John Davis is awarded an MBE for his work with INPUT

John Davis, 72, of Lymington, has been awarded an MBE after heading a support group for patients with diabetes.

Mr Davis founded INPUT, which is campaigning for more diabetics to be prescribed insulin pump therapy.

INPUT estimates that only three per cent of the 300,000 people with Type 1 diabetes in the UK have pumps.

John Davis, who has used one of the devices since 1997, has recently retired from the group, having seen it grow over the past 13 years.

John Davis was first diagnosed with diabetes in 1987 following severe pancreatitis. A pump user himself since 1997, he founded INPUT in 1998.

INPUT serves as a centre for information on insulin pump therapy and an advocacy group for consistent funding for insulin pump therapy across the UK.

NHS Primary Care Trusts must comply with NICE Technology Appraisals, but inadequate governmental supervision of their implementation and little support from the Department of Health to establish best practices have made the NICE guidance on insulin pump therapy very difficult to enforce. INPUT works with Diabetes UK, JDRF, the Department of Health, members of all UK Parliaments, the diabetes care industry, consultant diabetologists, diabetes specialist nurses, general practitioners, to bring about full adoption of the NICE guidance on insulin pump therapy. In 2006 John was winner of the Diabetes UK “HG Wells Award”.

 

JDRF 2012 charity calendar – The Faces that live with Juvenile Diabetes

The Faces that Live with Juvenile Diabetes calendar 2012 – a beautiful showcase of just some of the brave, happy and smiley children that live with Type1 diabetes , every day, forever ; no break , no holidays. Hope is in a cure – all proceeds to JDRF

Funky Pumpers are proud to be joint sponsors along with Unit 4 Business Software of “The Faces that live with Juvenile Diabetes” 2012 calendar.

The calendar is now in it’s third year and is bigger and better than ever, with many more families involved.  It has been organised by Jo Dury, Helen Campling and Steve Newton, all members of the UK Children with Diabetes (CWD) group and all have children with Type 1 diabetes.

It is retailing for just £6.95 with ALL proceeds being donating to JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). It makes the ideal christmas present for family and friends, helping to raise the profile of type 1 diabetes by showcasing the beautiful “faces” of our type 1 children and raising money into research as well.

Click here to purchase: http://goo.gl/wWfgM

 

 

John Davis has now retired from INPUT

John Davis InputJohn started INPUT in 1998, and it has grown hugely. Having reached the age of 72, John feels he has taken INPUT as far as he can, and that it needs fresh ideas and fresh minds to develop further.

John looks forward to pursuing other interests including serving as Special Advisor to JDRF on CGM, working with Pop4Diabetes, and being a granddad.

Exciting developments in insulin delivery and greater use of CGM are bringing more opportunities for INPUT to make the case for diabetes management technology.
With the Advisory Group now in place, INPUT is in a strong position to build on John’s achievements and expand our activities.

http://www.input.me.uk

Faces of Juvenile Diabetes Calendar 2011

For the last 2 years Jo, Mum to Emily age 3, diagnosed at 11 months has organised The Faces of Juvenile Diabetes Calendar in aid of JDRF.

How to Order

If you haven’t got yourselves organised for 2011 just yet then please buy this calendar. It showcases all the gorgeous children who live with Type 1 Diabetes and all proceeds go to JDRF.  At only £6.75 each, it is a bargain!

To order please email facesthatlivewithdiabetes@live.co.uk with your name, address (including postcode) or contact us for further information.

Thank You!

Message from Adele to her school

You may know me or may never have taught me, but it’s important that everyone at my school knows and understands that I have Type 1 Diabetes and what it means. I’ve had this condition for 5½ years and in previous years a DSN (Diabetes Specialist Nurse) has been into school and given a presentation. I went to it for the first time last year and was shocked to see less than 10 teachers there. I never realised how small an audience she was explaining my condition to and to be honest, it wasn’t exactly an inspiring presentation. I don’t think that much was taken in and remembered right the way through to the end of the school year. That’s why this year I’ve decided to email this document to all of the teachers at my school.  So, when you have time, please read this and take it in – any little detail remembered can only be a good thing! I know you’re all very busy, but please take a few minutes to read this.

Thank you for your time,

INTRODUCTION

I just want to clear up that Type 1 Diabetes isn’t the same as Type 2 Diabetes (which is linked to obesity). Many people think diabetes is just diabetes and people get it because they’re fat, but they are wrong. I have Type 1, which can only be managed by taking several insulin injections every day or by going on an insulin pump. People with Type 2 usually manage it with diet and tablets, but sometimes injections too. I didn’t get diabetes because I ate too many sweets or because I was too fat; it wasn’t my fault. When people who don’t have any idea about Type 1 say things like this, you don’t realise the effect it has. My mum has been distraught several times by people making cutting comments that just aren’t true.

I have Type 1 Diabetes and I have to live with it for the rest of my life or until a cure is found. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is the main charity searching for a cure to Type 1. They are making it easier to manage Type 1, but so far no cure has been found. I manage my Diabetes by taking 5 to 10 blood tests from my fingers every day and by having 5 insulin injections in my legs every day. This is up to 100 needles going into my body in a week! This is just to stay alive (and people who say “I could never do that” – they could, if it was a matter of life or death). I was, and still am, needle phobic, but I want to stay alive and so if I need around 400,000 needles being stuck into my body in my lifetime, I’ll just have to have them.

