Advice available to anyone with diabetes in Greater Manchester

Diabetes My Way is a free platform that is available for anyone living with diabetes in the Greater Manchester area that provides users access to their diabetes health records along with tailored advice to help with self-management of the condition.

The Diabetes My Way website also provides many open-access resources for diabetes, including multi-language resources, plus access to 8 eLearning courses for anyone with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Case Study: David Garrell

I have used Diabetes My Way since 2014 and thought it might be useful to share some of my own experiences using the platform and how it changed both my diagnosis and consequently my treatment.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in February 2014 following a feeling of lethargy and thirstiness, my initial treatment was metformin plus gliclazide. 

I registered with Diabetes My Way and was immediately able to see a chart of my own readings which gave me a visual representation about how far away my blood glucose levels were from being within the healthy range.

After two years of good quality care at the GP, my average glucose (HbA1c) was still very high. During that time, I felt horrible, I was tired, irritable, grumpy, short-tempered and could not think straight.

Despite two years of increasing doses and adding in new treatments I printed the HbA1c chart off to discuss with my GP and armed with this evidence, he organised my referral to hospital.

My diagnosis changed from type 2, to type 1.5 and I am now on insulin to manage my diabetes. This has had a huge impact on my blood glucose levels and for the first time, my HbA1c is within the healthy range and has stayed there.

Not only has the change in diagnosis and treatment changed my diabetes management, but it has also apparently made me less grumpy according to my family!

From my chart I could actually see the dramatic difference that starting on insulin therapy at the start of 2017 had on my HbA1c.

I’m also using the system to set some personal goals. I previously decided to control my cholesterol using diet and exercise alone and not start medication to manage it (despite lots of advice to go on a statin!). However, watching my cholesterol stay in the red time after time helped me to decide to take the advice and I now take 40mg of atorvastatin. I’m happy to say that my cholesterol levels are now in a good place. 

At review time I get my blood tests done and see the results on the platform before I see my doctor or nurse for my diabetes appointment. Having access to all my diabetes results I now know what I want to talk about before I get there, and when I hear ‘it looks fine’ from the doctor – I know if it is or not.

As well as using the Diabetes My Way platform to access my clinic results, I also use it to find out vital information about diabetes. For me, having quick access to guidance on the sick day rules is very important as I always have my phone on me and do not always remember what I should do from one year to the next!

My next challenge is getting a bit lighter. I can see my BMI heading to the red (I suspect it is worse due to the many days of home confinement over the last year). The good thing is that the Diabetes My Way website has a lot of educational resources on healthy eating, weight management and getting more active so watch this space!

If you are interested in also accessing your diabetes health records like Dave, you can sign up for free at diabetesmyway.nhs.uk. Have a look at a registration guide to help get you started with setting up your Diabetes My Way account.

If you need any assistance or have any questions, then please get in touch with the Diabetes My Way team directly at manchester@mwdh.co.uk.