Sweet Enough

29th April 2009

My current box containing my monthly supply of snap on needles, long acting insulin, short acting insulin, blood glucose strips and monitoring diary is looking healthy and full; this glow in the dark green box contains the means to keep me alive. I have been a type one diabetic for nearly 3 years now and have learnt to try and keep on my toes with eating regularly and keeping track on my blood sugar if I catch something as easy to get as the common cold. I moved down to Dundee from little Elgin in Moray and my treatment there was nothing to complain about but nothing to write home about either. It is when I first attended the Ninewells Diabetic Clinic that I began to look at the greater picture. My hospital at home had no real clinic so to say, you were in a waiting room for hours with other patients who had differing issues a mile long, then, to walk into a clinic that is designed for one purpose and one group of patients seemed mind-blowing. Ninewells is a fundamental institution in the city of Dundee, on my first visit I could not believe how vast it was, I fully expected to be bundled into a room with patients from all departments like home. The whole concept was entirely new.

Dundee has a very positive approach to Diabetes and diabetes research; I feel this is something that is worthwhile in flagging up, as overall diabetes is something that people just do not know an awful lot about. This is why it is so important that Dundee is active in diabetes research and support, I will freely admit that until I was diagnosed I would not have been able to list any facts about diabetes or any related illness. The sobering truth however is that diabetes affects a vast amount of the population, and if left untreated like in my own case it will be become very dangerous. Over 200,000 people in Scotland alone have been diagnosed with the condition and there are many people that have symptoms and just do not know. Symptoms include; excessive thirst, weight loss, lack of energy, constant need to go to the loo – more so during the nighttime, extreme tiredness and the least pleasant of them all – genital itching.  These are classic trigger alerts and if experiencing any or a number of these it is vital to be checked. There are also two types of Diabetes and this can be confusing for some, the clinics – like those offered at Ninewells are for both types, Type 1 and Type 2 and any questions and queries are answered.

This is what is pretty amazing about having such a knowledgeable independent clinic, it is one to one care and even when you are sitting waiting to be seen you are sitting with people who know exactly what you are going through. The clinic at Ninewells offers many vital appointments that can detect early problems, for example; the foot clinic, diabetic retinopathy screening [the eye clinic], dietician and regular Hba1c [Glycosylated haemoglobin] tests can allow monitoring to be done on your insides while the eye clinic and foot clinics concentrate on the outsides. 

The Diabetes centre was moved in the Ninewells building and is now The Strathmore Diabetes clinic, it is very busy but the staff does their best to make you comfortable, my first clinic was a mature adult’s clinic, it was rearranged and I now attend a Young Persons clinic, which is for 16-25. This runs every Wednesday afternoon until 6pm and it is a chance to meet and see people more your own age, relating to someone who you feel is more like you really does help. It is almost like being on a more similar wavelength; young patients tend to have had the illness less so it is likely they still have questions, unlike many mature patients who have been diagnosed for many years.  Ninewells are also fundamentally important in the TIM programme – Tayside Insulin Management, its English counter programme is known as DAFNE – Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating.

The programmes are different but the TIM programme has been developed from the structure of DAFNE, its offers patients of Strathmore clinic the chance to get on top of their diabetes and eating habits, carbohydrate counting and balance is very important. The programme teaches you how to do this, it explains how many grams would be in your dinner time portion of a baked potato and how you determine how much insulin you need to cover your baked potato. The DAFNE programme was a huge success and it seems that Dundee is following in the footsteps with the TIM programme.

If you feel like putting your best foot forward then take part in or even just go along and watch the 2nd annual 10K Monikie Research Race on the 10th May, this is linked in with the University of Dundee and last year raised thousands.

The improvement and breakthrough that is being made in Diabetes research is outstanding, nothing happens overnight but with such positive steps being made I find myself lucky to be in a city that is tackling the diabetes epidemic with full force.
Written By: Shona Appleby

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