Aotearoa Diabetes Collective

Aotearoa Diabetes Collective Specialist diabetes care with an equitable purpose
To book - 0800 HEY ADC (439 232)
📖 Evidence Based🎗️Charitable

Have you ever been told that alcohol can cause hypos (low blood glucose)? This post explores the role of the liver in he...
08/02/2026

Have you ever been told that alcohol can cause hypos (low blood glucose)? This post explores the role of the liver in helping to keep glucose levels in a safe range and how alcohol can slow down the liver’s ability to release glucose.

While we go in to the science of the livers role in managing glucose and alcohol, the key thing to remember is that if you use insulin, glipizide or glazier and you drink alcohol, then you should have a chat to your diabetes team to help you come up with a plan for managing the risk of hypos.

Feel free to drop any comments or questions below 👇

12-month prescriptions are here whānau. This post covers the new rules around the length of prescriptions and who may be...
01/02/2026

12-month prescriptions are here whānau.

This post covers the new rules around the length of prescriptions and who may be eligible.

There will be many people with diabetes who will benefit from this change, but there will also be many people with diabetes who may not be eligible for longer prescriptions… especially people who are need More regular monitoring and follow up and that can actually further inequities.

Drop any questions in the comments 💙

Kia ora koutou, this is a really important message for whānau who use the Freestyle Libre 3 plus CGM. There are still fa...
30/01/2026

Kia ora koutou, this is a really important message for whānau who use the Freestyle Libre 3 plus CGM.

There are still faulty sensors out there that are reading falsely low… this is causing people’s insulin pumps to not deliver enough insulin (or none at all) for long periods of time, which is leading to very high glucose levels, high ketones and for some people they have ended up being hospitalised with DKA.

There is now a national response happening and health services will be reaching out to people who use Freestyle Libre 3 plus to check they know about the sensor recall, how to check their sensors and have a way to check their blood glucose & ketones.

Please use this as a timely reminder that we should ALWAYS have a blood glucose meter as well as CGM. We have added some helpful tips for ways to be prepared for issues and keep yourself or your whānau safe!

Reminder this does not affect other CGM including the Freestyle Libre 2 plus sensors. If you have concerns with a faulty CGM sensor outside of this recall process call the technical support number.

Stay safe whānau 💙

Are you tackling lows while tackling the garden? We use a surprising amount of energy in the garden, especially if you g...
12/01/2026

Are you tackling lows while tackling the garden?
We use a surprising amount of energy in the garden, especially if you get stuck in and garden for quite a few hours at a time… and hypos can sneak up on you.

This post explores why gardening can cause hypos, and some of the ways we can try to prevent them. Remember to reach out to your diabetes team for extra support & advice if you are struggling with lows with activity.

Note: This post is for educational purposes only, not medical advice.

Some tips and tricks for maintaining Bluetooth connections between your phone and diabetes devices. We know how annoying...
30/12/2025

Some tips and tricks for maintaining Bluetooth connections between your phone and diabetes devices.

We know how annoying it is to struggle with constant signal loss alerts even when your devices are well within the recommended distance for Bluetooth connectivity, so we thought we would share some tips to help maintain a strong Bluetooth connection between your devices.

Did you know insulin and GLP1 receptor agonists (like Trulicity, Victoza, Saxenda and Wegovy) can degrade if they get to...
22/12/2025

Did you know insulin and GLP1 receptor agonists (like Trulicity, Victoza, Saxenda and Wegovy) can degrade if they get too hot! This can lead to unexplained high glucose levels and ketones for those with type 1 diabetes or type 3c diabetes.

If you’re heading away, or going to be out for the day in hot weather with your insulin, make sure you have a way to keep your insulin and/or GLP1RA cool.

Meri Kirihimete from our growing team at Aotearoa Diabetes Collective! We are so proud of your team and incredibly grat...
18/12/2025

Meri Kirihimete from our growing team at Aotearoa Diabetes Collective! We are so proud of your team and incredibly grateful for the opportunities we have had this year to support people with diabetes and healthcare professionals! We are also so grateful for our online community and the support we get from so many of you! Have a wonderful, safe and happy holiday break with your whānau and friends.

We are soooo close to the end of the year and with that comes a lot of extra events, pressure and expectations… We know ...
18/12/2025

We are soooo close to the end of the year and with that comes a lot of extra events, pressure and expectations… We know this is a time of year where people living with diabetes and caring for people with diabetes have a whole other mental load.

This post is about being kind to yourself, some ways to focus on small wins & a few tips to prep for the holiday break.

