Blood Sugar Control / Physical Wellbeing

Skin Grip’s Adhesive Patches

Enhancing The CGM Experience

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
Skin Grip Adhesive Patch for the Freestyle Libre 2 in Yellow

Discover the solution to common adhesive issues with Continuous Glucose Monitoring sensors in Skin Grip Adhesive Patches. In this blog post, I share my journey of overcoming frustrations with sensor adhesion, the pitfalls of previous solutions, and how Skin Grip has proven to be a reliable and durable fix. Learn about the features that set Skin Grip apart, making it a valuable addition to your diabetes management toolkit.

Embarking on the journey of diabetes management with Freestyle Libre 2 brought incredible insights into my blood sugar levels. Yet, one persistent challenge remained – the sensor’s adhesive quality. Today, I unravel the tale of my six-year-long quest to find the perfect solution and introduce you to the game-changer: Skin Grip Adhesive Patches. Get ready to bid farewell to adhesive woes and embrace a worry-free experience with your Freestyle Libre 2.

The Annoyances of the Original Freestyle Libre

I started using the Freestyle Libre some six or seven years ago.  Whilst I loved the product as it opened my eyes up to all of my blood sugar data, one of my primary concerns was the sensor’s tendency to lose adhesion after encounters with water or the occasional run-in with a door frame. This became particularly annoying as these sensors were not exactly cheap – they were not covered by insurance or the NHS in those days. To overcome this, I tried to develop some tricks like avoiding water for the first 24 hours (put it on after drying your skin from one shower and then don’t shower or bathe again for the next 24 hours!) and being hyper-aware of potential obstacles at arm height (there’s a lot of them!). However, life had a knack for turning these precautions into an Olympic-level game of “Don’t Knock Your Freestyle Libre Off”!  I needed an easier solution.

Adhesive Patches of Yesteryear

Enter adhesive patches – a concept aimed at securing the sensor in place. I experimented with various solutions, including simple pharmacy-bought tape and also purpose-built patches. However, none provided a foolproof solution. These early patches still started to peel off within a few days and removing them without dislodging the sensor became a challenging task.  So all I could do was apply more tape on top of the old sensor or tape, which resulted in a lot of tape by the end of two weeks!

Enter the Solution: Skin Grip Adhesive Patches

Skin Grip proved to be the game-changer I was looking for. These patches are waterproof, sweatproof, and ensure the sensor stays securely in place for the full two weeks of wear. Unlike other solutions, Skin Grip has consistently delivered on its promise, lasting the entire sensor duration  (their website says they last between 12-14 days, but I’ve never had them come off before my sensor has expired).

The Lowdown on Skin Grip Adhesive Patches

Affordability, durability, and variety are the key features of Skin Grip Adhesive Patches. Available in packs of 20 and various colours (rainbow, pastel, black, blue, camouflage, etc.), these patches cater to a range of tastes.  They also come in different shapes that accommodate a range of Continuous Glucose Monitoring devices, including the Freestyle Libre 2, Dexcom G6, Insulet Omnipod, and the Medtronic Guardian and also insulin pumps. You can conveniently find them on platforms like Amazon, making it easy to incorporate them into your diabetes management routine without any extra stress.

Caution

While Skin Grip Adhesive Patches offer an excellent solution, it’s essential to consider potential allergies to plasters due to their adhesive nature. Additionally, choose a patch colour that you’re comfortable wearing continuously for the full two weeks, as attempting to remove the patch mid-cycle might result in the sensor coming off too – a testament to their strong adhesion.

Conclusion

In sharing my experience with Skin Grip Adhesive Patches, I want to emphasize that this is not a sponsored post. When something genuinely improves my diabetes management, I believe in sharing it with others. It’s not about financial gain but enhancing the quality of our lives. Consider Skin Grip as a valuable addition to your diabetes management toolkit, providing peace of mind and reliability to your Freestyle Libre 2 experience.

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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January 29, 2024
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Blood Sugar Control / Exercise / Physical Wellbeing / Taking Control of My Health

The Glucose Never Lies

A Programme To Give Knowledge and Empowerment To Those With Type 1 Diabetes

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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Image by Jan from Pixabay

‘The Glucose Never Lies’ website, created by diabetes veteran John Pemberton for his children, offers valuable insights on managing blood sugars without strict low-carb diets. Structured for easy understanding, it covers foundational diabetes care and a dynamic glucose management model, benefiting continuous glucose monitoring users. Early adopters report positive outcomes, indicating its potential to revolutionise diabetes management.

Hey there!  Today, I want to share an absolutely fantastic website I discovered in my diabetes journey – a website called ‘The Glucose Never Lies‘, crafted by the amazing John Pemberton.

