In the UK there are over 4.9 million people living with diabetes. Around 90% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Around 8% of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. About 2% of people with diabetes have rarer types
More people than ever have diabetes. More people than ever are at risk of type 2 diabetes. If nothing changes, we predict that 5.5 million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2030.
Diabetes leads to almost 9600 leg, toe or foot amputations every year. That's 185 a week
More than 700 people with diabetes die prematurely every week
One in six people in a hospital bed has diabetes, and people with diabetes are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital
People with diabetes are twice as likely to suffer from depression. And are more likely to be depressed for longer and more frequently
Early diagnosis is vital. Complications can begin five to six years before some people actually find out they have type 2 diabetes
Diabetes is a long-lasting health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar and released into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy. If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should. With type 1 diabetes in particular, the body attacks the cells in your pancreas which means it cannot make any insulin. When there isn’t enough insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, this can cause serious health problems, so it's important the disease is managed correctly.
I myself was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year and I am slowly learning how to manage the disease. It is very stressful at times, since I have to pre-plan all my meals by counting carbs accurately and injecting the correct amount of insulin. This can make going out for meals difficult since it's not always clear what is included in recipes. I also have a mild learning delay which can make counting carbs hard for me. It's very important that I monitor my blood sugar levels frequently throughout the day, count my carbs accurately, and inject the correct amount of insulin to avoid my blood sugars going too low (a hypo) or too high (hyper).
I feel that because Diabetes is an invisible disease is it less understood and less talked about than other dangerous diseases. If we can raise awareness of the disease and show people what it really means to live with it, we can make more support available to those who need it. I am lucky that I have an amazing group of friends and family to support me, as well as access to diabetic dieticians. Others are less fortunate and have to face this disease alone, seriously affecting their emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Currently there is no cure for Diabetes, but research continues...
As many of you know I am planning to walk a sponsored 10k towards the on the 14th of Novemberalong Southend Seafront and peir with hopes to raise £4,000 in aid of Diabetes UK. Any amount you are able to donate will go towards supporting people living with this disease, finding new treatments, and hopefully finding a cure for the future. Please see the link to my JustGiving page below, as well as links below thank you
https://www. JustGiving.com / laurenpaine3
Thank you so much,
Lauren x
