LIVINGLIVING
with my life. I stayed healthy and it was
all quite steady. I didn't feel the need
to talk about it and almost never met
another person with diabetes. I did join
Diabetes UK, which was my main source
of information. Every six months I went on
my clinic visit. After some years, one of
the doctors said, 'You really only need to
see your GP', which I thought was great,
as it saved me a trip to the hospital.
"In around 2012, just out of curiosity,
I did a search on the word 'diabetes' on
Twitter and I saw that there was an entire
community out there. That was when I
first spoke (on Twitter) to another person
with diabetes, a young lady who is to
this day still a great friend of mine, and I
have accumulated many others over the
years. This was when I first had a decent
smartphone and became aware of a
"Tweetchat" that I started to contribute to
and became aware of a whole range of
reactions and approaches to managing
life with diabetes.
"Then in 2015 I attended a conference
held for people with diabetes and it was
the first time that I was in a room full of
people withdiabetes, as well as a range
of diabetes kit available from suppliers,
which I found very interesting. This was
also just as Abbott's FreeStyle Libre was
coming out, and in 2015 I started to use a
Libre myself. I self-funded - it was the only
way back then - but both my wife and I
had wanted something like this, a device
that could tell you if glucose was rising or
falling, especially if you are about to drive.
I did not know about CGM back then,
and had never considered that I needed
to use an insulin pump, quite apart from
the fact that as far as I am aware there
is no access to pump technology at my
local CCG. But as far as technology goes,
I found that the Libre gave me all the
extra information that I needed. It is also
pretty well foolproof for me, glorious in its
simplicity, and it works with my phone. I
don't even feel the little disc on my arm
when I'm wearing one. I am well aware
that it's not as all singing and dancing as
'full' CGM, but it's all I need.
"In recent years I have started a
blog. I love writing. By profession I am a
linguist, a French teacher, and was also
Head of Sixth Form. I have written many
references for students and I enjoy putting
my thoughts down on paper or - in
today's terms - on screen. I was inspired
by seeing other people doing opinion
pieces and reviews. Not all my blogs are
about diabetes, there are other thoughts
and ideas too, and I do it as and when
something comes up that I'm interested
in that I want to write about.
"Since retiring last year the new
friends I found through social media have
been a wonderful and unexpected boon; I
have nearly 2000 followers on Twitter and
I know a few of them personally, counting
many of them as friends. We are all quite
different from each other, yet there are
similarities too. Most of us wear some sort
of diabetes technology, which means we
beep quite frequently, and we also inject
or infuse so have our own ways to put
our insulin in. And we do a lot of maths
each time we eat. We are like a family, and
we do share a lot by all having the same
condition."
"I have found diabetes to be a unique
bond among those who live with it. For
me, it's not something that I wish to have
dominate my life, but to get to know
others who share the ups and downs has
been a great pleasure and a source of
comfort."
Twitter @AdrianLong3
adrianlong3.blogspot.com
Adrian Long and friend. In his retirement, Long is hoping
to own some alpacas, and a neighbour is showing him the
ropes, or should we say reins.