A Family Legacy: Why John Pemberton Created His Website

Imagine this: a seasoned Type 1 Diabetes veteran, a Diabetes Dietitian himself, creating a digital haven of knowledge for his own family.  John’s driving force?  His own children.  He wants to pass on his hard-won knowledge to his children, should they one day become diabetic themselves.  This is particularly important for John, given the higher inheritance rate from dads to their offspring.

Beyond Disclaimers: The Goldmine of Information

John explicitly and repeatedly wisely states that this website is not intended for anyone other than his children.  He emphasises how no medical relationship is formed and nothing he talks about should be construed as advice for third parties.  However, his website is a goldmine of information!  From tackling blood high  and blood sugars to handling exercise and dosing for meals and even a nerd corner for diabetes research – it’s a must-see.  I strongly recommend looking at what he has to offer and taking any bits that interest you (or even all of it!) to your medical practitioner to discuss if this might suit your particular diabetes situation.

Health Without Low-Carb Struggles

What I was particularly excited by is that this is the first resource I’ve found that shows a path to great diabetes health without enforcing a strict low-carb diet. As discussed here, I’ve danced with low-carb diets before, but they never stuck for me. The cravings were real, and “falling off the wagon” became a recurring theme. But now, this website offers a way to achieve more of those flat lines without swearing off carbs entirely – it’s nothing short of brilliant!

Foundations: Diabetes Care Basics

I have to say that I find his website fantastic.  It is designed for even the most unknowledgeable amongst us.  His programme for diabetes health basically consists of two stages.  The first, the foundations, covers the basics of diabetes care – such as bolus and basal insulin, dealing with hypoglycaemia, exercise and eating well for diabetes.  Even if you are an individual with a lot of diabetes experience behind you, I suspect that you can still gain a lot of useful information just from this part.  I am more than forty years into my diabetes journey and I still learnt some really great stuff here.  

Dynamic Glucose Management: GAME, SET and MATCH

Then comes what John calls ‘Dynamic Glucose Management’ – a three-part model: GAME (stop highs), SET (stay in target), MATCH (prevent lows).  Each part (GAME, SET and MATCH) is an acronym that helps you to remember each part of the model.  Together, these give you the overall map to diabetes health.  Nevertheless, John still goes beyond the foundations and the model to also offer  information on mealtime insulin and tailoring blood sugars for different kinds of exercise.
Whilst it sounds like a lot of information (it is, after all!), it is broken down into bitesize sections and the whole website can be digested at your own pace. But, please, if you are thinking about implementing anything that The Glucose Never Lies website contains, please first discuss it with your doctor and/or diabetes team.  Making changes like this, particularly if you are relatively new to diabetes, can be challenging without the right support in place.

Multifaceted Learning: Video And Written Wisdom

What I particularly like about The Glucose Never Lies website is that each section comes in both video and written format.  Perfect for those end-of-day hours when time is yours but energy is low!

Just a word of caution…  The Glucose Never Lies is built on the assumption that you are using continuous glucose monitoring.  The three systems that are included are the Freestyle Libre (which I use) plus Dexcom (which John uses) and Medtronic.  John does discuss in detail the use of these and their relative merits.  Therefore, if you don’t have access to CGMs, this approach is probably not going to be the one for you.  Whilst I think there would still be a lot of information to be gained from the website, your ability to implement it may be somewhat limited.

Early Gains: Implementing Wisdom In Real Life

I’m in the early stages of implementing John’s wisdom, and guess what? I’ve already shaved off 0.2% from my HbA1c. I’m seeing more flat lines on my Freestyle Libre 2, feeling more positive, and more in control of my blood sugars. Trust me, the time spent on this website is an investment in your health!

So, head over to The Glucose Never Lies, soak in the knowledge, and let’s conquer diabetes together!

Picture of Natalie Leader
Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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January 22, 2024
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Blood Sugar Control / Emotional Wellbeing / Favourites / Physical Wellbeing / Releasing Suppressed Emotions

Get Yourself a Hug!

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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When I was growing up, I had a teddy bear called ‘Fete Day’.  My great aunt won him for me at our village fete when I was one year old.  That day, I received Fete Day… And also my diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes.  Fete Day was by my side during my stay in hospital and was with me throughout the whole of my childhood.  I loved him until his leg fell off and had to be ‘operated on’ (sewn back into place!) by my mum.  To me, that bear was, and still is, ‘real’.  (If you’re not sure what I mean by ‘real’…  Please, please, please read the Velveteen Rabbit.  It’s an absolutely beautiful book!)

I never used to like being hugged.  Fete Day was the exception. He was a safe option.  Thankfully, I came from a family where hugs were generally not high on the priority list and certainly didn’t feature in my daily life.  I felt safer when I wasn’t hugged.  This is unlikely to be without consequences, though.

The Psychobiology of Hugging

The act of hugging produces a series of psychobiological effects in the body.  Primarily, it releases the peptide oxytocin, which is responsible for facilitating social interaction and wellbeing, as well as reducing the stress hormone cortisol.  

