Starter Kit

For newly diagnosed adults with type 1 diabetes

www.d1.org.au

A Starter Kit for Adults Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 3rd Edition written and edited by Kate Gilbert and Rebecca Millard published by Type 1 Diabetes Network young adults with diabetes Inc. email: [email protected] web: <www.d1.org.au> Copyright Kate Gilbert 2004 2006 Individual copyright to each of the acknowledged contributions is maintained by each of the contributors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, excepting brief quotations used in connection with reviews, written specifically for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper or medical journal. Printed in Australia. First published in 2004 Second edition 2006 Third edition 2011 Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their permission to reprint material in this publication. The publishers would be grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not acknowledged and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in the future editions of this publication. Information contained in this publication does not ever take the place of professional medical advice. Please ensure that you consult your doctor prior to making any changes to medications or treatment regimes.

For thousands of adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes who have muddled through with dignity and courage
Thank you to the following diabetes health professionals for contributing to and reviewing the Starter Kit. Roswita Baker Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital, Queensland Pixie Barrie Fremantle Hospital, Perth Tricia Bowden Queensland Diabetes Centre, Mater Hospital, Brisbane Wendy Bryant St Vincents Hospital, Sydney Dr Jenny Conn Royal Womens Hospital, Melbourne Trish Evans Womens & Childrens Hospital, Adelaide Rebecca Gebert Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne Linda Hop Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth Janet Lagstrom Diabetes Educator & Midwife, Kind Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth Dawn Lane St Georges Hospital Diabetes Centre, Sydney Wendy Livingstone Ballina/Byron Diabetes Centre, New South Wales Kate Marsh Dietitian and Diabetes Educator, Northside Nutrition and Dietetics, Sydney Lyndal Moore The Wesley Diabetes Education and Support Service, Queensland Tony Pappas Cairns Diabetes Centre, Queensland Bodil Rasmussen School of Nursing, Deakin University, Melbourne Laurene Rofe Cabrini Private Hospital, Melbourne Marjory Ross The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Diabetes Centre, Adelaide Coral Shankley Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Cheryl Steele Western Health Service Victoria Stevenson Alfred Hospital, Melbourne

This re-print was funded by an educational grant from

contents
10 things we wish someone told us ..................... 2 doctors & nurses ............................................... 4 checklist of stuff to do ..................................... 5 what is diabetes? .............................................. 6 insulin .............................................................. 8 hypo fixes ...................................................... 10 food the carb connection ............................... 11 food and the GI factor ..................................... 12 managing blood glucose levels in the real world ............................................. 13 alcohol .......................................................... 14 sick days ........................................................ 15 ketones & ketoacidosis..................................... 16 hormones and girl stuff .................................... 18 insulin delivery options .................................... 19 blood glucose meters ....................................... 22 exercise ......................................................... 23 travel ............................................................. 25 how much will it cost? ...................................... 26 surfing the net tips for success ........................ 27 head stuff ....................................................... 28 real stories ..................................................... 30 glossary ......................................................... 34 more books and websites ................................. 36 and finally ...................................................... 38 index ............................................................. 39 acknowledgements .......................................... 40

The development of the Type 1 Diabetes Networks Starter Kit for Adults Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes was funded under a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
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diabetes. what the??

top 10 things we wish someone told This stuff here is produced by us us the day we were people who also have type 1 diagnosed:
So by now someones dropped the D word. Bugger. diabetes some since we were tiny little tackers, so have heaps of wisdom to share. Some of us are just a couple of months ahead of you but wanted to help make life today a little easier for you.
1. Its not your fault.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition. Something goes whacky and your immune system gets confused. It gets this idea in its head that the very precious islet cells in your pancreas that produce insulin are actually a virus and it turns on them and kills them. We dont know exactly why. But we do know that it has absolutely nothing to do with what you ate, where you live, who you are or whether your mum stood on her head during pregnancy. There is a genetic link but its only one piece of the puzzle even if your mum or dad had type 1 diabetes themselves, theres only a 5% chance youd have got it.

2. Sugar-free carob tastes crap.

Go for chocolate in moderation and save yourself the pain!

3. Youre not a freak!

Getting type 1 diabetes when youre in your 20s, 30s, 40s or even 60s is way more common than most people (including doctors and nurses) realise. Type 1 was called juvenile diabetes for many years and got a bad name! So if someone says ooohhhhh youre old to get type 1 youre not alone, and theyre wrong! Half of people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed as adults.

4. Insulin is not like taking a pill each day.

Youll learn how to change the doses, sometimes every day or every hour, to cater for different things going on. But its definitely not a case of heres your insulin doses, go home and youre done. Pretty soon youll start to get the hang of balancing your insulin dose with how you eat, drink and play which changes every day of course.

5. Theres this group of awesome people who just happen to have diabetes called the Type 1 Diabetes Network.
The website has a forum where you can post any question, read other peoples experiences and really tap into what its like to live with diabetes and what real, normal people do. Check it out at <www.d1.org.au>. The Type 1 Diabetes Network also runs a variety of events which are a great way to meet other groovy young things who happen to have type 1 diabetes. Subscribe to our monthly-ish email newsletter Yada Yada via our website to get updates and news.

9. Research is moving ahead at an amazing pace.

Youll hear a lot about the cure for diabetes and while its still a little way off, the word on the street is that research has made more progress in the last 5 years than in the 20 before that. Were seeing it with better technology and developments all the time. So youve got good timing! Chat to someone who had diabetes in the 1950s if you want to feel better about your lot scary glass syringes, etc, not good, not good. A great source of info about new research developments is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Visit their website at <www.jdrf.org.au> or phone them on 1300 363 126.

6. Pepsi MAX is the best sugar-free cola.

Coke Zeros pretty good too.

10. People say really dumb stuff.

You will find that everyone you meet now has an aunt who had diabetes and either had some amazing home brewed solution to cure it, or died. Just brace yourself that people get weird when they dont know what to say. Weve all had times when we want to punch a non-diabetic. Its the kind of thing you really cant totally understand unless youve got it. So start perfecting your ah-huh, ah-huh, patient nodding and fast exit.

7. Its bloody hard work at first but not the end of the world.
People with type 1 diabetes have won gold medals (Gary Hall Jnr), played in World Cups (Rod Kafer), sung to thousands of people (Marcia Hines) and won Miss America competitions (Nicole Johnson). Weve backpacked the farthest corners of the world, got awesome jobs, become millionaires and politicians. And then theres the rest of us normal people who go about our lives doing what we want and making diabetes fit in there. Shell be right mate!

8. Its actually impossible to keep blood sugars between 4 and 8 all the time.
Really truly. Those numbers were given to you as a guide and the aim of the game is to keep them there. However, until you get yourself a new pancreas, it is just impossible to not get the odd high or low (or lots of them on a bad day.) Highs and lows make you feel crappy enough without you feeling guilty that youve stuffed up too. A good tip is to just think of the number that pops up on your blood glucose meter (a.k.a. the blood test lottery) as a Call To Action: if its high or low, just do what you need to fix it. But dont waste your energy thinking, Oh Im bad, Im wrong, Im crap. Just fix it and get on with life. (Or if youre not sure what to do, phone your diabetes team for advice.)

doctors & nurses

When first diagnosed youre likely to meet quite a few different health professionals and it can sometimes be a little difficult to decipher who does what, so below is a brief introduction to a typical medical team.
Endocrinologist youll soon be calling them your endo. A doctor that specialises in the endocrine system and the many hormones it produces, of which insulin is one. Most common disorders of this system are the different types of diabetes, but endocrinology also includes things like hypothyroidism and Graves disease. You need to find an endocrinologist who at least specialises in diabetes, and preferably one that sees mainly people with type 1 diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes Network has put together a list of endocrinologists around Australia who have been recommended by other young adults with diabetes its not every one in Australia but its a good starting point see <www.d1.org.au>. You may be lucky and find one who you get on well with when youre diagnosed, but if not, have a hunt around. Just go to a GP and ask them to write a referral once you find someone you want to try. If it works out well, a GP can write an Indefinite Referral to save you getting that re-done regularly. Generally 2 4 visits per year to an endo is recommended it coincides with major blood tests. Diabetes Nurse Educator A nurse who has gained quite a bit of experience and has also done a 1-year post graduate certified degree specialising in diabetes. When you are diagnosed, it will most likely be a diabetes educator who will work with you to give you intensive education about the basics how to do an injection, how to use your blood glucose meter. They will then be your font of knowledge for all those niggling questions which come up. Weekly, if not daily visits for the first weeks and months will probably be necessary. Educators can be found at major public hospitals in most large cities. As well as many private ones. The best place to start is to phone your nearest big public hospital during business hours and ask to be put through to the Diabetes Educator on call. Probably a little easier to get hold of than the
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endocrinologist or local doctor, especially in cases of emergency. Dietitian Part of the initial education team. Food is a big part of diabetes so make sure you ask lots of questions and get the answers to questions like how much insulin do I need to eat pizza and chips?. You may get a funny look but this is not an unreasonable question so make sure you ask it or whatever you need to. Be honest about what your favourite foods are and try to find a way to work your diabetes around them, even if its not as regularly as before. You will most likely be directed towards a Low GI diet check out <www.glycemicindex.com> for some background. Ophthalmologist Later down the track you will need to find one who specialises in eye care for diabetes. You need to go for a check up every two years. Head Stuff Unfortunately counsellors and psychologists who specialise in diabetes are thin on the ground but if youre stressed out and need someone to just blurt at, ask to see the social worker or health counsellor at your big local hospital. An online service is available at <www.diabetescounselling.com.au>. Endocrinology Registrar A fully trained doctor who is just finalising his/her specialist training in endocrinology. It might sound like theyre not your best choice but think about it they just finished med school this century so should be right up to speed with the latest and greatest! Get yourself a great team of health professionals. People who you feel comfortable to ask questions. It might take some time, and even a few tries to find a team that works for you, but persist. It is definitely worth it.

