, and the best we can do.

I think one of the key notions that helps to make this journey survivable is to accept that it is just that- a journey. We travel our road in life, and sure, for everyone, some more than others, there are rough patches, difficulties. The destination is known, we don’t know when, but we do know that ‘all things must pass’. Looking around us while were on that journey is what makes the difference. Taking that holiday in Japan, even though we can’t get an Insurance company to fully insure our insulin pump; walking to the shops in the sunshine, or the rain; playing with our child because it’s fun, not because the exercise will be good for his blood glucose control; taking time out from achieving, controlling, managing, to just simply be. This week I went back to my Yoga class. It’s been 5 years since I saw my teacher, Balbir. In that 5 years she has grown old, but she still has the mesmerising power to transport me during relaxation time to a place of calm and serenity; and the ability to lead me through physical practice which stretches and awakens my body to Life. Taking time to focus on the breath, on Balance, Serenity, and the practice of Mindfulness. Most of all, on Resilience. Building resilience in ourselves, and importantly in our children, helps us and them to live life fully: to achieve a level of mental health that will see our journey through life as a balanced one, a life to feel gratitude for, not a life of self doubt. Yesterday I saw an almond tree in full blossom. It was growing alongside a busy highway. Clearly it had stood there for decades before the road came along, before the construction that rose around it. Yet there it was, in full blossom, old, huge, bursting with optimism and life.

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans- remember to Notice your Life.

Its a Long Way to go, A Hard Row to Hoe

Helen Wilde

Helen has been the parent of someone with Type 1 diabetes since 1979. She has lived with the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes herself since 2001. She is a Senior Counsellor with Diabetes Counselling Online. If you are struggling with Control or any aspect of your diabetes you may like to contact our team at

http://www.diabetescounselling.com.au/counselling-request/

carpe diem

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Life..’More than #diabetes’ Ups & Downs

July 28, 2014 by helwild 7 Comments

How much does diabetes dominate your life? It is a health condition which, because it is related to food and exercise, can seem like the most difficult health condition you could possibly have, doesn’t it? And because the symptoms are not always obvious or noticeable, it can seem that if you ignore it, it will just go away, or not be true.That you will ‘get away with it’, if you ignore it, or make a ‘token effort’. Even people with type 1 diabetes can at times feel that they can ‘stretch’ the ‘rules’, not take their insulin, or use insulin to allow themselves to ‘indulge’ in ‘favourite’ foods; or ‘allow’ themselves to ‘run high’ to avoid hypos. The insulin pump combined with the modern blood glucose meters, cgm’s, allows such fine control, approximates more closely than anything else the action of the pancreas in releasing insulin; yet in its very existence such biotechnology is a constant reminder of life with diabetes.

As the parent of a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, there were times when it seemed there would never be anything else that mattered in life, other than diabetes. When my daughter grew up & left our home in a tiny rural town to go to the City to study at University, things in some ways got easier; but in other ways, things got harder. I was a young Mum, and I was only 32 years old when my beautiful healthy girl was diagnosed. I was 37 when she left home. It was hard knowing she was 250 km away, and relying on others, who were not me, as her ‘backup’ person. Every night that we slept under the same roof, I got up to sit with her through her hypos. The click of a light switch, or the click of the toaster, would wake me. This continued through her teen years; her pregnancies; her own years mothering babies; travelling with her for Diabetes related professional reasons as colleague, & as her ‘back up person’ for her diabetes management, on trips overseas & interstate ; and on family holidays. Even now, if we are sleeping under the same roof, if I’m sleeping within hearing distance, something wakes me, and I can’t lie in bed knowing she’s out of bed & feeling bad.

I do have other things in my life: work, sport, friends, family: causes to do with the environment and the earth. I have grown tree seedlings for Trees for Life, collected for the Heart foundation, travelled. I’ve volunteered at Film Festivals, Arts Festivals, tutored at the U3A. But beating away like another heartbeat is my daughter’s diabetes. I work and volunteer in Diabetes. I practice Mindfulness. Being her parent will always be a part of who I am. Of course, it is much, much more intense for her. Every minute of every day and night, no respite. I do get to take breaks, she doesn’t.

