Summary
- A finger-prick-free blood glucose monitoring project for people with diabetes is under way in Cape York communities.
- The beauty of a continuous glucose monitoring device – such as the Libre blood sugar monitors we are using – is that a sensor can be inserted just under the skin with a sticky patch to keep them there and no need for multiple finger pricks.
A finger-prick-free blood glucose monitoring project for people with diabetes is under way in Cape York communities.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Diabetes Educators Lynda Marshall and Alex Rayner said the project aimed to encourage a deeper understanding of how a person’s day to day choices of food, physical activity levels, taking or missing medication, stress and sleep impacted on their health.
She said 82 Cape York community residents currently were taking part in the project.
“We would hope that, as a result of this, they will see that small changes to healthier swaps can make a big difference to their diabetes management,’’ she said.
“Previously, people with diabetes had to prick their finger multiple times a day to see what their glucose level was, and this would just provide a snapshot of the level at that exact moment.
“The finger-prick test wouldn’t tell the person with diabetes if that glucose level was climbing or dropping.
“Multiple pricks a day were required to understand what was happening across the day.
“But the beauty of a continuous glucose monitoring device – such as the Libre blood sugar monitors we are using – is that a sensor can be inserted just under the skin with a sticky patch to keep them there and no need for multiple finger pricks.
“This gives people access to continuous glucose monitoring sensors that gives them real time feedback on their choices and the resulting impacts on their blood glucose levels.
“This is because the Libre sensor measures the interstitial glucose levels every minute and provides a trend over time, 24 hours a day for a fortnight per sensor.
“When the person with diabetes looks at their phone or reader, it’s all colour coded, red is too low, green is good and orange is too high.
“The Libre sensor also has an alarm function and the person with diabetes can set the level that they want an alert to be sent to their phone.
“This is a great safety measure as people on insulin get a warning in the next 30 minutes that their glucose level will fall into a range that is too low.
“When the brain runs low on glucose, our problem solving and reaction times are dampened.
“The warning allows them to act early, consuming some carbohydrates to increase their blood glucose level and prevent a low glucose event, rather than react to one.
“While the Libre sensors may not be suitable for everyone, they are a very convenient device for people who are clinically suitable to use them.’’
Aurukun resident Stephen Deemal, who uses the Libre blood sugar sensor, said it had made a big difference for him.
“It’s way better than before. There’s no more pain on the finger,’’ Mr Deemal said.
“You get a reading straight away and you can make immediate adjustments to your diet or medication as needed. I’m very happy with it.’’
Weipa Integrated Health Service Rural Generalist Dr Emily McLeod said continuous glucose monitoring could be a convenient and effective adjunct for people living with diabetes.
“In my practice, I’ve found it particularly useful for people on insulin who are struggling to complete their monitoring with finger pricks,’’ she said.
“The use of continuous glucose monitoring in these situations allows the patient and clinician to better understand what the blood sugar levels are over the day and night to make decisions together about medications.
“Continuous glucose monitoring allows people to see how different physical activity, food choices and food portion effects their blood sugar levels.
“Using this, in combination with health care support, we hope to empower people in Cape York communities with diabetes and prediabetes to improve their health.”
Ms Marshall said diabetes could be a silent ninja.
“People may not feel that unwell when their glucose levels are high, or they may brush it off as feeling tired from work or looking after their family,’’ she said.
“But what is happing slowly over time is damage to their blood vessels and nerves.
“After years of high glucose levels, we start to see the damage to the brain with stroke and dementia, vision loss, heart attacks, kidney failure and amputations in some of our clients.
“This is heart breaking as it removes the person from their community for long hospital stays and sometimes permanently as they cannot get the high-level care required at home.
“For people with prediabetes or gestational diabetes, we want to reassure them that the changes made today can help them avoid or delay developing diabetes.
“For others who are newly diagnosed, we want to assure them they can put their diabetes into remission.
“For those unable to reach diabetes remission as they have had diabetes for a long time, small changes in physical activity, healthier food choices, and smaller portions of take away foods can result in less medication required to manage their diabetes and avoid health complications.’’
Ms Marshall said the Torres and Cape HHS had received State Government funding to purchase and distribute the Libre glucose monitoring devices amongst communities on Cape York.
These include Coen, Hope Vale, Wujal Wujal, Kowanyama, Aurukun, Pormpuraaw and Lockhart River.