My Diabetes My Way: May 2026 update


Welcome to the My Diabetes My Way newsletter for May 2026.


National Walking Month
May is National Walking Month and the theme this year is to get more women walking to improve health. This can be anything from hiking at weekends to walking the children to school or getting off the bus a few stops earlier. It doesn’t have to be strenuous, but regular walking has been shown to be effective in the prevention of many diseases such as breast cancer or heart disease. It also causes a significant improvement in blood sugar levels. Sometimes exercise may cause an initial spike in blood sugar but then it can fall quickly once you have stopped or it can fall several hours later. Increased exercise combined with weight loss can be used to put Type 2 diabetes into remission in some cases, but you should discuss this with your healthcare team.


Mental Health Awareness Week
11-17th May is Mental Health Awareness week. Walking has also been shown to help cut your stress levels and give you a calm feeling, so what better way to address both your physical and mental health than by going for a walk and taking some time for yourself. We have some patient stories at the links below which show the improvement in diabetes control from walking and exercise:


If you want to find local walks in your area, Walkhighlands is a useful website to find walking routes across Scotland for all levels of ability: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/


World Hand Hygiene Day
May 5th is World Hand Hygiene Day and serves as a reminder to always wash your hands before pricking your finger to check your blood sugar. Sticky fingers can give an abnormally high reading which can then cause consequences if any insulin treatment is increased. During the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone was very careful about washing their hands to avoid spreading the virus. Now, several years later, it’s easy be less vigilant regarding hand washing and this can cause bacteria or viruses to transfer from human to human causing illness. Viruses such as flu or Norovirus circulate in the population most of the time, so hand hygiene is essential all year round. You should also have a copy of your sick day rules handy so you can refer to them and be aware of what to do in the event of falling ill. The links below detail the sick day rules for both Type 1 and 2 patients:

 

Clinical Trials Day
May 20th is Clinical Trials Day. This is a really important day to celebrate the people who take part in clinical trials, the researchers for conducting these trials and the advances that have been made in clinical care through these trials. The discovery of insulin in 1922 was a pivotal moment in medical history. In January 1922, a 14-year-old boy became the first person to receive an insulin injection, marking a significant advancement in the treatment of diabetes. The discovery was made by Frederick Banting and Charles Best at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of John MacLeod from Aberdeen. This was an early clinical trial and by later that year, insulin was being widely used for the treatment of diabetes. Since then, research has given us multiple medications for Type 2 diabetes and many insulins, through to technology such as continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps.

If you would like to participate in research, you can join the NHS Scotland Diabetes Research Register or the SHARE programme. Both will only contact you about research that you are eligible, and it is always your choice whether to participate or not.

 

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

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