DAFNE course for Type 1 Diabetics

[Toe-Knee]

Hey guys I completed this course today.

At first I wasn't overly enthusiastic regarding the course due to having to take a week off work to do it and I already had really good control over my glucose levels and was pretty much always in the target zones.

However the course itself was great and taught me a lot of invaluable things that the hospital neglected to tell me about properly such as (DKA) diabetic ketoacidosis which is REALLY bad and also sick day management which ties in with DKA.

I was diagnosed last October which some of you already know and initially felt like my life was over but once I got control of the condition things started looking up but I still felt restricted in what I could and couldn't eat.

Now I feel completely confident eating anything I want for example since being diagnosed I have pretty much avoided rice & pasta due to early bad experiences with the insulin acting far faster than the carb breakdown which resulted in hypoglycaemia which I then took corrective action and ended up sky high once the carbs had fully been broken down.

 Tonight I enjoyed a tikka masala and lots of rice and with what I've learnt on the course I have been absolutely fine and I still have another hour of active insulin in my body but i'm confident that everything will stay fine.

Another thing that I found fantastic was being able to discuss the condition with other people in the same boat as myself which is something that I haven't really had a chance to do. This in itself taught me a lot as the other 7 people on the course had all had diabetes a lot longer than I have the lowest amount of time being a 19 year old girl who has had it for 11 years they had a lot of good advice and I have come away knowing people in my local area that are wishing to stay in contact and have said its fine for me to get in touch at anytime if I have any issues or just general queries.

There was one guy on the course who has had the condition for 25 years and has really struggled with it and when the course started his morning glucose levels were 33mmol and today when we all left he was at a nice and healthy 6.3mmol so it has clearly had a fantastic affect on him and he seemed a lot happier and confident in himself which I thought was great.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who has type 1 diabetes and hasn't completed it.

[Frank]

25 years? What a type 1 diabetes noob. 38 years and counting here.

Like I told you, don't let it hold you back. Once you get used to balancing the insulin dosage with the carbs intake you'll find it's nowhere near as life-curtailing as you think. Unless your current lifestyle involves stuffing your face with jam donuts then drinking yourself unconcious. All diabetes really does is force you to eat properly, not skip meals and take a bit more care of yourself. The only times it's really affected me has been when I've been stupid by missing a meal or getting blind drunk. Oh, and shift work isn't a great idea. Eating lunch at 3am is asking for blood sugar chaos.

Glad to hear you're coping with it, really there are far worse medical conditions you could have to deal with on a daily basis.

[Frank]

Oh yeah, DKA ... you've got to be INCREDIBLY careless (or unlucky) with diabetes management to get that. I tested myself for it once and got a false positive result. When I told the doctor he said no, I definitely didn't do the test right because if you're feeling well enough to stand up and peerform the test then you don't have DKA.

[Toe-Knee]

Oh I know I do feel that I completely have control of it now my Hb1ac is currently 6.4% and I haven't had any outrageous glucose levels for a good while now.

My carb counting has always been fairly good as I pay a lot of attention when something affects me directly :D I was just amazed at all the information that the hospital didn't tell me especially regarding ketones and such.

Thanks for your support Frank it's really appreciated.

[Toe-Knee]

Oh yeah, DKA ... you've got to be INCREDIBLY careless (or unlucky) with diabetes management to get that. I tested myself for it once and got a false positive result. When I told the doctor he said no, I definitely didn't do the test right because if you're feeling well enough to stand up and peerform the test then you don't have DKA.

Yeah there were a few people on the course who had been rushed into hospital with it and it did sound like it was a situation where nothing could actually be done by the person themselves.

I've only ever once had a high ketone level and that was when I was diagnosed which is understandable as my BG was at 43mmol and had been for 3+ weeks as I figured I was just going to the loo a lot because I was thirsty and drinking a lot!

I found out all my cholesterol and HDL etc today as well and I was surprised at how inline everything was.

[Frank]

Hb1ac and cholesterol and the ones to really keep an eye on. You'll need to keep cholesterol lower than most people.

43mmol BG is shall we say ... somewhat higher than recommended. I'm surprised you found time to do anything other than urinate and drink! My diabetes nurse was horrified that one of her patients managed 33mmol, you must have felt like death warmed up.

Do you carry Hypostop? It's what the paramedics use to revive people in hypoglycaemia

http://www.wms.co.uk/Diabetes_Screening/Diabetes_Treatment_and_Screening_Devices/Glucogel__%28Hypostop%29_Gel

[Toe-Knee]

Hb1ac and cholesterol and the ones to really keep an eye on. You'll need to keep cholesterol lower than most people.

43mmol BG is shall we say ... somewhat higher than recommended. I'm surprised you found time to do anything other than urinate and drink! My diabetes nurse was horrified that one of her patients managed 33mmol, you must have felt like death warmed up.

Do you carry Hypostop? It's what the paramedics use to revive people in hypoglycaemia

http://www.wms.co.uk/Diabetes_Screening/Diabetes_Treatment_and_Screening_Devices/Glucogel__%28Hypostop%29_Gel

I almost got a disciplinary at work because of going to the toilet so much they thought I was just being lazy! and yeah I felt terrible I was constantly tired and lost just under 2 stone then as I said the other day the boil came out of nowhere I went to the walk in centre and was rushed to A&E.

