thank you!WINTER 2014

GUEST EDITOR,DR ALASDAIR RANKIN,DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH SAYS:

THANK YOU for making a differenceAs Director of Research at Diabetes UK I am delighted to be guest editing this supporter newsletter to say thank you to all our brilliant supporters and to show how diabetes research makes a real difference to people’s lives. Research has been at the heart of our work since Diabetes UK began 80 years ago.

Over the last year we have awarded funding to a range of exciting research projects, including more than £2.4m to

support our largest ever grant – a five-year study looking at intensive weight management. We couldn’t do it without you.

Diabetes UK is already the nation’s leading charitable funder of diabetes research and, with your help, we’re working hard to do even more. We spend around £6m a year on new and ongoing research to improve the understanding, treatment and prevention of all forms of diabetes and related

conditions and to help us reach the ultimate goal of a future without diabetes. We often have to make difficult funding choices, and that’s why we draw on guidance from both international scientific experts and from people living with diabetes.

We receive no government funding and that means everything we do is only possible thanks to the hard work and generosity of supporters like you. Thank you so much.

www.diabetes.org.uk

Ellie’s mum and dad, Gemma and Terry, are still coming to

terms with the diagnosis, and getting to grips with the implications it has for the whole family, including Ellie’s brother, Archie.

Gemma explains that they had noticed Ellie was constantly thirsty and tired, and weed a lot, but hadn’t

really suspected anything was wrong until she fell over one day on to her face without putting her hands up to protect herself. “We didn’t know the symptoms at all, but we knew then something was wrong and after checking with NHS Direct online, took her to the GP,” Gemma says.

Ellie was almost instantly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Gemma and Terry say they felt completely helpless, and guilty that they hadn’t known the symptoms Ellie was suffering could indicate diabetes.

Six months later, Ellie is doing well, and Gemma and Terry are incorporating her regime into their daily routine. Their local hospital has been incredibly supportive and their dietitian, Kris Howell, has been a massive help too. For a while Ellie found the blood glucose tests and insulin injections very distressing, but now she is more accepting

of the situation. She is on a waiting list for a pump, which will make her life easier, particularly when she is at school.

Sometimes Ellie’s condition can make the family feel a bit isolated. “People don’t understand what Type 1 diabetes is about,” Gemma says. “You feel you can’t inject your child in public because people don’t like to see it, so going out is very difficult.”

Research is vital for someone like Ellie who will be living with diabetes for her entire life. Gemma says: “I’d like to say thank you for the research which will improve the life of people with diabetes in the future. Even the pump that Ellie will have wasn’t available a few years ago and it will make a huge difference to her quality of life.”l You can help more

children like Ellie

www.diabetes.org.uk/donate

Ellie Smith was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in August 2013 when she was just two and a half.

Ellie’s story

I’d like to say thank you to supporters of Diabetes UK for contributing to research, which will improve the life of people with diabetes in the futureGEMMA AND TERRY ELLIE’S PARENTS

TYPE2 NOW: Last year we awarded our largest

ever grant to support a five-year study to compare the long-term effects of a new approach to weight management with the best diabetes care currently available. The study will build on findings from 2011 that showed eight weeks of using a low-calorie liquid diet helped put Type 2 diabetes into remission in a small number of people. If this approach is successful as part of routine care, it could ultimately be of enormous benefit to millions of people with Type 2 diabetes. AND THEN: During the 1980s and 1990s we helped fund

the landmark UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) comparing the effects of different treatments for Type 2 diabetes on blood glucose levels and the risk of complications. More than 5,000 people took part. The findings showed that up to half of people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes already show early signs of complications, but that these can be significantly reduced by appropriate treatment. The study was a major step forward in understanding the management of Type 2 diabetes to help reduce complications and improve quality of life.

With your help, Diabetes UK is today funding over 130 active research projects worth more than £27m. These cover Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, other forms of diabetes and the complications that can affect people with any type of diabetes. Here are just a few examples of what we’re supporting right now.

