Welcome to our latest newsletter which is brought to you at the start of the Festive Season (although we know for some it may have started some time ago).  We hope you have managed to stay safe during the second lockdown and did not find it too difficult.  Your health, safety and wellbeing remains our main priority and whilst we were unable to hold face-to-face meetings we did take the opportunity of using technology to have some very interesting virtual presentations.  Details of these can be found below together with information on forthcoming presentations that we hope you will be able to join.  

 

To get you into the holiday mood we have a fun festive quiz for you to try with your families and friends.  Answers are at the end of this newsletter.

                                   

                                     

Diabetes Education available in North Hants

 

T2 education courses

• New2 diabetes - for those that have been diagnosed under one year 
• WISER course - for those diagnosed with T2 for over a year

 

All education is currently on line. There are online videos (which are excellent) followed by a 90 minute interactive session on Zoom.  For those that cannot access the videos online there are DVDs available from the education team.

 

Contact your GP/PN if you are interested and they will refer you to the education team.

 

T1 education courses

These courses are provided by the hospital.  If you already see the team there you can ask for T1 education updates, otherwise ask your GP/PN to refer you to the hospital for this.

 

'Bertie on line'  is also a very good resource for T1 and is accessible and free. https://www.bertieonline.org.uk

Education Sessions

The North Hampshire Community Diabetes Team are putting together a programme of education sessions with Health Care Professionals for those diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

 

The first of the educational sessions took place on Monday 9th November when Katy Pomeroy (Diabetes Educator) from the West Hants Community Diabetes Service talked about Living well with T2 diabetes; feet, food and everything else.  The session was well attended, it provided good information and ideas and there was a very useful question and answer session at the end.

 

Sessions for the forthcoming months have already been planned so please make a note of the dates in your diaries, more information will be provided in future newsletters.

 

'Hungry For Change' is the topic for the second Education Session which will take place on Tuesday 8th December 6.30pm -7.30pm.  

Georgette Alayyan: Senior Specialist Dietician & Imogen Kirby: Community Dietician (Southern Health) will be talking about how they can help support you with making healthy diet and lifestyle changes for the year ahead. 

 

The platform for this event will be via Zoom and it is planned to open the session 15 minutes prior to the start to give us the chance to solve any technical difficulties you may have and we will keep it open 15 minutes after the session to allow informal chat.

Please email SHFT.NHdiabetes@nhs.net to register for the event.

Latest news from Diabetes UK

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/coronavirus

 

The Diabetes UK website is continually being updated as more information from the government is made available on coronavirus.  The latest update includes information for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable.  Diabetes is not in the clinically extremely vulnerable group (shielding group) – it is in the 'clinically vulnerable group' – so having diabetes doesn’t automatically mean you would need to shield. Although there may be some people with diabetes who need to shield based on other conditions or other risk factors, for example those with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. This means that for most people with diabetes, any lockdown rules where you live are the same for you as they are for people who don’t have diabetes.

Type 1 & Tech Conference 2020

 

The Diabetes UK National Type 1 & Tech Conference was held on 14 November on Zoom.  A packed agenda throughout the day covered current and new technology including presentations by Abbott, Medtronic and Dexcon.  A mix of healthcare specialists, medics and practitioners along with people with type 1 diabetes shared their experiences with the technology particularly the benefits for sports activities. Another highlighted the advantages gained by the use of the various “apps” now available to download.

A lot of people now use the Abbott Freestyle Libre to manage their diabetes and it was good to hear that the Freestyle Libre 2, which has high and low level sensor alerts, has already been given approval for release and should be available in January 2021. In addition, the Freestyle Libre 3, which is much smaller and has Bluetooth technology, is anticipated to be released sometime next year. Other sensors are also available ....😉  There is no doubt that advances in technology certainly help the management and control of diabetes. Long may it continue.

One interesting fact that came out during discussions on the monitor readings is that health professionals are now not just looking at the HbA1C but are also interested in the “Time in target – 3.9 to 10.00 mmol/L” and recommended it should be 70% or more. 

 

One amusing story from the day is that the opening speech was in Welsh (it was hosted by Diabetes UK Cymru after all) and many attendees immediately posted questions on “chat” asking if the entire session was going to continue in this language and wondering if they had joined the wrong event!

 

The presentations from the conference can be found on YouTube.

The Changing Shape of DNA in Diabetes (a Diabetes UK funded research project) 

 

We were very fortunate on Monday 12th October to join with the Southampton Diabetes UK Support Group to have a Zoom presentation by Dr Zoë A. E. Waller, Associate Professor in Drug Discovery at UCL School of Pharmacy.  Zoë gave a fascinating and insightful talk on the DNA that forms part of the gene for insulin.  The project is looking at developing molecules that interact with this DNA to help the body make more insulin and investigating how this region of DNA varies between people with diabetes and people who do not have diabetes. You can find more about the project here: 

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/research/our-research-projects/south-east/unravelling-dna-structures-diabetes-risk

Coronavirus Vaccine

 

I am sure that like many of you, one of our members Dave Evans was keen to find out more about the coronavirus vaccine and he has kindly shared his findings -

 

When I started to write this article, there is so much information in the newspapers and on the web about Covid-19, it’s difficult to know what to put in and what to leave out.  I have put together some  information about Covid-19 vaccine that might be of interest.

For the latest up to date information always refer to :-

https://www.nhs.uk and https://www.diabetes.org.uk

 

You can check for the coronavirus hotspots in Basingstoke and Deane at 

https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/18908680.basingstokes-covid-rate-fallen-uk-average/

Despite what you hear and read a coronavirus vaccine is not yet available on the NHS and will only be available once it has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).  Once  the vaccine has been approved, the vaccine may help protect you from coronavirus, but it will still be important to follow social distancing guidelines and other restrictions to keep each other safe.

