If you have type 1 diabetes

[Christmaslady]

Have you been told to shield?
My cousin’s husband has type 1 diabetes but no other health problems (my cousin has confirmed this). He is white, age 40, not overweight and controls his diabetes well so in the grand scheme of things, is at a slightly higher risk but not ridiculously high.
He won’t leave the house, which is fine if that’s what he chooses. The problem lies in the fact that he won’t let my cousin or their 3 school age kids leave the house. The kids have been cooped up since February (they took them out of school early) and they’ve only been allowed to go on a couple of walks in the summer, nothing in the last few months. My cousin just spends her time wiping down their deliveries. I am getting worried for her and the kids but when I talk about it, she just says that his doctor told him to shield, end of story.
At one point she did let on that he has health anxiety so this must play a big part but I wish she would put her foot down and say enough is enough. I’m not saying she should go hang out with a big group of people and break rules but she should be allowed to go for a walk (there are plenty of green areas near them where they could safely keep their distance from everyone).
Aside from the kids missing school, they haven’t seen anyone in nearly a year now 😳

That's really worrying. How old are the kids?

I don't agree with their decision, but it's their's to make.

No, we don’t need to shield, if he wants to thats fine, but he can’t control what anyone else chooses to do. I’ve carried on as the rules allow, went back to rugby, my son goes to school, I carried on with rugby tots. I’m a type 1, I also have limited spleen function and I don’t need to shield.

If he was told to shield he would have a shielding email.

Unless he has other conditions he won't have been told to shield. The list narrowed even further with the second lockdown.

I don't agree with him but everyone has to make their own choices. I'm not sure there is anything you would be able to do

My friend and my DBs girlfriend are both type 1. They both got mixed messages in march but later told they did not need to shield. They are both out and about, probably more so than me.

I am type 1, and have a few other problems but haven’t been told to shield! Have been a bit more careful in regard to meeting up with people and I’m a bit choosy with who I know has been careful, but I still go out for walks go food shopping! Have also got a 10 year old who I am taking out of school for the 1st week when they go back as I just want to see how things pan out but he has been back at school since September.
It must be so hard on his family.

That does sound quite extreme, but I can understand why he's worried.

I haven't been told to shield but have been told to be very careful sticking to the rules and distancing. Theres a risk with any infection that it can mess with your numbers and lead to DKA, which in itself is an emergency situation. Knowing that covid seems to do this quite easily and that I tend to head that way quickly with even a small bug I have been super careful.

So far the children have both been in school since Sept, however with local numbers having risen dramatically in the last few weeks and the number of cases in DDs school in particular we are weighing up what we will do when term starts.

There are some specific sick day rules for covid on the NHS website for type 1 folks, it's not letting me link as it's a pdf download. I wonder if hed feel more in control having those to hand. According to the nurse at my last appointment that has made the difference between people needing intensive care vs not.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand it’s his decision but I feel like my cousin and kids are being controlled to an extreme. The kids are all under 7.

No. I haven't been told to shield.

This has nothing to do with the fact he is a diabetic - he seems to have complete anxiety and not letting the children go to school is ridiculous - my children have been at school at every opportunity.

She really needs to get him to go and see the GP regarding his health anxiety rather than anything else.

I've gone about my daily business, semi normally, I work from home 2 days for one job, and in an office with only 2 people and tonnes of space, for the other. I've only shopped when we needed to. I couldn't get a Sainsbury's delivery during this whole time, which hacked me off, despite calling them.

Every list I read, T1 diabetics are very high up the list, Everyone expected me to shield but I actually haven't been told to. I've spoken to the GP and she said nothing and I never got a letter and I've actually ended up behaving as if I don't have a health condition at all which seems bizarre but we have been very careful my husband and I.

We have a type one diabetic member of staff working in an sen primary, alongside a number of other staff (bubbles) and obviously very physically close to the children.

My dh's work partner is in his early 40s and t1.

Neither shielding, working as normal.

Eldest DC is type one and not told to shield, in fact given not really mentioned at any of his clinic appointments. He attends school and socialised as much was/is allowed within lockdown restrictions.

