Niamh McGonnell-Hall, who lives with Type 1 Diabetes, gives a crash course on Australian and NSW Diabetes Resources.
(This is not medical advice, please consult your health care team before making any changes to your diabetes management)
Australia-wide and globally, there are many different resources for people living with Diabetes. However ever since my diagnosis, I find myself finding more and more resources on Diabetes management that I had no idea existed. So whether you have Type 1, Type 2, Gestational or Pre-diabetes: here is a quick guide to some handy Australian websites and resources including everything from food to mental health to research and clinical trials!
Diabetes Australia: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/
Home to the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS), they have how-to-videos for carb-counting. The NDSS also has quick fact sheets on insulin, GI index, overall Type 1 and Type 2 booklets plus Diabetes risk screening, as well as support resources for anxiety, depression and disordered eating with Diabetes. [1]
ADEA - Australia Diabetes Educators Association: https://www.adea.com.au/
The ADEA is the home of your Credentialled Diabetes Educators who aid you on the day to day management of Diabetes. On their website they have resources on how to get a referral to specialists and also different referral pathways. [2][3]
ATIC - Australiasian Type 1 Diabetes Immunotherapy Collaborative: https://atic.svi.edu.au/
This organisation offers Australian and New Zealand immunotherapy clinical trials plus connections to international trials. They also help to secure funding for trials and improve screening for T1D as well as fast track immunotherapy trials to the Australian public. [4]
According to Diabetes Australia there are around 1.9 million people with Diabetes with more than 130,000 people living with Type 1 Diabetes.[5] This makes accessing resources for any kind of Diabetes an important factor in improving everyday life of those living with the condition.
Here is a particular spotlight on JDRF Australia, whose resources cover almost every aspect of Diabetes, specifically Type 1 Diabetes and have a special focus on the mental strain of those living with T1D themselves as well as their parents, carers, partners and friends
JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: https://jdrf.org.au/
JDRF is focused as their slogan says on: “Improving Lives. Curing Type 1 Diabetes” Type 1 Diabetes was previously called ‘Juvenile Diabetes’. JDRF has kept this acronym yet has a much broader focus on research, advocacy, community and fundraising for both T1D adults and children and their families. On their site, they offer Free PDF books and guides for recently diagnosed children and adolescents, as well as various community support networks for those living with T1D and their families. This organisation runs a volunteer Peer Support Program and private online support groups. They are also home of the JDRF Blue Army where you can fundraise or join fundraising events for T1D research and for podcast lovers they have the T1D Tune In podcast available to listen about adults' lived experience with T1D. [6]
And remember, you are doing a job that a whole organ is supposed to be automatically doing, twenty four hours a day: seven days a week: three hundred and sixty five days a year, so it's okay to not to be ‘perfect’ one hundred percent of the time. So do your best, drink your water, eat your veggies and most importantly remember – diabetes does not control what you can and can’t do.
ENDNOTES
[1] Diabetes Australia, Diabetes Australia, https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/. Accessed: 23/08/2024.
[2] ADEA, https://www.adea.com.au/. Accessed: 23/08/2024.
[3] ADEA, Diabetes Referral Pathways, https://www.adea.com.au/resources/diabetes-referral-pathways/. Accessed: 25/08/2024.
[4] ATIC. What does the ATIC Do?, https://atic.svi.edu.au/about/what-does-atic-do/. Accessed: 24/08/2024.
[5] Diabetes Australia, Diabetes in Australia, https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/about-diabetes/diabetes-in-australia/. Accessed 28/08/2024.
[6] JDRF, JDRF Australia, https://jdrf.org.au/. Accessed: 28/08/2024.
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