Table 2 Themes and codes

1. Anxiety, fear, and vulnerability

Anxiety

3:10 (P3)

You can’t live with this anxiety…. We have enough with other things that are going on…

Fear

2:6 (P2)

I have… because as far as what you can see on TV… and also they tell you that people who get it have a hard time. And at my age… which is pretty old

Rethinking life

10:5 (P10)

Time for yourself in silence. Whether you like it or not… and of course you have time for lots of things. I mean, to remember, to analyse behaviours about who knows what and when, to rethink a lot of things…

Loneliness

8:9 (P8)

Well I’ve felt alone

Sadness

7:15 (P6)

The only thing that made me a bit sad is that I was used to seeing my grandson who lives in Vic. I went up every 8 or 10 days, and obviously that made me a bit sad

Vulnerability

8:16 (P8)

I’m a person that in theory has diabetes and high blood pressure… (silence) (…). I… it was more probable that I would have the disease

2. Insufficient diabetes monitoring by the health system

Health care received

1:9 (P1)

With my nurse I have a close relationship, and I say, “Listen, what’s going on? Look, I’ve been watching my sugar and things”. And she says that we’re overwhelmed, overwhelmed. I had to go buy materials and I say, “So, have you found a place [for me to buy them]?” and she says, “Ok, right now I’ll look for it; I have a minute”. I mean, she did everything for me

Glycaemic control

7:13 (P7)

When we were in lockdown, I checked my sugar, and it was at 100. If it had been at 200 or 250 then I would have worried. But since it was never over 130. I check it in the morning. For a diabetic that’s perfect, for glucose

View of treatment by health provides

1:13 (P1)

I tried to take good care of myself so that I wouldn’t have to go running [to the health centre] or anything, but yeah, a lot of things were missing. And even now when they have to go to the homes of people who can’t go to the health centre, which seems really good to me, but they can’t do everything

3. Proactive self-care

Changes in daily routine

9:4 (P9)

Before I walked, I went to buy bread, I went out to walk, and then I went to the Generalitat with some friends, and we played cards. We spent the morning until 12 or 12:30 pm. Then I came home, I had lunch, I went out to take a walk. But not during the lockdown

Diet

11:7 (P1)

No, my diet was the same. The only thing is that since you’re at home, it seems like you snack more. I gained weight from snacking more. Of course! You know what? The days seemed loooong to me. So, I ate a little bit, now have an afternoon snack. Ok… an hour has gone by, now I’ll eat that…

Physical activity

7:7 (P7)

The only thing I did was to walk inside my home. I went to the bedroom, from one wall to the other. And I entertained myself a little bit that way, because I knew it was the only physical activity I could do then

Medication

13:8 (P4)

I mean, I took my medication. I take everything by pill and that’s what I kept doing, every day the same thing. I didn’t think my medication [dose] would [need to] be reduced or anything in particular. The truth is that I didn’t really think very much

Personal protective equipment & social distancing

5:14 (P5)

Everyone was at their own home, and we saw each other every single day at 8 pm by videoconference and we saw each other [that way] until they said we could go out