My life changed 15 years ago. My husband retired, and I got a job in the city, so we moved house. Over the past 15 years, my life has expanded to include assisting my mother in dealing with changes that came about in her life, first with my father’s diagnosis of dementia. In the beginning, I was working in a highly responsible & challenging job. My help was as practical as I could manage, also fitting in supporting both my daughters with pregnancies & babies, toddlers & growing children. With my father’s death, assisting Mum meant helping her manage her own health & living arrangements, & eventually her own dementia.

That time also came to include my own diagnosis of diabetes. Because of my daughter’s diabetes, I came to the diagnosis with a shorter period of ‘denial’ than some experience; and with very little anger. I do feel some negative emotions, of course; but I know that it’s possible to live a good life with diabetes. My fear of diabetes related complications is much less than my fear of dementia.

I hadn’t meant to write about difficult experiences in my life, but yes: they are also part of life, and many of them have nothing to do with diabetes. The past 15 years have included weddings, births, joys: wonderful family Christmases, when Mum played ‘Mother Christmas’ to our large family: visits from overseas relatives, contact through Social media with relatives, friends, strangers. Yes food is pleasure, but there are other pleasures. Exercise is pleasure. Doing things for others is pleasure. Growing things, writing, taking photos, playing with children, doing good work, talking with friends from all over the world, these are all pleasurable.

Life is Good. Life is a river, it flows. Life is truly a journey, with opportunities for rich experiences that include the difficult ones, and the easy ones: spontaneous ones and planned ones. Seize the moment, take opportunities when they arise. Life is more than diabetes: it includes things that are harder, and worse: and things that are easier, & better..Life is for the Living.

Helen Wilde

carpe diem

Helen is a Senior Counsellor with Diabetes Counselling Online. She is also the parent of someone diagnosed with diabetes in 1979. She has lived with type 2 diabetes herself since 2002.

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Discussion on low carb diets

July 28, 2014 by Sally 8 Comments

Australian Guide to healthy eating poster

By popular demand through a thread in our Facebook group Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!, this topic deserves a blog to help explain some of the ‘stuff we hear’ around carbohydrates and type 2 diabetes. I’d also encourage people with type 1 diabetes to read this though, because some of the points made are also relevant for us! Up front I will remind you that everyone has individual requirements and should see an Accredited Practising Dietitian for a personalised consultation, so this is a ‘general guide’ only.

Firstly we need to understand what ‘low’ means in such a context as in my experience as an Accredited Practising Dietitian, people tend to associate ‘low’ with ‘virtually no’ carbohydrate. We’ll also look at some of the evidence that shows that ‘low’ carb diets can help with glucose control in type 2s, and why when drugs (other than metformin or SGLT2-inhibitors) are introduced it’s important to ensure more (quality) carb intakes as advised by your health professionals. And lastly (but certainly not leastly) we’ll review how, based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines, it’s possible to have a nutritionally balanced diet while watching your carb intake.

What does ‘low’ carbohydrate mean?

If you ask some people what they think ‘low carb’ means, you may hear that it’s about cutting carbohydrates out as much as possible. Straight up as a dietitian my alarm bells ring as carbs feature in all five of the food groups that we need for nutrients to ensure our wellbeing: vegetables (starchy vegetables like potato, sweet potato and corn), fruit, dairy, protein (when the likes of legumes are included, and especially in vegetarian diets) and of course, the important grain/cereal foods.

The American Diabetes Association defines a low-carb diet as 130g of carb per day. Does that surprise you?? The ‘trick’ with low carb diets is therefore to know how to choose your carbs wisely so that you’re still meeting your nutrient requirements, and also to know what to replace that carb energy with (remembering that carbs, proteins and fats make up our daily energy intake) so you don’t get too hungry and be encouraged to ‘cheat’.

