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Diabetes and Dentistry
For the first meeting of the New Year we were lucky enough to have Dr Milad Shadrooh, The Singing Dentist, as our guest speaker on Thursday 10th January.
Milad explained that he qualified from Barts and London in 2004 and now runs a successful dental practice in Basingstoke. His love of music has led him into making educational dental parody songs, which have gone viral and brought him to the media attention, hence the nickname Singing Dentist. His fame has obviously gone before him as some of the Youth Club in the next room to us came in to listen to his talk and were enthralled.
One thing that Milad said was most important was good blood sugar control. Your mouth has more bacteria than there are people in the world (sounds quite a hostile environment). Plaque is a sticky substance that contains bacteria and adheres to your teeth, so good dental hygiene is essential to avoid dental problems. Whether you use a manual or electric toothbrush, you should brush your teeth for 2 minutes and make sure you clean the gum line as this is where plaque likes to stick. If you have painful gums or they bleed when you brush your teeth, make an appointment to see your dentist, caught early it can be treated. In extreme cases, if left untreated, it can progress to periodontitis which can damaged the bone in your jaw and your teeth can become loose and may eventually fall out.
TIps on how to avoid dental problems:
Run your toothbrush under hot water to soften the bristles before brushing, as this makes it less abrasive.
Brush your teeth twice a day for 2 minutes.
Use dental brushes to clean between the teeth as normal brushing doesn't get into these areas.
Your toothbrush should be changed every 3 months, it might look ok, but after all that use it won't be as effective.
Use a tongue scraper to remove the bacteria. Don't use your toothbrush as all you are doing is moving the bacteria around your tongue and coating your toothbrush.
A member of the audience asked the question about hypos at night and what they could do to help protect their teeth. Milad suggested when cleaning your teeth at night you don't rinse the toothpaste out so leave a coating of fluoride over your teeth. He also suggested drinking water to neutralise the acid.
If we follow this advice hopefully we won't need any treatment next time we visit the dentist. We've already gone out and bought new toothbrushes and tongue scrapers!
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Patients from Acorn Practices join 2019 Diabetes Challenge
The Diabetes Challenge Programme was piloted in October 2017 at Hackwood Partnership. A Carousel Clinic was organised where patients had the opportunity to meet a number of different health professionals and service providers to develop a 6 week Healthy Living Plan. A cohort of 13 attended the Carousel clinic with 10 actively participating in subsequent educational and physical activity events. The pilot demonstrated improvements in patient activation level and received positive feedback from participants and staff.
The challenge has now started again with 21 patients across the Acorn Partnership attending a Carousel Clinic week commencing 21st January 20019. The programme began on the 30th January 2019 with a group education session facilitated by Consultant Dr Ben Turner which left participants enthused and informed. Week Two saw the delivery of a group session on ‘Diet’ led by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, an interactive hour, dispelling some of those food myths.
Despite a wet and windy evening, the health walk supported by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council started on the 6th February with 25 people attending
Any patient from any surgery are welcome to join health walks – every Wednesday 7pm meeting outside St Andrews site
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If you are interested in learning more then please do come along to one our sessions - see details below. |
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Drop in for a Coffee at Waitrose, Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4YY
 Monday 11th March, 2pm-3pm
and
Monday 25th March, 7pm-8pm
Would you like to meet other people who are living with diabetes and have a coffee and chat? Members of the committee will be at the Waitrose cafe on Monday 11th March from 2pm-3pm and Monday 25th March from 7pm-8pm.
We would welcome the opportunity to hear your ideas and views on what you would like the Basingstoke Diabetes UK Support Group to consider for future activities.
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Tesco Diabetes Awareness Day – Wednesday 10th April
Chineham Shopping Centre, Basingstoke RG24 8BE
 We have been invited by Tesco to have a table to promote Diabetes Awareness at their store in Chineham on Wednesday April 10th. We will have lots of leaflets and booklets for distribution and members of the Basingstoke Diabetes UK Support Group will be very happy to meet you and have a chat if you are in the vicinity on the day.
We look forward to meeting as many of you as possible as well as to recruit new members to our group. Look out for a flier nearer the time for more details.
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Living with Diabetes Day
Wednesday 1st May 2019
9:30am - 4.00pm
Apollo Hotel, Basingstoke. RG24 9NU
The Community Diabetes team are working with Diabetes UK to put on a conference for people living with Type 2 Diabetes in North Hampshire. The speakers at the event are -
- Dr Christian Chilcott: lead GP for diabetes.
- Dr Ben Turner: Consultant, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Alice Grundy: Podiatrist, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Will Stanley: Psychotherapist and Dietitian, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Jill Steaton: Diabetes UK
- Sarah Woodman: Specialist Diabetes Dietician, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Sherri Johnston: North Hampshire Community Diabetes Specialist nurse
For more details please contact Nicola Stephens at Diabetes UK - telephone 01372 720 148 or email south.east@diabetes.org.uk |
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Diabetes Research - Anna Morris (Diabetes UK)
Tuesday 7th May 2019
7.30pm - 8.45pm
Hatch Warren Community Centre, Long Cross Lane, Basingstoke, RG22 4XF
 Anna Morris is the Assistant Director of Research Strategy and Partnership at Diabetes UK. Anna has oversight of the Clinical Studies Groups, which are tasked with setting out a roadmap for diabetes research, and she is responsible for establishing partnerships in the funding space. She also overseas the teams responsible for communicating outcomes of research.
