Poor quality sleep may hinder efforts to control glycemia of children with type 1 diabetes, according to new research from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

By studying the sleep patterns of 50 children with type 1 diabetes for 10 to 16 years old, they found that less time they spent within a deeper sleep was associated with poorer school performance and higher levels glucose levels.

The researchers make it clear that despite following the recommendations for controlling their diabetes, many children and youths with type 1 diabetes have difficulty with glycemic control and this could be due to abnormalities in sleep patterns, daytime sleepiness and possibly sleep apnea.

All these conditions are treatable, and young people with diabetes would benefit from treatments designed to change and improve patterns and sleep quality, therefore in a better to place to better manage their diabetes.

Howdy folks

As some may know, I have tried to wrangle with my Endocrinologist here in Torrevieja, about moving over to #TeamPump.  If you didn’t, you do now.

I have an appointment with the Pump Clinic in Alicante this coming Thursday, where after a few years I finally have the chance to come face to face with someone that may be in a position to decide whether I get to pump or not!

I only found out about the appointment this morning leaving me with a day or so to perhaps try prepare for the visit.  I must admit that I feel extremely nervous and possibly overwhelmed by it all as I have pushed and kept pushing to get an appointment.

I’ve tried to play down the pump thing since the consultant agreed to get me the referral and to be honest I had expected to be waiting a while so to receive it so soon is great new.

But!  Ah, ha there is always a but!

Some questions I have thrown at myself lately include;  Am I suitable for a pump?  Will my lifestyle meet their criteria?  Do I have the right mindset?  Am I responsible and/or knowledgeable  enough to take my diabetes care to the next level?

I’m not sure what questions the clinic will ask precisely but would be shocked if they did not touch on subjects from above.

Habits?

Other things that I have thought about include;  How I bring my partner in to this?  Is she ready to support me.  It may sound silly, but I’ve never really had any kind of support network in place, partly due to age of diagnosis as I was 20, single and away from home. Partly due to perhaps my lack of openness upon being diagnosed, sure I talked about it with friends, family and colleagues but never did I have at any stage anyone that I felt I could talk too.

Fortunately things are better now, I now personally know other people who happen to have diabetes, heck I even know some of these droid/pumper people!!

For some reason I happen to have placed an enormous amount of pressure on me to do well on Thursday, like I am representing myself at court.  Everyone there to judge you, your lifestyle, your habits (well the bad one’s eh) and possibly your competence.

I’m also aware of the pressure placed upon our clinicians to offer a certain level/quality of care whilst ensuring that budgets are not demolished.  As with many other countries, Spanish healthcare reforms play a massive part of the so called “austerity measures” that have been ratified and as such I see that as the major hurdle I now face.

Alicante

I have a ton of questions that I would like to ask and hopefully I will have a real reason to ask them soon.  One question that I would like to ask those of you who have successfully made the transition from MDI to Pump is about how you approached the topic with wife’s, partner’s, mistresses, close family and friends?

Really though, I’m looking for any advice that you feel may be helpful?

Oh, one last thing!  I am asking everyone to send some “Pump Approval” Vibes to this Hospital!  Maybe we can get them to feel some DOC love!

Until next time

Saludos

Mike

Hi Folks

Firstly warmest greetings from DiS to 2012 to you all! Various reasons for lack of action on the DiS site. Rather personal so will cut to the boring stuff and hopefully bring you all up to speed.

For most 2011 was pretty crappy, although there were some bright and notable exceptions.  The year ended with an enormous amount of pressure not only economically but also physically with one’s own health.

Spain as we know it is in complete tatters and unfortunately it will only proceed to actually get worse in 2012.  The year ended with a Endo appt. in Mid December.  The a1c came back at 8% and although disappointed there were little surprises.

Again I mentioned a pump and spoke enthusiastically about such a device being of benefit to me and my health he agreed to hand me over to the pump team in Alicante to see if they are willing to let me go on a pump.  I do not hold much hope to get one as the current government need to trim 16 Billion Euros off the national budget so the pressure is on Medical teams to think about finance first and health second!  Quality of care will slide for sure.

As with many other countries they have guidelines to meet, to be selected for a pump.  This includes the A1c, lifestyle issues etc..  At times it seems that it can only serve to encourage people to let their health go wayward to get a pump.

Anyway as yet I have heard nothing, so your guess is as good as mine when I will get an opportunity to present my case to the Pump team.   So stay tuned!

