Bayer | My Pump Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Bayer’

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy & Dark evenings.

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged #Diabetes #Insulin #BG, Animas, Bayer, BG, Blood Test, Cellnovo, CGM, Dexcom, Diabetes, diabetes uk, diabetes week, diabetic, Enlite, eyesight, Hba1c, Hypo, Insulinpump, Medtronic, my pump, retinopathy, Roche, torch, Veo, Vibe, vision, vision express, vitrectomy on October 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Hi all,

So the end of British Summer time has finally hit us all with vengeance and at 5.00pm tonight it was almost dark which is awful.

As you may already know I have had numerous trips to eye clinics due to suffering with Diabetes Retinopathy for the past 7 years which is really awful and was a real scary shock when I was first told, it was Vision Express that actually discovered the problem and instantly booked me into my Diabetes eye clinic. The problem really started after I had small blood vessels at the back of my eyes burst which affected my vision and made it very cloudy in both eyes. The treatment started with laser to burn around the blood vessels which prevents any new weak blood vessels from forming which then burst. Laser itself is very uncomfortable indeed and I have had approx 10,000 burns in each eye which I am told is the limit but this does seem to have stopped the bleeding which is great news and I am so thankful to the Eye Specialists. After all the laser it still left my vision cloudy so meant I had to have what’s called a Vitrectomy in each eye which basically entails having the clear jelly in your eye removed (Your eye replaces this fluid), I can honestly say this operation is not nice at all and means you have dissolvable stitches in your eyeball (Gross I know). Having said all that If this had not been done I would certainly not be typing this Blog even though one eye has very poor vision and both eyes have awful night vision.

So to the present day – my eyes seem to be stable at the moment and my latest eyesight test did not show any problems, even my prescription had not changed apart from my short sight vision which has got slightly worse. My next Diabetes eye check up is at the Western Eye Hospital in a few weeks time so fingers crossed I get the all clear but I am a little worried.

One of the worst things I am left with is very poor small detail reading in both eyes meaning typing Blogs like this I have to have the page zoomed in to make the words larger, damage to my central vision in my right eye meaning details in my right eye is near on impossible to read, also my night vision is really bad and means I am unable to drive in poor light so this time of year is even worse as it is dark late afternoon. It means I have to carry a very bright torch with me that literally lights the whole path/road that cost me a fortune and even then it is really hard to see if I am on my own walking home from work, without a super bright torch I would literally be stuck and please let me know of any pocket torch companies who make super bright torches. We just take our vision for granted and I am also guilty of this in the past.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment.

Andrew Borrett

Read Full Post »

Animas pumpers complete Channel Swim Relay.

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged #Diabetes #Insulin #BG, Animas, Bayer, BG, Blood Test, CGM, Dexcom, Diabetes, diabetes uk, diabetes week, diabetic, Enlite, Hba1c, Hypo, Insulinpump, Medtronic, my pump, Roche, Veo, Vibe on October 30, 2011| 2 Comments »

Animas pumpers complete Channel Swim Relay.

The purpose of the Animas Channel Swim Relay challenge was firstly to
raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), but equally to
celebrate people with Type 1 diabetes performing at their best. The team was
made up of three swimmers with Type 1 diabetes, using Animas^® Vibe™
insulin pumps; Mark Blewitt, Matt Cox, and Claire Duncan. They were supported by
two, experienced channel swimmers, Pawel and Boris, as well as 17-year-old
Lorcan who will be attempting his first solo crossing this
August.

At 1:45 am on Thursday, July 21, 2011, the first swimmer lowered
himself into the cold water at Dover Harbour on England’s southeast coast. The
Animas Channel Swim Relay was underway. After months of training and
preparation, Mark, Claire, and Matt were about to take on one the biggest
challenges of their lives. The 21-mile swim across the English Channel is one of
the most famous and arduous swims on the planet and those of us offering our
support from the dockside were relieved it was them rather than us, especially
as the news had been reporting an unusually high number of jelly fish in the
English Channel.

Just a few days earlier, we had been wondering whether the swim would
ever happen. Our original swim date had been postponed a couple of times due to
bad weather, and with a number of other groups waiting for their chance to swim,
we worried that we may have had to wait a few weeks before we got another
chance. Then, on Monday, July 18th, with just three days notice, we got the call
to say it was “all systems go.”

On Wednesday evening, the swimmers, plus a large support crew of
friends, family, and Animas representatives, congregated at a hotel in Dover.
There was excitement among the swimmers, but also naturally some trepidation at
the challenge that lay ahead. The pilot of the support boat, which accompanies
all Channel Swims, gave the team their final briefing and then it was time to
go.

Each swimmer was scheduled to be in the water for hour-long spells.

The first into the water was Mark, and as the rest of the team
boarded the support boat with photographer in tow, he took his first strokes
towards the coast of France.

Once the swimmers were out of sight, it was our job–those left on
dry land–to keep everyone back home up to date with the team’s progress.

By using a live GPS tracking link and regular calls and texts to the
support boat, we were able to provide a running commentary of their journey via
a dedicated Facebook page. The regular updates made for great reading and the
team’s terrific swimming meant they were making great
time.

At 3:04 pm, the final strokes were made. The team reached the French
shoreline at Cap Gris Nez, a small outcrop of land between Calais and Boulogne.
The swimmers endured 13 hours and 26 minutes in water temperatures as low 15
Celsius /59 Fahrenheit and had run the gauntlet of seaweed and jellyfish. As
soon as we got word, we relayed our congratulations back to the boat team and
uploaded the great news via the Facebook page.