I think in the past, I’ve ignored my diabetes a bit too much – I want a ‘normal’ life, but getting the balance between looking after my diabetes well, but not obsessively, and still continuing a normal life is hard. My blood sugars have been much too high (the HbA1c test results should be between 4 and 7, but mine has been around 10 for the past 4 years). Recently though, I’ve been taking a more active role in caring for myself, as the implications of badly controlled diabetes are starting to sound a bit more scary (Atherosclerosis, Diabetic kidney disease, Diabetic neuropathy and Diabetic retinopathy). These are serious complications that could actually affect me, so now, my family and I are working harder to help me and I hope writing this document for you will be a good step forwards.

This document isn’t a sympathy vote or a science lesson; I want to, and actually need to, inform you about my condition and explain how I may need your help. If I was to write about every aspect of having diabetes and all the science behind it, I would be here for days writing it and you’d be here for hours reading it! Even though this document may look quite long, I’ve made it as short and as to the point as possible, so it’s actually only a small insight into the world of Type 1 Diabetes.

GENERAL POINTS ABOUT MY DIABETES

I test my blood sugars and inject insulin by myself. If you would like to know more, just ask!

One possible problem is rushed break and lunch times; I may be a bit late for lessons. If I am or if I cause my friends to be, then I apologise, but sometimes I need extra time and it can’t be avoided.

I don’t like to make a fuss about my condition, but just because of this, it doesn’t make it any less serious. I do have a life-threatening disease (yes, it is a disease, but I feel ‘condition’ fits better) that affects every aspect of my life. I’m not shy about having Type 1 and will happily tell anyone that asks about it. I don’t make a huge deal out of having Type 1 though, so I think a lot of people don’t realise how much it affects my life. In fact, I think lots of people think that it’s good to have diabetes as I get to eat in lessons and go to lunch early – how wrong can they be?! I don’t think they’ve thought about the injections, the emotional side and having to eat at 3am, when you feel physically sick!

Exercise generally lowers blood sugars, but it can have the opposite effect. This means that I should have time to test my blood sugars before and after exercise and during if I need to. If I’m going to do some serious, heavy exercise, I do need a warning as I have to take into account the effects it could have, for example; long distance running and swimming need careful planning.

In the case of a fire, I will need to take my bag with me. I keep it on me at all times in case of an emergency, so if anything happened and I needed my bag and couldn’t get to it then I could be in serious trouble!

I think the main thing that will affect teachers in school is when I have a ‘hypo’.

DEALING WITH A ‘HYPO’

This is probably the most important point that needs to be made at school; hypoglycaemia. This is when my blood sugars drop too low, so I need to eat some sugary food. If I say I need to eat, it can’t wait a few minutes until the end of the lesson or whilst you just finish marking something; I need to eat now! This may mean leaving the lesson and going to the nurse with someone, never alone; sitting at the back of the classroom and eating; leaving during an exam or  skipping the lunch queue. If I don’t eat soon enough, then my blood sugars will keep on dropping and I may faint and go into a diabetic coma. This has luckily never happened to me as I’m quite good at recognising the symptoms.

I have ‘hypo boxes’ around the school – one in my locker, one in the main reception in AO and a ‘master box’ in the nurses’ room. They all contain a sugary drink, some sweets, biscuits and GlucoGel. This is to be used if I faint; it should be squirted around the inside of my mouth. I do carry some emergency food in case of a hypo, but I usually need something from my hypo box too.

When I’m hypo, I’m often not the nicest person to be around; my mood changes quite rapidly (ask my mum – I’ve insulted her many times!). I do try to stay polite, but my main aim is to eat, so if I’m a bit rude to you please don’t be offended; I didn’t mean it!

Special considerations should be put in place for me during exams. My doctor has sent a letter into school addressing this. I often take 30 minutes to an hour to feel better again, which needs to be accommodated for.

JDRF – Please sign our petition and show your support

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life threatening condition that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks insulin producing cells in the pancreas.

At present, there is no definitive answer to what causes and how to cure type 1 diabetes. The only way for the cure for type 1 to be found is greater investment in medical research. In 2009 government funding bodies the Medical Research Council (MRC) and National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) committed £51million to research to tackle the growing problem of diabetes last year. Of this, only £6million was ‘applicable’ to type 1 diabetes.

In contrast, last year the US government spent $150 million, the Australian government committed $36million and the Canadian government $20 million on funding world class research to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research in the world, is currently campaigning for increased levels of government funding to be given for type 1 research.

Please sign our petition and show your support

Animas announce new Event – Are you an Animas pumper and swimmer?

