#diabeteschat

In this #diabeteschat episode Tom was joined by Bastian and Renza from the #dedoc° team. #dedoc° is an international community by and for people with diabetes and was founded in 2012 by Bastian Hauck, who created the Twitter hashtag #dedoc to host weekly TweetChats for the German chapter of the Diabetes Online Community. #dedoc° host many events including #docday, #doctalk, #dedoc symposium (at EASD, ISPAD) and a World Diabetes Day special. In 2020, #dedoc° launched the #dedoc° voices scholarship program. In this episode the #diabeteschat community learned more about #dedoc°, their events and scholarship programme and we talked about the #blueballoonchallenge and lots more. We also heard from amazing #dedoc° voices as they shared what #dedoc° means to them. You can find out more about #dedoc° by visiting their website: https://www.dedoc.org/

In this #diabeteschat community chat we spoke to our guest speaker Dr Rose Stewart. Mary and Flipper were our hosting team. We chatted about Rose's career as an Consultant Clinical Psychologist. We also talked about diabetes burnout and the emotional challenges of managing diabetes and mental health and stigmas attached to diabetes and lots more. You can also tune in via Twitter/X spaces: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1LyGBnebLzPGN

This week on the #diabeteschat we held our first ever book club night hosted by Gary and Claire. We were joined by three authors who have created their own diabetes books. They shared their background and connections to the diabetes world and we heard what inspired them to create a diabetes book. We also heard to some snippets from each book We will be joined by: - Captain Lantus - Max and Gary - Daisy Donald - Jade - Bae a badger with t1diabetes - Jo

You can also listen back on our Twitter page: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1yoKMZWEeZeGQ

This week on the #diabeteschat we were joined by Lesley and Lochlan from Lochlan's Legacy and we heard all about Lochlan's diabetes diagnosis and journey. We also heard from mum Lesley and heard the parents perspective and how she found supporting Lochlan with his diabetes since his diagnosis at the age of 4, 10 years ago. We also learnt lots about the amazing charity Lochlan's Legacy - how it all started and some of the amazing fundraising and advocacy work they have been doing for the diabetes community in raising awareness for diabetes. You can also listen in on #diabeteschat on Twitter Spaces: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OdKrzLRyllKX/peek

In this short #diabeteschat episode we speak to Jon, Callum and Joe from the Diabetes Football community. The lads shared a little about their diabetes connection; when they were diagnosed, what they use to manage their diabetes and their go to hypo treatments. We learnt about how the diabetes football community started in 2017; founded by Chris Bright and how the community has grown, now with a ladies team and a support group for parents and their children. We talked about the European Futsal Championships in Poland and the amazing achievement for the team in finishing 4th place and representing the UK.

This week on the #diabeteschat we were joined by Mel Stephenson Gray. We heard about Mel's journey and diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes from the age of 13 years old. We also talked about: - juggling life and managing diabetes as a mum - her ambassador roles and involvement with JDRF & DUK - her sports background and life with sport and managing diabetes - BlueCircleCD, her career as a dietician, plus much much more. You can also listen in on #diabeteschat on Twitter Spaces: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ZkJzXLAMBeKv?s=20

On this #diabeteschat episode we were joined by parents of the Type 1 Club. We heard all about the amazing group and how it all started, the events they do and all the amazing fundraising they do to support children and their families. We spoke to Edelle, Gayle and Kelly and learnt how they support their loved ones with diabetes and themselves. We'll also talked about: – Mental Health and peer support – Technology – What advice would they say to new carers/parents +much more You can also listen in on #diabeteschat on Twitter Spaces: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1lPKqBekdLlGb/peek

On this week's #diabeteschat, Tom caught up with Jerry Gore. Jerry shared lots of fascinating stories about his amazing expeditions that he has been involved in over the years including; climbing K2, Jerry's Insulin Challenges and the Insulin360 expedition. We also spoke about Jerry's diabetes diagnosis in 2001 and how he manages his diabetes with such a active and physical lifestyle. Jerry also shared all the wonderful things Action4Diabetes (a charity Jerry co-founded in 2015) are doing to support children and their families in South East Asia. You can also listen in on #diabeteschat on Twitter Spaces.