Work colleague Type 1 working NHS patient facing all through pandemic.
He had covid and recovered fine, mild symptoms.

I'm a secondary teacher with type 1. 40 and overweight. Not shielding.

However, I have a T1 friend who is also in her 40s and has been told to shield. We had a long conversation about this and the only thing we can think of, is it's could be down to hba1c. My last one was high 6% (although unfortunately would be higher now) and her was high 7%. She says she has no other health conditions. We do live in different parts of the country though, and she says her letter came from the GP. She was automatically put on the priority list for shopping etc.

So, maybe he has been asked to shield?

To be honest, I'm not looking forward to going back to work in a week as cases are sky rocketing and feel as a clinically vulnerable person, expecting to be in a risky job, I feel let down. I know T1s in some NHS areas have been moved from patient facing roles, but other keyworks haven't been given any extra support at all.

Not quite what you were asking, sorry. But I can understand his anxiety. However I do agree what you've described is concerning. We are unlikely to be getting the vaccine for a while and to be out of society for such a long time, his children are going to find it very hard to go back into it.

Cross post.

I do know of some of your NHS colleagues obviously elsewhere, that have been moved from patient facing roles. Admittedly, that was during spring and no idea if they've been moved back yet.

How are they earning a living? If I was your cousin, I would have asked him to leave and get a studio on his own, or to move in with an elderly parent. There isn't any reason for all their lives to be so adversely affected.

@Christmaslady

Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand it’s his decision but I feel like my cousin and kids are being controlled to an extreme. The kids are all under 7.

Do you think it's down to his health anxiety or is it a convenient excuse for him to control them?

I think he would benefit from joining some diabetic forums and reading over people’s experiences having bad COVID. The key here is that they survived to tell the tale.

Having had* not bad!

There wasn’t a consistent message on type 1 if you read any of the forums out there. Although some of it, I suspect, is down to some type 1s having additional complications before you throw covid into the mix.

My son’s team have been conservative in their advice. Others seem less concerned - someone told me on here the other day that there was no increased risk to children and teens and that type 2s were worse off. The only research so far is now outdated - published in June. At that point type 1s were very much at an increased risk (between 3 and 4 times more likely to die with covid) but age was still very much a protective factor. The average death age is over 80, type 2s was, I think, 77 and type 1 was 72 which I find broadly reassuring. However, it was also the case at that point that ‘no one under 20 had died’. Try Partha Kar on Facebook for reassurance - he is considered an expert and has worked hard to keep the community updated.

No. T1D's have never been asked to shield. I have heard of a couple of people who received letters at the beginning (back in April) but it was an error.
The govt didn't make a clear distinction between shielding and 'at increased risk' at first and it was all rather confusing!

Surely the kids are more at risk by his choice to shield? It's worrying if they're not going outside.

He's a great fella isn't he @Isthatitnow ? A lot of progress has been made thanks to Partha Kar & team.

It sounds more of a controlling, abusive relationship under the excuse of Covid to me.

Nope, I also have ulcerative colitis and am currently overweight due to my thyroid giving up completely and I haven't been told to shield at all.

I have been being careful but still going and doing the food shopping etc.

I have t1 diabetes. If that is your only condition you are classed as clinically vulnerable and asked to be more careful with social distancing but not extremely vulnerable so not asked to shield. My team reassured me that if you were under 50 with well controlled diabetes there was very little extra risk ( and as it happened I caught covid and remained entirely asymptomatic). So I really doubt he has been asked to shield and I imagine his health anxiety is playing a massive part and I would also be extremely concerned about his family- my ds has been at school as much as possible and done all his activities as normal when running.

Thanks everyone. I’ve never thought of him as the controlling type so I do think it’s health anxiety and in some ways, I think he’s passed his fears on to my cousin (she wouldn’t be worried about catching covid herself but is extremely fearful of passing it on as he’s made out he will die if he gets it).
She’s normally very level headed and logical. I feel for the kids. The house isn’t particularly big, neither is the garden and they haven’t seen the outside world in a long time.