checklist of stuff to do
WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH AFTER DIAGNOSIS Find out who you can call in an emergency. Your endocrinologist or diabetes educator might give you their mobile number if theyre very kind and generous. Most major public hospitals will have an endocrinologist on call, so you could call and ask for them to be paged. In a serious emergency, call an ambulance. But whatever it is, make sure you have a number in your wallet or programmed into your mobile phone because you can guarantee it will be 3am on a Sunday when you have an urgent dilemma! Notify the Road Traffic Authority in your state or territory (VicRoads in Victoria, RTA in NSW, etc.) and get your GP or any doctor to fill in a medical form which they will send to you. Essentially what theyre looking for is that you havent had a bad hypo (low blood sugar) recently and you get heaps of warning symptoms when ones coming along so the doctor basically needs to write no hypoglycaemia unawareness in the comments section. Youll have to do this every 2 years or whenever they send you the form. Notify your employer. Although by law you do not have to disclose medical conditions in a job application or interview, you may be required to inform your employer of any prescribed medication that you must take. Insulin makes it pretty clear to your employer that you have diabetes. Get yourself a medical alert talisman (bracelet/necklace) ID by calling MedicAlert 1800 882 222. If this totally freaks you out, there are a couple of other options. (Though a well known bracelet like Medicalert is the most easily recognisable symbol if you get into trouble). Engrave a piece of jewellery you wear all the time with something like Diabetes on Insulin. Carry a card in your wallet. At the very least, this is the kind of thing that relaxes our stressed-out mums! Join the Ambulance Service in your state. Everyone should do it but now youre just a teeny bit more likely to need it so save yourself the stress and join up. Work out what sort of hypo supplies work best for you. Some useful places to have some sort of sugar available: Glove box of car; In your handbag/backpack, or back pocket if going out; Desk drawer or locker at work; School locker or pencil case; Beside your bed; At your boyfriend/girlfriend/best mates house. Dont worry You are not going to use all these supplies in the first week, its just that you can generally guarantee that a hypo (especially your first) will take you by surprise and happen when you least expect it. NDSS Join the National Diabetes Services Scheme to obtain your blood glucose and ketone testing strips and needles at the cheapest prices around its subsidised by the Federal Government. Its free to register. Your diabetes educators should have forms to do this or can call 1300 136 588. To find your closest NDSS outlet log onto <www.ndss.com.au>. You can also mail order by phone 1300 136 588. Find and befriend your local chemist. Beware that insulin always takes 24 hours to order in. Once they know you, they should let you phone ahead instead of going in with the script and then having to go back the next day. Health Care Card. You may be eligible to receive a health care card which will entitle you to discounts on insulin and other supplies you are entitled to. Check out <www.centrelink.gov.au> or phone the Family Assistance Office on 13 6150. Are you going to be sitting exams this year? If so make contact with the appropriate person at your education institution and inquire about Special Conditions such as being allowed to take in food, for your exam. You should be entitled to these so organise it now as its the last thing you want to be worrying about in the lead-up to the exams. Blood Glucose meter. Find one that works for you! (Note: a search on the Internet is likely to also showcase monitors that are only available in the US and Europe). This thing is going to have to go EVERYWHERE with you so choose one that you reckon is easy to use and not too ugly. Hopefully youll be able to get a freebie from your diabetes educator, but if not, Diabetes Australia shops (or website) are generally cheaper than your local chemist. See page 22 for reviews of current blood glucose meters.

what is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot sufficiently convert food into usable energy. The reason for this is a lack of insulin a hormone produced by a gland called the pancreas, or failure of the body to respond normally to insulin. When starchy food is digested, it breaks down into glucose. This builds up in the blood stream. Insulin controls the level of glucose in the blood by helping glucose go from the bloodstream into the bodys cells. Once in the cells, glucose can be used for energy or stored for future needs. With some people the above process fails to work properly and this results in the condition known as Diabetes. The common factor in all types of diabetes is the need to keep blood glucose in the normal range. This will help reduce the likelihood of long-term health problems or complications. The treatments that exist now are not a cure. Diabetes is a chronic illness. Until a cure is found, treatment must continue throughout a persons lifetime.

How insulin helps the body use glucose from the bloodstream for energy Reference: Ambler, G., et.al, Caring for Diabetes in Children and Adolescents.

the types
Type 1 The pancreas stops producing insulin. Those affected require daily insulin injections to survive. Type 2 The pancreas fails to produce enough insulin to meet the bodys needs or the body is unable to respond normally to insulin (insulin resistance) and the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin to meet the bodys increased needs. This most commonly affects older and often overweight people. Gestational Diabetes The hormonal changes in a womans body during pregnancy sometimes cause insulin resistance and again the pancreas fails to respond adequately, blood glucose levels rise. All pregnant women should be tested for gestational diabetes. Women who have had Gestational Diabetes have a 50% risk of developing type 2 Diabetes in the near future.

shaking, rapid heartbeat and pallor. The brain, which relies heavily on glucose to operate properly, can also be affected, leading to tiredness, trouble concentrating, mood and behaviour changes and eventually possible coma. Treatment of mild hypoglycaemia involves consumption of sugary food or drink followed by something more substantial such as bread. If a mild hypo is left untreated, the blood sugar level will continue to fall, starving the rest of the body of glucose and energy and leading to serious episodes such as blacking out. In most cases, the early symptoms can be recognised and treated without further problems. A co mplex balancing act! There are a large number of factors which influence blood glucose levels. They include the amount and type of food you eat, the amount of insulin you inject, all forms of exercise, drinking alcohol, and taking prescribed and recreational drugs. Many less tangible factors are also involved, often relating to the interaction of hormones in the body, such as those produced during periods of stress, anxiety and menstruation. A reliable but unpredictable part of every day life for most people! Courtesy of Diabetes Australia Victoria. Authors Kate Gilbert, Dr Alison Nankervis and Diabetes Educator Kerrie-Anne Arnold.

type 1 diabetes
Approximately 140,000 Australians have type 1 diabetes. The cause of type 1 diabetes is not totally understood. However, it is believed that people have a genetic predisposition to developing diabetes. A trigger factor such as a virus then causes the bodys own immune system to incorrectly identify the insulin-producing cells as foreign and destroy them. Managing type 1 diabetes is a complex question of balance. Type 1 diabetes is treated with multiple daily insulin injections, healthy eating, regular exercise and constant monitoring of blood sugar levels through taking small samples of blood from the fingertips. High blood glucose level (hyperglycaemia) causes one to feel fatigued, dehydrated and ill. The kidneys filtering the blood collect more glucose than usual. This glucose must be removed from the body. You pass a lot of urine. You need more water, get thirsty and drink a lot. People with type 1 diabetes are generally able to treat hyperglycaemia by changing their insulin dose. Symptoms of hyperglycaemia are initially relatively mild. If a person becomes ill or omits their insulin dose, the body is unable to process glucose normally. Low blood sugar level (hypoglycaemia or hypo) also affects the body. Early symptoms are sweating,

LADA Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood

Like type 1 diabetes, type 1.5 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood (LADA) is caused by the immune systems destruction of the insulin- producing pancreatic beta cells. The main difference between type 1 and LADA is the age of diagnosis thirty or older. LADA is also known as slow-onset type 1 diabetes, late-onset autoimmune diabetes of adulthood, and type 1.5 diabetes. The only difference between LADA and type 1 diabetes is that in LADA, the beta cell destruction has occurred over years to decades instead of days to months. Like other forms of type 1 diabetes, people with LADA require insulin injections to normalise their blood glucose levels. About Diabetes, www.about.com, 25 June 2004
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insulin
Knowing an insulins type will tell you how fast it starts to work and how long it works. This is called action or activity. The chart (page 9) shows the time activity of some of the short acting, intermediate acting and long acting human insulins. Onset The start of the curve (left side) shows how long it usually takes for the insulin to start working. Peak The peak is the highest part of the curve and shows when the insulin usually has its strongest effect. Duration The duration of activity is how long insulin continues to work.

Description
(other regimens may also be prescribed) (minutes) (hours)

Typical use Profile Onset

(hours)

Brand Names Peak At the start of each meal 0 15 1

Duration

Ultra short acting Humalog

(do not administer until meal is available)

3.5 4.5

Ultra short acting NovoRapid

(do not administer until meal is available)

At the start of each meal 10 20

13

35

Ultra short acting Apidra

(do not administer until meal is available)

At the start of each meal

10 15

0.5 1.5

< 3 hours

Short acting
(or as a sliding scale)

Table illustrating the different forms of insulin that are available. Humulin R Actrapid 30 mins before each meal 30 25 68
(background insulin)

Prepared by Pharmacy Department, Royal Melbourne Hospital, June 2002 with supplementary information from Aventis Pharma, July 2004 and Novo Nordisk, February 2007. Once or twice daily 60 90 4 12 16 24 Lantus
(background insulin)

Intermediate acting

Humulin NPH Protaphane

Long acting analog Once daily

none

(end of observation period)

24

Long acting analog Levemir

(background insulin)

Once or twice daily

3 14

Up to 24

hypo fixes
When your blood glucose level starts to drop, here are some handy things to have with you. Jelly beans are one good way to fix a hypo, but they are also prone to becoming a sticky gooey mess, or worse, furry! 6 should do the trick. Fruit bars the kind mum used to put in your lunch box. They are available in a variety of flavors and all have 68% sugar or higher. Brands include: Bellis Bars, IXL and Uncle Tobys Real Fruit bars. Glucose Powder. As yuck as it sounds, some people carry it around in an M&Ms mini container while out and about. A great idea if you find that any type of yum lollies would be too tempting to snack on. Glucose Tablets main advantage is they taste ordinary so you (and your friends) are unlikely to snack on them! Strong cordial is pretty good tastes sickeningly sweet but it does the job in a hurry! Lucozade or Staminade is great. A couple of bottles in the fridge and the glove box. Careful not to have too much though a couple of sips is generally enough. And be careful that some of those other sports drinks have almost no sugar Lucozade is the best one. Milo a generous scoop into a glass of milk gives you a short boost and a more sustained lift as well from the milk Sugar Sachets can easily be carried in your wallet. 3 sachets will generally treat a hypo. And to finish it off Remember that youll often need some more substantial food after a hypo as well to ensure you dont just drop back down again. Muesli bars, boxes of sultanas or a glass of milk will do the trick here. Preventing hypos is the best thing of course! See page 13 for more.

