My Diabetes My Way: December 2024 update
Welcome to the My Diabetes My Way Newsletter for December 2024.
Preparing for the Festive Period
Prepare for the festive break and plan to manage your health. During the holidays keep yourself safe by being prepared:
• If you are taking medication, make sure you have enough supplies to last over the holiday period
• If you are blood glucose or blood ketone monitoring, make sure you have enough test strips and lancets.
• The accuracy of blood glucose meters and test strips can be affected by the cold. Avoid leaving in cars or unheated rooms. Store at room temperature
• If you have a continuous glucose sensor, ensure that you have spare sensors and if you have an insulin pump, always keep extra infusion sets.
• If you haven’t already, speak to your diabetes team about sick day rules in advance
• Keep well hydrated
• Seek advice from NHS 24 if your condition deteriorates or worsens despite following your sick day rules
• And most importantly, enjoy your festive break while staying safe
Sick Day Guidelines
As we are now into the winter months, it is very important that you know what to do when you are ill. My Diabetes My Way contains sick day guidelines for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Alongside these guides, please follow the advice of your local diabetes team if given.
Sick Day Guidelines for Type 1 Diabetes: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/internal/sick-day-guidance-for-type-1-diabetes/
Sick Day Guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/internal/sick-day-guidance-for-type-2-diabetes/
Make Healthy Choices (But Still Enjoy Yourself!)
Eating and drinking at Christmas time is part of the fun, and there is no need to completely miss out on certain foods and drinks. Be mindful about what you’re choosing, and don’t beat yourself up if you do eat more than you usually would, or have foods that aren’t as healthy for you. A slight break from the norm is to be expected - enjoy it, then get back on track the next day. Why not escape the hustle and bustle, or dodge the family row over the remote control on Boxing Day, and go for an exhilarating walk in the countryside? Or set aside a couple hours to get off the sofa and move about cleaning the house?
Everyone should be making healthy food choices year-round, but the festive period shouldn't affect your long-term health and diabetes management as long as you plan for it and get back on track by the New Year. A healthy diet is important for managing diabetes. Try these tips to make your festive occasions a little healthier:
• Fill up on the array of vegetables available, but watch out for added festive extras like honey as these are added sugars.
• Also watch out for the hidden sugars in condiments such as cranberry sauce, mint sauce and prawn cocktail sauce.
• Keep an eye on your portion sizes. Fill your plate up with veggies first as we tend not to get enough of these.
• Serve yourself if possible. Someone else might pile certain foods high, so choosing your own options for starchy carbs, protein and healthy fats will help you keep your blood sugar levels on track.
• If you’re having a dessert, try to stick to one portion of your sweet treat and think about what it’s served with. Could you have natural yoghurt instead of double cream for example?
• Don’t drink on an empty stomach, as this increases your risk of hypos if you manage your diabetes with insulin or some medications.
• Try to limit the amount of processed meat you eat a day to less than 70g. This includes pigs in blankets, gammon, hams, pâtés and cured meats. Eating these foods frequently could raise your blood pressure and increase your blood cholesterol.
• Steam your vegetables rather than fry or boil - this doesn't use oil and keeps more vitamins and minerals. Including veggies at each meal can help prevent your blood pressure and blood cholesterol going up over the holidays.
• We should all try to eat less salt to help manage our blood pressure. Try using reduced-salt stock cubes to make your gravy, swap salted to unsalted nuts and check the labels on your snacks for less salty options.
Scottish Diabetes Survey 2023
The Scottish Government has published the 2023 Scottish Diabetes Survey. This report provides an annual update describing many aspects of diabetes care across the whole of Scotland. This information is useful as it helps each Scottish NHS Board identify areas to focus on to further improve the quality of diabetes care in their area. There are now over 353,000 people living with diabetes in Scotland. You can find the full report at the following link: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Scottish-Diabetes-Survey-2023.pdf
Festive Period Support
My Diabetes My Way and myaccount will have limited support cover from Monday 23rd December 2024 until Monday 6th January 2025. We ask you to please bear with us during this time and we will respond to any emails and feedback as soon as we can on our return.
The team at My Diabetes My Way wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025.
Facebook and X (formerly Twitter)
Please remember, you can keep up-to-date with the latest news and useful information on the My Diabetes My Way Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mydiabetesmyway
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.twitter.com/mydiabetesmyway
Help and Support
If you have not yet managed to gain access to your diabetes records on My Diabetes My Way, or would like an update on the status of your registration, please let us know. You can contact us regarding any problems or request further help and support by emailing: mydiabetes.myway@nhs.scot
Thank you for your continued support.