Remembering that there’s 15g of carbohydrate in an ‘exchange’ or ‘serve’ that gives us close to 9 carb serves across the day.

If you’re on medication that helps your body to produce more insulin, or you’re providing insulin yourself on a fixed dose then this idea is dangerous to your health so please speak to your health professionals before making any changes to your diet.

Some benefits of lower carbohydrate diets

Of course we know that all carbohydrates break down to glucose which is the fuel needed by our bodies, but in modern diets often too much (and poor quality) of this ‘fuel’ is provided which can cause stress to our organs and worsen our diabetes control. So understanding the benefits of a lower carbohydrate diet can help us to stick with it for longer and balance the rest of our diets more easily.

Some of those benefits may include:

Lower incidence of high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia)
Lower amounts of medications need to control hyperglycemia
130g/day is a sustainable amount, meaning it’s easier to stick to in the longer term
Putting your pancreas under less stress to produce insulin, thereby helping it to keep working for longer
By ensuring your 130g/day is nutritious and low-GI carb you may also improve your blood fat levels (cholesterol/triglycerides) which will lower your risk of cardiovascular disease
It doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss – that depends on your total energy intake.

How do you manage it best?

Again I will mention how important having a personalised consultation with your Accredited Practising Dietitian is because everyone is different in many ways. Here I will make suggestions that I hope will help to get your head around combining the idea of low carb into your daily routine while still meeting the nutritional requirements as outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines foundation diet (see page 2).

In a nutshell, it’s about only choosing your carb sources from the 5 food groups and balancing that out with quality proteins and healthy fats. I encourage you to re-read the previous blogs I’ve written on those topics as highlighted.

Remembering that 130g/day equates to close to 9 carb exchanges/serves, your day might start to look a bit like this:

Breakfast: ¼ cup of raw rolled oats (1 serve carb) served with 125ml light milk (half a serve), a small banana (85g – 1 carb serve) and a tablespoon of LSA mix (for extra fibre/protein) = 2.5 serves total

Morning Tea: A 100g tub of low-fat yogurt = 1 serve total

Lunch: A sandwich made on wholegrain bread (the grainer the better – 2 serves) made with a protein serve and as much non-starchy veg as you can handle, either on the sandwich or as a side, using half an avocado as the spread (for your good fats), and a piece of fruit such as an apple or pear (both good low-GI fruits – 1 serve) = 3 serves total

Afternoon Tea: A 30g handful of mixed unsalted nuts = not worth counting carb-wise

Dinner: Remembering the balanced plate being one quarter carb, one quarter protein and half non-starchy vegetables, this works with so many meals. Aim for your carb serve to = 2 serves total

Supper: You’ve still got half a carb serve up your sleeve. I would encourage something like half a slice of grainy toast with peanut butter on it to give you the energy to get you through the night, but half a serve of low-fat dairy would also work well, or even a couple of squares of dark chocolate if you fancied it = 0.5 serves total

In this example you can see that we’ve incorporated 9 carb serves/exchanges and yet have included quality carbs at every meal.

Some final tips

Remember to include protein and some non-starchy veg with every meal.
Rice and pasta can be problematic a serve size is so small. Something I recommend that works for many people is to include the carb serves in the form of legumes (lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, etc) in the pasta sauce and use low-carb alternatives such as those made from konjac root, or make pasta/rice out of vegetables such as grated zucchini or carrot or cauliflower. I sometimes serve my pasta sauces on mashed cannellini beans and frozen spinach (warmed of course!) and find it’s very satisfying.
Don’t forget to exercise! If the point of minimising your carbs is to control your BGLs, then even as little as ten minutes exercise after meals can make a fantastic difference to your readings. Do some self-experimenting about how much your BGLs drop after say 10, 20 or 30 minutes walking after meals, and then if you want to include more quality carbohydrates in some meals, you’ll know how to manage better.

I hope this has proved useful for you, and that you have a better understanding of how a low-carb (130g/day) might help with your diabetes control. Of course please ask any questions below and I’ll be happy to address them for you.

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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