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Happy birthday, Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation!

by Nupur Lalvani 10 min read

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a complex health condition that affects 1 in 5 women in India. Early diagnosis & treatment of PCOS is important as it has been linked to an increased risk for developing several medical conditions including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. PCOS is an emerging health problem during adolescence, therefore promotion of healthy lifestyles and early interventions at school level are required to prevent future morbidities. Studies predict India will have 98 million diabetics by 2030. PCOS adds greatly to the burden of diabetes in women in India.

Registered NGO Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation runs 'Project Gaia', which is an initiative to empower women & girls with diabetes in India & in collaboration with Youth Ki Awaaz we demand that PCOS and diabetes education be added to the Menstrual Health education programme in schools in Maharashtra and eventually all over India since this is currently missing. Please share your experiences and thoughts through this survey available in English, Hindi & Marathi (any age, gender, medical history or location is fine). This will help us approach the government with data & demand the inclusion of a PCOS & diabetes module in the Menstrual Health programmes in educational institutions.

Take the survey & share the link with others. Let's be the difference: http://pcos.bluecircle.foundation

We're not always uptight & serious, we also like to have some fun! Register now for our online Bollywood Dance Workshop on Sunday 11th October at 4PM IST on the Blue Circle Workshops platform.

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

Blue Circle Workshops

Blue Circle Workshops are online workshops that 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.

Blue Circle Workshops (online) in September 2020

Sustainable Menstruation Workshop

This workshop was conducted in Hindi by Rajasi, a menstrual educator since we want to be able to reach out to everyone, irrespective of language. It was conducted under Project Gaia, our initiative to empower women and girls living with diabetes in India. Click the post below to read more.

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SUSTAINABLE MENSTRUATION HIGHLIGHTS BLUE CIRCLE WORKSHOPS 🩸 Sustainable Menstruation indicates using environment friendly menstrual products. This Blue Circle Workshop, under Project Gaia (where we aim to empower women and girls with diabetes), was led by Rajasi, @crazy_n_green_menstruator and conducted in Hindi and English. 🩸Why is this relevant for people with diabetes? Because we are menstruators too and as concerned citizens we have also had discussions on sustainability in diabetes waste disposal (needles, insulin pens, insulin pump plastic waste, syringes, vials etc). 🩸Eco friendly menstruation products include cloth pads (both commercial and home-made), period panties and menstrual cups. 🩸What to pick? Take your time to research and don't decide in a hurry. There is no one best way or brand. Here's a list of brands selling reusable products, curated by Rajasi : https://rajasikulkarni.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/sustainable-menstrual-products-providers-list/ 🩸Are 'sustainable' products more expensive? In the long run, they work out cheaper than regular sanitary napkins (menstrual cups last average 8-10 years, cloth pads 1-2 years, old cotton clothes can be re-used and stitched into cloth pads, there are several YouTube tutorials available) 🩸 Disposal - compost or pack and dispose separately with a red dot or cross keeping in mind the safety and hygiene of garbage collection workers. 🩸All sustainable menstruation products can be used by almost anyone, depending on interest and comfort (it has nothing to do with age, virginity etc). If you have doubts or have heard of myths, let's discuss in the comments below🧚 This workshop was conducted in association with @youthkiawaaz Action Network. . . #Diabetes #MenstruationMatters #Menstruation #T1D #T2 #ecofriendly #EcoFeminism #SustainableMenstruation #sustainability #sustainable #medicalwaste #wastedisposal #stigma #type2diabetes #Type1diabetes #PCOD #PCOS #BlueCircleWorkshops ##ProjectGaia #NGO #NonProfit

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Eye Care Workshop

If you live with diabetes, taking care of your eyes is extremely important. Uncontrolled sugars over a period of time damage your vision. This session was led by opthalmologist & retina specialist, Dr Shahana Mazumdar who also incidentally lives with type 1 diabetes. Click the post below to read the highlights of the workshop.

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EYE CARE WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS by Dr Shahana Mazumdar 👀Uncontrolled sugars affect the blood vessels in the eyes & can result in retinopathy over a period of time. Every 1% change in HbA1c can cause 20-30% change in complication status. 👀If you're type 2 diabetic, check eyes on diagnosis. If you're type 1, check when you hit puberty or 5 years after diagnosis, whichever is earlier. Thereafter annual checks for all. 👀 If you're over 40 yrs old, check eyes annually whether you have diabetes or not 👀 Don't wait for symptoms, they often come when the problem maybe beyond repair. 👀Hypos/hypers may affect vision on a temporary basis and it goes back to normal as soon as sugars go back to normal 👀Annual eye tests include - checking for eye power, fundoscopy with pupil dilation (to check retina), eye pressure (to check for glaucoma), cataract check & any other tests your opthalmologist may recommend. 👀Glasses - regularly check number. You may use anti reflective or UV protection if needed. Eye exercises will not reduce your power. Do it only if eye muscles are weak and advised by a Dr 👀 Contact lenses - be very careful and use only if you can take care properly to avoid risk of infection 👀Lasik can be done, provided sugars are controlled well. Healing will depend on BG control. Not advised for bi-numbered people 👀Screen time - try to reduce, cast on TV so it's away from eyes, keep device at eye level, brightness and contrast at 50%, every 20 mins cup your eyes or take a 20 secs break 👀General - avoid smoking, blink a lot, avoid rubbing eyes too much, use lubricants if required (OTC drops) 👀What are floaters? If you see something floating, drifting, flashing in front of eyes, get it checked immediately. 👀 Retinopathy is of various types and if caught in the early stages (non proliferative), it's possible to reverse it or not allow it to progress further. 👀Read our blog: https://blog.bluecircle.foundation/understanding-diabetic-retinopathy/ . . #BlueCircleWorkshops #Eyes #retinopathy #DiabeticRetinopathy #opthalmologist #Macular #macularedema #HbA1c #Lasik #contactlens #specs

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Bolusing for Food Workshop

How to dose correctly for meals and snacks is what was discussed in this workshop led by Snehal & Rohan who live with T1D. If you want to know how to bolus properly, click the post below to see the takeaways & read this blog to figure your ISF (Insulin Sensitivity Factor), ICR (Insulin Carb Ratio) & correction dose.