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food the carb connection

With all the hype about low carbohydrate diets over the past few years, you could easily be mistaken to think that carbs are the enemy and something to be avoided at all cost. But if you have type 1 diabetes, carbs are really important actually the most important part of your diet. You dont actually need to eat more or less carbs than normal if you have diabetes, but you do need to balance your intake of carbs with the amount of insulin you take and the exercise you do. Let me explain Food is made up of protein, fat and carbohydrate along with vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and water. All of these are an important part of a healthy diet but it is the carbs that impact most on blood glucose levels. When you eat carbs, they break down to glucose which is absorbed into your bloodstream. You then need insulin to get the glucose from the bloodstream into your muscles and cells to use for energy. In someone without diabetes, the body always produces just the right amount of insulin to deal with the carbs that they eat. But when you have type 1 diabetes, this doesnt happen. Most type 1s inject a similar amount of insulin each day, which means that you really need to be eating a similar amount of carbs each day to avoid your blood glucose levels going up too high or down too low. There are other factors, such as exercise and stress, that make this relationship a bit more confusing, but essentially insulin and carbs need to be matched. You will need to learn how much carbohydrate is in the food you eat. A common tool used is carbohydrate portions or exchanges, which is the amount of a food providing 15g of carbohydrate. Examples of a portion/exchange (or 15g) of carbohydrate: a slice of bread an apple 2 Weet-Bix a glass of milk. This means that you could have either 2 slices of bread and an apple OR 4 Weet-Bix with a cup of milk and in both cases you would be having about the same amount (3 portions) of carbs. And for both meals you would need about the same amount of insulin. A dietitian can help you to work out the amounts of carbs you need to eat from day to day and meal to meal and will work with you and your endo to determine the right amount of insulin to take depending on the amount of carbs you eat. So which foods contain carbs? Carbs are made up of starches and sugars. Starches include breads, cereals, pasta, rice, starchy vegetables such as potato, sweet potato and corn, and legumes. Sugars include added sugar as well as the natural sugars in fruit and dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and ice-cream. Are all carbs the same? In the past people with diabetes were told not to eat sugary foods and to consume only carbs from starchy foods. But we now know that foods are more complex than we previously thought. Some sugary foods, particularly the natural sugars in fruit and dairy products, increase blood glucose levels only slowly, while some starchy foods, such as white bread, cornflakes and potato will raise blood glucose levels more quickly. The measure of how quickly or slowly a food raises blood glucose levels is called glycemic index (GI) and is explained in more detail on the next page. The Glycemic Index (GI Factor) tells us that: The amount of sugar in a food isnt a good indicator of how likely the food is to raise blood glucose levels People with type 1 diabetes dont need to avoid sugar altogether the most important thing is eating a similar amount of carbs from day to day, regardless of where the carbs come from Even if you eat the same amount of carbs from day to day you may get a different blood glucose response if the GI of the carbs you eat is different. In general it is good to eat more low GI carbs, except during episodes of hypoglycemia when high GI carbs will bring the blood glucose level back to normal much faster. A dietitian will help you to work out an eating plan to suit your needs, food preferences and lifestyle. They will also be able to explain more about carbs and GI and to help you to work out how different foods affect your blood glucose levels. To find a dietitian who specialises in diabetes, contact your local diabetes centre, Diabetes Australia in your state, or DAA (Dietitians Association of Australia). Your endocrinologist and Diabetes Educator should also be able to help you. For more information on eating with diabetes, and the carbohydrate content of foods, you may wish to buy a carb counting book such as Fats & Figures or The New Traffic Light Guide to Diabetes or check out one of the many online carb counters such as <www.calorieking.com.au>. Many thanks to Kate Marsh, Dietitian and Diabetes Educator in Sydney for preparing this information for the Starter Kit.
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food and the GI factor

For a long time we dismissed the GI Factor as the latest fad from those nutty live-by-the-book dietitians. But once you wade through all the tables of figures and bizarre theories, maybe the GI Factor could be useful. Well, what the hell is it?
The GI Factor is a method of ranking foods in terms of how fast they cause our blood glucose levels to rise and fall. It really shows how fast foods can be digested and converted into energy. It is measured relative to pure glucose, which is given a value of 100. The actual numbers tend to just complicate the whole matter so people generally talk in terms of low GI foods, and high GI foods.

some examples
Low GI foods (less than 55) Make blood sugar levels rise slowly and remain in our system for a long period of time. Good to have as main meals or before exercise. Foods with large particles that our bodies take a long time to digest and hence release their energy slowly: lentils, soy beans, cherries, yoghurt, oats, pasta, grainy breads. High GI foods (more than 70) Make blood sugars rise & fall rapidly. Good for hypos! Small particles that are digested and start providing energy quickly: coco pops, jelly beans, white breads and potato. Fruit juices have a medium GI so are not very good hypo fixes. All dairy products have a low GI. A glass of milk before bed, like Nana says, will provide a long slow release of energy and might avoid those overnight hypos. Foods vary greatly by variety i.e. dark rye & wonderwhite breads have a very high GI factor (86, 80), while Burgen soy & linseed bread has a very low GI (19). Baked potatoes have a high GI of 85 not far off glucose! Rice, although a complex carbohydrate, actually has a high GI. Basmati rice is the lowest choice. How to switch to a low GI Diet: If you want to get into the GI, its really about choices like knowing that blood sugars will fluctuate less by having multigrain instead of white bread, pasta and legumes instead of calrose rice, All-Bran instead of coco pops. The main things to concentrate on if youd like to go low GI are: Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran; Use grainy breads made with whole seeds; Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat (Substitute sweet potato which has much lower GI); Enjoy all types of fruit and vegetables (except potatoes). For more information visit: <www.glycemicindex.com> or check out: The Pocket Guide to the GI Factor for People with Diabetes. Some low GI cook books are listed on page 36.

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managing blood glucose levels

IN THE REAL WORLD Well break it to you now, so youre not too shocked in a few months. Living with diabetes is an art, not a science. Once your honeymoon wears off, and your bodys producing no insulin at all, you will become abruptly aware that the equation for diabetes can be more complicated than exercise + food + insulin = blood glucose level. There are a lot of other factors which can weigh into the equation. The Type 1 Diabetes Network recently asked for information on what can effect everyones blood sugar levels, and here are some interesting and varied answers:

the downers: things that make some peoples blood sugars drop unexpectedly
Yoga Eating pasta Cold weather Hot weather (sometimes 2 or 3 hypos per day) Prolonged physical work causes delayed hypo Timing of insulin injection in relation to the GI of associated food Eating vegetable stir fry for dinner Sex makes me low, but only if its a double session! Getting my period.

the uppers: what makes some peoples blood sugars rise?

Stress Corticosteroids (drugs) Crazy days/nights (where you forget or ignore insulin) Going to see a band I really love, no matter how much I dance/mosh/skank/act like a tool! Gelati you know, the creamy one! Anything that gets the adrenalin going even a tense, scary, exciting movie! Caffeine its a stimulant Exercise adrenalin! Sleep deprivation Hot weather Colds and flus Eating pasta Hormone changes a week before my period, my blood sugars soar, then drop when my period comes.

The conclusion: Every bodys different! As youll see, pasta was listed by two different people as having the opposite effect! But we hope this list of things from others with diabetes will help you identify factors in your own case which might be the cause of a mysteriously high or low blood sugar level.

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alcohol
In a person with insulin-dependent diabetes, alcohol has two potentially problematic effects: 1. 2. It impairs the livers ability to produce glucose in the event of a severe hypo; Early signs of hypos can be indistinguishable from drunkenness (for you and people around you) or ignored. Other Stuff Alcohol is high in kilojoules/calories, so can contribute to weight gain. Some types of alcohol are high in carbohydrates and can raise blood glucose levels, however they vary greatly, e.g. Carlton Cold has 9g carbohydrate per 375mL; VB has 10.1g; Tooheys Blue 17.0g; Hahn Longbrew 5.0g. Diet beers contain less carbohydrate but the same amount of alcohol as regular beer. Mixing spirits with regular sugary soft drinks, milk or juice is one way to consume carbohydrates while you drink if nothing else is available.

When you have a hypo, under normal circumstances, the hormone glucagon is secreted from the alpha cells in your pancreas. Glucagon travels to your liver and stimulates it to release glucose from its stores of glycogen. This occurs well after you have had early signs of the hypo and hopefully been able to treat it. However, if you do not treat a hypo your liver will eventually kick in with the glucose. Yet if youve been drinking a lot of alcohol this life-saving mechanism can be impaired and blood sugar levels will continue to fall indefinitely. Something else to be aware of when drinking is that it can become very easy to ignore or misinterpret hypo warning symptoms. They can be similar to feeling tipsy, or you can just ignore them altogether as there are so many other things going on. Some people with diabetes have found the following ideas helpful. Before a big night out, eat a decent meal. If youre planning on being very active you may like to reduce your insulin by 10 20%. Try to nibble on something with carbos and protein while you drink (e.g. chips, etc.). Wear or carry some form of identification, in the case that a hypo is mistaken for drunkenness this can be a lifesaver When you get home after a big night try to do a blood test and eat or drink something like multigrain toast, glass of milk, banana (low GI). Make sure someone you are drinking with knows you have diabetes. If you get stuck in shouts/rounds and are drinking faster than you would like, on your shout buy yourself a soft drink. Carry some hypo food on you.

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sick days
A common cold or more serious bug can also play havoc with blood sugar levels. Senior Pharmacist at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Karen Hirth, provides the following advice for dealing with colds and flu. Give in. If you need extra insulin for the term of your bug invasion its not the end of the world, despite the fact you may be eating very little. Do lots of blood tests. And work with your diabetes team to increase insulin doses to keep your blood sugars under control. Drink Up! Keep your body hydrated by drinking lots of water. Eat. I dont mean to sound like your mother but if you want to get better faster, eat soups with lots of vegies, fruits and custards and throw in some protein too. Try to avoid: bombarding the body with massive doses of vitamin C. If your body is not used to it, massive doses can cause really bad diarrhoea. Lovely! Pills and potions. If it makes you feel better go for it, but remember almost all currently available agents treat the symptoms not the cause, i.e. you will not get better faster. Some medicines can add to high blood glucose levels. Ask the pharmacist to recommend a suitable cold and flu medication. Check Ketones. Ketones are chemicals in the blood produced when an alternative source of energy to glucose is required and fat is broken down. Combined with high blood glucose levels, this can be dangerous and lead to Ketoacidosis. If you are ill and have blood sugars above 15, check ketones either with urine test strips or a blood ketone meter and test strips. If ketones are present call your doctor or diabetes educator See page 16 for more on ketones.

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ketones & ketoacidosis

When you are ill, have an infection or your sugars have been high for any reason for a long period, you need to look out for a very dangerous condition: Ketoacidosis. But what is it? Lets go back a step. Some things called Ketones are produced when the body is burning fat to get energy. This happens naturally, of course, if we are exercising to lose weight. However, if it happens too much too fast, it is not natural. Moderate or large amounts of ketones in your body are very dangerous. They upset the chemical balance of the blood. Ketones in the blood can lead to a condition called Ketoacidosis, also known as DKA, which just stands for diabetic ketoacidosis. DKA involves having to go to hospital to be rehydrated and monitored while the ketones in your body reduce to a safe level. Many people with type 1 diabetes have never in 20 or more years had an episode of ketoacidosis. But you may already know what it is, as it can happen when peoples type 1 diabetes is undiagnosed and you might have been unlucky enough to have had it already. Unfortunately, DKA is life threatening, so you need to understand what it is and what to look out for. Ketones are NOT an infection. An infection can give you ketones, as explained at point 1 above, but ketones are not a type of infection. Antibiotics will not fix ketones. Ketones and DKA are NOT related to kidney function. The small particles that blood tests look for when someones kidneys arent filtering properly are called microalbiminuria. The presence or absence of ketones in your urine does not indicate anything about your kidney function. The two things are entirely different.

