Lending a helping hand day and night, at home and away

By day, Jenny worked part time as an assistant on a school bus. She helped children with disabilities get up and down onto the bus. As she was more active on those days, and she found that she needed to eat more carbohydrate to keep her glucose levels steady. Otherwise, she would get hypos by mid-morning. To prevent this from happening, she found herself eating more to prevent hypos.

By night, Jenny was often tired and got bored at times, when she found herself snacking more. This raised her glucose levels and increased her body weight.

She was then introduced to the Diabetes Victoria carbohydrate counting flipbook. The flipbook provided carbohydrate containing foods in different categories, all in 15-gram amounts. This meant she could choose healthier options most of the time, and less healthy ones as a treat. By keeping the amount of carbohydrate the same, her glucose levels would be steadier despite her food choices.

Later, Jenny was able to discuss with her diabetes doctor to give her more flexibility around her lifestyle. Her doctor reviewed and changed her diabetes medication timing and dose. Now she does not need to eat extra carbohydrate to prevent hypos.

Like Jenny, Linda at 33 years old also uses insulin. She has an intellectual disability and lives in supported residential care. There, Linda has a large team of support workers and a few nursing staff providing diabetes care.

When Linda would go to a work placement two days a week, her glucose levels would be lower because she was more physically active. As she would rush around on some placement days, she ended up eating less, so her glucose levels would be even lower.

On other days, when Linda was out in the community, she faced different takeaway options. These foods contained varying levels of carbohydrate, so that caused her glucose levels to rise and fall. This affected her moods, which she was unhappy about.

After a meeting with her dietitian, Linda was able to use the same flipbook at home, at work or at play, together with her diabetes team.

At home, Linda loved fruits so opted for different fruits she enjoyed. On work days, she would pack foods with similar carbohydrate amounts. If Linda was out socialising, she used the pages on eating out to help her make food choices more independently.

It is possible to use technology like the flipbook to enjoy more freedom around eating. Ask your team how you can try different technology and tools to help make managing your diabetes easier.

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.