Around 18 months ago, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes following a routine blood test. As a very active person who is mindful of my nutrition, the diagnosis came as a surprise.

Before my diagnosis, I used to be someone who was able to fast for long periods of time, however last year I found fasting very challenging as it made me feel very lethargic and extremely weary. I also found I needed to eat during the day in order to manage my diabetes and continue with my day to day routines.

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes six years ago, when I was just 11 years old. 

The diagnosis came unexpectedly one evening when my dad, who is a doctor, noticed that I was unusually thirsty and drinking far more water than normal. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but he decided to check my blood sugar, which turned out to be very high. 

We went straight to the hospital — it was around midnight, and everything happened very suddenly. By the following morning, I had been diagnosed and spent the next few days in hospital coming to terms with what this meant.

My mum lives with type 2 diabetes. When she carried me, she had gestational diabetes and then developed type 2 about 10 years later in her thirties. 

At the age of 28, I was in a new relationship and we were going out to eat a lot. I was enjoying life and having a good time. This meant I’d put on three and a half stone. 

I knew being overweight as well as my mum having had gestational diabetes put me at higher risk of type 2 diabetes, so I went to the doctor to have an HbA1c blood test. 

My HbA1c level was 44mmol/mol which put me into the ‘at risk’ or prediabetic range.

I was in denial. My mindset was not to do something about it as I thought I’m heading down the road to type 2 diabetes anyway. 

I first came across the ELSA study when I was scrolling on social media in late 2023. Having type 1 diabetes, I knew that Imogen would have a higher risk herself and at the back of my mind I’d always thought – ‘is this going to be part of her journey?’. So, I signed her up straight away.

The pack came in the post with a finger-prick blood test kit. We did it, sent it off, and then honestly forgot about it.

Two or three months later I got a call from a member of the ELSA team. They explained that Imogen had some of the protein markers in her blood that they test for, called autoantibodies. But we’d need to visit a hospital to have a further blood test to confirm the results and find out how many autoantibodies Imogen had. That would tell us more about her future risk.

We got a phone call with those results a few weeks later while Imogen and I were in the supermarket car park together. The nurse on the call explained Imogen had three autoantibodies and that meant she was going to get type 1 diabetes at some point in the future. Imogen was so calm about it – she said to me, 'That's OK, can we go and get some chocolate now?'

"I’m in my fifties. My cholesterol and blood pressure were going the wrong way. And my blood sugar levels had just gone into the prediabetes range, at 42mmol/mol. 

My GP, who understands the condition, said they needed to help me stop going further into the prediabetes stage or into the type 2 diabetes stage. He suggested I go on the Diabetes Prevention Programme run by my local health board in Northern Ireland.

Initially, you’re a bit dubious about the course. You think why am I doing this? And you think it’s just another health service tick box. But the person running it was very good, and the course was so valuable that I didn’t miss one session. Even when I was abroad, I’d dial in.

You have emotional ups and downs on the course. Some days you struggle, but I didn’t lose heart."