Do I have ketoacidosis/DKA?
When ketones are moderate or high and the chemical balance of your blood is upset, you will know about it! The symptoms of ketoacidosis include nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Some people also experience fast and heavy beating of their heart. It is scary. You are clearly unwell. And you should speak to your doctor or go to hospital immediately.

Catch it early. Stay out of hospital.

Ketones can be tested at home with a simple blood or urine test. Urine tests are done with testing strips available from your chemist or your NDSS outlet, the same way you buy blood testing strips. You pee on the strip, wait as indicated, and check the colour against a chart on the container. This is cheap and easy, but is not very accurate and only shows the ketones that were in your body 24 hours earlier. The Optium Xceed blood glucose meter is able to do blood testing of ketones and is the only meter which allows this function (as well as doing regular blood glucose testing). You will need different testing strips to your normal ones for blood tests, but otherwise, it is quite simple to use the Optium Xceed meter.

What causes ketones and DKA? What should you look out for?
1. Not getting enough insulin. Maybe you forgot or made a mistake with your insulin doses. Or your body is fighting an infection, a flu or another illness, so needs more insulin than usual. If there is not enough insulin available, your body cannot access sugars in your blood for energy, so your body begins to break down body fat for the energy it needs to function. 2. Not enough food. When people are sick, they often do not feel like eating. Again your body needs energy and because there is no other food for it to break down, it starts breaking down body fat. Ketones are produced from this process. The same may happen if a person who is not ill simply does not eat, for example, they simply skip a meal, or if they have an eating disorder. 3. Hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose). When blood glucose levels fall too low, the body must use fat to get energy. If testing shows high ketones in the morning, you may have had a hypo while asleep. 4. Changes during pregnancy. Women with type 1 diabetes who are pregnant are at high risk of producing ketones. The rapid changes in your body during pregnancy and changing insulin needs can mean that your body is not getting enough insulin or food. As explained in Points 1 and 2, both of these scenarios can lead to ketones.
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You should test for ketones when:

1 You are ill 2 You are under stress 3 Your blood glucose levels are consistently high e.g. above 15 mmol/L.

I have ketones. What do I do now?

KETONE TEST RESULT Blood test = Less than 0.6 mmol/L Urine test = Low or Trace Blood test = 0.6 1.5 mmol/L Urine test = Moderate ADVICE This is the normal, low level. No action is required. This indicates the beginning of a problem. Your endocrinologist or diabetes educator will have provided you with instructions to follow if you are showing ketones do this now. Their instructions may have included regular (half-hourly) monitoring of blood glucose, increasing or adding insulin doses carefully until your blood sugar levels drop. Also drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. You may be at risk of DKA. Call diabetes team immediately for advice. If you cannot contact your diabetes team, call your nearest big public hospital and ask to speak to the endocrinologist, diabetes nurse or registrar on call. If this still fails, you need to go to the emergency unit of your nearest hospital.

Blood test = More than 1.5 mmol/L Urine test = High

Thanks to Dr Jennifer Conn, endocrinologist, for her assistance with preparing this information.

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hormones and girl stuff

Its hard work being a woman. But you already knew that. Thanks to our lovely ovaries, we have an extra little gremlin to battle in the diabetes stakes. Unless you had a very cool, probably female, endocrinologist or educator who diagnosed your diabetes, girl stuff and how diabetes affects it probably wasnt mentioned. Type 1 Diabetes Network to the rescue!

What about contraception?

There is no single method of contraception perfect for everyone. The same warnings and conditions apply for contraception as for all women. If you identify wild swings in blood sugars, or any irregularities with your menstrual cycle, you may wish to see a gynaecologist who specialises in treating diabetic women. Some women find that altering the type of contraceptive pill they take, or starting on a pill or one of the newer forms of injected or implanted contraception, can provide some hormones that smooth out the effect of their menstrual cycle on their blood glucose levels. Even if youre not wanting or needing to take the Pill for contraceptive reasons, the hormones in various types of hormonal contraception can help to moderate other hormones your body releases through your monthly cycle. Its worth investigating. Chat to your endo or educator.

What do hormones have to do with diabetes?

Insulin is a hormone! And the clever thing about hormones is that they interact with everything and anything, and each other, going up and down in response to the millions of processes which go on inside our bodies every minute. There are several hormones that are released at different times through all womens menstrual cycles. For women with diabetes, these hormones will interact with the insulin we are injecting or pumping and therefore might affect our blood glucose levels.

and babies?
Women with diabetes can have healthy babies. But you need to know that pregnancy for women with diabetes is considered high risk. You have an equal chance of having a healthy baby if you become pregnant at a time when your diabetes is tightly controlled and general health is good. It is highly recommended that women with diabetes plan their pregnancies. There are specialist diabetes and pregnancy clinics at all major womens hospitals in Australia. You can attend these clinics while you are planning a pregnancy, as well as during your pregnancy. You will see both diabetes specialists and obstetricians who specialise in working with diabetic mothers. For more information about diabetes and pregnancy: Can I have a healthy baby? Free booklet available by emailing [email protected] or phone 03 9667 1732. Visit www.d1.org.au for a download of the booklet, and many women with diabetes stories of pregnancy. Thanks to Dr Jennifer Conn, consultant endocrinologist at Royal Womens Hospital, Melbourne for her assistance in preparing this information.

Is there a regular monthly pattern?

Everyone is different but a common pattern is that 3-5 days before our periods start, our body becomes resistant to the insulin that we are injecting or pumping. This is caused by the high estrogen levels produced at this stage of our menstrual cycle. Many women find that for a few days before their period, blood glucose levels are high; we have whats called insulin resistance at this time. As you start to bleed a few days later, and the estrogen levels drop away, many womens blood glucose levels will drop, sometimes quite dramatically. Be very careful to look out for hypos on the first day of your period.

How do you deal with it?

It is a bit tricky to manage at first. Different women can have very different experiences: some hardly notice it at all and others have quite dramatic highs and lows through their cycle. But you will generally find that you have your own pattern that is the same or similar for you each month. By keeping a note of blood glucose levels a week either side of your period for about three months, you can generally identify a pattern and then, if you need to, work with your endo or educator to adjust your insulin doses to work around this pattern. Some women find that hormonal contraception, such as the Pill, can be very helpful to counter the hormones causing rises and falls in blood glucose levels, even if you dont need it for contraception.

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insulin delivery options

So once youve been inducted into the insulin-appreciation society, the all-important question is which method of delivery? In order to keep you up-to-date, Type 1 Diabetes Network has taken a look at the available options, and some others that are in the pipeworks.

Insulin pens
Insulin pens are recommended as a more discreet way to carry and inject insulin. They are devices that look like a cartridge pen, with a needle on the end. Users turn a dial, insert the needle under the skin and then press a plunger that delivers the dialed-up dose of insulin. Being able to dial-up a dose is quicker than drawing up a syringe, if you are self-conscious or needle-phobic they look a bit less intimidating than a syringe and you only have to carry one item around (so long as you only need one type of insulin at a time) rather than the syringe and vial. Being a fraidy cat when it comes to needles I find the pens great If I go out for dinner it is easy to slip into your pocket I think it is fantastic Neal, Humapen roadtest, on: <www.d1.org.au> The downside is that they can malfunction, they are slightly more expensive than using syringes (but ask your diabetes educator for a freebie if possible) and they can actually be bulkier than a syringe and vial.

syringes
Most people take their insulin by injection with either an insulin pen or the traditional syringe. Using traditional syringes and vials of insulin was the only method available until the 1980s. The main advantages of sticking with syringes is that very little can go wrong you can see the insulin you are drawing up and delivering, so you are unlikely to inject Levemir when you meant to inject Humalog and you can verify that you delivered the full dose visually. The syringes are extremely unlikely to malfunction or be damaged by being dropped or hit. In addition, you can mix insulins in a syringe (just dont change the order of the mix) that may mean fewer jabs. Note: Lantus insulin can not be mixed with anything else. The downsides of syringes are that it can take longer to draw up the dose and the needle is very visiblewhich can be scary for people with needle-phobia.

Insulin pumps
Insulin pumps deliver insulin constantly (basal rate) and on demand to cover food or correct a high sugar (bolus) through narrow flexible tubing that ends in a canula just under the skin. The pump is about the size of a deck of cards and resembles a pager; it is clipped onto a belt, waistband or other handy bit of clothing.

An insulin pen the most common device for delivering insulin.

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Greg sums it up on the Pump Oz website,

An insulin pump. The main advantages are that it delivers a constant (basal) dose of insulin throughout the day, the rate of delivery can be set to compensate for your needs, e.g. a lower rate to avoid 1am hypos and a higher rate to overcome the dawn phenomena. Only rapid acting insulin is used so it overcomes the peaks and troughs of the long acting insulins. As it constantly delivers a basal rate of insulin, flexibility in meal times, skipping meals, sleeping-in, etc. can be achieved without sacrificing control. Since being on the pump my bsls have been the best ever for the past 50 years. Sue, RC Forum. The downsides are the cost, but a recent announcement from the federal government has improved this tremendously. The pump itself is covered by private health insurance (through basic hospital cover it is considered a prosthetic device and paid for in full by the insurance company). If you dont have private health cover it would cost approximately $8,000. Many people sign up for health insurance in order to get a pump there is generally a 12 month waiting period. The consumables required to run the pump are subsidised under the federal governments National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) prior to that development they cost approximately $200 a month. As the pump delivers a constant stream of quick acting insulin,if the pump malfunctions or you pull out the infusion site or run out of insulin, you will very quickly run out of insulin completely and the risk of developing ketoacidosis (see glossary) is high. To avoid this you must be prepared to monitor your BSL frequently (about 6 times a day) and carry insulin with you, so that you can inject some insulin if your pump stops delivering insulin.

