Melinda Seed has been volunteering her time, passion and expertise towards providing support, information and a voice for the Type 1 community for 10 years. Melinda was a founding director of the Type 1 Diabetes Network, as well as its first Treasurer and a long-standing moderator of the Reality Check online community. She will shortly be stepping down from her formal roles to pursue other interests.

In recognition of the critical role that Melinda has played in the development of our organisation over many years, The Type 1 Diabetes Network has instigated 'The Seed Award' which will recognise people who have shown the strong values and commitment that Melinda has been contributing to the Type 1 community for many years.

The Seed Award will go to an individual or group that has:

 

We would like to invite nominations for the inaugural Seed Award.

Please send nominations to Colleen Clarke at The Type 1 Diabetes Network by email to colleen@d1.org.au by 31st August 2010.

 

Please include in your nomination a brief description of how the nominee/s meets each of the three criteria listed above, contact details for yourself and for the nominee (if known).  

 

For more information, please contact Colleen by email (above) or by phone  0414 281 539.

  

 

 

To read more or make your own contribution, visit our Reality Check Forum.

'Sweet talk - My life with diabetes' is a new television series hosted by Marcia Hines (a fellow Type 1) that explores the lives of six prominent Australians living with diabetes.  

 

It has been produced (very noticeably!) by one of the blood glucose meter companies.

 

Each episode, a respected and high-achieving Aussie shares how they have overcome the hurdles of diabetes and helped others conquer its challenges.
 
People featured include:

 

'Sweet Talk' is showing on Fox's Lifestyle channel from  July 17 to August 21, at 6pm Saturdays and 12pm Sundays.
 
You can also watch previous episodes at www.sweettalkdiabetes.com.

 
For comments from people with Type 1 about the show, visit our online Reality Check forum.

Constantly having to monitor and regulate your food intake can be difficult. A popular discussion on the Reality Check forum this month has been about the relationship between binge eating and Type 1.
 
Many people are discussing how they struggle with maintaining a balanced diet, saying they swing between either eating all the right foods and recording everything, or downing all chocolate bars, ice cream and junk food in sight, until they are so full that they feel physically ill. 
 
Some think that their hunger seems more intense since being diagnosed with D.  Others say that the pressure of managing a chronic disease just gets to them sometimes, resulting in a temporary break-out of major proportions.
 
A few people say that overeating is a regular occurrence for them because they feel they use food as a general coping mechanism for any life stressors.
 
Poor body image also seems to have influenced many a binge, according to the forum posts, especially after losing a lot of weight before diagnosis, and then putting it all back on again (plus more) after starting on insulin. 
 
Depression is also cited as a major contributor.
 
Read about others' experiences, vent your struggles or share your support, here.
 
If you feel you have an unhealthy relationship with food and want help, contact one of your diabetes health professionals. Forum contributors mention that they have (mostly) found their dietician, GP, endocrinologist or psychologist to be understanding and helpful.
 
For a list of diabetes health professionals in your area, including some counsellors and psychologists who have been recommended as understanding Type 1, visit the T1DN website.
 
Diabetes Counselling Online also offers both online and face-to-face counselling specifically for people with diabetes. Visit their website at www.diabetescounselling.com.au for more information.

The first Australian guidelines for adults with Type 1 diabetes are currently being developed.  These national evidence-based guidelines aim to ensure all clinicians across Australia are similarly informed when treating/advising adults with Type 1. 
 
A recent article in The Lancet has stressed that a collaborative and cooperative approach is important when preparing any type of guidelines.
 
The article indicates that infighting and competition between diabetes organisations can sometimes result in a number of similar guidelines, causing confusion among clinicians and patients.  
 

Confusion due to plurality of guidelines has already hit the US. Apparently national guidelines for the management of diabetes have been published by three different organisations in the US, and covered the same topics.
 
Among other solutions, the authors suggest that stakeholders work together and "divorce guidelines from organisational infighting altogether".  Only time will tell if this approach, currently being used  to develop the  Australian guidelines for adults with Type 1 diabetes guidelines, is successful.
 
To view the full article (The Lancet 2010; 375:2203-04), click here. (Note you will need to be subscribed to view full text.)

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Reality Check online community and discussion forum evaluation that we called for help with last month. Almost 100 people with Type 1 volunteered to take part in the focus groups (which is huge - well done!) and more than 100 health professionals completed the survey.
 
Kate Gilbert, our T1DN President, is conducting this evaluation as part of her Masters of Public Health thesis.
 
Kate promises to let us know the findings from the evaluation later this year.
 
For more information on the evaluation, click here.