tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9328429857783933212026-04-02T20:12:06.209+01:00Because no two days with type 1 diabetes are the same. Except when they are.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-48458193935101200052024-08-11T17:53:00.006+01:002024-08-12T15:43:33.674+01:00

Medtronic MM780G and Simplera Sensors (Apple watch not included)Hello. It’s been a while! The embryonic posts I had in my mind about living with the Tandem tSlim never seemed to manage to make it to the top of the ‘to do’ pile, and remain unwritten - which I'm sure was a relief all round. But there’s nothing quite like a deadline to spur a (largely ex-) graphic designer into action. And tomorrow

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-32686414859644043882023-11-14T20:17:00.002+00:002023-11-14T20:22:10.697+00:00

Hey there! How have you been. It's been a while eh? Sorry about that! Life, the universe, and everything. You know how it goes.So this isn't the blog post I've been meaning to write about TBR hacks for the tSlim running Control IQ. It's not even the one about seeing if I can get funding for sensors, which I seem to be being promised, but which hasn't quite happened yet.If those are of any

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-80711905899096198612023-01-13T23:04:00.003+00:002023-01-13T23:11:35.262+00:00

Hello!It's been a while eh?!Sorry about that. Truth be told, it's all got rather busy for me, and actually since my last post in my early months on the Tandem tSlim x2, my diabetes has mercifully faded into the background a little, and while still very annoying, hasn't really given me all that much to write about.But this week has seen the release of something really quite exciting, that I hadn't

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-39312778591795805742020-12-31T16:12:00.007+00:002020-12-31T16:34:01.169+00:00

Wait... hang on... December 31st? That can't be right! Have we actually had a year this year? And how come any of the things that happened this year seem to have happened at least 18 months ago? No time has passed. But it has passed at a snail's pace. And at the same time we've all become accustomed to living completely different lives.Doing a sort of round-up post for the year that never

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-23442444636499249762020-02-11T21:01:00.000+00:002020-02-12T23:44:02.977+00:00

Some musings on the joys, oddities, encouragement and occasional knock-backs of invites to diabetes events... Lanyards, obviously.  Apologies for the radio silence of late. I meant to write this post months ago, but somehow never quite managed to grab the time for it. Initially I had planned several posts each detailing different events and experiences, all fascinating and full of wit

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-78542884889856904132020-01-05T23:44:00.000+00:002020-01-05T23:44:02.284+00:00

DUK Towers E1, tomorrow. I shouldn't be writing this. It's too late. I've been to the pub and had a couple of beers (as my Libre trace would gleefully tell you). I've just poured a rather tasty Japanese whisky. By rights there are at least 3 blog posts that have been patiently waiting in line for me to finally get around to writing and posting them. But tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-77878613741324492952019-07-31T22:42:00.001+01:002025-11-02T17:01:35.945+00:00

As we transition into holiday season, with the traditional exponential increase in holiday accommodation costs everywhere, many thoughts turn to sandy beaches and the chance to take a break from the incessant whirlwind of life for some well-earned rest and relaxation. Except for diabetes, of course... that never gives you a day off. Well almost never. I was thinking about this the other day,

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-17395377444673104502019-04-15T19:59:00.001+01:002019-04-15T20:07:44.988+01:00

This is a guest post by Robert S who dropped me a line via FaceTwit as he had been  writing down his 'diabetes story' but didn't have a blog to share it on. Apparently he has been good enough (or mad enough?) to read my ramblings in the past and offered it as a guest post for sharing here. His story echoes much of my own, and I am very interested to read that he has chosen the Tandem T:slim

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-14241803780609614182019-04-09T16:04:00.002+01:002019-04-10T11:58:03.165+01:00

As of the beginning of April the new national NHS England criteria for obtaining Freestyle Libre on prescription came into effect. This is who it says should have access to Libre on the NHS: People with Type 1 diabetes OR with any form of diabetes on hemodialysis and on insulin treatment who, in either of the above, are clinically indicated as requiring intensive monitoring >8 times daily

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-70487970625731097172019-02-09T16:14:00.000+00:002019-02-10T15:58:49.826+00:00

Not the machines you are looking for... Public art near TechUK. This time last week my mind was well and truly boggled by this point in the day by a torrent of information and the potential of shiny new things just around the corner (or already here). I was attending Type 1 Diabetes: Rise of the Machines #2 as a +1 of Kev Winchcombe, the #GBdoc's second favourite Nightscout Genius and holder

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-16339859401965784332018-12-30T13:51:00.002+00:002019-01-04T16:19:01.469+00:00

I could have redrawn this, but I copied it from this article. Rather than hastily cobble together a half-baked 'review of the year' for the past 12 months, I've decided to write something on a topic which is more or less constantly filling all of our minds in this house at the moment. I suspect this is more of a catharsis for me, than of any use to anyone else, but writing often helps me

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-44295728633281241812018-12-18T11:39:00.000+00:002018-12-18T11:46:00.698+00:00

Disney Pixar's Inside Out. One of my absolute favourite films. I've seen a few things about rage boluses in recent months and it did that rare thing of making me think, "I should write a post about that". I can't remember exactly when I first came across the term 'rage bolus', but I think it was quite soon after discovering of the power of peer support and shared experience. I am almost

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-13656623088663017562018-11-14T18:05:00.002+00:002019-04-10T11:58:23.613+01:00