On this week's #diabeteschat we were joined by Ros Gray. She spoke to Flipper and Tom about her diabetes diagnosis and journey and how technology has changed over the past 40 years since diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a toddler. Ros also spoke about her amazing advocacy work she has done for the diabetes community and talked about diabetes and pregnancy and parenting, plus much much more. You can also listen in on #diabeteschat on Twitter Spaces.

On the 17th of April 2023, Natalie Balmain joined the #diabeteschat as our guest speaker. Introduction: Natalie is a lady of many talents. She describes herself as a broadcaster, designer & Campaigner. She founded her company Type 1 Clothing back in 2017 based on a novel idea of being able to inject or access diabetes tech with ease. Last year Natalie took part in, and won, the first series of Make Me Prime Minister on Channel 4. Natalie was diagnosed with type 1, 3 months before her 21st birthday, and more recently has been diagnosed with ADHD. In our guest speaker chat, Mary and Flipper speak to Natalie and we spoke about Natalie's diabetes diagnosis and journey. We will also talk about her career, some of the campaigns she has been part of and her appearance on Channel 4's Make me Prime Minster. We also spoke about Mental Health, burnout and access to technology equality. You can also listen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ZkJzXVr... and use the hashtag - #diabeteschat

On Monday 27th March 2023 we hosted our third #diabeteschat Research Event with hosts Toni, Tom and Gary. We heard from 6 speakers who shared their diabetes research with our community. Each guest speaker had 15 minutes to share a little about themselves and their diabetes research. We were joined by: - Diana Ferro - Hilary Nathan from JDRF UK - Jonathan Golding - Dean Minnock - Jacq Allan - Jasmine Schipp We finished the evening with a Open panel Q&A where the community asked questions to the researchers about their research. You can also listen back on Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1nAKErVE... and use the hashtag - #diabeteschat

On the 13th of March 2023, Menopausal Mithers joined the #diabeteschat as our guest speaker. 

In this podcast episode Kes and Mary hosted the lovely ladies from the Menopausal Mithers community. We spoke with Alex, Shiv, Anita, Sammy and Dawnie. We had a fantastic lived experience panel discussion taking about each others diabetes diagnosis and raising awareness of Menopause.

We were also joined by other women from the #diabeteschat community who came and joined the discussion. We were joined by Anna, Siva, Ann, Linda, Helen and Belinda. It was also nice hearing some men come upto the microphone and express their empathy and solidarity for women with diabetes, experiencing menopause - we were joined by Gary and James.

Dawnie joined the #diabeteschat and spoke with Tom & Kes about her diabetes journey and raised awareness about Menopause.  

In Part 1, Dawnie spoke with Tom and shared her Diabetes diagnosis, symptoms and diabetes journey and then shared with the #diabeteschat community - What is Menopause and what are the three stages of Menopause. Dawnie then talked about the twitter community - Menopausal Mithers.  

In Part 2, Dawnie spoke with Kes and discussed what support is there for women with diabetes when it comes to menopause and the symptoms that have been most challenging. Dawnie also spoke about how HCPs are able to provide advice or guidance and If she could could recommend one thing to make menopause easier what would that thing be.

Tune in for this 30 minute special #diabeteschat podcast episode raising awareness for Menopause. 

Sam Brand is a British professional cyclist from the Isle of Man who was diagnosed with type 1 at 10 yrs old. Growing up Sam played many sports & competed in thriathlon, qualifying to race in the ITU World Championships. Sam was spotted by Team Novo Nordisk, a team whose athletes all live with type, which lead to him joining their elite triathlon squad. He later decided to focus exclusively on cycling & joined the Team Novo Nordisk’s development squad in the 2016. Following a strong showing with the development squad, Sam debuted in the pro ranks as a stagiaire (an apprentice) in August 2017. In 2018 Sam turned professional. Sam has ridden in many races including the one day classic Milano-Sanremo & has represented the Isle of Man at 2 commonwealth games.

In this podcast episode Flipper, Gary, Kes and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Sam and we learned about his incredible journey of living with diabetes and how he manages his diabetes with everyday life being a professional cyclist. We also talked about mental health, peer support, stigmas, plus lots more.

