It has been a very long journey.

I was initially diagnosed with gestational diabetes, but I mostly ignored it as my (infrequently tested) blood parameters did not show anything alarming.

I later moved to New Zealand but was carrying a lot of weight and regularly indulging in secret eating. It was at this point I needed to go on to tablets and they helped for a while. It wasn’t until 2009 when retinopathy started to rear its ugly head and the HbA1c climbed to an alarming 9 that I paid heed to what my symptoms were telling me.

I was under considerable personal and professional pressure at the time but more cognisant of where things were going wrong. I took the decision to go on to insulin injections and quite soon thereafter went on to receive intraocular injections in my eyes as well.

On my return to Australia I decided to travel my own path rather than follow all the well-meaning, but often stigmatising, advice thrown at me.

I clearly remember the day when I was watching television and my husband, a medical specialist, asked me why I was breathing so heavily. He wondered aloud as to whether it could be attributed to my excess weight.

I broke apart and yelled at him: “What would you know? All your medical know-how and patients with comorbidities should give you the kind of insight you need to be a husband to me and understand what goes on with me.”

He quietly came and sat in front of me, took my hands in his and simply said: “How can I help?”

Strange but these words changed my life… I told him I wanted to make my own decisions, design my own diet, and have my own exercise regime. His role would be to provide a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen with, and to give advice, when asked.

My journey took a dramatic turn that day. Over the next few months I lost 15 kgs through walking and eating half portions (I would literally serve myself and then remove half of what I took). I had stomach pains but I kept myself too busy to care. Every kilo lost equated to a unit less of insulin. My HBA1c came down dramatically to 6.2. I then had an operation to remove the excess skin around my abdomen and lost another 6-7 kgs. The following year I lost another 10 kgs. Wow, 35 kgs lighter! I went from walking 1.6 kilometers in 30 minutes to 5.8 kilometers in an hour.

I have managed to keep most of the weight off but inevitably about five kilos has made it back.

Through my journey I discovered that my body reacts differently to different foods and my glucose levels vary not just with food intake, but the lack of it too. A reliable CGM would be invaluable as an aid to motivate and keep those glucose levels steady but the lack of funding makes it prohibitive.

CGM is something that is potentially lifesaving for people who want to manage their blood glucose to as near normal without risking hypoglycaemic episodes. The costs are currently prohibitive and there is no help for people with type 2 diabetes or people who deal with hypoglycaemia to gain access to these.

I can no longer closely monitor my glucose as my fingers are sore and the will to constantly check wanes. I often wake up with lows and have to take glucose which inevitably leads to me feeling unwell for the whole day.

Being able to access CGM would be huge. It would mean I could more closely monitor my glucose levels and titrate the insulin dose without needing to bother my GP, and function better overall.