Anna is speaking to us about recent research and will answer all of the questions you have. Come and join us for this exciting talk on the latest diabetes research.
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Rotary Club Family Festival - Sunday 23rd June 2019
Basingstoke Cricket Club, Fairfields Road, Basingstoke RG21 3DR
 There will be live music from the Clive Fortune Big Band, the ever popular falconry display and the John Searle Funfair. It is planned to have a varied program of entertainment over two days. We are attending on the Sunday with other local charities promoting their causes and look forward to seeing you there.
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Hatch Warren Festival – Saturday 13th July
Hatch Warren Community Centre, Long Cross Lane, Basingstoke, RG22 4XF
 We will be attending the Hatch Warren Summer Festival again this year. We will send further details nearer the time and look forward to seeing you all there!
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Southampton Marathon / Half / 10K - Sunday 5th May
Anyone interested can contact Dave Pomfrey on pomfreydave@gmail.com or 07533182263.
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Diabetes Wellness Day South - Saturday, 11th May 2019
Managing and living with diabetes can be a challenge, which is why Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation have created Diabetes Wellness Days to support people living with all forms of diabetes.
Saturday 11 May 2019
09:00 – 17:00
Solent Hotel and Spa, Rookery Avenue, Whiteley, Hampshire, PO15 7AJ
For more information and to sign up click here.
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Flash Glucose Monitoring gets the green light for drivers with diabetes
Following a major campaign victory, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) have issued new guidance coming into effect from 15 February 2019. People with diabetes can now check their glucose (sugar) levels using flash glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring. For full details see the article on Diabetes UK website here. |
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Diet Tips
Top tips for more fruit and vegetables
• Don’t forget, frozen and tinned vegetables all count, so add a small tin of sweet corn to a salad, or some frozen berries to your porridge at breakfast. Dried fruit also counts, but can be quite high in natural sugar, so only sprinkle a small portion over your breakfast cereal.
• Have some mini tins of fruit in natural juice with a convenient ring pull to have as an easy go-to snack mid-morning so you are less tempted to reach for the biscuits. Keeping a couple of cans at work in case you forget to bring any fresh fruit in.
• Add carrots to a chilli
• Add lentils to a curry
(Taken from Diabetes UK website)
Eating well to keep well Making good food choices can help you look after your diabetes and reduce your risk of developing other health conditions.
Healthy eating tips:
• Swap white rice for brown
• Swap sugary drinks for unsweetened drinks
• Opt for snacks like yogurts, unsalted nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables rather than crisps, chips and biscuits
• Cook from scratch more often
• Be mindful of portion sizes
• Be sensible about drinking alcohol
• Avoid ‘diabetic’ foods
(Taken from Balance magazine, September 2018)
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Fight for clearer food labelling
Thousands of you told Diabetes UK that it’s hard to make healthier choices when you don’t know how many calories and carbs are in your meal. Especially when you’re eating out or having a takeaway. We think that needs to change. Join DBUKs Food Upfront campaign to give restaurants our order - one for clear, consistent labelling.
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The latest on Brexit
Diabetes UK call for clarity on a no-deal Brexit
Diabetes UK have issued a joint statement with JDRF to call on the government to urgently provide detail on the availability of insulin and other medical supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
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Diabetes UK Newsletter
If you are not already signed up we recommend subscribing to the Diabetes UK Newsletter so you do not miss out on valuable information. You can do that here.
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Personal Achievements
My name is Kerrie Hunt and I was diagnosed at six years old as a type 1 diabetic in 1986. In those days you had to draw up your insulin in a plastic syringe and to check your blood you used the Autolet device, which was like a guillotine and painful. Things have moved on a lot since then and I now use an insulin pump.
Three years ago I started training with Matt Smart, Smart Health and Fitness, to improve my fitness level and to try to help my blood sugar control. With Matt's help and encouragement I have achieved far more than I thought I could.
In November 2018 I went on a 5 day Warm Weather Boot Camp in Fuerteventura with my husband and ten other members of Matt's fitness group. Before embarking on this trip I made sure that I packed plenty of insulin, blood testing strips, Lucozade tablets and chewy bars. The itinerary for the camp was e-mailed before we left so I could see exactly what we were doing each day and work out how much I needed to adjust my basal rate to suit each activity.
The hotel we stayed in was all inclusive and the meals had a Wellfood Corner, where the dishes were fresh, balanced and had plenty of variety. The carbohydrate value was shown for each dish which made my life easier.
The activities included:
Beach boxing
Yoga
Deep workout
Functional workout
Man v Mountain (I amazed myself on this event as I didn't come last)
Boot camp on the beach
Working with the other members of the group made me push myself harder and the sense of achievement gave me a buzz. My core muscles felt sore, not just because of all the exercise,
but the massive amount of laughing that came from a great holiday with fantastic people.
It drives me nuts trying to control my blood sugars at times and I never find it easy, but that doesn't stop me trying new adventures or having a go at improving my health.
If you ever go to Park Run, I am usually the one trying to check my blood whilst moving, as I want to improve my personal best.
I will be going on another Warm Weather Boot Camp as soon as I can, provided the grandparents are happy to look after the children again.
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... to everyone who led talks, attended an event, provided the venue and our Group's Committee who made it all happen!
If you have any suggestions for events you would like to see or if you would like to get involved we would love to here from you. Please contact us here.
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