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New YouTube channel showcases Type 1 experiences

A series of videos chronicling experiences of growing up with Type 1 diabetes has been published as part of a new YouTube channel.

Diabetes UK was funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation to provide a series of online resources, including videos and factsheets, to help young adults aged between 16 and 30 with Type 1 diabetes to manage their condition.

The project is called #Type1uncut and was launched last week to mark Diabetes Week.

A spokesman for the project said: “We figured that if people talked more about what it's really like growing up with Type 1 diabetes, life would be easier for all of us.

“So we started #Type1uncut. We make videos about all sorts of stuff – from awkward chats about sex, to tips on dealing with over-caring parents, to rants about how badly they deal with Type 1 on TV.”

For more information, click here.

Diabetes campaigner awarded MBE

Diabetes campaigner Jenny Hirst who successfully fought a ten-year battle on behalf of patients against the pharmaceutical industry has been made an MBE.

Jenny Hirst, co-chair and co-founder of the charity InDependent Diabetes Trust, campaigned for the continuation of animal insulin following moves to switch people to genetically engineered insulin, which caused adverse reactions to thousands of people with the condition. The sustained lobbying led to government intervention and people with diabetes can still use animal insulin today. She has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

The 71-year-old, from Northampton, has worked tirelessly for people with diabetes since her daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost 40 years ago, first as a trustee for the British Diabetic Association (now Diabetes UK) and then for IDDT.

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Ninjabetic speaks about her ambition during Diabetes Week

This week [last week] marks Diabetes Week and this year’s theme is ‘I Can’. This gives everyone with diabetes, and those who help people with diabetes, an opportunity to spread the word about the things they CAN do, despite the challenges they face on a daily basis. As this is my first column for The Diabetes Times, I wanted to talk about something that I can do, and that something is to become a nurse.

A few years ago, the idea of becoming a nurse was something that I never imagined would be possible. The only contact that I had with nurses was confined to a hospital bed during admissions, watching them with envy as they cared for people they had never met before. For me, there has always been something special about nurses and their roles, a feeling that I’ve never had when meeting other healthcare professionals. They have a very unique way of caring and have the opportunity to make such a difference to their patient’s with each and every interaction.

I would watch them rushing around the ward, keeping to a strict schedule and routine but able to handle any curve balls that are thrown their way.

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Third of adults in England 'on cusp' of Type 2 diabetes

A new study has suggested that a third of adults in England now have pre-diabetes.

The research, published in the British Medical Journal suggests there has been a big rise in prediabetes, which is where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to qualify as Type 2 diabetes.

The authors predict a surge in Type 2 diabetes in the coming years, which would have serious implications for the country.

To read more, click here.