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.

When he was first diagnosed he was on Novomix 30 in the morning and Mixtard 20 in the evening. Initially he hated injections but has become used to the routine of doing them. He has found that he is less likely to forget his insulin injections if he does them before a meal rather than after. Doctors changed his insulin regime to Lantus and NovoRapid but he did not like the new regime and asked to be moved back to the original one. He prefers a daily routine of set mealtimes and snacks and two injections rather than having to inject every time he eats. He stopped smoking soon after he was diagnosed.

When diagnosed thirteen years ago one of the insulins she was put on was Monotard. She remembers it was cloudy and she had to mix it with short-acting insulin using a syringe plus it stung every time she injected. At the age of ten she found the procedure too complicated and started to use pens. Also early on she was put on four injections a day but the insulin has changed over the years as different things have been more fashionable or they have worked better for her. Currently she is on Lantus and Humalog. As a teenager, what she really disliked about diabetes control was to do the 'finger pricking' and she "rebelled" by not doing her blood sugar tests.

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.

Since the age of six and until recently her insulin regimen consisted of Humulin I and Humulin S twice a day. Recently, she changed to Lantus and NovoRapid because she likes the idea of having more flexibility over mealtimes. One week after she changed her insulin regimen she was rushed into hospital with DKA (diabetes ketoacidosis) and spent one week in intensive care, the same occurred again two weeks later. In all she has been in intensive care six times with DKA. Afterwards, she has tried different types of insulin but none seems to have worked. Four months ago she was put back onto her original insulin but on four injections a day instead of two. No more incidents of DKA have occurred but she worries about the long-term effects of ketoacidosis. Anyone changing their insulin regimen has to do regular blood sugar tests.

Because he was so close to taking exams they put him on a fixed dosage of insulin twice a day. He stopped feeling tired and was able to sit his exams. Afterwards, his diabetes team started working with him towards achieving well-controled diabetes. Currently he is on long-acting insulin, Lantus and fast-acting Humalog that he injects when he eats. There was a period in which his HbA1C's were as low as 5 mml/l and he was experiencing frequent hypos. His doctor adviced him to relax his tight control. Says that his diabetes is very well-controlled and his HbA1C's are usually between 6 to 7 mml/l.

She is on analogue long-acting insulin (glargine) and on a fast-acting insulin; NovoRapid that she injects with her meals. She highly recommends this insulin regimen because it is flexible and you can eat what you want and when you want. In her experience diabetes is more difficult to control when you are a teenager because of the hormonal changes. She experienced heavy periods and her doctor recommended a contraceptive pill (Microginol) to help with the problem. Last year she did a three-day hike in the Peak District and says that you can definitely do sports if you have diabetes. You just need to plan ahead.

He has an injection of NovoRapid with his breakfast, lunch and dinner and one injection of Insulatard in the evening. Last year he had problems in managing his diabetes. He was experiencing many hypos and felt awful and unable to do his surfing. He reduced his insulin dosage and while he was avoiding hypos he started to experience highs (hyperglycaemia). He says that his diabetes has been more difficult to control since becoming a teenager because of all the hormones and other changes. His attitude now is that despite all the problems you have to keep fighting at controlling your diabetes in order to live a normal and healthier life. Says that he knows about the consequences of poor control and does not want to end up blind or plugged into a dialysis machine.

She has used the same insulin regime since diagnosis; Human Insulatard and her HbA1Cs are always between six and seven so she does not see the need to change. She has been doing her blood sugar tests since the age of five but she was unable to do her own insulin injections. Her parents were doing the injections for her until last year. She asked her consultant at the adult clinic for help and she was referred to a psychiatrist. After a year of cognitive therapy she started to do her own injections. Now she feels confident, independent and has a busy social life.

She has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1997. As a child she used to experience many hypos and also loss consciousness several times. Her local children's diabetes clinic transferred her to another, bigger hospital. For a long time her mother used to go and check on her twice during the night to make sure that she wasn't having a hypo or even more worrying, experiencing a diabetic coma. She has fewer hypos now, but she always carries her glucose tablets wherever she goes. She injects long-acting insulin in the morning (Glargine) and a fast-acting before each meal (NovoRapid).