At the moment the vaccines under trial by Pfizer, Moderna and the Oxford University/AstraZeneca are the preferred choice, but this can change as there are currently 300 vaccine projects under way according to the World Health Organisation.  At least 9, including Oxford/AstraZeneca are at the final stages of testing before approval and roll out.  This will be a phenomenal strike back against a disease that has only been with us for less than a year.  In normal vaccine development, it usually takes 10 years before approval, but it still has to go through the full testing procedure demanded of new vaccines.  It must meet a higher safety bar than medicines because it will be given to healthy people.

Russia has approved Sputnik-V (not the satellite) and China has also approved a vaccine developed by Cansino Biologics and has started immunising its military.
The UK boasts one of the biggest vaccine portfolios of any country, pre ordering enough doses of 7 different developers to vaccinate the whole population several times over.  Betting on multiple vaccines is an insurance policy.  The development process is notoriously unpredictable with promising candidates frequently falling at the final hurdle.

The characteristics of the vaccines i.e. side effects, how long immunity lasts and do they work on all age groups, will determine how widely they are given.  The vaccine might cut the disease but not the transmission, so Covid-19 could become a permanent feature of life like seasonal flu.

Coffee and Chat - Wednesday 16th December 2020 at 11am



Following recent Coffee and Chat Zoom calls we have decided to hold another call on Wednesday 16th December at 11am.  It will be great if you could join us and we would love to hear your ideas and views on what you would like the Basingstoke Diabetes UK Support Group to consider for future activities when we are able to meet in person once again.

You will need to have access to the Zoom app and details of joining the meeting can be found below –

 

Topic: Basingstoke Diabetes UK Support Group Coffee & Chat Zoom Meeting
Time: Dec 16, 2020 11:00 AM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76061383163?pwd=U3UzRk1od1lROGhUQkZVczFoWGtjdz09

Meeting ID: 760 6138 3163

Passcode: P8Kf8d

Member Experience
 

Mark Straw shares his experience of taking part in a

Type 1/ Online peer group Zoom meetings Trial

 

At the end of September, I got invited to take part in a trial for Type 1 peer group Zoom meetings.  The trial consisted of a weekly zoom meeting over a six-week period. The other people taking part were made up of people who had Type I Diabetes. Ages ranged from 24 to me at 62. The subjects we covered were as follows. I have included some relevant links regarding each section.

• Week 1 Diabetes and Me

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-and-me

 

• Week 2 The effect of the Coronavirus Pandemic 

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/coronavirus

 

• Week 3 Eating Well with Diabetes

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/10-ways-to-eat-well-with-diabetes

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/what-to-drink-with-diabetes/alcohol-and-diabetes

 

• Week 4 Exercise and Diabetes

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/exercise

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/out-and-about/sports-nutrition-and-type-1-diabetes

 

• Week 5 Diabetes and Emotional Health

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/emotions

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/emotions/diabetes-burnout

 

• Week 6 A fun Quiz.

Caroline who was the facilitator from Diabetes UK on the trial was excellent and led the discussions on the topics covered.   The group had a nice balance of people, some had only recently been diagnosed and others that had the condition for some time.  For me it was nice to have a chance to chat to others who had the same medical condition as me.  Everyone contributed and I learnt a lot about Diabetes and how to live with it.

 

To me the most valuable session was week 5 “Diabetes and Emotional Health”. Having lived with Diabetes for over 51 years I have to admit that there are times when it gets me down.  When you think about it, we have to make hundreds of decisions each day.  Week 5 of the Peer group came 3 days after the news that there would be another “lock down”.  On the zoom meeting I was particularly quiet, and for those that know me this is unusual.  Facing the month of November with no swim training, no Badminton and no group bike rides, all activities that give me much needed exercise but mainly the ability to see my friends, brought my mood down.

However, I must to say that my fellow participants were great, coming up with lots ideas to lift spirits.  

 

One idea has worked for me, this is called “the gratitude diary” At the end of the day think of say 3 things that have brought you joy during the day, then write them down.  Day one ranged from taking our two dogs for a walk in the sun, riding my bike to the shops and seeing two squirrels skip and play with each other, I even smiled after coming off my bike on the way back from the shops.  I had crossed the A30 at the pedestrian crossing and then had to go through a L chicane and up the hill. I misjudged the chicane and landed up in the bushes to the left.  I ride with clip in pedals and had got one foot stuck, luckily for me two teenage girls from the local school, instead of bursting out laughing, came to my aid and I was able to cycle home.  So even that made me smile and it went in the diary.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed taking part and hope that it can be taken forward to benefit others.  I know Diabetes UK are evaluating the study, so watch out for this.

                                  

Answers to the Festive Quiz

 

1. Germany
2. Turkey
3. Indian Ocean
4. Pigs in blankets
5. England
6. 36 carbohydrates (approx.)
7. Plum pudding
8. 30 - 35 carbohydrates (approx.)
9. Greek Bishop in 4th century
10. 8 (but 9 including Rudolph)
11. Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen
12. 1880 Thomas Edison
13. White Xmas by Bing Crosby
14. Zero carbohydrate, 1 unit
15. Coca Cola
16. Two carbohydrates, 1½ unit

                                  

We would love to hear how you have managed to cope during the last few months, if you would like to share your thoughts, experience or reflections in our next newsletter please contact us at diabetesuk.basingstokegroup@gmail.com