If considering a pump, be serious about it. It requires more testing You must learn to carry adequate supplies to do a quick infuse in the field and as now there is no longterm insulin aboard if you have a tube failure or an infusion set tear out, without proper remedy. BSL will climb quickly and almost uncontrollably.
Also potential pumpers need to be aware that changing over to pump involves a lot of work as it is quite different to injections and despite the many happy pumpers (myself included) who wax lyrical about its advantages it is still a long way from a cure and requires a lot of work and a fairly serious commitment. Being attached to a pump constantly having this weird shite hanging out of you as one of our forum correspondents so eloquently stated is a real downside. You have to carry this thing around with you, sleep with it and be prepared to answer those whats that, is that a pager questions. Carolyn sums up how many pumpers feel about the pros and cons of pumping Since getting the pump my control has been so much better, my bsls more consistent and I love the freedom Yes the cost is a big deal but the freedom and control it gives more than makes up for it. Insulin pumps currently available in Australia are: Animas <www.asml.com.au/animas> Customer Service: 1300 851 056 Accu-Chek <www.accu-chek.com.au> Customer Service: 1800 251 816 Medtronic Minimed <www.medtronic-diabetes.com.au> Customer Service: 1800 668 670

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insulin patch
Apparently the insulin patch is being worked on, which would deliver a continuous low dose of insulin, whilst to deliver a bolus before a meal, users could pull off a tab on the patch to release extra insulin. The main problem is that the insulin has trouble penetrating the skin (thatd be why we use needles!) and I would imagine it would be difficult to achieve adequate control of dosage.

implantable pumps
These are being developed by pump companies. Implantable pumps are surgically implanted and deliver a basal dose of insulin and a remote control gets the pump to bolus for meals (wouldnt like to mix up the TV and pump remote). The advantage of this method is that the insulin can go directly to the liver (just like insulin from the pancreas) so enhancing its effectiveness. The most exciting potential development in pumping is the artificial pancreas. This would combine continuous blood glucose monitoring with insulin delivery to automatically control blood glucose levels. Companies such as Minimed proclaim that they are well on the way to perfecting this technology. Article written and researched by Melinda Seed. First Published in Yada Yada, December 2002, the Type 1 Diabetes Network newsletter.

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blood glucose meters

A selection of meters currently available. NAME
FreeStyle Lite

MANUFACTURER
Abbott Diabetes Care more at www.abbottdiabetescare.com.au

APPROX. COST*
$69

PICTURE

FEATURES
Reading takes 5 seconds No coding required Worlds smallest blood sample 0.3L 400 result memory Extended 480 test memory the largest test memory of any meter on the market Small and convenient with comfortable rubber grips Backlit display 5 second test time Small sample size (0.6L) for gentle testing Pre and post-meal markers Post-meal reminder setting 500 test memory 50 tests on a continuous tape no handling of used test strips 6 lancets in a single drum on the side Small 0.3L sample size 5 second test time 500 test memory Blood ketone test to help manage sick days Tiny blood sample 0.6L Backlight is excellent 5 second test Huge memory 450 tests Tiny amount of blood 5 second test Free software for downloading results 5 second test Looks like a small mobile phone Light and compact Drum of 17 testing strips held inside meter 15 second test A bit bulkier than some Easy to use No coding 5 second test Small sample size 500 test memory

Accu-chek Performa

Roche more at www.accu-chek.com.au

$69

Accu-check Performa Nano

Roche more at www.accu-chek.com.au

$69

Accu-check Mobile

Roche more at www.accu-chek.com.au

$149

Optium Xceed

Abbott Diabetes Care more at www.abbottdiabetescare.com.au

$69

Caresens

i-Sens more at www.caresens.com.au

$79

Accu-chek Go

Roche more at www.accu-chek.com.au Roche more at www.accu-chek.com.au Johnson & Johnson Medical

$59 - $109

Accu-chek Integra

$109

ONETOUCH VERIO

$68

*Prices of blood glucose meters fluctuate wildly please check with your local pharmacy or Diabetes Australia outlet for current prices. Make sure you look out for promotional offers where companies offer free meters or free upgrades. Subscribe to Type 1 Diabetes Networks email bulletin Yada Yada via www.d1.org.au to be informed of any exciting offers.

New blood glucose meters become available all the time. Visit Type 1 Diabetes Networks website www.d1.org.au for our independent road tests of new and current meters.
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exercise
Intense exercise can cause a large increase in blood sugars due to the surge in glucoseraising hormones. You may find that after training for several weeks, your blood glucose does not drop as significantly as it did when you first started training. Regular physical activity improves blood glucose control by increasing the bodys sensitivity to insulin. It is crucial to know when your insulins peak in order to determine your blood sugar response to exercise and your need for supplement carbohydrates.

Dr Colberg-Ochs recently answered some people with diabetes questions in an interview with About.com.
Gary Hall Jnr Olympic swimmer We all know that exercise is good for us but diabetes presents some challenges blood sugar levels can drop low or rise unexpectedly during exercise, but dont be deterred! People with diabetes can achieve amazing things US Olympic Swimmer Gary Hall Jnr and UK Rower Steve Redgrave both have diabetes. Zippora Karz, a member with the New York City Ballet, was diagnosed in the middle of her career at 21 and went on to be appointed soloist at 27. Closer to home, AFL footballer Dale The Flea Weightman was also diagnosed in the middle of his career but it didnt stop him becoming a legend of the game. More recently Nathan Bassett hasnt let type 1 stop him from becoming a top player in Adelaide. Dr. Sheri Colberg-Ochs, an Associate Professor of Exercise Science at Old Dominion University, author of the book The Diabetic Athlete, and a diabetic athlete herself, provides some useful information for managing diabetes around whichever exercise you may wish to do or continue doing. Regular exercise is the most important activity that you can do to slow the ageing process, manage your blood sugars, and stay healthy. The best way to deal with the multitude of variables is to learn your own responses to all of them by checking blood sugar levels before, during, and after exercise. Jennifer asks: Why does my blood sugar actually rise after my regular morning exercise session? Dr. Colberg-Ochs answers: Many things can affect your blood sugar response to exercise, and it is normal for intense exercise to actually cause a rise in blood sugars. In all likelihood, both the time of day that you are exercising and what you are eating for breakfast are probably having a large effect on your sugars. Morning exercise is notorious for causing less of a drop in blood sugars, even when compared with the exact same type of exercise done later in the day. The reason for this is that after you fast overnight (not eating between dinner and breakfast), your body releases extra hormones to keep your blood sugars normal, particularly high levels of cortisol and growth hormone, and the livers in diabetic people often overproduce glucose overnight as well. These hormones, while working well to keep your blood sugars normal overnight, also make your insulin less effective, thereby creating an insulin resistant state in your body in the early AM. By eating breakfast, you break your fast and provide alternate fuels that allow the levels of these hormones to then drop. So, breakfast is important, but it is also the meal at which our bodies have the hardest time with carbohydrates causing a bigger increase in our blood sugars. You may want to stick with a lower carb breakfast, saving them for after your workout when your insulin action has improved.
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Also, you may want to experiment with exercising at different times of day to see the effect. If you do continue with your morning exercise, though, the temporary elevations in your blood sugar will be just that: temporary. If they begin persisting past an hour or two, though, then you will need to rethink your strategy. Carl asks: I want to exercise to decrease weight and become more healthy. However, I have found that my sugar level drops quickly when I exercise. This of course leads me to feel as if I need to eat, and in return for eating I feel I defeated the purpose of the exercise which was to burn calories and lose weight. Is this cycle avoidable? Or is the eating actually ok? Dr. Colberg-Ochs answers: If youre using exercise to try to lose weight, then it would definitely be better to minimize the additional eating. However, a few simple changes in your diet and/or medications could easily help you to break this cycle. If you are able to make changes to your regimen, then you should be able to correct this problem. If exercise is causing your blood sugar to drop, then you can either lower your insulin dosages (consult with your physician if you dont know how to do this on your own), or adjust your diet for exercise. When you know that you are going to exercise following a meal or snack, eat foods with more carbohydrates in them (but that have approximately the same calorie content as what you would have eaten otherwise). These carbs will then be available to your body during exercise and should help prevent any drops in blood sugar. If you still have to eat something afterwards to compensate, consume only quick-acting carbs that will quickly correct your low feeling, like a glass of soft drink, or 5-6 dry biscuits, but that will add relatively few calories. Do not eat foods high in fat or protein as they will not quickly correct a low blood sugar!

general exercise guidelines for athletes with type 1 diabetes

From the American Diabetes Association and American College of Sports Medicine. Metabolic control before exercise: Avoid exercising if fasting glucose levels are more than 14 mmol/L and ketosis is present, and use caution if glucose levels are greater than 17 mmol/L and no ketosis is present. Ingest carbohydrates if glucose levels are below 5.5 mmol/L. Blood glucose monitoring before and after exercise Identify when changes in insulin or food intake are necessary. Learn the glycaemic response to different exercise conditions. Food intake Consume carbohydrate as needed to avoid hypoglycaemia. Keep carbohydrate-based foods readily available during and after exercise.

Further reading about Diabetes and Exercise

The Diabetic Athletes Handbook by Dr Sheri Colberg-Ochs can be ordered online or at your local bookstore. Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association (US -based): <www.diabetes-exercise.org> Fact sheet from the Australian Institute of Sport: <www.ais.org.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/ specialdiets-2/diabetes-and-sports-nutrition> HypoActive information about type 1 diabetes and exercise, plus events that people with diabetes have entered and inspiring individual achievements. <www.hypoactive.org>

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travel
Diabetes absolutely does not need to kill the travel bug! Many people with diabetes travel far and wide, in style and on a shoestring, in a hurry for constant business trips and on long extended holidays around the world!
Carry all your diabetes supplies in your hand luggage. It can be difficult, though not impossible, to obtain all your diabetes supplies away from home if they are lost. Best to keep them close to hand so you dont have to waste precious time traipsing around an unknown city. Replacing lost supplies. If you do find yourself in this predicament, start with a major hospitals emergency room which should be able to supply enough to get you through. Alternatively, phone the diabetes organisation where you are and ask someone to explain how you obtain diabetes supplies in their state/country. If heading overseas, you can find out contact details for the local organisation in advance by visiting the International Diabetes Federations website: www.idf.org. Wear ID. Make sure you have some form of identification which says that you have diabetes such as a Medicalert bracelet, on you, especially if traveling alone. No need to request diabetic meals on planes. These can be a little unpredictable. Some people even report that their diabetic airplane meals have included not a scrap of carbohydrates. On a related note, for long hauls you can generally find out from the airline which meals will be served on flights but not exactly what the meals will contain which may be helpful in planning long trips. Always pack hypo supplies especially on long flights. Also, dont be afraid to ask the flight attendant for a lemonade or extra food if you need it to treat a hypo. Get travel insurance! It may seem like just another wad of dollars which your travel agent is trying to extract from you but if only for you and your familys peace of mind it could be the best investment you ever make. There will most likely be an excess for your pre-existing condition $100 extra is common. There are hundreds more tips and tricks that you can learn from others with diabetes who have traveled extensively. The Type 1 Diabetes Network website contains some stories of peoples travels, as well as an easy discussion forum where you can ask more specific questions relating to your own travel plans.

