Treatment of diabetes is estimated to cost the NHS £10 billion per year and this cost is indicated to rise to £17 billion in the next 25 years. Evidence shows that people with diabetes are more at risk of developing further complications and long-term conditions. In fact the NHS states that if you have diabetes you are up to five times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.
Mr Beedassy, an osteoarthritis patient, was referred to the self management uk programme via his GP.
After four operations on his knee, Mr Beedassy was often bedbound and relied on his Zimmer frame and crutches to move around. He also suffered from diabetes, taking daily insulin injections and tablets. Mr Beedassy found it difficult to control his diabetes, regardless of his food intake, diet and weight management, but he was optimistic that the self-management course could provide him with the tools to manage his long-term condition better.
I am forty pounds lighter, much more mobile, my HbA1c has dropped to 6.1 and I have reduced my diabetes medication...
It all started on a cold miserable day in January 2014. I was slowly coming out of a long bout of depression (which I now know is often linked with diabetes). I had also had spinal surgery, which had reduced my mobility greatly and my weight had gone up significantly adding to my low self-esteem and feeling out of control. My HbA1c at this point was 8.4.
