Dear LPG readers,

I know that I am not unique but I am one of the many older people who finds it really hard to sleep right through the night.  I have previously told of my solution to passing those early morning sleepless hours with a tablet.  I am not talking about any kind of medication, but rather the charged square of information giving technology that I keep on my bedside table, and it was seriously needed last night.

They tell you to clear your mind before sleeping but sometimes you wake with that last thought in your head and yesterday was a case in point.  

My brother came to see me and he told me that, it was finally official; he had been diagnosed with type two diabetes.  I am quite an empathic person and I did feel for him as he told me this news but I had a selfish thought or two while listening to what he was telling me next.  He went into quite a bit of detail about how his lifestyle would have to change but the only thing that was resounding in my head was the thought of all those finger-pricking checks that become a part of day to day life for sufferers.  

I have been trypanophobic for as long as I can remember and, in the recent past, I have also been told how close to the diabetes threshold I am.  My fear of needles and injections is not the worst I suppose because although, like even the healthiest of pensioners I do undergo the occasional Phlebotomy session, I have heard louder reactive sounds than mine when a few other patients’ skin is broken as a needle makes its incision at the clinic.  

My fear is real though.  I was very close to my father who was diabetic and I spent a lot of time with him, but I could not bear to watch him doing the pin-prick thing or having it done for him, which brought me to another realisation.  Diabetes can be hereditary! 

As my brother continued to talk, in my mind’s eye I could see nothing but endless pictures of fingers with one drop of blood on the tip and the vision replayed again and again in painfully slow motion.  

When I shook that momentary nightmare off, I remembered that I had seen the answer advertised on television recently.  I have seen all the smart watches that are supposed to do the measuring for you and the following morning I took those thoughts to my morning’s google search session.  I found a little information about how accurate these blood sugar gages are and what really is involved when it comes to the sticker that is worn on the arm, and that they don’t really talk about that much whenever I have seen a television advert trying to sell the virtues of them to us. I have also found a train of thought that suggests that we will all be wearing them in the near future regardless of our blood sugar levels, in a bid to avoid getting the condition in the first place, although I think it’s too late for me.  There was also a bit of evidence about how expensive and accessible they are, although most of my research stems from American videos.

My mornings research session has just brushed the surface but I think that I have learned a bit more about just what is under the patch. 

I know that anyone can check but, as I have done quite a bit of searching, I hope that LPG will add the links below in case there is anyone else in LPG internet world who might have recently received similar bad news or who might have a passing interest in knowing a bit more about this subject.  

NF, Crofton Park

NF offers us a few online opinions…

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