There are some extra things youll need to do, however, mainly in regards to keeping the security guys off your back for carrying sharp objects and to make sure you always have the wonder drug insulin by your side as you travel. Carry a letter from your doctor. Ask your doctor to write a letter stating your full name, address and date of birth, that you have diabetes and then listing the medications, insulin delivery devices (syringes, insulin pens or pumps) which you use and blood glucose testing equipment you use, and stating that you must be allowed to carry these with you at all times. Make several copies of this letter. Customs or security gates. If questioned about syringes or other diabetes equipment which you are carrying, stay calm, simply state that you have diabetes and explain what the devices are. Show the person the letter from your doctor. The Federal Aviation Authority trains all security staff in what people with diabetes must be allowed to carry. There is no need to declare your supplies on domestic or international flights as they are entirely permitted. Take a spare prescription. Always take prescriptions for all medications which you need, and which you are carrying with you. This will both assist you to get more supplies if needed, and reassure security officers that the medications are your own.

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how much will it cost?

Public hospital diabetes clinics are free. And generally are able to refer you to other services (such as blood tests) which are also free. Different hospitals have different services, but generally via public hospital clinics you can have free appointments with diabetes specialists/ endocrinologists and diabetes nurse educators. Many also have dietitians available. Private endocrinologists charge varying fees but you get most of it back on Medicare. The amount you get back through Medicare is not effected by what the doctor chooses to charge. The Medicare refund is calculated from what is called the Medicare Schedule Fee. Medicare sets what is effectively a minimum charge for doctors and then refunds to you 85% of that amount. Dont be afraid to ask when you make your appointment what the fee will be. Diabetes Educators can be seen for free at most major public hospitals. Phone your nearest hospital during business hours and ask them to page the Diabetes Educator on call. Insulin will cost $34.20 or about $6* if you have an approved concession or health care card. One prescription is approximately 3 months supply. You will get 5 x 10mL vials of insulin (for use with a syringe or insulin pump), or 5 boxes of 5 x 3mL penfills or disposable pre-filled insulin pens. Your prescription will also include 2 repeats which means you can go back to the chemist and get more insulin twice without having to see your doctor for another prescription. Blood Testing Strips cost about $7.40* per pack of 50 or $1 with a concession or health care card. Strips are subsidised by the federal government under the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) and cost $7.35 per pack of 50 strips, or $1 per pack with an approved concession or health care card. Syringes and insulin pen needles are free. Also via the NDSS system as above. Blood glucose meters range in cost but are generally $50$150 dollars. You will need to use this device constantly and carry it with you everywhere so it may be worth a little investment to get one that works for you. Many private health insurance funds rebate the cost of a new meter every 2 years. Insulin Pens can generally be obtained for free from your diabetes educator. Get a Health Care Card if eligible! *Source: Figures accurate as at June 2011

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surfing the net

TIPS FOR SUCCESS Many people race home from a diagnosis with diabetes and jump on the internet. If you have not previously investigated health conditions on the web, you will probably be surprised at the enormous number (and variety) of sites to be found. The ABCs health reporter Rae Fry provides the following advice on their website <www.abc.net. au>. A useful page to have beside your keyboard as you go searching. Dont rely on just one site. Find out who owns or has written the information. Sites produced by institutions may be more reliable than those produced by individuals. Sites that use an editorial review board may be more reliable. Information should be balanced have the pros and cons been considered? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Advertising should be clearly identified and commercial sponsorship disclosed up-front. Good site presentation doesnt guarantee quality, but nor does it detract from it. The information should be up to date. Be very wary of sites that offer online consultation and prescriptions. Finding good information takes time. For complete report see ABC Health website: www. abc.net.au/health/cguides/elixir.htm See page 36 for some popular diabetes websites.

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head stuff
When talking about coping with diabetes the first stop is what we think of as the bad emotions; denial, obsession, anger, depression, and so on. But nothing is all bad. These feelings may be painful to experience, but like physical pain, they serve a useful purpose. Without physical pain you would hold onto a hot pan until your flesh charred. You would walk around with a rock in your shoe until you ground a hole into your foot. Without the symptomatic pain of a headache, or stomach ache, you would let a serious but correctable problem go on until it was too late. It has been said that pain is our friend because it alerts us that something is wrong and we can fix it. The same can be said of emotional pain. The negative emotions are what many psychologists call smoke alarms. They wake you up so you can get yourself out of danger. Everyone is susceptible to negative emotions. They are part of the condition. But when you have diabetes and it comes to negative emotions, it seems that youre more human than anybody. Whether youre newly diagnosed or have had diabetes for a number of years, you find panic, fear, anger, guilt, shame, depression, and grief raising their ugly head more often than you remember them doing in your pre-diabetic days and certainly, it seems, more often than with your non-diabetic friends. You are probably right. After all, you have a built-in reason for feeling bad. You have a chronic disease, one that imposes restrictions and routines on you life, one that, if you dont toe the line of care and control, may lead to complications, and one that in itself can upset your hormonal balance and give you regular rides on the emotional roller coaster. You are also probably wrong. Many of the negative emotions you might be experiencing have nothing to do with your diabetes, but since your diabetes makes such a handy scapegoat, its only natural to load all your emotional problems on its head. You think that if it werent for this rotten disease, your life would be a barrel of monkeys. Even many of the negative emotions you experience that actually do have something to do with your diabetes are often a result not of the disease itself but of your lack of knowledge of the skills that will keep it from changing your mood and messing up your emotions.

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Now, admittedly, its harder and takes longer to get rid of powerful negative emotions than to correct a low or high blood sugar, but it can still be done. There are techniques you can learn and destructive emotional habits you can unlearn. It will take some time and effort on your part, but youll find its well worth it. Then not only will you have more realistic and optimistic attitude towards your diabetes, but toward your life as well. You wont just climb out of the emotional Grand Canyon onto the flatland; youll have earned a chance at least occasionally to experience the beautiful emotions, to scale an emotional Everest where you will breathe the rarefied atmosphere of exultant joy. So strap on your boots, pick up your climbing rope and ice axe, and let us begin. Excerpt from Richard Rubin, Psyching Out Diabetes A Positive Approach to your Negative Emotions, John Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, USA. Talk to your endocrinologist or diabetes educator about needing a counsellor or psychologist to talk to if you feel it would help you at this time. Other Useful Resources: Jerry Edelwich & Archie Brodsky, Caring for your emotions as well as your Health, Perseus Books, Emotions are something like blood sugar. As a diabetic your blood sugar levels may be crazy for no reason that you can think of. Youve eaten the right foods, done your normal amount of exercise, havent been under any unusual stress, and yet you are with a blood sugar of 15 or 2. What do you do? Well, what you shouldnt do is anguish, fret, rant and mutter that diabetes is impossible. You should fix it. If your blood sugar is low, take your glucose tablets or Lifesavers or Coke or whatever and raise it. If it is high, take a little corrective insulin (as directed by your doctor) or a little less food and a little more exercise (or both) and bring it down. When you plunge into an emotional Grand Canyon, dont just figure that the Demon Diabetes pushed you and that no matter what you do youre not going to get out, that you are stuck down there until the buzzards come to pick your bones. Dont just label diabetes hopeless and yourself hopeless. Get rid of the negative emotions! Massachusetts Dr William Polonsky, Diabetes Burnout, American Diabetes Association, USA Diabetes Counselling website <www.diabetescounselling.com.au>

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real stories
Malta, Iceland
AND TOO MANY BIG NIGHTS

As a 23-year-old Australian living in London, I was living the life that most other Australians did when they are here. I drank too much, went out too much, worked long hours and survived on a staple diet of vodka, coffee and Marlborough lights.
I had just come back from a holiday in Malta, and had planned a trip to Iceland with some friends. We were going to swim in the Blue Lagoon, dance all night and chase Scandinavian totty all over Reykjavik. It was all looking good, except I was feeling crap. I had been feeling crap for weeks. I was knackered for one thing. I had never been an athlete, but now switching my computer on at work seemed to necessitate a lie down. All I wanted to do was sleep. And when I wasnt sleeping I had trouble dragging myself down to the shops to bulk buy Evian and huge amounts of food which I would then eat all myself. At the same time, I was losing weight. Everyone blamed my tiredness and thirst on too many big nights out. My weight loss was apparently due to the excitement of too many holidays too close together and my hunger was an insufficient diet catching up with me. Therefore, with my friends and colleagues diagnosis, and armed with my 3 favourite partners in crime, I flew to Iceland. But in Iceland, I could barely get out of bed. I had been there before and had always loved the place, but I couldnt be bothered looking out the window to check the weather, let alone take my friends sightseeing. Still I was determined to get over my tiredness problem so I dragged myself out and about with the girls. We did the sightseeing, we danced all night (admittedly I had to fight to keep my eyes open and had to elect not to speak as it made my mouth too dry) and we planned to hire a car and take a road trip along the South Coast to see the Ice lakes and Black sand beaches. On the day of our road trip, I got out of bed and promptly threw up. I blamed the lobster soup at lunch the day before. I refused breakfast, hopped into the hire car and fell asleep.

30

We stopped at a waterfall and as my friends admired its beauty I slumped on the bonnet of the car and announced: I wish I could drink the waterfall. I then fell asleep. The rest is kind of a blur. I remember a hospital in the middle of nowhere in the Icelandic countryside. I remember a doctor asking my friends lots of questions. He asked if I had been exposed to SARS and then I woke up in the back of an ambulance. I was being taken to Reykjavik Hospital. My Icelandic is confined to please, thanks and 2 vodkas with Diet Coke so I had no idea what was going on. Two days later, I woke up and a doctor sitting by my bed informed me that I was an Insulin Dependent Diabetic. Oh is that all, I remember thinking. So how long will I have to take tablets to fix that, I asked. Can I go back to work next week?. The Doctor looked a little horrified and then proceeded to explain. I had severe ketoacidosis; I had almost died; tablets werent quite going to cut it; and No! There would be no work next week, or the week after for that matter. The stay in Reijkavic hospital wasnt as bad as youd expect. Not too many Australians end up in intensive care in Iceland so I was spoilt by all the nurses and had the benefit of the odd good looking Scandinavian doctor sticking their head in to check on my progress (even if I wasnt dressed for the occasion). My friends visited bearing moisturisers and hair products to repair some of the damage dehydration had done to my body. One of the girls stayed on with me and eventually I was cleared to fly back to London. Where I am now. My mother flew over to be with me. I took 3 weeks off work. I have stopped going out every single night and have given up the ciggies for good. I feel better than I have in years. Its six months on now and Im still learning. I still slip up and there are still plenty of things that I am trying to understand. But in the end, its no big imposition on my life. I do everything I used to do: I still travel and since being diagnosed Ive been to Spain, Sweden, Amsterdam and an ill-advised weekend in Blackpool. I give diabetes the courtesy it is owed. I do everything in my power not to exacerbate it and in the end Im left with a better life style because of it and a pretty crazy diagnosis story to tell at dinner parties. Melanie
31

Icelandic waterfall

I had been feeling terrible for over a week.