The swimmers’ return journey by boat was naturally much quicker than
the outbound leg, taking just four hours, and when they reached Dover we were
there to welcome them and begin the celebrations.

Our swimmers can be proud to have raised over 4,000 GBP for a great
cause and they most certainly demonstrated that having diabetes shouldn’t stop
anyone from taking on a challenge of a lifetime. I think swimmer Matt Cox put it
best when he said, “My son was diagnosed with diabetes and I’m hoping this
challenge will help Jack and other people with diabetes strive to achieve
exactly what they want in life.”

Huge congratulations to everyone involved and don’t forget, you can
still donate to the cause by visiting www.justgiving.com/animas-swimmers

Sincerely,

Animas UK/Ireland Team

Read Full Post »

Medtronic Junior Cup 2011 – Geneva

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Animas, Bayer, Diabetes, insulin, Medtronic, Roche on September 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Medtronic Junior Cup 2011 Geneva.

On the 26th-28th August the 5th edition of the Medtronic Junior Cup took place at the Stade du Bout du Monde in Geneva, Switzerland. Competing in this event were 250 children all with Type 1 diabetes, representing 15 countries and 10 of those children aged between 10-14 were the Junior Team for Great Britain. These 10 talented footballers accompanied by their parents were chosen from over 100 applicants to an all expenses paid weekend of football and fun. And have fun they did! Frazer Briggs (13), Abigail Lewis (13), Alex Smith (12), Mark Mathison (13), Joseph Smith (10), Jordan Burke (14), Jack Dickson (14), Jack Delicata (11), Amit Sood (11), Aaron Dodds (12), all turned up in Geneva ready to win Junior Cup 2011.

The event kicked off on the Friday evening with guest appearances from a talented group of young footballers exhibiting their ‘keepy uppy’ skills choregraphed to dance music, a fabulous troupe of teenage cheerleaders which brought a touch of glamour to the occasion and of course the much loved Medtronic mascot, Lenny the Lion whose dance moves put JLS to shame! Then came the part of the evening for the live draw and GB drew Italy for their first game. It has to be said that the GB team were rather quiet in comparison to the Italians who pretty much sang football songs throughout the whole weekend but what the GB team may have lacked in song voice they most certainly made up for on the pitch!

On day one of the tournament they easily defeated the singing Italians in their first game. After this their confidence soared and there was no stopping them. Considering they had never met each other before, let alone played together prior to this tournament these young footballers’ team spirit and natural talent came flooding through and they went on to win every one of their games on day one placing them a strong first on the leaderboard. As part of team GB we had of course our very enthusiastic parents cheering their kids on, our fabulous coach John Pemberton a Clinical Specialist at Medtronic and a diabetic pump user himself who knows a thing or two about football and Claire Pesterfield a DSN from Addenbrookes Hospital whose role at Junior Cup was to ensure at all times that the children were fit and healthy on and off the pitch as well as donning on her Art Director’s hat for the Lenny Carb Counting Competition where the children had to paint a 1 x 1 metre canvas of Lenny representing Great Britain.

Buoyed by the success of their first day, team GB and parents attended the evening lakeside barbeque and disco party with Lenny, where the kids enjoyed activities such as the human football table of which we couldn’t get them off and ended with a firework finale over the lake.

Second day of the tournament continued in much the same vein as the first with a high standard of playing exhibited by the GB team. Now through to the semi finals the competition most definitely got tougher for our young footballers but goals scored throughout the tournament by Abigail Lewis (2), Jordan Burke (1), Frazer Briggs (3), Jack Dickson (12) and a nifty hatrick by Aaron Dodds against Ukraine plus one other, saw team GB triumphantly through to the final with The Netherlands. After an early goal by the giant Netherlands team followed in quick succession by several more, this Junior Cup final was all over for team GB and as the final whistle blew our team of young footballers had to settle for runners up position. However disappointment didn’t last too long and once they had collected their players medals and a very large shiny trophy at the award ceremony, team GB flew home to the UK tired but extremely excited and full of tales of an amazing weekend which according to them all and their delighted parents they will remember for the rest of their lives.

The Medtronic Junior Cup yet again triumphed in connecting kids with diabetes together, to show them that their disease cannot stand in the way of their dreams and that living a normal life is theirs for the taking. The weekend provided parents with the opportunity to talk to other parents and exchange experiences regarding their kids and their diabetes as well as help educate them all with the Carb Counting workshops and practical advice. It would seem that Facebook and X-Box are a great way to keep in touch since the tournament and I have heard that since our footballers have returned home, their footballing skills and confidence are soaring.

Go team GB you did us proud!

Read Full Post »

This past week plus its Friday !!!

Posted in Diabetes, Insulin Pumps, tagged Abbott, Animas, Bayer, Diabetes, Friday, Medtronic, Roche on August 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Hooray for Friday !!

What a week it has been and I am still amazed but the riots that have been shown on the News, I am sure you will agree when I say our thoughts are with all those who have been affected ?

So this Saturday is a catch up meeting with Medtronic in Watford to discuss the groups thoughts on CGM and the new Enlite Sensor which I found very useful.

I will update you on the other group members thoughts as soon as I have them and let’s all keep positive for when the PCT’s eventually provide funding for CGM.

As always please feel free to comment and thanks for reading.

Andrew

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts