My Diabetes My Way: February 2026 update
Welcome to the My Diabetes My Way Newsletter for February 2026.
After the dark days of January, this month sees the daylight start to stretch out and we begin to think that Spring may be just round the corner. Although judging by the recent rain, this might be wishful thinking!
My Diabetes My Way on STV News
Following December’s milestone of 15 years of records access for people living with diabetes, My Diabetes My Way was featured on STV News in January. This covered the story of one of our users, Linsdey Hoggan, who has been using the service to help manage her diabetes for several years. This was great coverage for the service and helped raise awareness in a way that is very difficult to replicate, leading to hundreds of new registrants! Thank YOU for continuing to use the service and we hope you are able to relate to some of the benefits that Lindsey explained. You can view the full clip online here:
https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/video/lindsey-hoggan-stv-news-interview/
Improvements to Accessibility
We have made some changes over the last few weeks to improve the accessibility of My Diabetes My Way. You will notice at the bottom right of the screen there is a new icon – this is for a new component called ReachDeck. This is a new feature that lets you change My Diabetes My Way from English into other languages. If English is not your first language, you can now convert the website into over 300 languages and dialects, and also have it read the page aloud to you. We hope that some of you find this development useful and would welcome any feedback you have on it.
Heart Month and Your Cholesterol
February is Heart Month and Heart UK’s theme for 2026 is to know and act on your Cholesterol level. Almost half of the adults in the UK have a raised cholesterol level thus increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease. When you add diabetes to this raised cholesterol level, the risk of heart attack or stroke is significantly increased. People with diabetes should have a target Total Cholesterol of 4.0mmol/l or lower and medication should be adjusted until this target is reached.
People who are newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes should be prescribed a cholesterol lowering drug, usually a statin, alongside their oral diabetes medications if they have any of the following risk factors: smokers, retinopathy, LDL Cholesterol of over 3.0mmol/l, HDL Cholesterol of under 1.0mmol/l. Medical research in this area showed that prescribing a statin to people with these risk factors can reduce the heart attack rate by 25% and the stroke rate by almost 50%.
Statins can have some side effects, but these can often be helped by changing the brand of statin e.g. from Simvastatin to Atorvastatin or Rosuvastatin. Statins are most effective at lowering cholesterol if they are taken at bedtime so they can work through the night whilst you are asleep. We have lots more information on Diabetes and Cholesterol at the following links:
Diabetes and Cholesterol: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/video/diabetes-and-cholesterol/
Cholesterol, Reducing Your risk of Complications: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/video/cholesterol-reducing-your-risk-of-complications/
Eating Disorder Week
February 23rd until March 1st Eating Disorder Week. Diabetes can be a factor in developing an eating disorder. For example, if you are taking insulin and need to carbohydrate count, you can easily become obsessed with food and the amounts you are eating. If you think that you may be developing an eating disorder, it is extremely important that you contact your GP or diabetes team so that you can get some help. These disorders don’t just go away but often need professional counselling to help with resolution. We have some information on eating disorders on the website at the following links:
Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/external/t1-diabetes-and-eating-disorders/
Eating Disorders and Diabetes: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/living-with-diabetes/emotional-wellbeing/eating-disorders-and-diabetes
Diabetes and Ramadan
For our Muslim readers, Ramadan starts on February 18th and ends on March 19th. Fasting during daylight hours and eating after dark can mean a significant change to the timings of your diabetes medication. We have lots of information on our website and we also have an online course that you can complete at your own pace which helps to understand the changes you need to make. The online course also contains a supplementary section for healthcare professionals. The course is open for registration and completion now at the following link:
https://user.mydiabetes.com/
We also have some more information on diabetes and Ramadan on our website at the following links:
Diabetes and Ramadan: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/video/diabetes-and-ramadan/
Ramadan: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/internal/ramadan/
South Asian Food Dishes: https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/internal/south-asian-food-dishes/
In conjunction with My Way Digital Health, we have a full programme of free online courses which run throughout the year. Some of these courses run at specific times as they have live question and answer sessions in the evenings, but others can be completed whenever it is convenient for you. The link to register for these courses is below:
https://elearning.mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/
Facebook, X and Bluesky
Please remember, you can keep up-to-date with the latest news and useful information on the My Diabetes My Way Facebook, X and Bluesky pages.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mydiabetesmyway
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.twitter.com/mydiabetesmyway
Bluesky: @mydiabetesmyway.bsky.social
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.