Dave Garrell
Submitted by MyWay Digital Health
MyWay gives users instant access to their diabetes health records as well as tailored advice on self-management of the disease and offers many open access resources for diabetes, including multilingual resources, as well as access to 8 eLearning courses for anyone with Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes .
Dave Garrell, Partnership Director, has lived with diabetes for seven years.
Here is his story:
“I have been using MyWay Diabetes since 2014 and thought it might be useful to share some of my own experiences with the platform and how it has changed both my diagnosis and, consequently, my treatment.
“I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in February 2014 after feeling lethargy and thirsty. My first treatment was metformin plus gliclazide.
“I registered with MyWay Diabetes and immediately saw a table of my own readings that gave me a visual representation of how far my blood sugar level was from the healthy range.
“After two years of good care from the general practitioner, my average glucose (HbA1c) was still very high. During that time, I felt awful, tired, irritable, grumpy, quick-tempered, and couldn’t think clearly.”
“Despite 2 years of increasing the dose and adding new treatments, I printed out the HbA1c table to discuss with my GP, and armed with that evidence, he organized my referral to the hospital.
“My diagnosis was changed from Type 2 to Type 1.5 and I now have insulin to treat my diabetes. It had a huge impact on my blood sugar levels and for the first time my HbA1c is and has stayed in the healthy range.
“The change in diagnosis and treatment has not only changed my diabetes management but, according to my family, has also made me less grumpy!”
“I also use the system to set some personal goals. I previously made a decision to control my cholesterol through diet and exercise alone, and not start any medication to manage it.
“However, if I kept watching my cholesterol stay in the red, I could take the advice and I’m now on 40 mg of atorvastatin. I’m happy to say my cholesterol is now in a good place.
MyWay Diabetes
“At the time of the review, my blood tests will be done and the results will be displayed on the platform before I go to my doctor or nurse for my diabetes appointment. Now that I have access to all of my diabetes results, I now know what to talk about before I get there.
“As well as using the MyWay Diabetes platform to access my clinic results, I also use it to get important information about diabetes. It is very important for me to have quick access to sick leave rules because I always have my phone I have and don’t always remember what to do from one year to the next!
“My next challenge is to get a little lighter. I can see my BMI going into the red (I suspect it’s worse because of the many days of house arrest over the past year). The good thing is that MyWay Diabetes website has lots of educational resources on healthy eating, weight management, and being more active. “
If you are interested in accessing your diabetes health records like Dave, too, you can sign up for free here:
If you need help or have any questions, please contact the MyWay Diabetes team directly at support@mwdh.co.uk.
