Hi all

I am 55 and have been a type 1 diabetic since I was 9

Over the years I have had few issues with low blood sugar where I was not fully aware of what I was doing which can be a bit dangerous on the road and on the boat and I was referred to a diabetic specialist who suggested one of these www.medtronic-diabetes.com.au/products/guardian-connect would be a good idea foe me to have

It takes a reading every 5 minutes and bluetooths it to a app on my phone and displays my current reading and has a low and high warning leavel where it will alert me if my blood sugar level is dropping to a dangerous level as well as the ability to send a sms to 5 other mobiles advising them of this and also sending data to a website where my doctor can review it

I have had it for a week now and it is not cheap a $9 a day but in my opinion the advantages far outweighs the cost as I can monitor my sugar evel and keep it safely lower without the risk of having it go too low to avoid complications in the future such as blindness and feet being amputated etc due to too high blood sugar

Regards Don

Hi Don,

I'm also diabetic type1 and up until recently it hasn't really been a problem ....turned 50 last year.
Recently though my glucose levels have gone haywire, with 2 late night extractions to hospital and all the drama associated with that. I'm sure you can relate

I too have been seeing a diabetic educator and am coming up to date with 21st century diabetes control. I've got the Libre-free gadget on my arm and i scan it with my phone every couple of hours to try and keep in range. It's also expensive at $92/fortnight but for the time being it's a good choice my me until i can get things under control. The app is also good for reports, and i can flick off the data to my educator at any time.

Funny, when i first started using Seabreeze 10-15 years ago i was windsurfing mainly and surfing, just 18 months ago i got a 40 footer and i'm busy fixing, upgrading ect. to wander off somewhere at some stage. So like yourself i really need to get this under control, both for my health and so as to not jeopardize the dream

cheers, scott

Hi Scott

Good to see I am not the only Diabetic on the forum

Since I have had the Medtronic my control has been way better than it previously was and apart from the cost there are no disadvantages

When I was a teenager and the doctors told me of the complications that can occur later on due to poor control it seemed a long way away and I didn't worry to much about it but now I am 55 all of these things are a reality

To be honest I thought I was pretty good at guessing what my blood sugar was but I think I was kidding myself

I still do blood tests a couple of times a day to calibrate the Medtronic but the ability to look at my phone at any time of the day and see we're i am and which way I am heading and receive a low alert when it hits 4.5 when I can still do something about it or a high alert when it hits 14 (you can set the alert levels where ever you want them) and set alerts for when it is rapidly falling or rising is worth it's weight in gold

Regards Don

this is not for everyone but i have a friend in a similar situation that uses a relatively cheap DIY real-time monitoring and insulin pump system that she swears by.

as you can imagine there are groups of people out there working on low-cost, high-tech solutions as alternatives to the high prices of the big medical equipment companies.

Select to expand quote

fishmonkey said..
this is not for everyone but i have a friend in a similar situation that uses a relatively cheap DIY real-time monitoring and insulin pump system that she swears by.

as you can imagine there are groups of people out there working on low-cost, high-tech solutions as alternatives to the high prices of the big medical equipment companies.

I reckon Trek should have a go at a high tech solution.

Select to expand quote

fishmonkey said..
this is not for everyone but i have a friend in a similar situation that uses a relatively cheap DIY real-time monitoring and insulin pump system that she swears by.

as you can imagine there are groups of people out there working on low-cost, high-tech solutions as alternatives to the high prices of the big medical equipment companies.

If you meet certain criteria (under 21, health care card, pregnant) you can qualify for this type of thing subsidised

www.ndss.com.au/living-with-diabetes/managing-diabetes/continuous-glucose-monitoring/

$9 a day works out at $3300 a year which seems a lot but for me it is definitely worth the cost


Regards Don