It's with a certain sense of deja-vu that I mark World Diabetes Day this year with the news that Abbott's Freestyle Libre flash glucose monitor will become available to people with type 1 diabetes in the UK on prescription from April 2019. Cue inevitable Twitter meltdown. Hang on... haven't we been here before? Well yes. And no. You may remember me writing a post in September last year on this

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-48791715262607785352018-10-13T21:33:00.002+01:002018-10-15T12:31:20.148+01:00

The Medtronic Mothership poised for takeoff I was chuffed to be invited to join bloggers and diabetes advocates from Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, the UK and other places I have almost certainly forgotten for the Medtronic Diabetes Community Exchange 2018 at Medtronic's European HQ in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. I was particularly pleased to be invited to walk in the

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-72580532782129269922018-10-05T12:19:00.000+01:002019-04-10T11:58:42.976+01:00

The last remaining island of 'NO!' in the South West It was great to get together with 30 or so people with diabetes and DUK folks last night in Bristol to consider how to challenge the local behemoth BNSSG CCG (Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire) to rethink its current 'flat no' position on prescription of Freestyle Libre in the city and surrounds of Bristol. The event was

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-54389172862833276562018-06-11T15:48:00.001+01:002018-06-11T15:48:14.266+01:00

Ugh. Good morning to you too. Apparently this week is Diabetes Week. Me neither. If I get the chance I will try to rattle in a post about the excellent #languagematters work that is being launched this week which hopefully will provide useful pointers to healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes who are trying to have more positive, more enabling, less stigmatising

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-79819984077011544052018-05-15T22:50:00.000+01:002019-04-10T11:58:58.822+01:00

Abbott's Jared Watkin, Robert Courts MP for Witney, Lord O'Shaughnessy and some scruffbag on the end. A week ago today I had the unexpected honour of being invited to the Houses of Parliament to a Parliamentary Reception on 'Innovation in Diabetes Care' hosted by Robert Courts, MP for Witney. Not your usual Tuesday. Not only that, I had been asked to give a brief chat about the impact of

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-67750447815286139122018-03-22T13:57:00.000+00:002018-03-23T12:10:51.641+00:00

Last week I was able to sneak in to the halcyon halls of the Diabetes UK Professional Conference for the day. I have been appointed as one of three PWD/people with diabetes/diabetic/lay/patient* representatives on the ABCD T1DCC. Oh yes. A PWD on the ABCD T1DCC - that's me! Diabetes is all about the abbreviations, and why bother with inclusive language when you can just spout forth with

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-36355494781510553482018-02-10T18:07:00.001+00:002018-02-10T18:25:23.876+00:00

I'm sorry to break it to you folks, but things don't look very good for 'us lot' in the event of a zombie apocalypse. But in the world as we know it, where a life-saving medication has existed for nearly a century, it is horrendous to think that people, particularly children, might die for lack of insulin. But they do. For all our 21st Century self-congratulation about the ever-shrinking world

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-86903361603323608512017-12-30T20:15:00.002+00:002017-12-30T20:15:55.037+00:00

Image by 'aurorasognatrice' used under cc. 2017 is hurtling to a close, and despite my giddy optimism about having 'loads of time' over the festive break to do all sorts of things that I don't generally get around to, the days have passed in a blur of hopelessly guestimated carbs, fun, friends, family and alcoholic excess. Consequently I am once again hastily cobbling together a round-up of

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-28019787841410293442017-12-02T15:29:00.000+00:002017-12-02T15:29:34.266+00:00

Every once in a while, some device manufacturer or other drops us a line to see if we'd like to take a look at their fancy new gadget and see what we think. When it comes to blood glucose (BG) meters, it is very rare that something genuinely new comes to the table, often it's just a cosmetic way of getting the fingerpricker, strips and reader in one amorphous gloop of plastic - a fascination

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-31119222920481219012017-09-13T13:10:00.002+01:002017-09-13T14:44:28.577+01:00

Last night the rumour mill reached fever pitch as Non Disclosure Agreements were stretched to their very limits. And this morning the Twitterweb was a-buzz with the news that Abbott's Freestyle Libre flash glucose monitor is to become available on the NHS from 1st November*. JDRF issued this nifty press release and everyone's second-favourite cat-loving pyjama-wearing T1 ex-schoolteacher and

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-34463442718626375352017-08-08T21:41:00.000+01:002017-08-10T09:40:18.837+01:00

I have been using NovoRapid for many of my 'pretending to be my pancreas' years. I had a brief dalliance with Humalog not long after we started writing this blog, but switched back to NovoRapid when I started with Artoo as my DSN had worries about accounts of Humalog crystallising in pump tubing. One of the challenges with NovoRapid, as many users are keenly aware is that it's not very... well

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-75896652020086474752017-07-31T16:51:00.000+01:002017-08-03T17:15:37.776+01:00

More than 20 bloggers from across Europe gather for Dx Amsterdam "I love deadlines" (as Douglas Adams used to say) "I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." If I had set myself a reasonable time limit to write some reflections on my time at Dx Amsterdam in June I suspect it would have been rather sooner than this. But even though this is rather late, there were some bits and

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932842985778393321.post-45222324508290788502017-05-19T15:19:00.000+01:002017-05-19T15:29:36.347+01:00

Today is the last day of Diabetes Blog Week, and the prompt is an invition to share something non-diabetes related - "an interest, hobby, passion, something that is YOU... because there is more to life than just diabetes!". Huge thanks again to Karen at Bittersweet for organising such an inspiring week. I read the topic list at the beginning of the week and really had no idea where to go with

Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09868706401223371920noreply@blogger.com10