Other than that this is a quick breakdown on my life – The key stressors:

• An Embargo has been slapped on us from the State, which now prevents us from paying our Mortgage each month.  I’m sure you can figure out what happens next??
• Employment opportunities are “non-existent” in Spain and now need to consider alternative locations and occupations.
• My other, and most would say better half had her work hours cut with a 25% reduction in salary! Oh, this discussed just 3 days before Christmas!  Thank you!
• I’m still consulting a Neurologist, following up on the Nerve pain in the left arm/hand.
• A surprising referral to the Respiratory Specialists to check for Sleep Apnea of all things.  This came as a shock suggestion at first but after discussing the relation between red blood cells, oxygen levels and nerve sensation/pain it became clear that this could progress soon.  It also gives me cause for concern regards to the crappy nights sleep I have had for years.
• Grandmother at the age of 83 was given the news that she has Breast Cancer.  At this stage we do not have the specifics but a malignant tumour has been confirmed by the Pathological lab. Bugger!

So that it’s from me at the moment, hopefully the above gets me of the hook with everyone.  I’ve done my utmost to stay focused and stay positive but there is very little left in this tank at the moment.  For those that I have been in contact with recently, thank you for your support!

Until next time, stay safe and bolus like crazy!!  :)

Un brazo

Mike

Wishing everyone a Super Holiday season….

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year !! 【ツ】

Sanofi together with AEMPS (Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios) have announced that Sanofi will be resuming production of its rapid acting insulin drug Apidra Solostar, which is Sanofi’s pre-filled Pen device from the 2nd December.

Initially production will be slow going and Healthcare Professionals have been advised to scale the rate of prescriptions so not to overload the system and to make sure that those that need it the most do so.  By January it is hoped that production will be back up to full speed and normal service will have resumed!

For further reading, check out Sanofi’s statement and AEMPS notification.  Both in Español!

Hey gang!  The long-awaited and slightly overdue video is now live!  Again many thanks to all of you who supported, retweeted, shared and submitted your pics!

Head on over to Diabetes 11.11.11 to check out the video or directly over at Vimeo, hope you enjoy!

A quick note to show off the collage from the fantastic Project #Diabetes 11.11.11 that took place last Friday.

Thanks go to everyone that supported the project, by liking on Facebook, Tweeting and of course by submitting your images.

I’ve popped them into a little collage for you to cast your eye over, so head on over to see them in all their glory!

Enjoy the small preview below!

Yesterday I did my Big Blue Test!

Do The Big Blue Test: each test = a life-saving donation.

14-20 min of exercise lowers your blood sugar, gets life-saving supplies to people with diabetes in need.  Check out my short video above!

So I tested, got active, tested again and shared!  Have you???  Everyone together raising Diabetes awareness on World Diabetes Day!

Guys ‘n’ Girls today is D-Blog Day.  If you are not sure what I am talking about head over to Gina’s website to find out how you can take part.  She has 2 themes this year.  One, a scrapbook project usually traditional offline methods such as “paper” and secondly, to talk about the Diabetes Online Community.

I’m no scrapbooker, so would not wish to embarrass anyone with my creations.  I will instead take a few moments to talk a little about the DOC.

I was quite late to the Diabetes Online party, but have felt welcome since I launched this site back in April 2009.

I see the DOC achieving some many greats things every day and I try hard to do my bit where possible.  It is great to see people reaching out to each other across states, through countries, through time zones whether you are white, black or blue.  Whether you are male, female, whether you are 10, 30 or 80.  The boundaries are shrinking by the day.

We are now able to communicate with “some” pharma/diabetes companies, “some” are still very late to the Online/Social Media party and they will suffer due to hesitation.  Which allows us to push for better products, better service & greater awareness.

We get to communicate with organisations and key advocacy groups from around the world at the touch of a button, hearing they have to say as well as lending them “OUR” voice.

Most importantly we are able to communicate on a global scale 24/7 with fellow people with Diabetes and know that we don’t have to talk Diabetes with them all the time, however we can be assured that they totally understand what we do every day and every night when it matters.

It allows us to feel as one and ensures that we are not alone tackling not only diabetes together but life in general.

To the DOC, thank you!

On a side note – We have 2 days until Project Diabetes 11.11.11!  Please share this link = http://diabetes111111.com/ where possible, thanks!

Remember, 3 easy steps:

Howdy Folks!  Over the weekend Cherise, the wonderfully creative and talented founder of #DSMA Twitter Chats (Diabetes Social Media Advocacy) decided that she would like to ask me some questions!

Wooooh!  First interview!

There is also a little mention of the inaugural project #Diabetes 11.11.11 and a bit about me and having Diabetes in Spain.

Check out interview over on the DSMA site = http://diabetessocmed.com/2011/interview-with-mike-young/

Thank you ever so much Cherise.  It was a privilege, to have been interviewed!