Mick was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 10 years ago. He first started taking tablets for his diabetes, at which point he began to gain weight.
He continued to gain weight which resulted in Mick needing to begin to inject insulin, which in turn caused further weight gain. Mick also had problems with his driving license due to his health, and he was issued a temporary one by the DVLA. His HbA1c was 9.4%.
Following complications after treatment for cancer, Mick gained the motivation to begin to tackle his increasing weight. To do this, Mick spoke to his dietician and started to eat healthily and count his carbs. He also signed up to Flo for additional motivation and support on his weight loss journey.
Mick’s hard work has paid off – he managed to lose a total of 27.8Kg (4st 7lb) over a period of 9 months. In addition to this, he has also been able to stop taking insulin, and now only has to take tablets for his diabetes. The support that Mick received from clinicians, along with Flo, was really important in ensuring that he reached his weight loss goal. Mick even commented “I couldn’t have done it without Flo”
– and he has been able to have his permanent driving license reissued by the DVLA!
In addition to this, Mick’s weight loss means that he has reduced his other risks related to being overweight, and as his diabetes is now better controlled with an HbA1c of 5.9% he has lowered the chance of other condition related complications going forward. Mick now has a healthier future ahead of him, which will hopefully mean that he is able to seek less medical intervention than he would have if he continued to gain weight and struggle to control his diabetes. This demonstrates potential long term cost and resource savings due to the patient’s improved prognosis.
Mick was taken off the telehealth system [Flo] and his HbA1c has risen to 7.8%, the current plan is to offer the telehealth service again to see if this improves control.
Main benefits:
- Patients lost weight which has associated health benefits and potential cost saving benefits.
- Improved blood glucose control.
- Improved long term prospects due to improvement in control of blood glucose, and possible future savings associated with this.
- Patient able to stop taking insulin; associated cost savings with this.
- Patient has improved confidence.