Hot flushes, constantly thirsty and getting little sleep due to getting up 3 or 4 times a night to go to the toilet. In typical male fashion, I chose to ignore the symptoms and avoid seeing a doctor. The crunch came when I was driving to the local football grand final. Although my vision wasnt that bad, I had trouble reading the number plates on the car in front of me. At the game, I couldnt read the advertising signs on the opposite side of the ground. It was then that I decided I must see a doctor the next day. I continued to drink can after can of Coke that afternoon, without being able to get rid of that about to die of thirst feeling. I mentioned it to a few people at the game. You must have diabetes they all replied jokingly. The next day I rang the doctor and made an appointment for mid-morning. The doctor informed me that I had diabetes and that I need to report straight to hospital where the local expert GP and diabetes educator would meet me. The first thing that sprung to mind was the needles. No one likes them, and I am no different. All I could envisage was a lifetime sentence of huge needles at every turn. I ended up staying in the hospital for a week, and it didnt help ease my concern when a nurse administered my first needle from a classic syringe. She told me that there were better needles for people with diabetes, but she wasnt allowed to use them. Still didnt help much. A couple of days later, I gave myself my first needle. I can still remember my hand shaking so much, that its a wonder I didnt pierce the skin in about a dozen different places. The first was the hardest. One of my big concerns was when I learnt that although I had no history of diabetes in my family, it was in fact hereditary. I explained this to my wife, who broke down immediately. She was 4 months pregnant with our first child. There was no real way of comforting her. I didnt know whether our baby would develop diabetes, and no one could tell me for sure either way. I later learned the chance was about 7%. I had about a day of feeling sorry for myself. I asked the doctor whether the life sentence passed to me would go away, as my eyes were already much better. Once I was told straight down the line that I had to deal with it, I just accepted it and moved on.
32

Barry was diagnosed aged 28, now has 2 healthy boys and is still playing senior major league football.

A few days after diagnosis, I went for a walk across from the hospital to the beach and out to the end of the pier. I was absolutely terrified that my sugar level would drop out and I would collapse. But of course, I survived. My diabetes educator said I was a star student. She was very supportive to both my wife and I. She even took the time to contact my work colleagues and explain the condition, and what to expect from me, so that when I chose to return to work, I could return as though nothing had happened. That was great for a bloke that doesnt like to talk about such things too much. I had the opinion that if I was going to get something then it could have been much worse than diabetes. I came from a scientific background at university and work, so grasping the principles of managing diabetes was easy. I could understand the lingo the health professionals used. But I did vow that this condition wouldnt stop me from continuing to do whatever I wanted. And it hasnt. Barry

I didnt ask for it but I got it!

Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Katie, I am 25 years of age and was diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes on the 3 August 1998 (yep, I remember the exact date how could I forget). I would like to share my experience with you. I had hypoglycemic episodes prior to getting diabetes, which apparently is very unusual, but most recently, around the first week of my new job, I began feeling extremely worn out, thirsty, tired and down right exhausted (from doing absolutely nothing!) I had a lot of trouble with blurry vision, looking at the computer screen and blamed this on the lighting, I had no idea that something was actually wrong with me. I was drinking copious amounts of fluid, anything from water to ice-cream in milk (it had to be oh so cold) and spending way too much time going to the loo (sorry guys!). After being bugged by my mum to check it out, I finally went to the doctors and after the first of many blood tests, it was revealed yep youve got diabetes, welcome to the club. I didnt quite understand what was happening because I had very little knowledge of diabetes (at the time), anyway, the doctor told me he had made an appointment for me to see a specialist on Monday (my visit with him was on Thursday). Monday! What was I supposed to do in the meantime? This was very frustrating for me, as I had no energy by this stage and was finding it difficult to even put one foot in front of the other, let alone catch a ##@!##! train into the city to see a specialist. Doctors certainly do need some educating! I didnt know how to cope with how I was feeling, yet was expected to go home and just be until I saw the specialist on Monday. Well mum drove me to the specialists and there I was told what I had, what it meant, and how often I would have to inject myself (that was the worst part). Thats when I realised this was real you tend to think that nothing will ever go wrong with your body. Well they showed me what to do and I soon got the hang of the finger pricking and injections (not enjoying it obviously). I have adapted to it all pretty quickly. I guess the reality is that I have diabetes, its a fact and no amount of whinging or what ifs, etc. are going to change that, so I get on and live my life, doing the best I can. I havent quite figured out where the lines are, but hey Im learning and basically Im doing ok. So thats my experience of diabetes thus far, maybe you can relate to this. Katie
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Katie overseas

glossary
You may have moments of feeling rather dumb as you enter this whole new world of diabetes and heaps of new terminology and big words are thrown at you. Just to make sure you can jargon it with the best of them Type 1 Diabetes Network provides explanations of big words you might hear thrown around.
Autoimmune Disease disorder of the bodys immune system in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys body tissue that it believes to be foreign. Insulin dependant diabetes is an autoimmune disease because the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells. Beta Cells a type of cell in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas that make and release insulin. Clinic major public hospitals run clinics which is when a group of doctors come along and a group of patients come too and you wait in line to see a doctor. Sounds dull but its free, and theres often an opportunity to see a diabetes educator or dietitian or something at the same time and get it all out of the way. Complications a simple word which takes on a whole new meaning in diabetes the term used to group together all the scary shit that can happen after many years of living with diabetes. DA Diabetes Australia organisation that provides a range of services for everyone with diabetes as well as diabetes health professionals the organisations differ in each state contracted by the federal government to administer the NDSS scheme by which we get subsidised blood testing strips and needles. DCCT A massive trial done in America in the late 80s early 90s which proved for the first time conclusively that close monitoring and tight control of blood glucose levels lowers your risk of long term complications. DNE short for Diabetes Nurse Educator see Educator. Educator short for Diabetes Nurse Educator A highest-level nurse who has specialist training in diabetes.
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Endo short for endocrinologist your diabetes specialist. Endocrinologist the type of doctor who specialises in diabetes (amongst other things). Also known as an Endo. GI (Factor) or Glycemic Index is simply a ranking of foods based on their immediate overall effect on blood sugar levels (low GI means smaller rise of blood sugar) (see more details page 12). Glucagon a hormone produced naturally by the human body to release stored glucose from the liver and raise blood glucose levels when needed. This doesnt work so well in diabetes so you can get Glucagon on prescription and it can be injected if you have a really bad hypo and need some glucose quick smart. Haemoglobin A1c (aka Glycosylated Haemoglobin or HbA1c) A blood test which looks at specific cells in your blood and gives an indicator of how your blood sugars have been going over the previous 2-3 months. The result is a % of the glucose that has glycated (or attached) to the haemoglobin of the red blood cells. (Though the numbers seem similar, it is not the same test by any means as your blood glucose tests you do at home.) The target is below 7%. People without diabetes will be below 6%. Humalog type of insulin fastest acting version generally used at meal times (very similar to NovoRapid but made by a different company). Humulin brand of insulin several different types with different uses (see page 9 for details). Hyperglycaemia HIGH blood glucose levels.

Hypo (short for hypoglycaemia, too low a level of glucose/sugar in the blood) Occurs when a person with diabetes has injected too much insulin, eaten too little food, had too much alcohol, or has exercised without extra food. Someone experiencing a hypo may feel, nervous, shaky, weak, or sweaty, and have a headache, blurred vision and hunger. Taking small amounts of sugar, sweet juice or food with sugar, will usually help a the person to feel better within 10 15 minutes. Hypoglycaemia LOW blood glucose levels see Hypo. IDDM Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus also known as Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes. Insulin a hormone that helps the body use glucose (sugar) for energy. The beta cells of the pancreas (in islets of Langerhans) make the insulin. Islets/Islet Cells (pronunciation: EYE let cells). The clumps of cells within the pancreas that include; alpha cells, which make glucagon; beta cells, which make insulin; delta cells, which make somatostatin; and PP cells and D1 cells about which little is known. The islet cells appear under low-power magnification to be islands (islands within the pancreas). First described by Dr. Paul Langerhans in 1869. Ketoacidosis is when people with diabetes dont have enough insulin in their system, the body starts to break down fat for energy and ketones are produced as a by-product. If this continues, the ketones can cause the pH of the blood to change and a very dangerous condition called Ketoacidosis develops. Mg/dL milligrams per 100 litres measurement of blood glucose used in America. Divide by 18 to get Australian measurement (mmol/L).

mmol/L millimol per Litre measurement of blood glucose in Australia & Europe (for definition of a mol and millimol see your Year 11 Chemistry teacher!). NDSS scheme by which we get government subsidised blood testing strips and needles. You can go into a Diabetes Australia office near you, a chemist which is a registered NDSS outlet or order your stuff by phone or over the internet. NovoRapid type of insulin fastest acting version generally used at meal times (very similar to Humalog but made by a different company). Pancreas is an organ behind the lower part of the stomach that is about 12 15cm long in an adult. It has two major responsibilities. The endocrine pancreas makes insulin so that the body can use glucose (sugar) for energy. The exocrine pancreas makes enzymes that help the body digest food. Throughout the pancreas are clusters of cells called Islet of Langerhans (see Islets/Islet Cells). Protaphane type of insulin long-acting generally used at bed time. Registrar a person who is fully trained as a doctor but still finalising his/her training in their specialisation such as diabetes or endocrinology. It might sound like theyre not your best choice to ask for advice but think about it they finished med school this century so should be right up to speed with the latest and greatest! (Theyre generally also young and, if youre lucky, groovy!) Subcutaneous into the fat layer beneath the skin. Subcutaneous injections are the way we take insulin it means a relatively tiny needle which injects the insulin just under the skin, not into the muscle like some other types of injections.
35

more books and websites

For more info on anything you have read and more you may want to try the following:
Caring for Diabetes in Children and Adolescents a Parents Manual by Dr Geoff Ambler About the author Paediatric Endocrinologist, in consultation with others. Best way to get a hold of the book <www.jdrf.org.au> The Diabetic Athletes Handbook by Dr Sheri Colberg About the author A diabetic athlete with a PHD in exercise physiology. Best way to get hold of the book <www.amazon.com> Caring for your Diabetes as well as your Health by Jerry Edelwhich & Archie Brodsky About the authors People who have lived with diabetes for many years. Best way to get a hold of the book <www.amazon.com> The Diabetic Woman by Dr Lois Jovanovic About the author Endocrinologist, researcher and has diabetes herself Best way to get a hold of the book <www.amazon.com> Diabetes and Pregnancy Womens Experiences and Medical Guidelines by Dr Alison Nankervis and Mrs Josephine Costa, About the authors Endocrinologist who consults at Royal Womens Hospital, Melbourne and diabetic mother of four Best way to get hold of the book <www.welcome.to/miranova> The New Traffic Light Guide to Diabetes Royal North Shore Hospital Diabetes Service Phone: (02) 9926 7229 The New Glucose Revolution Jennie Brand Miller Best way to get a hold of the book At all good bookshops. Diabetes Burnout by Dr William Polonsky About the author American Psychologists who specialises in diabetes Best way to get a hold of the book <www.amazon.com> Diabetes for Dummies by Dr Alan Rubin and adapted by Professor Lesley Campbell for Australians. About the author Diabetes specialist doctor Best way to get a hold of the book <www.amazon.com> Psyching out Diabetes A Positive Approach to your Negative Emotions by Dr Richard Rubin PHD, CDE About the author Has diabetes himself, doctor Best way to get a hold of the book <www.amazon.com> Cooking with Conscience Low GI Cookbooks by Michelle Trute About the author Food writer in consultation with Diabetes Australia Queensland Best way to get a hold of the book Local Newsagents or <www.jdrf.org.au> Diabetes & You by Various Authors About the authors Highly regarded health professionals Best way to get a hold of the book Call Diabetes Australia on 1300 136 588 Health for Life range of Low GI cookbooks including Wheat & Gluten Free, Diabetes and Diabetes 2 by Jody Vassallo About the Author Food writer working in consultation with dietitians Best way to get a hold of the book Local newsagents or <www.jdrf.org.au>

