A reasonably smooth period of diabetes control leads to a fiery exchange between Alison and her pancreas. Dear Alison I am not impressed. At the age of 4 I decided you were mature enough to take over responsibility for being your own pancreas, and I went into retirement having trusted you with the job. I… Read More »
As you’ll be able to tell from the tortured headline above I’ve recently been dealing with young non-diabetics. As I don’t have children I don’t often come into contact with the youth of today, so it’s an unusual experience for me. However recently my niece and nephew (aged six and three respectively) have been over… Read More »
As I continue to dedicate myself selflessly to the diabetes research agenda, I have just completed another research field trip. This time I investigated the impact of travel on diabetes in the Canadian Rockies and Alaska. Key learnings include: • When you’re wearing thermal underwear, two layers of clothes, waterproofs and a life jacket while sitting… Read More »
Six months ago I started learning to play the baritone and at the time it made me realise quite how terrifying it is to be launched into a whole new world. Learning about music seemed about as complex as working out how to carb count, adjust basal rates and identify hypos. The one advantage music has… Read More »
Eating three square meals a day will give better glucose control than munching away hour after hour. I don’t think I’ve ever been told this, but deep down I know that this works for me. It makes sense. If I eat a meal my blood sugar rises and takes a while to fall. If I snack… Read More »
Having set out clear and logical rules for my body to abide by when it comes to diabetes (which are in reality about as effective as trying to teach an amoeba to tapdance but never mind) it is unfortunate that my mind doesn’t apply similar logic. These are genuine things that I catch myself doing,… Read More »
Having had to resort to Dr Google to translate my latest HbA1c result into something meaningful, I thought it might be useful to publish a conversion table for new HbA1c measurements. Since October 2011 the way HbA1c results are expressed has changed – from % to mmol/mol. Mostly this has been done to mess with your… Read More »
I’ve been ill for the last few weeks. I’ve been struck down, bedridden and generally miserable. I’ve not been ill with fevers, the bloody flux or brain distemper, but with that most horrific and virulent of viruses – the common cold. Colds, in my view, are underrated. They make you feel crap for weeks on… Read More »