Ken Tait
Living with type 2 diabetes
Flash glucose monitoring is life-changing technology for people with diabetes. That’s why it should be available free to anyone who needs it, says Ken who is living with type 2 diabetes.
Ken Tait was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1999 and, since then, routine finger prick testing has become an established part of his life. Anyone in the same position will know that finger pricking many times a day is an important way to check glucose levels, but it can also be painful, time-consuming and inconvenient. “I have a saying,” says Ken. “’I want to be able to manage my diabetes, rather than have my diabetes manage me.’”
Flash glucose monitors allow people with diabetes to immediately see if their sugar levels are within the correct range by scanning a sensor on the back of their upper arm. The sensor is scanned using either a reader or an app on a phone, they then receive a notification if their glucose goes above or drops below a certain level, allowing them to take appropriate action.
I want to be able to manage my diabetes, rather than have my diabetes manage me.
“Quality of life improves so much with a flash glucose monitoring system” says Ken. “Finger pricking only gives you a snapshot of a moment in time, so you don’t know if your levels are going up or down; whereas with a flash glucose monitoring system, you can read them whenever you want.”
Flash glucose monitoring can change lives and save NHS costs
Unfortunately, Ken was only able to use the flash glucose monitoring system full-time for four months. He now restricts it to when he is on holiday or if he is going to be on his own for an extended period.
“Many people with type 1 diabetes have access to flash glucose monitoring,” he notes. “Sadly, this technology isn’t free for people living with type 2 diabetes, so the cost of using it all the time was just too prohibitive for me. Yet it is life-changing and should be available on the NHS to anyone who needs it. In fact, I think it would actually save the NHS money in the long-run because if it helps people better manage their diabetes — of whatever type — then it will ultimately reduce complications and hospitalisations.”
Ken believes that people living with type 2 diabetes can be stigmatised by the medical establishment, media and wider society. That must change, he says. “Everything seems to be geared towards those living with type 1. I think it’s because there’s a narrative that all type 2 patients can ‘reverse it’ if they would only change their lifestyles. However, that’s just not the case.”