Control IQ+ update for Tandem t:slim X2 pump - what you need to know! From today new Tandem pumps are coming out of the ...
05/12/2025

Control IQ+ update for Tandem t:slim X2 pump - what you need to know!

From today new Tandem pumps are coming out of the box with the Control IQ+ update, and from 10th December (next week), you will be able to do the update!

What are the key changes?
- More CGM options, specifically the long awaiting Freestyle Libre 3 Plus CGM compatibility*
- Temporary basal rates are back
- Longer extended bolus options (up to 8 hours)
- Wider indications for age, weights and total daily insulin dose requirements.

Let us know if you use a Tandem pump what are you most excited about?

*to use Freestyle Libre 3 Plus CGM with Tandem t:slim X2 you will need to do the Control IQ+ update, and have a compatible mobile phone with the full bolusing features of the Tandem mobile app (and NFC). You can still use Dexcom G7 or Dexcom G6 with or without a compatible mobile phone.

There is an urgent product recall for some FreeStyle Libre 3 plus sensors that are reading falsely low! This may affect ...
26/11/2025

There is an urgent product recall for some FreeStyle Libre 3 plus sensors that are reading falsely low!

This may affect people who are using the FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensor with YpsoPump and CamAPS FX.

It can be dangerous if the sensor is reading falsely low and the insulin pump algorithm is reducing or not delivering insulin. Please always check your glucose with a finger prick capillary blood glucose check if your symptoms don’t match the sensor reading.

Follow the instructions in this post to check if your sensor/s are affected by the recall.

Website link: https://www.freestylecheck.com/nz-en/home.html

Mediray Technical Support:
0800 106 100 option 2

If your sensors are affected you will be provided with replacements. Please follow the instructions on the website or call Mediray if you have extra questions or have experienced problems from an affected sensor.

This is another post where we challenge kōrero around diabetes such as this myth that ‘you will go blind’ if you get dia...
18/11/2025

This is another post where we challenge kōrero around diabetes such as this myth that ‘you will go blind’ if you get diabetes. Unfortunately so many people hear statements like this, and often it’s when they are first diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes.

While these comments often come from a place of wanting to motivate people to ‘look after themselves’ it’s often unhelpful and causes a lot of fear.

Yes diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults and we should do everything we can to prevent complications. But blindness or diabetic retinopathy is not inevitable and preventing diabetes complications like eye damage is a team effort between you/your whānau AND your healthcare team.

In this post we have provided some information about screening and how we can prevent and manage eye damage from diabetes (diabetic retinopathy).

Key messages:
- Eye damage (diabetic retinopathy) is not inevitable.
- Eye screening is free, quick and doesn’t hurt.
- Early damage often doesn’t have any symptoms which is why screening is so important.
- Aiming for an HbA1c less than 53 mmol/mol is helpful in preventing and slowing eye damage.
- There is a legacy effect from having tight glucose control in prevent eye damage (even if glucose levels rise later).
- Blood pressure control is just as important as glucose control in people with diabetic retinopathy.
(The goal blood pressure is less than 130/80 mmHg)
- It is important to keep LDL cholesterol low (below 1.4 mmol/L) in people with diabetic retinopathy. (Some cholesterol medications also have extra benefits for eye conditions caused by diabetes).

If you or a loved one has low vision or blindness caused by diabetes (or anything else) check out the Blind Low Vision NZ website for information and resources.

The focus of Diabetes Action Month in Aotearoa is around the increasing rates of diabetes in rangatahi (young people). T...
17/11/2025

The focus of Diabetes Action Month in Aotearoa is around the increasing rates of diabetes in rangatahi (young people). This post shares some information about when young people should be screened for diabetes and also why.

Not all young people need to be screened for diabetes, but any young person who has symptoms of high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia) needs an urgent assessment. More commonly young people that present with symptoms will have type 1 diabetes, but sometimes they will have type 2 diabetes or another form of diabetes such as Monogenic diabetes (MODY).

Often type 2 diabetes doesn’t present with a lot of symptoms, and there are some young people who are considered higher risk who should get regular screening from the age of 10.
It seems really young, but certain factors, especially having a strong family history can hugely increase young people’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The reason this matter is because through big studies of young people with type 2 diabetes, we now know that when young people develop type 2 diabetes, it is more aggressive and leads to complications earlier in life!

All young people with any form of diabetes deserve good quality, wrap around care!

It is super important that we know the signs of high blood glucose levels, but also the times when we should think about screening rangatahi.

Address

Hamilton
3204

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

https://linktr.ee/aotearoadiabetescollective

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