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HIGHLIGHTS BOLUSING FOR FOOD WORKSHOP 🥬It's important to know how much bolus (short acting) insulin to take for meals and snacks. The ICR or Insulin to Carb Ratio formula is 500/TDD (fixed doses don't work) 🥬The Insulin Sensitivity Factor tells us by how many mg/dl does 1 unit bolus drop our sugars. The formula for ISF is 1700/TDD (for faster insulins, like Novorapid, Fiasp, Apidra, Humalog etc) and 1500/TDD (for Actrapid or Regular insulin) 🥬More carbs need more bolus insulin and less carbs need less bolus insulin (so adjust doses accordingly) 🥬 Protein requires insulin too. It spikes slower and much lesser than carbs, so would need lesser insulin too. 🥬If you're newly diagnosed or simply need a refresher, read : https://blog.bluecircle.foundation/tips-for-newly-diagnosed-t1s/ . . #Diabetes #type2diabetes #Type1diabetes #carbs #protein #fats #ICR #ISF #Bolus #basal #carbohydrates #CarbCounting #T1D #T2 #insulin #BlueCircleWorkshops #workshops

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Meditation & Yoga Workshop

Well known YouTuber and influencer Aparna Ganesh led our meditation and yoga workshop which was rejuvinating & relaxing.

L:R (clockwise) - Aparna, Arvind and Ruchika, Apeksha and Kashvi

Anniversary month special

We turned one in September & what an exhilirating year it's been! From bringing together thousands of people with diabetes across India, creating awareness & screening camps in schools, colleges and corporates, creating the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app, a special calendar featuring people living with diabetes, getting together for innumerable meetups and runs across our chapters in India, making a team of four T1s that walked a 100km & made history, starting initiatives like our app based diabetes and mental health helpline (called the Buddy Project) & Project Gaia, for girls and women with diabetes in India, representing voices of people with diabetes in India at high level panels organised by bodies such as the WHO, to having conducted over 30 workshops since lockdown on our online platform called, Blue Circle Workshops we've come a long way but still have a long path ahead.

Blue Circle Buddy Project

The Buddy Project was born during lockdown and is an app based psychosocial helpline for diabetes and mental health, run by trained, multilingual volunteers living with diabetes. Know more about the Blue Circle Buddy Project.

Schedule a call with a buddy of your choice through the Blue Circle Diabetes mobile app, available on Android and iOS!

The Sugar Diaries

The Sugar Diaries is our YouTube interview series where we talk to everyday heroes living with diabetes. In episode 8, we talk to our friends living with diabetes & who have recovered from Covid. Nupur, Chhavi, Snehal & Rohan speak to Ovi, Sameer, Shilpi, Chaitrali, Sanjivani & Mrunal all of whom are our Corona heroes living with diabetes! If you liked the video, do not forget to like, subscribe & share!

Regional language videos

Together we're going to make sure language is never a barrier in diabetes self management. Check out Parinaaz's video of applying a Libre Pro in Gujarati.

And Komal's video in Malvani of how to use a syringe.

Blogs

Read our blog here. We write about everything from recipes to people's stories (read the basal testing guide), technology and everything diabetes!

Read our September blogs

Global Week for Action on NCDs

We participated in the 3rd Global Week for Action on NCDs (7th to 13th September 2020) by demanding the government consider the needs of people living with NCDs, more so during a pandemic, by addressing the financial, mental health & other burdens that we must live with in addition to our medical conditions.

L:R : Mouparna, Rohan & Arvind's statements

Nupur believes people living with NCDs need to have a seat at the decision making table.

Snehal reinforces the importance of mental health and peer support.

Chhavi reminds us that a strong community is a powerful thing.

Conversations

Poster of Dr V Mohan's Facebook Live Conversation Series with Nupur

Nupur was a guest on Dr V Mohan's Facebook Live Conversation Series, video below:

Dr.V Mohan Conversation Series - 9 -Ms. Nupur Lalvani

Join us for a one to one interaction with Ms. Nupur Lalvani, Founder Director,Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation Certified Diabetes Educator, Certified Pump Trainer & Motivational Speaker living with Type 1 diabetes.

Posted by Dr.Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre on Saturday, September 26, 2020

September campaign : #ThankYouBCDF

We run monthly campaigns on our social media platforms. We pick a topic each month & invite you all to send in your entries through the Blue Circle Diabetes app, to be able to get featured on our platforms. Here's Nupur, launching the September campaign.

Snehal talks about what Blue Circle means to her.

Sajan shares this thoughts while at work, on how his life has become better after associating with a community.

Madhura might be far away but she's still close to our hearts!

Arvinder quickly summarises his experience of associating with Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation.

The sweet couple Ruchika & Arvind share their love with us.

Resident champ Mayur shares his thoughts and (watch till the end) sings a beautiful song too!

Rohan has benefitted from the community & is giving back in equal measure!

Mouparna sums up the mood of the month.

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!

SUPPORT BLUE CIRCLE DIABETES FOUNDATION

We need your help and support to continue to grow, expand and touch the lives of countless people in the diabetic community. Every little bit helps us in sustaining this endeavour.

Click here to donate



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Nupur Lalvani

T1D Runner | Founder Director at Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation | Certified Diabetes Educator | Certified Insulin Pump Trainer

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