Viewing the world and living life back on his feet

Confusion – at its worst

Laurie loves being on his feet and enjoying the view from up there, because two years ago he was lying down most of the day.

At age 75, Laurie lives with type 2 diabetes and for a long time he was dizzy, confused and unsteady on his feet.

Libre 2 was a literal saver

He lived alone without a carer, with nurses from Bolton Clarke visiting every morning to inject his insulin.

When Laurie started a Libre 2 trial with his diabetes team, which includes a diabetes nurse educator and an endocrinologist, the Libre 2 showed that he had been having frequent hypos, the cause of his symptoms.

Two weeks after the Libre trial, his diabetes team was able to adjust his insulin dose and diabetes medications based on how his glucose levels tracked across the day.

Laurie soon noticed that he was no longer unsteady on his feet nor was he feeling dizzy. In his follow-up review, Laurie was “lucid and able to follow instructions”.

As Laurie regained his footing, he also regained confidence in self-managing his diabetes.

He was able to start walking and driving his car again, both of which meant the world to him. Simple things like going to the shops and buying what he likes – things we can take for granted.

While Libre 2 helped to identify when his glucose levels dropped, it also showed when they rose. Laurie saw the highs happen more when his eating relaxes.
“Like Big Brother, someone’s watching over all day, and you can’t cheat”, Laurie says, referring to the potato chips he overindulged in sometimes.

Instead, Libre 2 showed popcorn to be a “safer” food to snack on since it does not make his glucose levels go up like potato chips.

Laurie also finds the arrows in Libre 2 useful, along with the low and high alarms, so he knows if his glucose levels are rising or falling. More importantly, he had time to respond and manage accordingly.

Whether he is in bed or walking, Laurie has found technology helps him make informed decisions to manage his diabetes better. Day-to-day and moment-to-moment.

How much does technology cost?

While technology helped Laurie get back on his feet, he also shared how much technology has cost him.

For every $4 Laurie receives as part of his pension, $1 is spent on diabetes technology.

Laurie pays $111 a fortnight to keep using Libre 2 technology to monitor his glucose levels to help him self-manage his type 2 diabetes.

Although he wishes Libre 2 was cheaper, Laurie finds the high and low alerts very useful, as they alert him if his glucose levels are out of his target range.

Laurie says spending a quarter of his pension on diabetes technology is worth it to save his fingers.

Years of finger pricking had caused the nerve endings on his fingertips to become very sensitive. His fingertips had become so weakened and painful that he could not use them to pull himself up by holding on to a chair, or for other daily activities.

Laurie had done the maths. For the past seven years, he pricked his fingers at least four times a day. That came to 1500 to 2000 finger pricks a year, or just over 10,000 pricks on his ten fingers. Or a thousand pricks per finger.

Today’s increased cost of living means Laurie makes sacrifices so he can use diabetes technology. Many older adults already struggle to meet their needs, let alone include their wants.

“Being independent is number one, and to be self-sufficient” are Laurie’s priorities in his life. Ultimately, managing his diabetes well means that he can focus on his other health conditions, so he can live a more fulfilling life.

Even though Laurie chooses to use Libre 2 continually, not everyone needs to. Using this technology to map out your glucose levels across two weeks before you see your diabetes team may be useful. It can also be helpful if you want to see how a lifestyle change can benefit your glucose levels.

And give your fingers a rest in the meantime.