Packed full of even more fabulous features for the Type 1 community, our brand new website is indeed a splendid "sight" to behold.

 

Whether you have diabetes yourself, or you're a partner, friend, parent, health professional or workmate of someone with Type 1, there is something here for you.

 

With more than 300 pages of stories and articles all about Type 1 diabetes, it even features a brand new YouTube channel with our pick of videos about the big D. Plus so much more!

 

Check it out at now at www.d1.org.au.

There is a great plethora of Type 1 blogs out there in cyberspace. Some are wonderful - funny, interesting and touching; some are just plain old good with a couple of highlights; and some are...well...not so good. 

 

Whether the stories are good, bad, or ugly, reading about other people's experiences really does help many of us realise that we are not alone in our struggles. I daresay blogging is also a cathartic experience for many of the writers as well. 

 

Many of the blogs out there are American, which can make the glucose levels and health check procedures a little difficult to follow. However, we've managed to find a few shining gems, both Australian and American:

 

 

D and the Guy - An interesting and up-to-date blog by Henry, one of our a T1DN committee members. "A blog about diabetes and the guy who lives with it."

 

Six Until Me - Great writing and quite funny, this is an excellent American blog by Kerry, who says, "Diabetes doesn't define me, but it helps explain me". Her posts about the birth of her first child last month are simply breathtaking.

 

Lemonade Life -  A blog that follows the "journey of a twenty-something in New York City living with diabetes". 

 

Finally, if you're feeling like some online Type 1 company, don't forget our Reality Check and Munted Pancreas forums, where you can bitch, moan, ponder, discuss and even rejoice about the everyday challenge that is Type 1 diabetes.

 

For more information visit www.abbottdiabetescare.com.au.

A big congratulations to Kate Gilbert who recently presented at a conference for the Australian Diabetes Educators Association Victoria Branch. 

 

Kate's 30-minute presentation, titled Adults with Type 1 Diabetes - Learnings for Health Professionals was received extremely well by the 200-strong crowd of diabetes educators.

 

Specifically aiming to "educate the educators" about the people behind the disease, Kate covered a number of issues.  Topics included how adults with Type 1 feel about their diabetes, how small changes in language used can have a big impact, and why only 3% of Type 1s experience smooth transitions from paediatric services to the adult system. Go Kate!

 

The conference also featured a presentation about a new training course to teach "intensive diabetes management" to diabetes nurse educators. 

 

Currently being developed by Deakin University and Diabetes Australia-Victoria, this appears to be specialised training in Type 1 diabetes.  Woo-hoo! This is a terrific step in the right direction to ensure that more diabetes educators can become well-versed in Type 1.

 

The subject, when available, will be able to be taken as part of a Masters of Nursing or an Advanced Diploma of Nursing. We are hoping that the content of the course will be well informed by what people with Type 1 diabetes want and need from diabetes education.

Dealing with diabetes can sometimes be a rather tricky business. Undetected hypos and hypers, childcarers and teachers that just don't get it, sick days and wildly swinging glucose levels can make even the most stalwart of us a little jittery.

 

Most of the time, everything is under control and there's no need to worry. However, very occasionally, we might find ourselves in need of an ambulance.

 

At present, ambulance services are provided directly by state and territory governments, except in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where the state contracts St John Ambulance Australia to provide ambulance services.  In most states, consumers will incur a cost to use an ambulance service, unless they have purchased ambulance cover.

 

At the recent Diabetes Educators Association conference, a horrific story was told in which a 30-something year old male was flown by ambulance helicopter to The Alfred Hospital after becoming incredibly ill with gastro. It turned out that the poor man had never been told he had Type 1 diabetes, was on two shots of mixed insulin and when admitted had a glucose level of 80! On top of all this, he then had to deal with a bill of over $6,000 for the ambulance!

 

The Heart Foundation has published a discussion paper about universal ambulance cover, concluding with a clear recommendation that ambulance coverage should be a universal entitlement, with one option for achieving this being to include it as an entitlement under Medicare.

 

Public consultation is invited on the paper and further details are available here. Responses are due by 6 July 2010.

 

If you would like to purchase ambulance cover, you can do so through your private health insurance, or through your state ambulance association.

 

You may also want to discuss or read about some other Type 1 ambulance experiences on our online forums, Reality Check and Munted Pancreas.

 

Below are some specific discussions:

Worst hypo of my life so far  
Sick days and living alone  
Birthday dramas 
School and testing for ketones 
Teacher trouble 
Couple of hypo questions 

Many of our readers and forum contributors tell us that they feel like they're on a constant guilt trip.  High blood sugar levels, no glucose tests, eating sugar, forgetting insulin, hypo-ing at an important moment, etc, etc, etc. We know we shouldn't feel guilty, but many of us do. 

 

Enter Allison Blass, (aka the Lemonade Life blogger) and her "Hey, it's okay!" list. 

 

A Type 1 since the age of 8, Allison encourages us to look at the funny side of diabetes and has come up with a fantastic "It's okay" list that a lot of us can relate to:

 

 

 

More laughs can be found on our new T1DN website.

 

Or, vent your guilty feelings on our forums:

Reality Check - for the Type 1 community

Munted Pancreas - for parents with Type 1 children

Here's your chance to contribute to the Type 1 Diabetes Network and shape the future of the Reality Check online community.

 

As part of her Masters of Public Health thesis, Kate (our illustrious president), is evaluating the Reality Check online community and discussion forum. The evaluation will help to inform the future development of the online community.

 

She is currently looking for feedback from two stakeholder groups: health professionals and people who have Type 1. Participants must be familiar with the Reality Check website and online community.

Health Professionals
Health Professionals can take part in a brief, anonymous online survey which will take approximately 10-15 minutes of your time.

 

For more information, click here.

People with Type 1 Diabetes
People with Type 1 Diabetes can contribute to some online focus groups which will require approximately 15 minutes of your time on two occasions - a total of 30 minutes.

Your contribution will be anonymous and all members of the research team will not be aware of your identity at any stage of the research.

 

To register and for more information, click here.

A new exhibition called Art: seen through the eyes of Type 1, will explore what it's like to see the world through the eyes of someone living with Type 1 diabetes.

 

Coordinated by Jason Triggs, the exhibition will feature art works by 50 children and young people (including adults) all living with Type 1.

 

The challenge is to create an artwork on a small canvas (10.2cm x 10.2cm) that portrays:

 And it's not too late to submit a canvas! If you would like to express your creative side and your feelings about Type 1, give Jason a call on 0439 653 577.

 

The exhibition itself will be designed for children, with interactive and hands-on areas, including art activities and experiences, along with chill out zones for older children and young people.

 

 

When:

Saturday 10th July

 

Where:

East Doncaster Baptist Church,

47-53 Tunstall Road, East Doncaster

 

Time:

2pm onwards

 

Cost:

Free (but donations welcome)