(Image: Supplied)
People with Type 1 diabetes have praised a specialist support group in Northallerton for helping them feel less alone while managing the condition.
The group based at the Friarage Hospital meets every three months and has marked its second anniversary.
Julia Brown, 68, from Northallerton, said: "The support group has been great as chatting to other people makes you realise you are not alone.
Julia Brown (Image: Supplied)
"People who are going through similar things and are trying their hardest to manage their diabetes just like you instil a sense of confidence in you.
"The diabetes specialist nurses who run this group are wonderful.
"We are lucky to have them, they are so supportive and nothing is too much trouble.
"They are so patient and understanding."
Ms Brown was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 20 and has spent decades managing a condition that demands constant planning and vigilance.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body stops producing insulin, a hormone essential for regulating blood sugar.
Without insulin, glucose levels can become dangerously high, so people with Type 1 diabetes need regular insulin treatment and monitoring.
Anne Denise Fisher (Image: Supplied)
Anne Denise Fisher, 74, from South Otterington, was diagnosed at 26 after suffering severe thirst and weight loss.
She said the group had changed her life.
Ms Fisher said: "The nurses and consultants are wonderful and supportive whatever problems you have, I cannot speak more highly of them.
"I would like to say an enormous thank you to them all."
She says the condition disrupts her sleep as she monitors glucose levels and responds to alarms from her glucose monitor.
"For a long time after diagnosis I did not tell anyone about it but this got better with time," she said.
"It is hard for people to understand that you need to eat regularly and as I also have peripheral arterial problems, which means I cannot trek for miles without my legs aching."
Diabetes and endocrine specialist nurse Michelle Watson and her colleagues run the group outside working hours.
Ms Watson said: "We decided to start the diabetes cafe specifically for Type 1 diabetes for the patients to meet with people who are dealing with the same things every day.
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"It’s like a buddy system where they can talk freely and without judgment.
"This cafe is for them, and we never use it like a clinical setting.
"We find that this has been beneficial not only for their diabetes but their mental health too.
"We love doing this for our type 1 community and will continue as long as the patients want to come."