When I first spoke to my endo about Loop, I wasn’t really all that concerned or nervous. The decision to take my diabetes management in a new direction was mine and mine alone and I knew she would support and work with me. My approach was pretty much the same as when I have changed any aspect of my management, whether it be introducing new tech, a new eating plan or anything else that deviates from the norm.

And after my first post-loop appointment, when she listened to what I was doing and how it was going, her response was brilliant. I guess that after she heard how great I was feeling and how well I was going since looping she realised that this was the best thing for me to do at the moment and she wanted to know how to continue to support me.

But I know that is not the case for everyone and that is especially evident at the moment with more and more people using DIY diabetes technology solutions.

I frequently see discussions online from people who are very apprehensive about an upcoming appointment when they will be telling their HCP that they are Looping. And I have heard stories of HCPs refusing to continue to see people with diabetes who have started using the technology.

This actually isn’t about Loop. At the moment, a lot of the discussion may be about DIY technologies, but actually, this goes far beyond that.

It’s the same as for people who have adopted a LCHF approach to eating and have been told by their HCPs that it is not healthy and they would be better off returning to an evidence-based eating plan.

It is the same as when pumps were new and CGM was new and Libre was new, and HCPs were wary to recommend or encourage their use due to the lack of evidence supporting the technologies.

I am keeping all this in mind as I prepare for a talk I’m giving this weekend for the Victorian branch of the Australian Diabetes Educators Association. I guess I am a little battle-scarred after my talk at ADATS last year, and am being far less cavalier about charging in and extolling the brilliance of Loop. I know that the audience is new to this technology, know little about it, and might be uncomfortable with the idea that I ‘built my own pancreas’. For some, it will be the first time they have ever seen or heard of it.

I’m trying to think of a way to talk about it so that the audience responds positively to the technology rather than the way many responded at ADATS last year.

But I am a little stuck. Because if I stand up there and say that since looping I feel so, so well, have more energy than in forever, am sleeping better than I have in 20 years, feel less anxious about my diabetes and feel safer, don’t have hypos anymore, feel the least diabetes burden ever, and have an A1c that is beautifully in range… and people still question my decision to use the technology, I’m not sure what else I have. I don’t know what more I can say to try to convince the audience just how much this has benefitted me.

The ending I’m looking for in my talk is for the audience to leave feeling interested in the technology and open to the idea of Loop as a possible tool for some of the people with diabetes they see.

But perhaps more than that, it is wanting the HCPs to think about the way they react when someone walks into their rooms, wanting to talk about something different or something new. It’s about being open to new ideas, accepting that the best thing for the PWD is not what the guidelines say, and realising that there is a lot going on out there that is driven by the end user. And perhaps it’s time to really start listening.