Prior to moving to Canada I lived in Saudi Arabia for 9 years. Being diagnosed in the Middle East had its own experiences. To begin it all off in Saudi Arabia there is no such thing as a family physician/doctor...if you feel sick you just make an appointment and see the specialist or if it's urgent you go sit in the waiting room in hopes someone doesn't show up or cancel their appointment. Their is no such thing as a "children's hospital" so ultimately you had the choice to go to any specialist in any hospital in the city.
Access to insulin is accessible to those with insurance or else families would have to pay out of pocket as the government puts no help in assisting those in need. However, access to technology was less accessible and only those who could afford the cost of a pump 100% out of pocket or young diabetics with insurance could have a pump. At 12 years old my insurance said I was too old for a pump and the only way I could get a pump was to pay for it 100% out of pocket! (12...too old? Crazy I know). And if I was able to get a pump my choices where only limited to Medtronic. I am not sure if CGM (continuous glucose monitor) are more popular now but living in Saudi Arabia I've never heard of it at all and I can assure you if I go back and ask my endo about it she would have no clue what i'm taking about.
As part of my religion there is a month called Ramadan, in which we are expected to fast from dawn to sunset. By fasting I mean no food, water or anything that pleases the body. It is controversial wither diabetics should fast or not, God stated that those who are suffering from an illness, travelling, are elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or going through menstrual bleeding are exempt from the fasts. However, out of the 7 endos I had (I know I had my share of doctors) only 1 has told me not to fast show the rest left the choice up to me in which I chose to fast. While on shots things were tricky and numbers remained high through the fasting period (high 300s...17s) due to the body being put in starvation mood. Things got a bit easier on a pump along with a CGM as I had more flexibility and could easily adjust ratios while monitoring my numbers closely using the sensor.
The Middle East lacks support for individuals with diabetes. They have no organization such as JDRF that hosts events for kids or annual walks. In addition, there are no support groups something in my opinion is important for every diabetic
A couple things different in regards to the diabetes team in Canada and the Middle East is...firstly, in Canada each person has a diabetes team which consists of an endo, nurse, dietician and social worker. Contact between the patient and nurse is through email in order to adjust ratios. In Saudi Arabia there is an endo and a dietician if you chose to see her and contact between the endo and patient is by phone call biweekly to adjust ratios of needed. The second difference I noticed is the approach to tackling this disease. Doctors in Saudi approach it through diet, more like a type 2 approach...adjusting your food to your insulin needs. I was put on a special diet with certain foods to eat and timings. I was told to eat protein whenever I am hungry and try and limit carb intake and only have them in main meals. In comparison to the approach in Canada where we are taught to adjust or insulin to our carb intake.
Access to insulin is accessible to those with insurance or else families would have to pay out of pocket as the government puts no help in assisting those in need. However, access to technology was less accessible and only those who could afford the cost of a pump 100% out of pocket or young diabetics with insurance could have a pump. At 12 years old my insurance said I was too old for a pump and the only way I could get a pump was to pay for it 100% out of pocket! (12...too old? Crazy I know). And if I was able to get a pump my choices where only limited to Medtronic. I am not sure if CGM (continuous glucose monitor) are more popular now but living in Saudi Arabia I've never heard of it at all and I can assure you if I go back and ask my endo about it she would have no clue what i'm taking about.
As part of my religion there is a month called Ramadan, in which we are expected to fast from dawn to sunset. By fasting I mean no food, water or anything that pleases the body. It is controversial wither diabetics should fast or not, God stated that those who are suffering from an illness, travelling, are elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or going through menstrual bleeding are exempt from the fasts. However, out of the 7 endos I had (I know I had my share of doctors) only 1 has told me not to fast show the rest left the choice up to me in which I chose to fast. While on shots things were tricky and numbers remained high through the fasting period (high 300s...17s) due to the body being put in starvation mood. Things got a bit easier on a pump along with a CGM as I had more flexibility and could easily adjust ratios while monitoring my numbers closely using the sensor.
The Middle East lacks support for individuals with diabetes. They have no organization such as JDRF that hosts events for kids or annual walks. In addition, there are no support groups something in my opinion is important for every diabetic
A couple things different in regards to the diabetes team in Canada and the Middle East is...firstly, in Canada each person has a diabetes team which consists of an endo, nurse, dietician and social worker. Contact between the patient and nurse is through email in order to adjust ratios. In Saudi Arabia there is an endo and a dietician if you chose to see her and contact between the endo and patient is by phone call biweekly to adjust ratios of needed. The second difference I noticed is the approach to tackling this disease. Doctors in Saudi approach it through diet, more like a type 2 approach...adjusting your food to your insulin needs. I was put on a special diet with certain foods to eat and timings. I was told to eat protein whenever I am hungry and try and limit carb intake and only have them in main meals. In comparison to the approach in Canada where we are taught to adjust or insulin to our carb intake.
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