Postcards from the shed
With the technology used to support management of type 1 diabetes becoming so advanced, I’ve noticed fewer questions popping up that, in the past, I would have asked my endocrinologist, says Rob Palmer
I first thought about this as I was heading to an appointment in order to pay a couple of hundred dollars for my endo to sign a form enabling me to satisfy the rules and maintain my driver’s licence. Yep, I was annoyed. There was definitely a feeling of, “Do I really need to have an endocrinologist?”
I have a pump that now reacts to changes in my glucose levels and warns me before I reach the upper and lower limits of sensor glucose. I am confident in my grasp of the carbohydrate value of foods and I’m spending far less time making decisions on management because the technology is doing the bulk of the work for me.
It’s like when you are told at school that you can use a calculator – do I really need to know how to do the working out for this maths problem then? Maybe not, but having background knowledge surrounding your correct answer helps you realise just how good the calculator is. It will also probably help you down the track when you need to apply the rules and principles to a situation where the calculator needs you to drive the solution. What about the inevitable time when the calculator isn’t there? Do I add... or multiply first?
I’ve learnt a lot about diabetes since being diagnosed in 1983, and each person’s path of learning is different, but I reckon even when you feel like you are getting it mostly right, and your systems are bulletproof, it’s worth talking through it at an endo check-up.
I remember being 13 years old and uberconfident that I had a permanent handle on guessing my BGL. I learnt the slow and hard way that BGLs are not something you can just feel correctly. There are so many variables that can deceive you.
I’m all grown up now, but I have probably been guilty of letting the seemingly smooth sailing of the insulin pump and CGM put me in a similar position to when I was 13. That’s not to say I’m punting on my health, but it does feel like dietary awareness and occasional communication with my diabetes educator is all I need, coupled with my use of amazing current technology. Am I missing something?
Life is certainly busy, and priorities change as you grow, but type 1 diabetes is not going to stop challenging us, and I think it’s crucial that we stay educated and up-to-date with management. I’m more than thrilled at the freedom I’m feeling using an insulin pump and counting carb intake, but I’m fully intending on making that next endocrinologist appointment sooner rather than later. ■
It’s crucial that we stay educated and up-todate