Amazing August

Nupur Lalvani -

If you have any kind of diabetes, taking care of your eyes is extremely important to avoid related complications. Register now for our workshop on Sunday 13th September at 5PM IST led by Dr Mazumdar, who is T1D herself.

Workshop poster on 'Eye care and diabetes'

Here's what our month was like at Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation :

Blue Circle Workshops

Blue Circle Workshops are free and open for all, even non diabetics! Join in, have fun and learn new things. Sign up as a member and stay tuned to our social media to know of upcoming workshops.

Posters for our online workshops in August 2020

Facebook chat - Carb counting

We did a carb counting workshop on 12th July and wanted to follow up on Sunday, 2nd August to see how everyone was coping with all the information and applying it in their everyday lives, so we decided to have a Facebook chat to find out. If you're not part of our Facebook group yet, click here to join.

Join our Facebook group for more conversations!

The Power of 'No' workshop

Sometimes it gets difficult to say 'no' to opportunities or people and we end up physically and mentally over-burdened. For people with diabetes and their caregivers this could mean that they end up neglecting their own or their family member's health for the worse. Click the Instagram post below to read tips from psychologist Aakriti on how to confidently say no, from our workshop conducted on 9th August 2020.

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Key takeaways from today's " THE POWER OF NO" workshop conducted by Aakriti Malik, Clinical Psychologist (@mindfulllyme) • Just like a house has doors, it's important for us to set boundaries in life. Avoiding people/situations who trigger us negatively is essential • An individual herself/himself is the best judge of how flexible to be with boundaries and triggers. Let's say you want to take up an additional project at work - that doesn't mean you need be available 24/7, you can set aside specific hours and communicate this clearly with colleagues and bosses • A woman managing the house, taking care of her own diabetes/health, her family's health, entertaining guests, managing office work, cleaning, cooking etc - what to say no to and how to manage everything? Factors that come into play- social conditioning, culture, society, respect, working out logistics to find a solution, discuss with your partner/family, communicate openly & honestly • Handling critical or self defeating thoughts (eg: I'm a loser, my sugars are always bad) - firstly, recognise and acknowledge that you're having a negative thought, disconnect YOUR self from the temporary thought. Second, give yourself another chance, a pep talk (the kindness we apply to others can be applied to ourselves, self love is important!) Selfcompassion.org, Tara Brach have some guided online meditations • Health anxiety is a real issue. Anxiety and hypo symptoms sometimes overlap. Important to recognise and distinguish. #mentalhealth #selflove #diabetic #DiabetesAwareness #BlueCircleWorkshops #DiabetesIndia #DiabetesAndMentalHealth #ProjectGaia

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Aerobics workshop

We had an energetic and fun aerobics workshop by Zumba instructor, Kinnari who joined us all the way from Guam. This recreational workshop was held on Sunday, 16th August 2020.

Photos from the aerobics workshop

Pregnancy and diabetes workshop

How should people with diabetes take extra care while planning a pregnancy or what should be done if you get diagnosed with diabetes during pregnancy? We found out during the workshop conducted under Project Gaia, our endeavour to empower women and girls living with diabetes in India. We chatted with Dr Nina Mansukhani, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (Pune). Her forte is high risk pregnancies, infertility & laparoscopy.
Click on the post below for takeways from the workshop held on Sunday, 23rd August 2020.