DAFNE stands for ‘Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating’.  It evolved from the education programme and insulin regimen developed in Germany by Michael Berger in the 1980’s and teams from Northumbria, Sheffield and Kings  visited Germany together in the late 1990’s before bringing the programme back to the UK and adapting it for the UK population. DAFNE believes all adults with type 1 diabetes should have access to high-quality training in the use of insulin, so they can live their life with as few restrictions as possible and still achieve glucose results within healthy targets to reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications. There are 108 DAFNE centres around the UK, Republic of Ireland and Crown Dependencies and it’s also been established in Australia, as OzDAFNE, and in Kuwait. Liesl joined the #diabeteschat and represented DAFNE UK. Liesl is a registered nurse and became a Diabetes Specialist Nurse in 1999, a DAFNE educator in 2005 and joined the national DAFNE team as a trainer and quality assessor in 2017.  

In this podcast episode Tom, Toni, Kes and the #diabeteschat community learnt lots about what DAFNE is and we spoke to DAFNE graduate Stewart Betts. We also had a very informative and interactive community Q&A with DAFNE and the #diabeteschat community.

Dr Amar Puttanna is a Diabetes and Endocrine Consultant in the West Midlands and National Advisor for NHS Engagement for Sanofi UK. He is particularly interested in education, having won teaching awards from the University of Birmingham and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and currently sits on the MRCP examining board. Amar has previously worked with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) on their e-learning platform. In 2018 Amar received an Excellence in Patient Care Award from the Royal College of Physicians for contribution to the profession. Dr Puttanna's interests are in cardiovascular disease, diabetes management in older adults and translating research into clinical practice. His work in cognitive impairment (DIADEM project) has won a Quality in Care award in 2018. He sits on the editorial board for the British Journal of Cardiology and is a known national and international speaker in diabetes and finally Amar is a member of GoggleDocs, a group made up of doctors who share a passion for medical education and deliver video podcasts via their YouTube channel.

In this episode Tom, Mary and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Dr Amar Puttanna and we learned about his diabetes connection & path to becoming a consultant & national advisor and about the @GoggleDocs community. We also talked about the importance of Education, his EPCA and QiC awards and our main topic of discussion was on diabetes management in older adults frailty and dementia and diabetes

Paul O'Neill is a former British Touring car Championship driver, and now is an ITV sports pundit. Paul found his passion for motor sports from a very young age and had an impressive 15-year career in the hot seat and achieved notable successes along the way including his famous first BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) win on his home circuit in 2002. In 2004 Paul was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and was forced to rebuild his career over the coming years; returning back in to the track in 2006, achieving an impressive three top-tens in the six remaining races. Paul’s next full season in BTCC would come in 2009. Paul is the co-founder of 29 Productions and does mentoring, coaching and tuition.

In this episode Tom, Gary, Kes and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Paul and we learned about his incredible journey of living with diabetes and how he managed his diabetes with everyday life being a professional race driver and we talked about mental health, peer support, and his ambassador roles for Diabetes UK and The Sporting Memories Foundation, plus lots more.

Jack is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for League One club Bolton Wanderers, after joining them in the summer of 2022. Jack was born in Scotland, before moving to New Zealand and then over to Australia. Jack has played for 2 local teams in Australia; before moving back to his hometown and joining up with Greenock Morton in 2017. With brief spells at Queens Park and Carlisle United; Jack joined Cambridge United in 2020 and was part of the league one promotion success of 2020/2021; all while managing Type 1 diabetes. Jack is an inspirational to all; showing anything is possible with type 1. Jack was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, Christmas time 2009, aged 13 and tonight we are honoured to welcome Jack to the #diabeteschat community.

In this episode Tom, Gary and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Jack and we learned about his incredible journey of living with diabetes and how he manages his diabetes with everyday life being a professional footballer We also talked about mental health, peer support, stigmas and his ambassador role for Lochlan's Legacy, plus lots more.

Lis Warren has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1965. Having spoken to only a few others with diabetes in her first 4 decades with type 1, she’s now an active volunteer, patient advocate and a representative ‘expert by experience’ in NHS and diabetes research committees and with the diabetes charities. Lis believes that diabetes is only a word and not a sentence. She’s keen to help others recognise the positive attributes this condition encourages one to develop. Lis is passionate about the need for healthcare professionals to empower people; to care for themselves well - by providing ongoing education, clinical support and flagging sources of peer support.

