Katie uses an insulin pump and feels that it has make the management of her diabetes much easier. Katie has good control of her blood sugar levels and feels that hockey training has helped a lot in keeping things stable. Her HbA1c is within normal range although she finds it harder to keep her blood sugars well controlled at night. Roughly, she would test her blood sugars about five times a day and before going to bed. She does not mind doing the finger prick tests and repeating them if her reading are not good or, before doing sports. She would love to have a continuous glucose monitor, but as a student she cannot afford it and her hospital does not have the funding for it.

Lydia was diagnosed aged twelve with type 1 diabetes. She initially used insulin pens, but after six months her diabetes clinic offered her an insulin pump. After six months she managed to achieve good control; her HB1C was 6.5. Lydia has always wanted to be fully involved in managing her condition and made a point of doing all her injections and finger pricking and later, learning on how to use and care for her pump. She says that the insulin pump has made the management of her diabetes even easier. But Lydia says you never stops learning' about how to manage diabetes and added I'm still learning'.

Initially she was on Mixtard 30. During puberty her insulin regime changed to ActRapid. Later, her consultant suggested NovoRapid and glargine (Lantus). Says that she now enjoys more flexible eating times. She decided to change to the diabetes clinic in the city where she is studying but she has only seen the new diabetes care team once in two years. She finds that once a year appointments are insufficient because so many things can happen to you in the meantime plus it is difficult to form a good, friendly rapport with the nurses.

When younger her diabetes was poorly control. She was put on an insulin pump for a year and a half. But she did not like having an insulin pump because for her it was a constant reminder that she has diabetes. Doctors decided to change her insulin regimen and she was put back on two insulin injections a day. Since then her control has improved and she attributes it to maturity and to an acceptance of her diabetes. For the last three and a half years she has been using Mixtard 70/30. Doctors have suggested changing to four injections a day but she is not sure about it.

After diagnosis she was on two injections a day of Humalog Mix 25. As a child she used to have lots of hypos and twice she was admitted to hospital. When she was about 14 years old her insulin regimen was changed to four injections a day' a long-lasting injection in the evening (Levemir) and an injection of fast-acting insulin three times a day at mealtimes (NovoRapid). She kept forgetting to take her lunch time insulin and was having high blood sugar levels. She went back to Humalog Mix 25 until she decided to try again the four injections a day regimen. This insulin regimen has worked very well the second time and she thinks it is because she is able to carry her insulin pen with her rather than leaving it in the school office. She has improved her diet by including slow-release carbohydrate (GI food) and more vegetables and fruits.

She has had difficulties in finding the right type of insulin regimen for her. Until last year she was taking two injections daily of Mixtard 80/20. When she was 14 years old she had a severe fit and ended up in a coma. She has had several more fits after that but says that at present cannot cope with preparing exams and changing insulin regimen at the same time. Her current insulin regimen is still two injections a day of a mix insulin called NovoMix 30. Her last HbA1C was 10.4 which she admits is too high. She says that she keeps her blood sugar levels a bit high because she is frightened of going low and having more fits. Her new diabetes care team has suggested she consider using an insulin pump but they have also said that it will only work if she is ready for it.

After diagnosis she was put on two insulin injections a day. But now she is on four injections a day; three injections of NovoRapid one with each meal and one of glargine at bedtime. She started to do her injections from the very beginning. She uses an insulin pen and the small size needle. Her diabetes is well-controlled; her last HbA1C result was 6.8. She attributes her good control to a well-balance diet which doesn't change significantly except when eating out; the right amount of insulin and checking her blood sugar levels everyday. She has never had a bad or severe hypo. Her blood sugars usually range between 3.5 and 10 but she finds the blood sugar tests a bit of a pain! She thinks that an important part of having good control is to understand why blood sugars go high or low and knowing what to do about it.

After diagnosis she was put on Humulin S insulin and she had to inject two times a day at mealtimes and also had to have about four snacks a day. She found it annoying that she had to eat even when she was not hungry. Her insulin injections were increased to four a day to try and improve her blood sugar levels. By that time she was playing golf at a high level and found it difficult to maintain good control. She remembers that her blood sugar levels could go as high as 25 and her lowest were around 12. Physically she felt tired and unable to concentrate plus it was difficult to inject in the middle of a tournament. She and her mum started to look for an alternative to injections and looked on the internet and found an American website that provided information on Insulin Pumps. Her GP didn't know much about Insulin Pumps and she was referred to a diabetes care team in London. On assessment she says that her control is much better since she is on the pump. On average her blood sugar levels are between 7 or 8 and never higher than 13. And her HbA1C's have come down from 12 to 8.

She has blurred vision as one of her main symptoms prior to diagnosis. Her driving instructor asked her to have her eyes tested. She was told that she was long-sighted but, her symptoms which also included tiredness and thirst didn't improved. Her mother is a nurse and decided to test her urine and found she had ketones. She stayed a few days in hospital and at first, found it difficult to inject insulin. Testing her blood sugar level was also difficult but found it easier than injecting insulin. She remembers feeling scared of doing her insulin injections and stayed in hospital a bit longer for that reason. Found the nurses really supportive and friendly. Initially she was put on NovoRapid and Insulatard. She injected Insulatard in the evening but found that she had frequent hypos in the morning. Her Insulatard was then changed to Lantus. Once at university her HbA1C got gradually worse and her mum and a nurse talked to her about having an Insulin Pump. She decided to try one and has used a pump since last Christmas. Since then she has noticed an improvement in her blood sugar levels and a reduction in the number of hypos. She is due to have an HbA1C soon. Her mum bought the Insulin Pump.

After being diagnosed with diabetes she was put on Humalog Mix 25 twice a day. She had one injection with her breakfast and another at tea time. She used Humalog for about four years but because her control was a bit unstable decided to follow the advice of her diabetes care team and changed to Lantus but remained using Humalog mix. She was also diagnosed with Coeliac disease (gluten intolerance) and she finds that her new four injections a day regimen allows her to control her carbohydrate intake better. Along with Coeliac disease she was found to have slight damage to her kidneys. She is currently taking Enalapril tablets. She has applied for an Insulin Pump and sees it as the next step up from being able to control her diabetes even better. Having tight control is very important to her and she tends to test her blood sugar levels about 10 times a day.