FORUM WILL HELP TYPE 1 DIABETICS GET ON WITH THEIR LIVES

St Vincent’s Diabetes Service in Sydney is marking World Diabetes Day with a forum aimed at helping type 1 diabetes patients manage and live with their condition.
Professor Jerry Greenfield, head of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Department at St Vincent’s, says the forum, to be held on Monday, November 14, 6pm-8pm, is aimed at existing patients but is open to everyone.
This is the third such annual event. The second was purely online, due to COVID, but this year’s will be a hybrid with a mix of online and in-person participation.
The night will feature talks from diabetes specialist psychologist Sarah Lam as well as Captain Ben Sive, who will share details of his fascinating lived experience, being Australia’s first commercial pilot with type 1 diabetes.
There are about 1.3 million known and registered cases of diabetes in Australia. Type 1 diabetes makes up about 10% of those.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results from the body attacking the cells that make insulin, the hormone that lowers blood glucose, which is a major fuel source for our bodies.
If not managed optimally, type 1 diabetes can lead to serious illnesses, including heart attack, stroke, blindness and kidney disease. It can also lead to hypoglycaemia, which can manifest as loss of consciousness or coma.
“Managing and living with type 1 is more than a full-time job,” Professor Greenfield says. “It is a chronic disease that involves regular insulin injection or infusion and frequent monitoring of glucose levels.”
Professor Greenfield says the forum will include a showcase of the latest technology options to aid management, including recent initiatives to the broaden the availability of continuous glucose monitoring.
“In July of this year the Federal Government introduced subsidies for continuous glucose monitors and flash monitors for all people with type 1 diabetes,” he says
St Vincent’s Hospital’s Diabetes Service has grown over the past 10 years and now runs regular clinics dedicated to helping people manage their diabetes.
Professor Greenfield says these include type 1 multidisciplinary clinics attended by diabetes educators, dietitians, pharmacists and endocrinologists.
Specific group education programs – OzDAFNE and the St Vincent’s Carb Counting Workshop – are also routinely held.
St Vincent’s also has a youth type 1 diabetes service, which helps deal with the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
This is particularly useful as it tends to manifest more in younger people, with new cases peaking in people’s adolescent and teenage years and early adulthood.
The forum will be held at the John Shine Function Room, 370 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW.
Virtual attendance can be arranged via: Zoom Webinar Link: https://rb.gy/dibk52
Webinar ID: 895 0704 0277 Webinar Passcode: Diabetes14
The night is free, but please RSVP to: leanne.gregory@svha.org.au