Pete Davies was born in Kenya and has many happy memories of growing up in that beautiful country. Whilst his family were home on leave in the UK, Pete was diagnosed as having Type 1 diabetes: a dreadful shock for his family. However, he was put under the care of World-famous Dr RD Lawrence (who almost died from Type 1!). Thanks to the positivity of Pete’s parents and Dr Lawrence, his diagnosis did not prevent the family returning to East Africa. He was educated in Nairobi until he was almost 8 when his family returned to live in the UK. Pete became a teacher of Design & Technology – a subject he always loved. As a grandfather, he still enjoys a busy and very active life and takes a great interest in the exciting developments in Type 1 technology. He also spends time travelling to speak at conferences, JDRF Discovery Days and like Lis, he serves on committees whose aim is to improve the lives of those living with T1D. Pete has fascinating stories to tell which include the dramatic changes he has seen in diabetes treatment over the years, and he has an amazing collection of old Type 1 equipment which he loves people to be able to see. Pete also gives fascinating accounts of the challenging high-altitude treks and long-distance hikes he has taken part in since 2004.

In this episode Tom, Mary, Toni and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Pete and Lis and we learned about their 123 (combined) years of living with diabetes. We talked about:
- Their Diabetes Diagnosis & Journey; including what it was like growing with diabetes in the 50s and 60s.
- The technology they used to administer their insulin (syringe, injection guns, injections (mdi) and pumps) and what they used to check their blood glucose levels (Clinitest, Autolet, finger pricking meters, CGM).
- How Pete & Lis met and the things they have been involved in together.
- Hypo Awareness and their hypo experiences and challenges.
- Mental Health, Advocacy and the importance of peer support; including #TAD and #duckfiabetes.
+lots more.

Salih Hendricks is 56 years old from Cape Town South Africa and has been a diabetes advocate for over 30 incredible years; diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 40 years ago. Salih had his leg Amputation 2 years ago - 19 October 2020. Salih is a motivational speaker not only for his community; but for W.H.O (World Health Organization), he is a member and advocate of the #dedoc community, board member of the Diabetes South Africa and program and Director for the Persons with Disabilities City of Cape Town. Salih launched the Diabetic Amputee Community of South Africa in Sweden Stockholm in September 2022 for the (EASD) conference. Salih's passions and values are and quote "My Disabilities and Diabetes is a blessing and I will spread the lived experience to all four corners of the world".

In this episode Tom, Mary and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Salih. We talked about:
- His Diabetes Diagnosis & Journey
- Complications of living with Diabetes and his amputation in 2020 - before and after stories.
- Stigmas attached to Diabetes
- Mental Health
- His advocacy and the importance of peer support.
- The community he set up - Diabetic Amputee Community
+lots more.

Professor May Ng is an Honorary Professor and Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist. Professor May completed her undergraduate degree MBBS (Hons) under full scholarship in Sydney, Australia and was the recipient of the UK Medical Research Council Fellowship. She further obtained a Masters and PhD degree in paediatric endocrinology and diabetes in the UK. She also has a Master of Laws and an MBA in Healthcare and Finance Management.

Professor May has published over 200 research papers and authored 3 books ‘A guide to Type 1 diabetes management, technology and everything else you need to know; ‘A Journey With Brendan’ and ‘Me and My Hormones’. Some of Professor May’ roles include: Chair of UK Association of Children’s Diabetes Clinicians and voluntary Chief Medical Advisor for Action4Diabetes

May was awarded an OBE on the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Queen Elizabeth II’s Honours for Services to People with Diabetes and People with Autism and Disabilities. She is also recipient of numerous awards such as the Diabetes UK Arnold Bloom award 2023, and winner of Northwest Excellence in Healthcare NHS Parliamentary Awards 2020...and May is also active in charitable causes to raise autism and deaf awareness.

In this episode Tom, Gary, Kes and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Prof May Ng OBE. We talked about:
- Her Diabetes Connection, Career Background & OBE
- Her Research and Books
- Action4Diabetes
- NICE project of CGM for all & Health Inequalities to Technology
- Mental health, advocacy and peer support.
+lots more.

