So I’ve spent the weekend (in Vienna, Austria, of all places!) talking about diabetes.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken about diabetes so much in my life!
Together with 49 other journalists from all over the world (as far afield as Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Scandinavia and Turkey), we discussed all kinds of things relating to diabetes – what the best way is to get the word out about the condition, how to communicate with patients so that they realise the necessity of compliance, the differences between first and third world countries in their approach to diabetes and, interestingly for me, the stigma attached to being diabetic. I have to say, I’ve never felt at all discriminated against because I have diabetes. A couple of people were saying that it’s a big deal for the diabetics they know to inject in public – that they avoid it at all costs. I not only inject in restaurants and cafes, but, lately, as we’ve travelled around Thailand, in train stations, on buses, on the side of the street and in busy street markets. It’s not really a choice, you know – when I eat, I need to inject. And I think there are ways of doing it surreptitiously…
There was also a fascinating panel of diabetics (Type 1 and 2) talking about their daily lives – the challenges and practicalities of living with diabetes. Fascinating stuff, especially for me, because it gave me such a new perspective on the condition, on how other people live with it and how it has changed their lives.
We were all here for the workshop (run by Novo Nordisk, an insulin company who’s doing really impressive work with diabetes), but also for the announcement of the international winner of the Novo Nordisk Media Prize. I was holding fingers and thumbs that I would win (the money attached to the prize would have made the next 8 months a LOT easier!) but, alas, they chose a more traditional journalistic story – a newspaper article from Italy with a lot of practical, scientific information.
Although I was disappointed not to win the prize, the weekend has been so great for making contacts with people who know a lot about diabetes, and work in the field of diabetes outreach. I’ve met some incredibly passionate people, and a couple who are really excited about our journey, and want to help us make contact with diabetic associations in all the various countries we’re visiting. Very exciting stuff!
Physically, though, it’s been quite a tough weekend for me. I arrived at 5am (local time) on Friday morning, after having caught a 10 hour overnight flight from Bangkok, with a 5 hour time difference. The hotel room wasn’t ready for me by the time I arrived at about 6.15am, so I set off to wander the streets of Vienna as soon as the sun rose… It was beautiful, actually, wandering around getting lost and found again, looking at the incredible architecture and having a little breakfast picnic by a fountain in a park. The food has been AMAZING! I didn’t realise how much I’d missed bread until I bit into a roll on the plane and tears came into my eyes…
I’ve been eating a lot of bread.
So I wandered around till about half ten, and then I thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion – jet lag kicked in big time. I managed to check in and slept for a couple of hours, and then went to see a stunning Klimt exhibition (including the original of The Kiss – wow) in a restored palace amongst manicured lawns. A million miles from Bangkok, as you can imagine!
On Saturday I also spent the day walking around (pretty much all day), following some of the path of one of my favourite movies of all time – Before Sunrise. Jet lag has been a killer, though. A 5 hour difference doesn’t seem that bad, but I suppose combined with the amount of traveling I’ve been doing lately, and the late nights and poor sleep on the plane it’s all added up… I’ve been feeling really tired and quite headachey and fuzzy, and I’m sure it’s not doing my blood sugar any favours – I’ve had a couple of surprising readings. But not all surprising, so I can’t blame it on my insulin! It’s not hot enough for anything to have happened to my insulin, anyway, the weather has been lovely and cool.
This morning, for instance, I’ve been taking it realllly easy. I went downstairs for a big breakfast (of largely healthy stuff – cereal, bread, fruit and yoghurt) and then spent the rest of the morning lying down reading, gathering my strength for my late-night flight tonight… I just tested my blood sugar now, and although I took what I thought was enough insulin at breakfast, it’s sky high! Very irritating. So now I have to try and figure out what the problem is… Is it hormonal? Should I switch insulin pens just in case? Can I afford to do that seeing as I have a large but limited amount of insulin? Is it because I’ve been so active and now I spent a morning lying down? (I think that’s probably it). But that sucks, cause it means that I’ve somehow managed to turn into one of those fit people who need to be on the move for their blood sugar to stay down. No good! I liked the lazier version of me 
Maybe it’s a combination of all of these, and some other unknown factors. That’s the problem with diabetes – you never really know. I’ll keep a close eye on it and if I stay strangely high I’ll take a new insulin pen out before I fly this evening.
For now, though, Vienna awaits! My last taste of the first world for a few months… See you back in Thailand.
