FRIENDS FOREVER TYPE 1 DIABETES SUPPORT GROUP MEET JULY 2022

A meeting of the Friends Forever Type 1 diabetes support group was held on 30^th July 2022 at 4.30 pm in our hospital auditorium

All children with poor glycemic control (despite of giving standard treatment) were invited for this session.

To inspire and motivate these children, three “heroes” with type 1 diabetes (mentioned below) were invited

1. Mr Prashanth, Founder President of the Tamil Nadu Type1 Diabetes Foundation and the General Secretary of Type 1 Diabetes Foundation of India
2. Mr Sridhar who has completed 85 half marathons and now is an ambassador for Chennai marathon, officially titled ‘Fresh work Chennai Marathon 2023′
3. Mr. Lakshmi Narayana who was born blind and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 17 years. He is one of the popular heroes in the type 1 diabetes groups and also regularly visits and encourages children with type 1 diabetes through his foundation for type 1 diabetes called “Sweet Souls”, to which he is very much attached.

The presence of these heroes and their interactions with the children motivated and made them believe that in Type 1 diabetes, blood glucose can be controlled and HbA1c can be brought under <7% with ease.

The session started with self-introduction. Participants were asked to list out their perceived reasons for having higher HbA1c. Many children reported poor compliance as the main reason.

The root causes for the poor compliance were discussed and the ways of overcoming those challenges/ obstacles were explained by the heroes.

They explained and taught them the basics of diabetes control, importance of Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG), Insulin storage and Insulin technique

Mr.Lakshmi Narayanan also addressed the group on Diabetes Ketoacidosis (DKA). He spoke on its cause, management, how to identify it in the beginning and self-manage in the case of mild and moderate DKA.

Ms. Aiswarya, Dietitian and certified type 1 diabetes educator emphasised on the importance of right amount of insulin dosage according to the food, the various instances / factors based on which the insulin requirement changes and how to assess and cope with these changed requirements.

Mr.Prashanth and Mr.Sridhar personally attended to each patient, resolved their queries and doubts and brought more clarity to them.