I was offered the flu jab last year and declined.
I have been type 2 since 2010 and fortunately don't have any other health issues. I work full time and never get a cold.
However, in January I fell victim to a strain of flu which left me in bed for 2 weeks, and necessitated a home visit from an emergency doctor.
If there had been a bed available in my local hospital, I would have been admitted, however it was swamped, so I was treated at home.
I have never felt so ill. Coughing to the point of exhaustion, no appetite, I didn't eat solid food for ten days. I needed antibiotics and the effects of the flu stayed with me or four weeks.
I wasn't alone in being so ill, many people in my area who had no underlying health problems fell victim too, and as someone who has never been ill, or had flu before, I was shocked at the impact that a virus could have on my body.
The good side was that I emerged from it all having lost a stone in weight, but it wasn't a weight loss programme that I would recommend!
So, although I have reservations about flu jabs, this year I will be having one when it is offered to me.
I dread to think how someone with other health issues along with diabetes would have coped.
I don't want to spend January being ill!
It is a judgement call and everyone is different, so talk it over with your GP and then make your decision.
I have been type 2 since 2010 and fortunately don't have any other health issues. I work full time and never get a cold.
However, in January I fell victim to a strain of flu which left me in bed for 2 weeks, and necessitated a home visit from an emergency doctor.
If there had been a bed available in my local hospital, I would have been admitted, however it was swamped, so I was treated at home.
I have never felt so ill. Coughing to the point of exhaustion, no appetite, I didn't eat solid food for ten days. I needed antibiotics and the effects of the flu stayed with me or four weeks.
I wasn't alone in being so ill, many people in my area who had no underlying health problems fell victim too, and as someone who has never been ill, or had flu before, I was shocked at the impact that a virus could have on my body.
The good side was that I emerged from it all having lost a stone in weight, but it wasn't a weight loss programme that I would recommend!
So, although I have reservations about flu jabs, this year I will be having one when it is offered to me.
I dread to think how someone with other health issues along with diabetes would have coped.
I don't want to spend January being ill!
It is a judgement call and everyone is different, so talk it over with your GP and then make your decision.