Pause Sabnzbd when VPN is not connected

Hi, I was hoping for a little help with this one.

I'm running xbmcbuntu, with Sabnzbd. I have openVPN configured through network-manager-openvpn.

Because i'm booting directly into XBMC I have no easy way to tell if my VPN is connected. To check I have to SSH in and run "curl ifconfig.me" and then go to whatsmyip.com and check the location. It's a pain, and defeats the purpose if my VPN drops.

I'm looking for a way to tell sabnzbd, via script, to pause if the Network Manager VPN is not connected.

Any ideas?

Many thanks...