Covid Prevention Measures for diabetics

Hello and welcome. It may help to give some context to provide information about where you live and what the situation is there. I live in the country in Australia and there are no known cases anywhere near where will live.

Also how controlled is your partner's diabetes? I am very well controlled for example so don't consider myself any more at risk than a non diabetic. Also since I've gone very low carb I no longer have any asthma symptoms so I think I'm actually less at risk than before my diagnosis.

Welcome.

I pretty much ignor COVID, I have had a heart bypass with collapsed lung, blood clot on lung etc I cannot breath properly so I would say my risk is huge but I have had to work throughout, spent half my time in residential houses and the other half meeting people in a showroom, obviously spent loads of time in hospitals, I live in London area so cases are usually high.

It’s not that I don’t care or want to catch it, it’s just that I can’t afford to let a business I’ve been building for twenty years go down the toilet, I’m not expecting to make old age so have to leave my family financially safe.

I have no idea if I have had it because (touch wood) I seem to be immune, for instance, my brother is returning to work Monday after 10 days isolation, I had been with him, very close while he had symptoms before he was tested and I am fine, I can go five years between colds so may just have a strong immune system, no idea. I have been double jabbed.

I am addicted to motorcycles, I reckon I am more likely to die riding but still ride, maybe I’m just stupid?

I think you could relax a bit , Cleaning items from the supermarket I would say is not necessary but it depend how nervous you are , I personally being type 1 just wear a mask when out and sanitise my hands often and keep as much distance from others as I can , I think if your other half is well controlled they are no more likely to catch it than the rest of the population .

@walkingman listen to this podcast by a leading expert .
It addresses the issue of washing and quaranting your shopping and says it is not necessary.

My understanding is that, with diabetes, we are higher risk of severe Covid if we are overweight and have high hba1c. So my management to reduce risk has been weight and diabetes management.

I understand that it has now been decided that there is little evidence of Covid being passed on through touching something that someone else has touched. So there is no need to wash/wipe your shopping when it arrives.

I have also considered my mental health. I need to socialise. So I have weighed up the risk of Covid and the risk of mental health problems and decided, now I am double jabbed (with well managed diabetes and not overweight), to return to normal life with the gym and shopping and pubs and restaurants and work and .. But to use the free lateral flow tests for piece of mind.

Finally, I feel it is my moral duty to protect others. This is part of the reason for the testing before going out. It is also the reason I chose to wear a mask when indoors (apart from when eating). To protect others who are at greater risk and may not be able to have the vaccine (or it is not as protective for them)

walkingman said:

I want to know if we are going too far.

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Yes.

Speaking only for myself I have pretty much carried on as normal from the beginning. Although there is now mounting evidence (but not proof as far as I know) that mass injections are creating evolutionary pressures and producing more virulent disease, so I am actually now avoiding people who I know have taken the shots. This is my personal feeling based on my own research, so please don’t judge. In the end we all make our own choices. For now…

I’m T1 and over 70; husband’s also over 70 but has no underlying conditions that we know of.
Like you, @walkingman, we were very careful earlier in the pandemic but we no longer wash items as I’ve been persuaded that it’s the aerosols from breath and not the fomites on surfaces that are the greatest threat. We continue to distance. We’ve had takeaways as the occasional treat. We’ve both shopped when numbers are lower and are now well practised in the new Country Dance, the Shopping Trolley Rowdown as we avoid people who aren’t wearing masks. We’ve had lots of deliveries, something we’d not done before the pandemic.
All the time, we’ve been keeping a careful eye on the number of cases in any area of the U.K. we’ve visited and have adjusted our behaviour accordingly. We’ve eaten out, outdoors and with family, fewer times than can be counted on the fingers of one hand, but we did join one of our daughters and her family for a holiday. We left the day before Covid Freedom Day.
I suppose that we’re fortunate as our daughters and son-in-law test regularly for their work. We’ve had friends to visit in the back garden too, and older daughter and our son-out-law here for a well ventilated lunch.
Our delight in walks in woods and by the sea has grown, but I do so miss the happy carefree pre-pandemic days. However, I want to stay alive and see a time when the UK’s no longer one of the world leaders in cases and deaths.

I agree with @In Response that being overweight and having an HbA1c that is high are risk factors. My HbA1c was in the low pre diabetic range when I caught Covid-19 but I was (and still am) seriously obese and this is the factor that I believe made my Covid-19 infection worse for me than other over 60s. However I wasn't hospitalised. Long Covid is now a problem for me.
Many T2s are overweight because their metabolism is broken

Oh, and we’re both double vaccinated, but I know two people who’ve had vaccine breakthrough Covid in the last month so we’re still taking precautions. We may stop shopping at supermarkets if numbers rise again now schools have returned without mitigations against infections.
I get very angry when I compare the lack of measures here in the U.K. compared with some of the countries where Covid deaths are lower, and concerned when I see reports of countries where vaccine breakthrough is prevalent.

bulkbiker said:

Yes.