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Australian Diabetes Organisations

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Australia) <www.jdrf.org.au> Diabetes Australia <www.diabetesaustralia.com.au> Type 1 Diabetes Network <www.d1.org.au> Australian Diabetes Educators Association <www.adea.com.au> Hypoactive Diabetes, sport and exercise <www.hypoactive.org>

General Diabetes Information

Children with Diabetes <www.childrenwithdiabetes.com> Rick Mendosas Diabetes Directory <www.mendosa.com/diabetes.htm> Glycemic Index <www.glycemicindex.com> Amercian Diabetes Association <www.diabetes.org> International Diabetes Federation <www.idf.org> Diabetes Counselling <www.diabetescounselling.com.au>

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and finally
It is important for both your physical and emotional well being that you receive a comprehensive introduction to diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) provides a useful reference in that all of their recognised diabetes education programmes must cover 10 key topics You may wish to use the ADAs list as a guide for what you work through with your diabetes health professionals. 1. Diabetes disease process; 2. Nutritional management; 3. Physical activity; 4. Medications; 5. Monitoring; 6. Prevent, detect and treat acute complications. The term Acute complications refers to hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia, ketoacidosis and infection; Prevent, detect and treat chronic complications through risk reduction. Chronic complications refers to long term conditions such as retinopathy (eye disease), nephropathy (kidney disease);

7.

8. Goal setting and problem solving; 9. Psychological adjustment; 10. Preconception care, management during pregnancy, and gestational management (where appropriate). This Starter Kit should never replace comprehensive personalised diabetes education delivered to you by an experienced, qualified and caring team of health professionals. On behalf of the hundreds of people with diabetes and many generous health professionals who have contributed in a variety of ways, and over many years, we wish you well on your journey with diabetes.

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index
Actrapid9 aeroplane25 AFL23, 32 airplane25 alcohol7, 14, 35 ambulance5, 31 anxiety7, 28 athlete23, 24, 36 autoimmune2, 7, 34 backpacking3, 25, 30 ballet23 basal rate19, 20 Bassett, Nathan23 beta cells7, 34, 35 beer14 blood glucose level targets3 blood glucose levels, managing13, 18, 21, 23 blood glucose levels, low10, 11, 13, 16, 35 blood glucose levels, high7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 34 blood glucose meters4, 5, 16, 22, 26 blood glucose monitoring7, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 blood glucose monitors5, 22 blood glucose testing strips5, 16, 22, 26 blood ketones15, 16, 17, 22 bloodstream6, 11 books18, 23, 24, 29, 36 boss5 bread7, 11, 12 breakfast12, 23 burnout29, 36 business trips25 carbohydrate11, 12, 14, 23, 24, 25 cause of Type 1 diabetes2, 7 Centrelink5, 26 checklist of stuff to do5 chemist5, 16, 26 children2, 18, 32, 36, 37 chat room3 chocolate2 chronic illness6 cigarettes31 clinic18, 26, 34 Colberg-Ochs, Dr Sheri23, 24, 36 cold13, 15 complications6, 28, 34, 38 cookbooks36 coping with diabetes28 cost20, 22, 26 counselling4, 29, 37 cure3, 6, 20, 21 Customs25 dance13, 23, 30 dawn phenomena20 definitions34 depression28 Diabetes Nurse Educator4, 26, 34 Diabetic Athlete, The23, 24, 36 diabetic ketoacidosis15, 16 diagnosis2, 5, 7, 27, 30, 32, 33, 38 dietitian4, 11, 12, 26 DKA16, 17 doctors4, 26, 33 drinking7, 14, 15, 33 driving5, 32 drugs7, 13 educator, diabetes nurse4, 26, 34 emergencies5, 17, 25 emotional pain28 emotions28, 29, 36 employer5 endocrinologist4, 5, 11, 17, 18, 26, 29, 34, 36 endocrinology4 energy6, 12, 15, 16, 33 exams5 exchange11 exercise7, 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 29, 36, 37 expense20, 22, 26 experiences, personal3, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33 eyes4, 32, 38 family2, 32 fat11, 16 fear28 feelings28 females18 flying25 food4, 6, 11, 12, 16 24, 29, 36 football3, 23, 32 friends30, 31 genetics2, 7 Gestational Diabetes7, 38 GI Factor11, 12, 13 glossary34 glucagon14, 34 glucose6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 24, 29, 36 Glycemic Index11, 12, 13 glycogen14 GP4, 32 grief28 guilt3, 28 Hall Jr, Gary3, 23 head stuff4, 28 Health Care Card5, 26 health professionals4, 38 high blood glucose levels7, 15, 16 high GI11, 12 Hines, Marcia3 holidays25, 30 hormones13, 18, 23 hospitals4, 5, 16, 17, 18, 20, 26, 31, 32 hot weather13 Humalog9, 19, 34 Humulin9, 34 hyperglycaemia7, 16, 34 hypo supplies5, 10, 14, 25 hypoglycaemia5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 23, 24, 35 hypoglycaemia unawareness5, 14 hypoglycaemia, treating10, 12 Iceland30, 31 ID5, 14, 25 illness6, 15, 16 implantable pumps21 incidence of Type 1 diabetes2, 7, 11, 16, 24 information12, 18, 24, 27, 36, 37 Innovo19 insulin2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 35 insulin, obtaining5, 26 insulin, profiles9 insulin pens19, 26 insulin pump19, 20, 21, 26 insulin resistance 7, 18, 23 insurance, travel25 internet27, 36 Johnson, Nicole3 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation3 Kafer, Rod3 Karz, Zippora23 ketoacidosis15, 16, 20, 31, 35, 38 ketone testing5, 22, ketones15, 16, 17, 22 kidneys7, 16, 38 kids18, 32 LADA7 Lantus9, 19 late onset7 Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood7 low blood glucose levels 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, 23, 24, 29, 35 low GI11, 12, 14, 34, 36 luggage25 MedicAlert5, 25 Medicare26 men32 menstruation7, 13, 18 milk10, 11, 12, 14, 33 millionaires3 Miss America3 mixing insulin19 money26 National Diabetes Services Scheme 5, 20, 26 negative emotions28, 29, 36 needle phobic19 needles19, 26, 32
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NovoRapid9, 35 nurses4 online discussion3, 27 ophthalmologist4 overseas25, 30, 33 overweight7 pancreas6, 7, 14, 21, 35 patch, insulin21 pens19, 26 period7, 13, 18 politicians3 portion11 potatoes12 pregnancy7, 16, 18, 36 private20, 26 private health cover20, 26 protein11, 14, 15, 24 psychology4, 28 pump19, 20, 26 pump, implantable21 reading, further36 Reality Check2, 3

Redgrave, Steve23 registrar4, 17, 35 Reijkavic31 repeats, prescriptions26 research3, 20 Road Traffic Authority5 rowing23 rugby3 scared, of needles19 school5 sex13 shame28 sick days15, 16, 22 smoking31 soft drinks 3, 14, 24 spirits14 sport7, 13, 23, 24, 37 stories30, 31, 32, 33 stress7, 11, 13, 16 study5 sugar5, 7, 10, 11 support group3, 36 syringes19

targets, blood glucose levels3 terminology34 travel25, 30, 31, 33 trigger factors7 Type 1.5 diabetes7 Type 2 diabetes7 university5 VicRoads5 waterfall31 websites3, 27, 29, 36, 37 weight loss24, 30 Weightman, Dale23 women7, 16, 18, 36 work5, 31, 32 World Wide Web3, 27, 29, 36, 37 yoga13

acknowledgements
Type 1 Diabetes Network would like to acknowledge all the adults with type 1 diabetes who contributed ideas to the content of the Starter Kit.
Stephen Apps Stefanie Arndt Timothy Bean Melissa Bolt Natasha Cajkovac Bart Carrol Kylie Carse Fiona Cold Adrian Cooksley Damien Cooper Jo Doncon Karen Duffy Tom Fraser Ash & Karen George Ben Glyph Monique Hanley Gemma Hardi Erica Hoehn Lyndal Hynes Cara Jamieson Kathy Jones Barry Knight Caralyn Lees Sue Lisson Mark Lynch Nick Macris Lyndy Marshall Anna Mitsios Shannon Newnham Christina Nicholls Melanie Norris Katie Ovenden Benice Parkinson Dian Reindrawati Zan Rowe Belinda Rundle Melinda Seed Michelle Trute Melanie Tyler Sally Vine Jessica Walker Matt Whytcross Daminen Wiseman

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The Type 1 Diabetes Network (T1DN) is an Australian volunteer-led not-for-profit organisation established in 1998 that provides support and information for people with Type 1 diabetes. It is the largest organisation in Australia run entirely by people with Type 1 diabetes. T1DN strives to create opportunities to share real-life experiences, information and knowledge in order to make living with diabetes a better experience. T1DN is particularly active in Australia but our membership is truly international through our online presence. T1DN manages a website www.d1.org.au and two active forums www.realitycheck.org.au (for people with Type 1) and www.muntedpancreas.org.au (for parents of children with Type 1). T1DN members and forum participants also hold informal seminars and social events and regularly represent the interests of people with diabetes to government, health professional forums and the media. Type 1 Diabetes Network Inc. Incorporated Association (Victoria, Australia) ABN 61 113 546 859