For Jasmine Jaffar, a 26-year-old who moved across the world to London, living in and exploring the city has turned every day into an adventure. Navigating this chapter in her life has brought her so many new experiences, but there’s always been one constant: her type 1 diabetes.
Discovering things about her new home came with many unknowns, including what her diabetes needs would look like with all her new routines and activities. A spontaneous team lunch, going to the gym after work, trying out a new food hotspot — everyday activities were often accompanied by many thoughts around how they would impact her glucose levels and insulin needs.
And while Jaffar carefully tracked her blood glucose, she couldn’t always predict how much insulin her body needed, and when. “Anything under the sun can impact your numbers,” said Jaffar, who grew up in Australia and moved from Sydney in 2020. “Sometimes, living with diabetes, you can feel like you’re playing catch-up, and like you’re more reactive with your management than proactive.”
That changed when modern diabetes technology came into her life.
Jaffar is one of many using a single smartphone app to keep tabs on her condition — managing her diabetes with the same convenience of scrolling social media or texting with friends.
The data from Novo Nordisk’s connected insulin pens, FreeStyle Libre’s LibreLink app and LibreView enables her to view glucose and insulin data together on a compatible smartphone. This helps her decide the proper amount of insulin needed each time, and prevents insulin stacking or confusion around dose times.
Our FreeStyle Libre integrates with different technologies that help make living with diabetes more manageable. Currently, FreeStyle Libre’s LibreLink app and LibreView app integration with Novo Nordisk is available in a number of countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
In Jaffar’s case, the integration of the two key devices takes away the need to constantly track her dosage on her own, providing her with more ease and flexibility. Access to her precise numbers also gives her doctors a more accurate picture of her condition.
“It takes such a weight off my shoulders to have that convenience,” she said.
A Tough Beginning
But it wasn’t always this way. When Jaffar was diagnosed in 2010, at 12 years old, she remembers feeling “complete shock,” without much in the way of information. Her parents were also caught off guard and worried about the quality of life she would have with the lifelong autoimmune disease.
“Anything we knew about diabetes was basically stereotypes,” Jaffar recalled.
After the initial shock — and an overnight stay in the hospital — the family set about figuring out how to move forward.
With the help of her medical team, Jaffar started to learn more about type 1 diabetes and the impact of it on her life. Understanding her body’s response to blood glucose fluctuations and insulin injections took time. She wrote down her glucose levels and insulin doses in a notebook throughout the day and needed constant finger pricks1 to check her glucose levels.
At her doctor’s appointments, she could not always explain what she was doing when she experienced spikes and drops, highs and lows. That would create confusion and frustration, because it was hard to remember so much across months of data. “At first, it was really overwhelming,” she said. “But I wanted to always feel empowered, and prove to myself and my parents that I’d be OK.”
Thriving Through Tech
More than a decade later, she feels better than just OK — and her diabetes management looks nothing like she’d imagined.
She has incorporated life-saving tech, which includes our FreeStyle Libre 2 for continuous glucose monitoring and the Novo Nordisk NovoPen.
The small glucose monitor’s ability to integrate with other diabetes management tools, including the NovoPen, makes daily life easier.
Once both devices are scanned, she can see the timing and effect of her insulin dose on her blood glucose in one chart. “It takes the guessing game out of glucose readings, allowing me to make more informed, proactive decisions,” she said.
‘So Much Gratitude’
Embracing the newly integrated technology has meant that Jaffar continues to feel empowered with her diabetes management, with more knowledge, clarity and data than ever. The new tools have given her more time to thrive in her life — in her job as a community manager for a global food brand, at the gym, going out for brunch on the weekends and travelling the world with her loved ones.
“I feel like I have more momentum behind me in being able to manage my diabetes — and that spills over into everything I do,” she said.
As for her parents, who are back in Australia, it’s meant less stress about the well-being of a daughter that lives miles away across the world.
“My approach to diabetes and the tech I use has given my parents the peace of mind that I can live the life I want to live,” Jaffar said. “And I just have so much gratitude for being able to live it.”
Jasmine Jaffar is a paid ambassador for the FreeStyle Libre portfolio. The views expressed are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Individual symptoms, situations and circumstances may vary.
References
1Fingersticks are required for treatment decisions when you see Check Blood Glucose symbol, when symptoms do not match system readings, when you suspect readings may be inaccurate, or when you experience symptoms that may be due to high or low blood glucose
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
FreeStyle Libre 14 day, FreeStyle Libre 2 and FreeStyle Libre 3 systems:
Failure to use FreeStyle Libre systems as instructed in labeling may result in missing a severe low or high glucose event and/or making a treatment decision, resulting in injury. If glucose reading and alarms (if enabled) do not match symptoms or expectations, use a fingerstick value from a blood glucose meter for treatment decisions. Seek medical attention when appropriate or contact Abbott at 855-632-8658 or FreeStyleLibre.us for safety info.
Please be aware that the website you have requested is intended for the residents of a particular country or region, as noted on that site. As a result, the site may contain information on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other products or uses of those products that are not approved in other countries or regions.
The website you have requested also may not be optimized for your specific screen size.
FOLLOW ABBOTT