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PREGNANCY & DIABETES WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS w Dr @ninamansukhani @snehaln29 & @nupurlalvani 🤰Hba1c should be well controlled in pregnancy, preferably under 6.5. It is important to monitor sugars very often as pregnancy worsens insulin resistance & insulin requirements may increase temporarily. Always disclose that you have diabetes to your doctors and HCPs 🤰Weight loss usually aids in conceiving (incase overweight) 🤰Tests for the mother include haemogram, thyroid, Hba1c, lipid profile, hb electrophoresis, fundoscopy, kidney, etc 🤰Tests for baby include sonographies at 7-8th week,Nuchal sonography at 11 -13weeks, Anomaly scan, 22-24th week echocardiography for fetus etc as per your Dr’s recommendation 🤰Gestational diabetes may lead to T2 diabetes in some cases so focus on healthy eating, exercise, lifestyle etc 🤰Post pregnancy care - antibiotics may be required incase of infection 🤰Dose reduction incase of T1s, especially during breastfeeding. 🤰3 months post delivery, the diabetic mother should get fundoscopy, kidneys, etc checked 🤰Postpartum depression - widely exists, people are often in denial. It is okay to seek help & antidepressants if advised by your Dr. Family and spousal support is very important. Keep in touch with the extended community too. 🤰It is possible to have a normal delivery. C-Section maybe required depending on your doctor’s advice 🤰Baby care - large babies are common for diabetic mothers, baby may need to be in NICU for a while and their sugars, breathing etc would be monitored, frequent feeding required. Watch out for breathing difficulties and jaundice 🤰Precautions for T1/T2 men - uncontrolled sugars & hypertension can lead to erectile dysfunction . . #Diabetes #T1D #T2 #pregnancy #hormones #motherhood #MotherAndChild #mother #baby #A1c #doctor #gynaecology #Obstetrician #Gynaecologist #postpartum #postpartumdepression #breastfeeding #gestationaldiabetes

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Kickboxing workshop

We had a packed month with 5 weekend workshops in August! We ended the month with a very sweaty, yet fun kickboxing workshop on Sunday 30th August, led by 4th Dan Master and Black Belt Firoz.

(L-R)clockwise : Firoz and Zayan, Kashvi, Pooja, Mouparna

Blue Circle Diabetes app : NEW FEATURES!

Download the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app on Android and iOS. The 3 shiny new features are:

1.Buddy Project helpline on the app

The Blue Circle Buddy Project is India's first community led diabetes and mental health app based helpline run by trained, multilingual volunteers with lived experiences. Previously this was an online helpline and it's now integrated into our mobile app as well!

Blue Circle Buddy Project

2.Reports

Click the post below to know more about the Reports feature in the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app. Remember the more you log your sugars, food, exercise, insulin etc, the richer and more detailed your report will be. To generate reports, simply go to Reports and select the report of your choice which will be emailed to you. While there's no easy way to get a detailed report from the Glimp or Tomato apps, you can sync Glimp/Tomato with the Blue Circle Diabetes app and generate reports through your Libre Pro and/or Miao Miao!  

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APP FEATURE UPDATE We have worked on the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app 'Reports' section ('Quick Reports' were already available). To generate detailed reports, click on the report of your choice & it'll be e-mailed to you. Don't forget to keep logging your sugars, food, insulin & exercise. Share your app screenshots and tag us in your stories & posts❤️☑️ More info on using the Blue Circle Diabetes app, how to sync it with Libre, follow sugars remotely & other features: Blog: https://blog.bluecircle.foundation/blue-circle-diabetes-mobile-app/ Video : https://youtu.be/7NFP8Wtg1eA . . #Diabetes #T1D #T2 #type2diabetes #Type1diabetes #mobileapp #MobileApplication #Android #iOS #tech #diabetestechnology #CGM #freestylelibre #logging #insulin #blog #reports

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3.Estimated HbA1c

With Covid being omnipresent, it's not easy to visit a pathalogy lab too often so we decided to show you an estimated A1c, right here on the app so that you continue to remain on track with your diabetes management. Obviously this doesn't replace getting your A1c checked at a lab but think of it as a daily reminder to help you stay the course.

Looking to get an A1c in the 5s too? Read the Law of Small Numbers to get started.