I remember the day after I had been admitted into hospital and they got my BG down on the sliding scale the difference in how I felt was amazing

Yeah I do have some Hypostop and also got a glucagon kit from this course.

[Philly Q]

It was good to read this, Tony.   :D

As you know, I'm Type 2 so my condition/treatment is rather different - don't have to worry about insulin or hypos, for a start - but I can still relate to some of your experiences.  I went on a similar course, which wasn't quite so useful for me as the emphasis was very much on weight loss and the "horrors" of saturated fat, rather than counting carbs (which I firmly believe is the way to go).  It seemed to be based on the assumption that all Type 2 diabetics are hugely overweight and unfit - I was moderately overweight when diagnosed, but I wasn't by the time I did the course and now I'm like a whippet!

But never mind, I think we all evolve our own ways of managing things.  It still has a big effect on my life but I don't feel so depressed any more, I feel like I'm back in control.

I'm very envious of your curry (well, more specifically, the rice!).  I was never very keen on pasta, but I loved rice - can't (or won't) eat that amount of carbohydrate any more, unfortunately!  :lol:

[Frank]

I don't really remember feeling ill before I was diagnosed because I was seven at the time so I suppose I just took it all in my stride. Apparently I was becoming non-responsive and lethargic, fortunately my parents had an idea that it could be diabetes and got me to the GP immediately.

And yes, those glucagon injections, forgot about those. I've never had to use them but I hear that if you take the injection then it just releases the last reserves of glucose from your liver and gets you feeling well enough to seek help. What puts me off them is that if you don't get more glucose down you double quick after taking the jab then you really do start to crash into dangerous hypo territory.

[Toe-Knee]

It was good to read this, Tony.   :D

As you know, I'm Type 2 so my condition/treatment is rather different - don't have to worry about insulin or hypos, for a start - but I can still relate to some of your experiences.  I went on a similar course, which wasn't quite so useful for me as the emphasis was very much on weight loss and the "horrors" of saturated fat, rather than counting carbs (which I firmly believe is the way to go).  It seemed to be based on the assumption that all Type 2 diabetics are hugely overweight and unfit - I was moderately overweight when diagnosed, but I wasn't by the time I did the course and now I'm like a whippet!

But never mind, I think we all evolve our own ways of managing things.  It still has a big effect on my life but I don't feel so depressed any more, I feel like I'm back in control.

I'm very envious of your curry (well, more specifically, the rice!).  I was never very keen on pasta, but I loved rice - can't (or won't) eat that amount of carbohydrate any more, unfortunately!  :lol:

The DAFNE people said they are putting together a similar course for type 2 diabetics which will be a lot more useful to you I imagine once it's ready.

The biggest thing that has helped me is staying positive and support from friends and family. My stepmum has type 2 diabetes and she was overweight and lost a lot and has actually managed to really get healthy and has luckily got to a state where she doesn't have to take her tablets everyday which is great for her.

Carb counting really is a big part of diabetes management in my opinion and even for people who aren't diabetic id say it is a good think to keep an eye on carb levels.

[Toe-Knee]

I don't really remember feeling ill before I was diagnosed because I was seven at the time so I suppose I just took it all in my stride. Apparently I was becoming non-responsive and lethargic, fortunately my parents had an idea that it could be diabetes and got me to the GP immediately.

And yes, those glucagon injections, forgot about those. I've never had to use them but I hear that if you take the injection then it just releases the last reserves of glucose from your liver and gets you feeling well enough to seek help. What puts me off them is that if you don't get more glucose down you double quick after taking the jab then you really do start to crash into dangerous hypo territory.

You are very correct with the crashing they really stressed that this is something that should only be used as a last resort by other people and only if I get into a state where I become unconscious which I hope will never happen.

[Frank]

the "horrors" of saturated fat

Forgive me father for I have eaten a whole pack of chorizo sausage this week.

[Philly Q]

the "horrors" of saturated fat

Forgive me father for I have eaten a whole pack of chorizo sausage this week.

Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!  :o


I eat lots of fat and protein - something had to replace all those carbs I used to eat - but I do try to concentrate on "good" fats like olive oil, although I know there are some food theorists (for want of a better term) who say there's no harm in saturated fat.  And who knows, they may be right.

[Toe-Knee]

the "horrors" of saturated fat

Forgive me father for I have eaten a whole pack of chorizo sausage this week.

Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!  :o


I eat lots of fat and protein - something had to replace all those carbs I used to eat - but I do try to concentrate on "good" fats like olive oil, although I know there are some food theorists (for want of a better term) who say there's no harm in saturated fat.  And who knows, they may be right.

There was a large section of the course 2-3 hours relating to fats and such but purely from a cholesterol standpoint and I was shocked to find that one of the people on the course was going through a litre of olive oil in fortnight he soaked bread and stuff in it..... So much for healthy....

[Toe-Knee]

Thinking back I just remembered that a few days before I got diagnosed I went to Lloyds pharmacy for a diabetes test and they turned me away saying I wasn't overweight or old enough to have it  :?