20
LIVING
MY DIABETES KIT
VANESSA HAYDOCK
Vanessa Haydock has
been living for 25 years
with Type 1 diabetes.
Based near Preston in
Lancashire, she is a board certified
behaviour analyst (BCBA), a personal
trainer, and habit changer.
Diagnosed as a child, Haydock
remembers that parents helped her
out a lot and recalls, "My mum was
very organised, always giving me
snack boxes and coming into school
to give me an injection a lunchtime."
Then she hit her teens when she
became more independent but didn't
know anyone else with diabetes. She
experienced 'diabetes burnout', which
for her meant that she'd 'had enough';
she was lying to her family and
friends about her control and was
fundamentally in denial about having
the condition.
At the age of 18 she was told
that her eyes had developed
signs of diabetic retinopathy and
maculopathy. She says "I realised
I had to change. I started to test
my blood again, go back to carb
counting, and noted down what I ate
as well as my insulin doses. I could
then start to see patterns. I also
begin to talk about it more, finding
local groups which really helped me
to know that I was not alone."
In 2012, Haydock's HbA1c was
10%, now it's 5.4% and she's set up
her own business as The Diabetic
Health Coach, helping other people
with diabetes like herself, meet their
health and fitness goals. So, she made
changes back in her late teens and
has improved her control ever since.
"I certainly feel that finding peer
support has had a hugely positive
effect on me. I had to learn not to be
ashamed of my diabetes or to hide it,
and now it has given me my purpose
- to help and support others,"
says Haydock.
Having helped to run the peer
support section of Diabetes UK's
forum, that's where she first read
about the FreeStyle Libre. Now she
says, "The FreeStyle Libre sensor
has been very liberating, giving me
the ability to visually see my glucose
levels whenever I want. I definitely
believe in showing off my sensor -
why would I hide it, I love it!"
Even so, she's aware of the impact
diabetes has had on her mental
health, whereby she highlights, "I
would say that I suffer from anxiety
about my health. In the past I even
had panic attacks, as well as general
low mood due to having too high
or too low blood glucose levels.
However, I've found that wearing
a sensor really puts me at ease.
Diabetes is a huge part of my life, so
I try to focus on the positives - I'm
organised, disciplined, and motivated
to help others with diabetes to be
more health aware."
Coach works
So much so that she's opened her
own coaching business because she
knows what it's like to have diabetes
and the unique challenges it poses
when it comes to undertaking
exercise. "Living with diabetes is a
full-time job, no wonder we have
problems," she says, "But I do feel you
need to own your diabetes. I have
studied psychology at degree level
and a behaviour analyst myself, so I
know how important psychological
support is for those with diabetes
- after all life can be hard enough,
then throw in diabetes…. I'd say
that diabetes is nearly always on
my mind. You know, you can have a
day when you do everything right
and you can still end up with a high
blood glucose. At times as a teen, I
thought, what's the point? The fact is
that high readings punish all our hard
work. Things can be tough, but we all
need to work on healthy behaviours.
However, one size does not fit all ¬-
there's no 'silver bullet' that will fix
each of our problems, it's important
to find whatever works for you.
Personally, I don't think you should
overwhelm yourself by taking on too
much at once, it's better to make
small changes and take small steps."
While Haydock focuses on
coaching people with and without
diabetes, she estimates that about
90% of her clients do have it. Of the
questions Haydock is often queried
about, she says, "I'm often asked
about whether I follow a low-carb
diet, but I'm not a dietician. I mix
high-carb and low-carb meals as I
see fit, but it's important that it needs
to be something you can maintain
and which works for you -I was also
asked, what would you tell teenage
Vanessa? In response I wrote a letter
to my 16-year-old self, which is on
my website. Put simply, I said that in
the long run, diabetes has actually
made me really healthy and I'm happy
that I can now help other people
living with the same condition."
www.vhhealthcoaching.co.uk
Vanessa Haydock, BCBA, MSc, BSc
- The Diabetic Health Coach and
FreeStyle Libre Ambassador.