Animas and LifeScan UK/Ireland are proud to announce the launch of a very special event – a must for people using an Animas pump, who have a passion for open water swimming. Read the letter from Animas here

The Animas pump is proven waterproof for up to 24 hours at 3.6 metres and to celebrate our pumpers’ passion for swimming, we are holding a UK to France Channel relay swim. Animas would like five Animas pumpers to be part of the relay swimming team.  Mark Blewitt, an experienced long distance and Channel swimmer will be leading the team.  Find out more about Mark at www.markblewitt.co.uk

The Channel relay swim will take place one day (weather dependent) between 7th -18th July 2011.  Applicants must be aged between 16 and 55 and must be a competent, experienced open water swimmer and be prepared to train on a regular basis.

Completed application forms should be returned to the below address by 24th December 2010:

Animas / LifeScan Channel Swim

Johnson & Johnson

50-100 Holmers Farm Way

High Wycombe

Bucks

HP12 4DP

Infant feeding and type 1 diabetes: new clues

Researchers in Finland have uncovered a relationship between baby milk formula and the development of antibodies to type 1 diabetes in at-risk children. However, the study was too small, and the connection is so far too unclear, to say that changing babies’ diets might prevent them developing type 1.

The research team studied 230 babies who had been identified as having a genetic risk of type 1 diabetes at birth, by analysis of their cord blood. They all also had at least one family member with type 1.

The babies’ mothers were encouraged to breastfeed as usual, but when breast milk was not available, one group of the babies were given a standard cow’s milk infant formula, and the other group were given a special formula containing casein hydrolysate. This is a milk-derived product in which complex dairy proteins have been reduced to their constituent amino acids.

The babies were given the formula up to the age of eight months, after which both groups were monitored until they were 10 years old. By that time, 4% of children in the intervention group had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, compared to 8% in the control group, which is not a statistically significant difference.

However, there were significant differences in the number of children who developed antibodies that are associated with type 1: 16% of the babies who had cow’s milk formula tested positive for at least two of five significant antibodies, compared to 7% of the children who had been given the casein hydrolysate.

Professor Mikael Knip of the Hospital for Children and Adolescents and 
University of Helsinki, who led the study, says: ‘The study showed that the safe 
and simple dietary intervention applied in this pilot trial was capable of 
reducing the emergence of diabetes-predictive autoantibodies by about 50% 
by age 10 in the participants carrying increased disease risk.

‘The current 
study population does not provide sufficient statistical power to 
definitely conclude whether an intervention of this type will reduce the 
frequency of clinical type 1 diabetes, although the preliminary data are 
promising.’

A full-scale trial – TRIGR (Trial to Reduce IDDM in the Genetically at R
isk) – is currently running in 77 study centers 
in 15 countries to provide a conclusive answer to the question of whether 
weaning to a highly hydrolyzed formula will reduce the cumulative 
incidence of clinical type 1 diabetes.  A total of 2,160 children have been 
randomized for TRIGR, and the first results are expected in 2013.

The researchers do not know exactly what the difference is between the 
casein hydrolysate and regular cow’s milk-based formulas; it is thought that a highly hydrolyzed formula might have a beneficial effect on gut microflora.

The full press release from the University of Helsinki can be read here, and an abstract of the paper in the New England Journal of Medicine appears here.

World Diabetes Day: blue light shines on China

November 14 is World Diabetes Day 2010, and to mark the occasion the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) will launch a major new initiative in China, where 92.4 million people (1 in every 10) have diabetes.

The IDF will be unveiling a major global diabetes plan in Beijing at the iconic Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square.  New data on how much diabetes is costing the Chinese economy and society will also be announced, followed by an expert panel session featuring Madame Kong Lingzhi, Deputy Director-General, Chinese Ministry of Health, and Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, IDF President.

‘The Chinese government is demonstrating that they are taking diabetes seriously and recognising its economic impact,’ says the IDF. ‘Now we need governments from the rest of the world to do the same.’

The IDF reports that some progress is being made: on May 13, 2010 the UN General Assembly voted unanimously for UN Resolution 64/265 to hold a UN High Level Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases in September 2011. More information about this can be found at http://www.ncdalliance.org/

World Diabetes Day, the only official World Health Organisation day devoted to a non-communicable disease, has been spreading the message of diabetes awareness, education and prevention since 1991. It is marked by major buildings all over the world being lit up in blue light, and all kinds of fundraising activities with a ‘blue’ theme.

Find out more at: http://www.worlddiabetesday.org

T cell finding builds autoimmunity picture

Researchers in Canada have identified the role of a type of T cell that might explain more about the automimmune response that can lead to Type 1 diabetes.

The research team found that children newly diagnosed with Type 1 have an increased presence of Th17 cells, a type of T cell discovered in 2005.

‘T cells are white blood cells and key members of the immune system that control infections,’ says Rusung Tan, leader of the team at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. ‘In healthy individuals, Th17 cells provide a strong defence against bacteria and viruses by guiding the immune system to strongly attack infected targets within our bodies.’

In children susceptible to Type 1 however, it is thought that Th17 might play a harmful role, as this T cell has previously been associated with other autoimmune conditions such as Crohn’s disease.

‘The elevated levels of Th17 cells in type 1 diabetes patients suggest that these cells may also play a key role in the early development of this disease in young patients,’ says Tan.

The findings are published in the October 2010 issue of the Journal of Immunology, and the study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The abstract of the study can be found here.