Type 2 diabetes: This device could help Yorkshire people stay in control of glucose levels
Do you struggle to stay in control of your type 2 diabetes? Do you know what’s happening to your blood sugar throughout the day? Here’s one man’s story of how he found the answer with a glucose sensor.
Ken was in the Bahamas when he got a cold. “Strange”, he thought, because he had only just had one. He soon got over it, but then another came along, and another, and another.
Returning from his holiday, Ken went straight to his GP who called him back a week later to say he was sending Ken to a diabetic clinic. It was there that he was told he had type 2 diabetes.
“I was in a state of shock”, said Ken. “All I could think about was what my future would look like now and what I’d have to do.”
Diabetes rates
According to Diabetes UK, the number of people living with diabetes has now exceeded five million, and approximately 90% of diagnoses are type 2 diabetes(1). That means that on average, 7% of the UK’s population is living with type 2 diabetes.
Bradford District and Craven has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the UK, with8.9%(2) of residents living with the condition.
Glucose sensors get the thumbs up
However, thanks to recent updates to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines(3), glucose sensors are now available to people with type 2 diabetes who are administering multiple daily injections, need to test more than eight times a day or are unable to use finger prick tests.
This means that people living within West Yorkshire ICB who are eligible, now have access to Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system(4) to help manage type 2 diabetes.
The FreeStyle Libre 2 system empowers people with actionable insights, giving them real-time access to their glucose levels on their smartphone(5) so they can make more informed health decisions, leading to an improved quality of life.
Ken’s experience
Ken, a FreeStyle Libre ambassador, said: “Before I learnt about Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system and how it could help manage my diabetes better, I was working as a Management Consultant, juggling regular travel between Edinburgh and London, whilst administering insulin through MDI (multiple daily injections) which typically consisted of three or more injections per day.”
Ten years passed, and in 2013, Ken made the decision to move from Scotland to Kent to be closer to his partner. As a result, his diabetes care moved from specialist secondary hospital-based care in Scotland to local GP practice primary care in England.
By this point, Ken had been finger pricking to test his sugar levels for over 22 years. It would tell him a figure, and if the reading was too high, he would inject insulin, and if it was too low, he would eat or drink some carbohydrates to bring it back to a satisfactory level.
He said: “The trouble was, I didn’t know if the reading was going up or down or staying the same. It was pure guesswork, so I made the decision to find out about Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system.”
For 16 weeks, Ken self-funded his use of Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system which, at the time, wasn’t available via the NHS for people living with type 2 diabetes, and only to some with type 1 diabetes.
Ken said: “For the first time in my life with diabetes, I could see what was happening in my body. How the food I ate and exercise I did would affect my glucose levels, helping me manage my diabetes 24/7, 365 days a year.”
Neil Harris, general manager for Abbott’s Diabetes Care business in the UK and Ireland, said: “Those living with type 1 diabetes have benefitted from Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system for almost a decade, and it is good to see people with type 2 diabetes also enjoying the benefits of the technology to support their diabetes management.
“The FreeStyle Libre system is the most widely used CGM system worldwide(6) helping more than 5 million people(7) living with diabetes across more than 60 countries to easily monitor their glucose levels(8). We are committed to broadening access to sensing technology for the millions of people with diabetes that could benefit from taking back control.”
Ken said: “I compare diabetes treatment to driving through London. For example, if you are on oral medications, it’s like doing so with a blindfold.
“If you use finger pricking, it’s like driving with a blindfold but occasionally being able to see where you are going. Using Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 sensor is like taking the blindfold off and using a SATNAV to clearly see the road ahead.
“You can’t fix what you can’t measure – it’s the only way to put yourself back in that driving seat.”
To try the FreeStyle Libre 2 system for free, visit www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/getting-started/sampling
1. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/number-people-living-diabetes-uk-tops-5-million-first-time
5. Glucose readings are automatically displayed in the FreeStyle LibreLink app only when your smartphone and sensor are connected and in range. The FreeStyle LibreLink app is only compatible with certain mobile devices and operating systems. Please check the website for more information about device compatibility before using the app. Use of FreeStyle LibreLink may require registration with LibreView.
6. Data on file, Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc. Based on the number of users worldwide for the FreeStyle Libre portfolio compared to the number of users for other leading personal use sensor-based glucose monitoring systems.
7. Data on file at Abbott Diabetes Care
8. Haak, T. Diabetes Therapy (2017): https://doi.org/10.1007/s133300-016-0223-6ADC-84777 (v1.0) 11/2023
Disclaimer: The information provided is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your healthcare professional about your diabetes management. Individual symptoms, situations and circumstances may vary.