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It might have passed you by unnoticed but last week was National Diabetes Week and it's something we should all stop and think about for at least a few moments in the busy day.
Why? Because Type 1 diabetes, a life-long auto-immune disease, is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and most newly diagnosed cases are in people less than 15-years-old.
Because everyday 250 Australians will develop Type 2 diabetes, a disease that is preventable with different diet choices.
This year, the focus of National Diabetes Week 2020 was on the mental and emotional health issues faced by people with diabetes.
The daily burden of living with diabetes can be significant. Diabetes distress, anxiety and burnout are real complications of diabetes.
It's estimated people with diabetes face up to 180 diabetes-related decisions every day. That's more than 65,000 extra decisions a year.
And it takes a toll.
Central Highland Victorian Naomi Glasson has been living with Type 1 diabetes for 25 years and knows only too well the relentlessness of the disease.
"Diabetes is relentless, it's day to day. You can't take a day off, or even an hour," she said.
"On a day to day basis it's a constant burden to manage. Everything you do, everything you eat, even lack of sleep, humidity, weather ... it all impacts on your blood sugar and finding that balance and trying to stay in that target range is often really difficult," the mother-of-two said.
But the Ballarat local refuses to let the disease stop her from living the life she wants to lead.
Abbey Moar, 19, of Ararat in Victoria's south west, also suffers from Type 1 diabetes.
At 15 years of age, her school teachers were the people who tipped her off something could be wrong.
"I was sleeping after school and just wasn't my normal self," she said.
"One of my teachers was concerned and spoke to me which made me think about my health a little more."
Her grandfather is also a Type 1 diabetic and tested the teens sugar levels before she was rushed to hospital.
"I was told I was very lucky I went to the hospital when I did because the outcome could have been a lot worse," she said.
If you're over 40, don't delay, it's time to checked for Type 2 diabetes - don't ignore the health warnings.
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