Topics: Online and Offline Resources
Q1. What items or tools do you look for when you searching for creditable diabetes information on the internet?
Talking to others who have D is helpful since someone at least might well have had a similar experience thus they might be able to give their side which can be helpful at times. Also sites that my endo recommends I trust with a grain of salt.
Q2. Why do you read diabetes blogs? Support?
I read various diabetic blogs because they offer me insight into what others with D are doing to live day by day just like I am, that and it connects me to a larger group of people who I might not other wise know or talk to.
Q2.5 Diabetes Online Community-Where would you be without them? The information you get from the DOC, do you share it with a HCP (Health Care Professional)?
In general I’m new to using DOC when it comes to my diabetes and much of the info I tend to get is american based so I don’t tend to make use of it at all because its not what we do here in Canada for the most part, yes some is but enough isn’t that its not helpful (tried following some of the help and it got me in hot water because I’d gone of the approved path – was in the US for a time and was following the US treatment path over the canadian one I’d been given, my bad).
Q3. We talk a lot about online resources -what about offline resources?
When it comes to offline, the only resources I have are the CDA newsletter and any books published from the CDA other then stuff my endo gives me to go over.
Q3.5. What resources did you have to help you manage diabetes offline?
Just my family and medical team
Q4. Offline and online: where can people go for help, guidance and if they need financial assistance for meters, strips, pumps and insulin?
I don’t really know, since the only people I’ve gotten help for this is from my folks – not been able to get local city, provincial or federal help, have looked into it but without much luck.
Q4.5 What online communities do you recommend for people who seek friendship, support and understanding from people who get it.
Depends on what one is looking for the CDA web site is great as is the ADA forums, but there are also other sites that can be of help like SparkPeople and SoulCyceters to name a couple.