Research

TYPE1NOW: Vaccines are widely used to boost

our immune defences and protect against infection and disease. Diabetes UK is funding several research projects that hope to improve our understanding of the Type 1 immune attack, and our Research Fellow Dr Yuk-Fun Liu at King’s College London is trialling an experimental vaccine that might help prevent Type 1 diabetes in people at risk or who have been newly diagnosed. In partnership with Tesco, we are planning a major new initiative that could provide a significant boost for researchers in this field

over the next few years. This wouldn’t have been possible without your support. AND THEN: In 1989 we received a generous donation in memory of Alec and Beryl Warren. We used their gift to help diabetes researchers at Birmingham University establish the world’s largest collection of genetic samples from families with Type 1 diabetes. Today the ‘Warren repository’ houses DNA samples from over 400 families affected by Type 1. This genetic information has already helped scientists worldwide understand the genetic causes of and identify genes linked to Type 1.

To read more & see many other diabetes research milestones, visit timeline.diabetes.org.uk

for the group and has continued to play a big part in the organisation ever since.

John suffered a whole host of complications from his diabetes and had multiple strokes, two heart attacks and kidney damage. In 2007 he had a severe stroke and developed Alzheimer’s, even though he was only 50. Sadly he died the following year.

While he was ill, Elaine frequently rang the Diabetes UK helpline and says she found it invaluable, but she found it more difficult to access help

elsewhere. She felt untrained and unprepared as a carer. So after John’s death, she decided to try to improve the situation for others, and through the group made sure there was access to information that would help others feel less isolated and

THANKS! Your support for Diabetes UK helps us to help people like Elaine and Ellie – who then help us!

Why I help Diabetes UK

Elaine Clark’s husband John was diagnosed with what Elaine and John

assumed was Type 1 diabetes in his early 30s. They found out later it was actually Type 2. John worked as a paid carer, and with three young children, Elaine pretty much left him to manage his own condition.

In early 2000, blurred vision made John visit his optician. Three months later he was registered blind. Neither John or Elaine knew that diabetes could lead to blindness and their lives were turned upside down with little warning.

Elaine had to become a full-time carer almost overnight with little or no support from other services. Her plans to go back to work had to be put on hold and they ended up moving house to somewhere quieter and safer for John.

In 2003 she saw a poster publicising a new Diabetes UK support group locally and she went along. By the following year she had become secretary

‘The support I received from the Diabetes UK helpline was invaluable – and I continue to volunteer to help the people that helped me’

live better lives for longer. She says you cannot make people change, but you can make sure people understand the potential consequences of not changing your lifestyle and looking after yourself.

Elaine’s group is staffed entirely by committed volunteers who she says do an amazing job.

“I do what I do to help Diabetes UK continue to inform others and to raise awareness of diabetes. I want to thank them for the information they produce that really helps people live better lives.”

l To find your nearest support

group contact our volunteer

development team on

020 7424 1000 or email

voluntarygroups@diabetes.org.uk

Tel 0345 123 2399

I do what I do to help Diabetes UK continue to inform others and to raise awareness of diabetes. I want to thank them for the information they produce that really helps people live better lives

www.diabetes.org.uk

W hen Amie Faulkner was studying for her GCSEs she had no

concentration, slept when she should have been revising, and had terrible backache all the time. Added to that she had a constant, raging thirst and blinding headaches, and lost two stone in as

many weeks. Fortunately, her Nan recognised some of the symptoms the then 16 year old was suffering and suggested she visit the doctor for blood tests.

These revealed she had Type 1 diabetes, and she was immediately referred to her local hospital. She says the

shock of being told she had diabetes together with all the information that was thrown at her really left her reeling, and it was only after doing her own research that she started to come to terms with what it would mean for her.

Over the next 18 months or so she managed to get

her blood sugar reasonably under control, but when she was 18 she found she was pregnant. The doctors weren’t happy with her fluctuating levels and were concerned for her health. Again, Amie read up everything she could about motherhood and diabetes. Some of the

possibilities were quite scary, but she was determined to have the baby and worked hard to get her diabetes into balance. Complications late on in the pregnancy meant doctors decided an emergency caesarian was the only option. Thankfully, Lucy-Rae is now a healthy, happy 15 month old, and Amie is coping well with being a mum.

