How do you compare to average BS levels

[Type1Bri]

Take a look at @diasend's Tweet: https://twitter.com/diasend/status/729681521519538177?s=09
I guess my control is much better than average. Interesting reading though and quite motivational to boot

 

[tim2000s]

That's the thing @Type1Bri - the UK DOC is very unrepresentative of the UK Diabetic Community. The data that Diasend is publishing is no different to what was shown in the National Diabetes Audit. In the UK we have terrible levels. That average on Diasend at 10.5 makes for pretty grim reading. The variability numbers at nearly 50% are also pretty nasty. But then, if you go and meet many of these people, they seem uninterested. It's all very difficult!

 

[Type1Bri]

Sad but true Tim, we have a sheltered view as everybody I have met take a big interest in their own care/levels otherwise they would not be attending our meet ups or take the time to be part of the #gbdoc

 

[tim2000s]

Sad but true Tim, we have a sheltered view as everybody I have met take a big interest in their own care/levels otherwise they would not be attending our meet ups or take the time to be part of the #gbdoc

That post by Diasend has triggered a massive discussion on Twitter though. Coming back to the issue is that people don't test enough and how do you encourage more testing to get better results...?

 

[noblehead]

Take a look at @diasend's Tweet: https://twitter.com/diasend/status/729681521519538177?s=09
I guess my control is much better than average. Interesting reading though and quite motivational to boot

Quite shocked by those figures @Type1Bri

 

[Type1Bri]

Yeah I was too, I know many people on this forum have tight control, maybe that has tinted my view on what people's numbers are like in general

 

[noblehead]

Yeah I was too, I know many people on this forum have tight control, maybe that has tinted my view on what people's numbers are like in general

I certainly don't have tight control but do manage my diabetes to the best of my ability, but looking at those figures they are quite alarming and ones you might expect to see pre-bg meter days (before meters became widely available and the only way to test for glucose was urine testing).

 

[tim2000s]

Quite shocked by those figures @Type1Bri

Totally in line with the NDA sadly...

 

[Bluetit1802]

I had a discussion with an Oncologist a few years ago about non-compliant patients. I wasn't diabetic then and he brought the subject up, saying that diabetics are the most non-compliant patients of all.

 

[JaneC]

Do those figures include type 2’s? Could sway the results.

 

[tim2000s]

I had a discussion with an Oncologist a few years ago about non-compliant patients. I wasn't diabetic then and he brought the subject up, saying that diabetics are the most non-compliant patients of all.

Well, yes. Just read my signature....

 

[tim2000s]

Do those figures include type 2’s? Could sway the results.

They may do, but given that the majority of the users of Diasend (at least in the UK) are T1 (due to strip restrictions) it's probably reasonable for here.

 

[DunePlodder]

I wonder what Belgium is doing to be so much better?

Last summer I had a conversation with some newly qualified doctors & their attitude was "well most people won't even try". The implication seemed to be "why bother?" Very depressing.

 

[slip]

Question is who are these UK people that use Diasend? Do they represent a broad spectrum of PWD or are they likely to be like people on this forum more proactive at managing their Diabetes?

I wonder what the UKs T1 and T2 average hba1c are anyway? Does it equate to diasend?

I also wonder why so many PWD don't make the effort? Perhaps it's because it's so **** time consuming and requires effort from them? where as most other conditions get a fairly short intensive treatment lead solely by a consultant?

 

[pinewood]

I was so shocked by that tweet, particularly since you'd think people bothering to use Diasend would be those who try to take the most care of themselves. Very shocking.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

This thread has made me think and it hurts. I think back to the first two years after diagnosis when I played the mushroom to DN's electric fan. No progress, lots of pills, no feedback except for a Post It note she gave me one day when I summoned up the courage to ask her if I could be told what my Hba1c number was. There was no hope. I was going to go blind, lose my feet and die. No point in arguing.

I was given a meter to see if I was hypo before driving. I used it to lower my blood glucose figures instead. I had made a difference which is something the pills never did. Now there was an incentive. Not only could I fix my Hba1c but I could also sit with a smug grin on my face while DN tried to figure out what happened. It started to be fun. I got better at eating the right thing and I lost 13Kg in weight. DN said I was thought provoking.

You only need incentive and going to see DN every six months is mine. Now I tell HER what I am going to do and have become pushy. Lotsa fun.

 

[becky.ford93]

Does make me feel a little better!!
I think what's most interesting is, as said by others, the massive standard deviation showing how big a difference there is in the diabetic community in terms of management.
I think the reason that you wouldn't expect it to be so high given most peoples experiences on here is because people generally come here because they want to change and want to get better, so I imagine this skews the data if we were to only look at the people using the forum.

 

[tim2000s]

Question is who are these UK people that use Diasend? Do they represent a broad spectrum of PWD or are they likely to be like people on this forum more proactive at managing their Diabetes?

I was so shocked by that tweet, particularly since you'd think people bothering to use Diasend would be those who try to take the most care of themselves. Very shocking.

The data is gathered from everyone who takes meter or pump to a diabetes clinic. The NHS standard for uploading data is to plug in your meter and use, yes, Diasend. So what you're seeing is a broad cross section of the Diabetes population, and mostly type 1s (although I suspect there will be Type 2s in there) given access to testing gear for type 2s.

Diasend personal will be a much smaller cross section of users.

 

[Erin85]

Wow! So surprised by these results!
I have to say though, I have been seeing my DSN every 2-3 weeks since diagnosis 16months ago, and not ONCE has she uploaded my data from my meter. I keep logbooks, and we use that at appts.

I realised recently that I maybe wasn't the typical diabetic patient that my team sees, when I was told that I am the only one who takes notes (maybe I'm just a geek? lol), and when I met with my obstretic consultant and told him that yes, our baby was planned, he responded that in his 20yrs as a consultant, I was only the 2nd diabetic he has seen who actually planned their pregnancy! And that many had an hba1c in triple figures. That boggles my mind! x x

 

[staffsmatt]

I wonder how those figures compare to things like alcohol consumption / weight / any other health indicator you can think of, might not necessarily be a diabetic specific thing.....