Jamie Lowe is an all-rounder Broadcaster, Podcaster, Vlogger, Presenter, Producer, Journalist and currently works at the BBC. His Podcast is called 'Jamie And The Broken Pancreas'. Jamie has Type 1 Diabetes and was diagnosed in 2015 aged 21 after graduating from university. Jamie is a super advocate for diabetes and raises lots of awareness for the condition on his social media platforms, videos, blogs & podcasts.

In this episode Tom, Gary and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Jamie. We talked about:
- His Type 1 diagnosis and diabetes journey.
- His career as a content creator.
- His blogs, YouTube vlogs and podcast - Jamie and The Broken Pancreas
- Stigma’s, mental health, advocacy and peer support.
+lots more.

Elizabeth Rae was born in the USA and has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years. She was diagnosis at the age of 4. Elizabeth completed her masters degree In International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Elizabeth has a background with non-profit, diabetes and health organisations and is the founder of T1International.

In this episode Tom, Chris and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Elizabeth. We talked about:
- Her Type 1 diagnosis and diabetes journey.
- Her career and education background.
- T1Internation and ‘#insulin4all.
- Stigma’s, mental health, advocacy and peer support.
+lots more.

Nusrat Kausar is a Diabetes Dietitian and has worked as a dietitian in hospitals and is a volunteer for Diabetes UK for the children camps they run.

In this episode Tom, Chris, Flipper and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Nusrat. We talked about:
- Her career background
- Diabetes Camps
- Diabetes advocacy
- Peer support
- Christmas Top Tips and FAQ

We also had a fun community quiz and discussion. 

In this episode Tom, Chris, Flipper and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to to JDRF UK' Community Engagement Team. We were joined by Dan Farrow, Chris Bright, Edelle Irwin, Mary Murphy and Lesley Jordan. 

The Community Engagement team joined the #diabeteschat Twitter Space as guest speakers and we talked about:
- What is JDRF and their roles within the Community Engagement Team.
- Their T1 diagnosis & diabetes journeys.
- Data and Technology - the impacts of using technology for everyday life and how it has impacted on their quality of life and hopes for the future.
- Peer support, diabetes advocacy and peer support groups (The Diabetes Football community & The T1 Club).
- Diabetes Stigma.
+lots more.

Tim Street runs a website / blog called the diabettech that covers lots of aspects of diabetes technology including investigating's into different CGMs. Tim also contributes extensively to the Android APS platform and has done work on algorithms to help look at fully closing the loop,

In this episode Tom, Chris, Flipper and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Tim as he joined the #diabeteschat Twitter Space as guest speaker and we talked about:
- T1 Diagnosis & diabetes journey from his 13th birthday in 1988.
- Data and Technology and experimentation.
- CGMs - What’s available and how they compare to each other.
- How CGMs even measure how accurate they are?
+lots more.

Muhammad Irfan Ismail has a background in Web design is now a Diabetes and Endo Pharmacist. He was diagnosed with diabetes 30 years ago and in this podcast he will take us on a journey over the years. Muhammad is a Futsal Player for The London Diabetes Football Community.

In this episode Tom, Chris, Flipper and the Diabetes Chat community asked questions to Muhammad as he joined the #diabeteschat Twitter Space as guest speaker and we talked about:
- T1 Diagnosis & diabetes journey.
- Career: Diabetes & Endo Pharmacist.
- NHS Pressures.
- Futsal - The Diabetes Football Community
- Mental Health, Advocacy and Peer Support
- Stigma’s
+Lots more.

This week we hosted our second Research Event on the #diabeteschat. We hosted and welcomed five amazing Research guest speakers to share a little bit about their research studies & projects.

We were joined by:
🗣️ Dr Jill Charlton @JillCarlton1
🗣️ Professional Simon Heller @simonrheller
🗣️ Emma Innes @emmainnes3p
🗣️ Belinda Moore @DIPadvocate17
🗣️ Tracey Oorschot @traceyo_71

Each speaker spoke for 15 minutes and shared their research and answered questions from Tom, Chris, Flipper and the #diabeteschat community about their research. We ended the evening with a live q&a panel discussion with the community and the panellists.