“I still have hypos regularly,” she says, “but I know what to do now to control them. I didn’t know about carb counting until I was pregnant and it is a lot easier now I know how to measure how much insulin I will need for each meal.”

Sometimes, she says, when all her friends and family just sit down and tuck into their meals, she resents having to inject and work out carbs, but really “I just get on with it. It’s a fact of life for me now.”

“Diabetes UK helps to make me feel less isolated,” she says, explaining that she is the only one in her family and her group of friends with the condition. “I really would like to say thank you for the Facebook page. People post stories on there and you can respond to them, make friends with people and have someone to talk to who has similar issues, particularly for me if they are single parents as well. That’s so important and it really helps you feel you’re not the only one.”

Join our facebook page

www.facebook.com/diabetesuk

‘Being able to keep up to date with developments at Diabetes UK via Facebook really helps and makes me feel less isolated too’

Amie’s story

Diabetes UK helps to make me feel less isolated. I really would like to say thank you for the Facebook page (facebook.com/diabetesuk)

Chris’s storyChris Shutes, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 18. “I was holidaying in Tenerife with friends,” he says. “I was drinking about 8 litres of water a day but couldn’t shift my thirst and was losing weight at a worrying rate. On my return I headed to my GP who tested my blood sugar level – it was 40.5. I went straight to A&E.”

Three years later, Chris is still doing what he loves, buying and doing-up Volkswagen Golfs,

taking them to shows and driving them around the Essex countryside. “I frequently use the Diabetes UK website to keep up-to-date with the latest information about driving and diabetes – without this information my hobby could be really dangerous for me and other road users. Knowing the legal requirements for driving with diabetes is very important and if there are any changes I know about them straight away.”

Susan’s storyTwelve years ago Susan Woodward had been having tests for polycystic ovary syndrome, and she was shocked when instead of POS, Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed. She was 41. So shocked, she

says she went into complete denial.

Her father, aunt and cousin all had diabetes, so she did know

about it, but it took a while before she started reading up and understanding more about the importance of being healthy.

“Diabetes UK are like a security blanket. They provide me with a link to people with a

massive amount of knowledge. There is no question you can’t pose – you will always get an answer. They have greater, more varied resources than the NHS or my GP. They keep me up to date with the latest technological developments that help me manage my condition.

“They are also an excellent support for your family. Sometimes it can be hard for them to understand the condition. If I had to say thank you to people who donated their time or money to Diabetes UK, I would say thanks for being there, and for making the information about a scary, lifelong condition clear and precise and for helping me not to panic.”

Other stories... Lucy’s storyAmelia is usually a confident, outgoing little girl but last year she became introverted, and started losing weight. She developed an unquenchable thirst. When she had drunk more than two litres of water one night, her Mum, Lucy Maun realised there was something really wrong and made an appointment at the GP. A blood test revealed Amelia’s blood sugar level was 16.8.

Amelia almost fainted at the surgery, and Lucy took her straight to hospital where Type 1 diabetes was confirmed. “Those first few weeks are a blur,” says Lucy, “but the support we received from the diabetes team at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth was, and still is, absolutely fantastic.”

Lucy has shown her support and appreciation for the team by running the Great South Run in October and raising £360 for Diabetes UK. “The pride I felt doing it, seeing all the other Diabetes UK runners there too, is indescribable.”

If you want more information about participating in a challenge event to raise funds for Diabetes UK visit www.diabetes.org.uk/ Get_involved

Our support helpline is open from Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm 0345 123 2399* – it is funded by people like you – thank you.*Calls may be recorded for quality and training purposes

For more information about how you can support Diabetes UK so we can continue

to support people with diabetes visit

www.diabetes.org.ukTel: 0345 123 2399*info@diabetes.org.uk

diabetesuk

thank you!

*Calls may be recorded for quality and training purposes