“When first diagnosed with diabetes 2, I was in a state of shock. I thought my life would never be the same again and would be dominated by this condition.

On receipt of the manual, I really did not know what to expect. I thought it would be full of jargon and unrealistic suggested changes to my life. How wrong I was. From page one it was extremely easy to read and understandable. It was written in such a way that I felt able to follow and use the suggestions without feeling alarmed. The main thing I came to realise was that I could manage this condition and the success of doing so was mostly down to me and what I was prepared to do to control it.

Although the case studies did not directly relate to my life style, that did not take away the ability to find them interesting, informative and adaptable to my life. What they did show was no matter your circumstances you could control the condition.

The six stages enabled me to think through each one carefully so that I could consider how they affected me. The explanation of the various types of medication and symptoms was also useful - what to look out for in your daily life, trigger points which would give a negative response to glucose levels etc. Even if my medication had to be increased or changed over time I did not feel too alarmed.

Although my condition is now invariably below 7 and a recent Hba1c reading was 6.6, I do not intend becoming complacent. Knowing the manual is there to answer any future questions and worries I may have is very reassuring.”