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NEW APP FEATURE ESTIMATED A1C 📲Excited to announce that we've added a new feature in the 'Blue Circle Diabetes' mobile app available on Android and iOS 📲Restart your app. Open > on the home screen below your current blood sugar > see estimated HbA1c values 📲If you use Libre/Pro simply sync Glimp with the Blue Circle Diabetes app (go to Settings>Glimp). Your sugars and A1c will automatically reflect 📲For glucometer users, the more BG readings you input, the more closer to accurate your estimated A1c will be. You still need to do your lab tests as prescribed by your healthcare provider. 📲Info on using the Blue Circle Diabetes app, how to sync it with Libre and follow sugars remotely & other features. Blog: https://blog.bluecircle.foundation/blue-circle-diabetes-mobile-app/ Video : https://youtu.be/7NFP8Wtg1eA Share your screenshots & tag us in your stories. Let's do this🥰 . . #Diabetes #MobileApplication #mobileapp #Android #iOS #type2diabetes #Type1diabetes #T1D #T2 #diabetestechnology #tech #india #NGO #nonprofit #HbA1c #A1c #LowCarb #Keto

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To know more about the app, read the blog here and see the video:

Blue Circle Buddy Project

The Buddy Project was born during lockdown and is an app based helpline for diabetes and mental health, run by trained, multilingual volunteers living with diabetes.

Meet your diabuddies!

Schedule a call with a buddy of your choice through the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app, available on Android and iOS! Here's a video in English by Snehal, on how to use the app to schedule a call:

Here's a video in Hindi by Sajan, on how to use the app to schedule a call:

Regional language videos

Together we're going to make sure language is never a barrier in diabetes self management. Check out Sajan's video in Hindi.

Nithin shows us how to use an insulin pen in Kannada.

Blogs

Read our blog here. We write about everything from recipes to people's stories (check out the latest story on giving and receiving care as a caregiver), technology and everything diabetes!

Check out our blogs, they're an ocean of information!

August campaign : #SuperKidsWithDiabetes

We couldn't keep up with the number of entries we received for this campaign so we let the campaign flow into August as well! Keep sharing your photos and videos with us on our monthly topics (remember, September is our birthday month and the topic is #ThankYouBCDF). Upload your content through the Blue Circle Diabetes app. We want to hear from you!

Check out our cuties!

Preyanshi is a complete doll!

Aiza says hi!

What if you're not a kid but not an adult yet? Rama talks about being a teen with T1D

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Rama on living as a T1D teenager 😎 "I won't say, 'Teenager' is something to be talked about at a large amount. But certainly 'teenager' is a phase where everyone goes through hormonal changes and our behavior becomes much more complicated to deal with. The teenage phase is a phase where you are stuck between a kid and an adult. You Feel like running away but you don't have money .Honestly, you are always fed up /angry/ awkward with your parents. 13- 20 is a stage where you want to be on top of the world, you think that you are the main character and everything revolves around you. Managing T1D as a teen becomes slightly different as you have to deal with unusual acquaintances on a day-to-day footing. I am capturing some of my experiences in the following- Social: Every teen has a friend circle to load up all your secrets to. But when it comes to explaining your situation to them it sort of becomes a challenge. "So it's like my grandma's" many of my friends have spoken this noble sentence. Once my school friend mistook my insulin pump for a bomb and I got reported ( not even kidding, it's a true story) After this incident I began to tell my friends that my insulin pump is a fancy clock from Germany. As my power to explain someone was completely drained off. In school &college-  Remember, we used to have 'types of diseases ' in science and textbook? Whenever our teacher used to land on the Diabetes she used to start with " one of your classmates is dealing with diabetes, right now, so she will come out to give an explanation " and it would lead into extreme embarrassment and everyone had a heated topic to talk about in recess. Usually, P.T's teacher refers me as weaker one, and she would ask me to take 10 squats instead of 20. Also, the teachers don't have a complete idea of who you exactly are. So make sure in the first place that you are not physically able to make you sit on a different bench or stand with the teacher when your classmates are standing with their friends. Similarly, there is a lot of chaos at college. If you are about to give your HSC/ SSC examination (contd below)

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Aditri makes some art with diabetic waste!

..and so does our home champ Kashvi! She's crafted a Libre Pro and a mobile phone displaying reports on the Blue Circle Diabetes app! How cool!

Connect with us and participate!
Join our Facebook support group, like and follow our page, subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter too! If you would like to share and contribute content upload it to the Blue Circle app and don't forget to check out our website and free helpline too!

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