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'Yes' is a complete sentence

My take is that it's about being aware but not to a point where you are afraid to do anything in case you catch it. As diabetics it's not that we are at any more at risk of catching it, it's that if we do catch it we may suffer greater consequences because of diabetes (generally) affecting our metabolic system, ie more prone as a whole to suffering associated health issues from uncontrolled diabetes. But, what they don't ever seem to mention is that if (like a 'normal' person) we look after ourselves, eat healthily pertinent to our condition, keep our condition well controlled and so on then our risks reduce to that of anyone elses, lower in many cases given the average person's diet & general lifestyles. So, in answer to your question seeing as you asked, yes, I think you are taking it too far.

I have been very careful during the past 18 months or so (a) because my diabetes wasn't controlled and (b) because I am totally responsible for my daughter. However, two months ago I turned that around by gaining diabetic control and assessing my present risks. I do still wear a mask in shops and other indoor places but not in the fresh air. I do still sanitize my hands but don't go to the extremes of over sanitizing my home. I have never washed my shopping! I think it's now a case of going by your own instincts but never losing site of the possible dangers whether jabbed or not. Hope that helps x

walkingman said:

My OH has Diabetes 2 but I don't. We are early 50s and double jabbed.

Our current pandemic procedures include getting food online and when it arrives, wearing a mask, keeping the delivery guy at a distance and washing the items. When we go out, we don’t wear masks outside but keep a distance from others and always wear a mask if we shop inside and carry hand gel which we regularly apply. We haven’t had takeaways or eating in cafes etc.

We do this because my understanding is that diabetics are at greater risk from serious Covid infection so I do all I can to keep my OH safe.

I want to know if we are going too far. We want to start getting takeaways and eating indoors. Also the washing of food packages is time consuming.

I know it is all about personal risk assessment but I would like to know what others with diabetes are doing at this stage of the pandemic. It is not easy getting definitive advice and I guess the lack of a single answer on most things has been the lesson of the pandemic. This forum is great for giving people a central place to discuss approaches so I would really like to hear what others are doing.

Thanks for your views and help.

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I'm standing with you. I'm keeping you company following the same program. Whatever keeps you feeling safe is right for you and your family. We all have to mitigate risk ourselves with the information we have.

It’s a personal choice at the end of the day and no judgement on those choices.

For me, my job means I’m always going to have a (probably) higher exposure as I’m a teacher. So it doesn’t make sense for me to be cautious when not at work, all I can do is:
1. lateral flow test regularly to make sure if I do get it (again, had it twice), then I don’t pass to others.
2. Be vaccinated.
3. Have good blood glucose control.
4. Lose weight.
All of which I’m doing and the rest there’s no point worrying about as it’s out of my control.

But like I said, personal choice and I though it might be helpful to see someone with the opposite view of your own!

Dandelade said:

It’s a personal choice at the end of the day and no judgement on those choices.

For me, my job means I’m always going to have a (probably) higher exposure as I’m a teacher. So it doesn’t make sense for me to be cautious when not at work, all I can do is:
1. lateral flow test regularly to make sure if I do get it (again, had it twice), then I don’t pass to others.
2. Be vaccinated.
3. Have good blood glucose control.
4. Lose weight.
All of which I’m doing and the rest there’s no point worrying about as it’s out of my control.

But like I said, personal choice and I though it might be helpful to see someone with the opposite view of your own!

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Dandelade, can I just ask please. Did you find the second time of acquiring it to be less severe than the first?

coby said:

Dandelade, can I just ask please. Did you find the second time of acquiring it to be less severe than the first?

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Yes a lot! Although the first time I was fairly mild with temperature and cough, I was out of breath for months afterwards.
The second time barely knew I had apart from loss of taste and was then fine.

I'm T2, my partner isn't.
We socially distance as much as possible, and aren't yet comfortable with crowds and most indoor dining locations.
We do shop at supermarkets (but carefully) about once a week
We mainly avoid other people by going out into the countryside to walk, or staying at home (luckily we have a very nice garden).

We take the view that fomites aren't a major risk so don't go overboard with the hand sanitising but do wash hands after being out anywhere.
We don't disinfect the shopping.

I am a slim T2 with "reasonable" BG control and my immune system seems to be functioning OK in general (cut healing fine for example).

Not looking forward to winter with less wide open spaces and a higher rate of infections.