Regular hugging and touch is also essential in early childhood to facilitate the proper development of the vagus nerve.  The vagus nerve is a nerve that runs from the head to the gut.  It is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which contributes to a wide range of bodily functions, including digestion and regulating heart rate.

So, without hugging in early childhood, and then into adulthood, the body will be rife with raised cortisol levels, poorer digestive function and inhibited social functioning.

Type 1 Diabetes and The Fear of Touch

As I have worked on my healing and investigated my internal world, something has become clear to me about my aversion to hugging.  I believe that my unwillingness to engage in this social norm is easily explained when you look at my experiences through childhood.  In my life, human touch was often followed by sharp pain as the needle of the next syringe went into my bodily tissue or the next finger-prick was required for blood testing.  The vast majority of interactions of touch followed this pattern.  Therefore, the association of touch with pain was strengthened everyday in my mind.  The next touch would most likely cause the next serving of pain.  Touch became physically, and emotionally, painful to me.

'Social Defensiveness' and Type 1 Diabetes

The medical community have come up with some names for this response.  Firstly, there is ‘sensory defensiveness’, where a person (adult or child) reacts with a strong ‘fight-or-flight’ (or ‘freeze’) response to a stimulus or sensation that most people wouldn’t consider threatening.  Touch is one of these sensations.

Secondly, there is ‘haphephobia’.  This is when the aversion to touch has become so marked that it develops into a full phobia.  People with haphephobia will have strong fear or anxiety when thinking about being touched.  This will demonstrate itself physiologically with an increased heart rate, sweating, hot flushes, tingling and other fight-or-flight symptoms.  Social situations became near impossible for these people and life can become extremely difficult.

I don’t for one second think I have haphephobia but sensory defensiveness feels appropriate.  For years, when someone came towards me for a hug, I  would brace my body and hunch my shoulders.  My breathing rate would slow or stop.  I would turn side-on so that the person ended up hugging my side, rather than my vulnerable chest area.  My whole body had effectively gone into a paused mode, a freeze response.

Medical News Today states that haphephobia can be caused by experiencing a traumatic event that involved being touched.  I believe the continuous onslaught of invasive medical treatments, at an age when I could not understand, would have created such a ‘little t’ trauma that resulted in a strong aversion to touch.

Healing A Hugging Aversion

The turning point for me in hugging career(!) came when I attended the Hoffman Process.  This process was life-changing for me.  Whilst I will not be going into the details of what the process involves (I wouldn’t want to ruin the fun if you haven’t done it yet!!), I will say that it completely transformed my ability to hug.  I learnt to feel safe in a hug.

I still cannot face being hugged, or touched in any way, when I am angry or extremely upset.  When my fight-or-flight response is activated, hugging is off the agenda.  But, normally, I now happily welcome hugs from friends and family.  When I hug now, I feel this initial moment when my body is tense and my breathing subsides.  But, if I wait maybe just five or ten seconds, I feel my whole system relax as this wave washes over me.  It’s like my whole body is giving a long, slow exhale or sigh.

My self-observation of this effect is actually supported by scientific research.  This study shows how many forms of physical touch, including hugging, is associated with lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, and higher oxytocin levels.

Hugging in COVID Times

Have you seen ‘The Minimalists: Less is Now’ on Netflix?  The Minimalists are two guys, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who promote the idea of living a good life with less stuff.  I love that!  

In their documentary, there is a scene where they explain that they are ‘huggers’.  They like to hug, rather than shake hands when they meet people.   (I assume this was filmed in pre-COVID days!).  This scene got me thinking about how they have so successfully implemented a robust hugging schedule(!) in their lives without having to either add it to their to-do list or count their hugs to ensure they have hit a hugging minimum for the day.  It just simply is…  ‘See a person, hug them’!

I’d love to employ the same strategy, knowing that it is contributing to my health, healing and happiness so effectively.  But, in these current COVID times, I’m not sure it’s the wisest idea for a diabetic.  It certainly comes with additional risks!

 

Hug Yourself!

I believe that there are two workarounds for the ‘no hugging during COVID times’ conundrum.

Firstly, I intend to hug, and hug often, everyone I live with (as long as they don’t test positively for COVID or start exhibiting symptoms!), including my dogs!  I’m sure they will benefit from this as much as I will.

Secondly, I can hug myself.  This study has found that, like hugging others, self-hugging releases the love hormone oxytocin and also produces anti-stress effects, such as reduced blood pressure and cortisol levels.  It also improves the function of the gastrointestinal tract.  In other words, it takes the body from a state of ‘fight-or-flight’ to one of relaxation…  And relaxation is where the healing takes place.
healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally
Picture of Natalie Leader
Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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June 7, 2021
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