I would appreciate anybody's help!

Hi everyone,

the following may come across as a bit random but please read through and any help you could give me would be sincerely appreciated.

I have a very good friend who is close to my heart who has diabetes (type 1 i believe) - until approximately 6 months ago her compliance with insulin was very poor, having hypos regularly, she seemed somewhat in denial! I took the initiative to sit her down and give her a 'good talking to' about the fact that she needed to be the best she could with her diabetes so that she didn't jepodise her life. You must understand that we were in a relationship back then (but not now) and she listened to everyword i said when i nearly shouted at her saying that she needed to sort her diabetes out quick time!

The DAFNE course was mentioned as a way of getting a great idea of how to regulate carb counting etc but i don't (by any stretch) know the in's and out's of it. I made sure that she got on the waiting list but i was quite shocked to find out that it was around 2yrs.

As a friend and someone who means a great deal to me, i got her a present for her birthday in late september but i never gave it to her, saying it was a suprise and it was going to be very late in arriving - my present to her is to try my very best to speak to someone who deals with the DAFNE waiting list and see if they would push her up the list to get seen in a shorter amount of time. It would mean the world to me to see her get seen quicker than 2yrs and im sure she would never realise it was me who sorted it for her - the way i want it to be.

My name is Tommie and her name is Christina, thank you for taking the time to read my little story and i hope that someone can put me in the right direction to speak to someone who would be able to help me even further

Thanks again

hi, you don't say what area you are in but I guess the circumstances are largely the same in most areas. I would suggest you or her speak to her Diabetes support team and make sure they let the DAFNE Educators in your area know that she is available to attend at short notice, if she can. People often 'drop out' of a course before it starts and places have to be filled by whoever is available. This is how I got on the DAFNE Course.
I would also suggest you check out Diabetes UK, they run single day courses for Diabetics that provide Diabetes education and this may help in the same way as DAFNE, in that you get to spend a day with people who understand exactly what you are going through because they are going through the same thing as well. Its not as good as DAFNE however they are easier to attend than the DAFNE Course.
I know it doesn't help but she is not the only one to behave like this, I have met many many people with a similiar story. The key is being prepared to change and take the condition seriously. Its never too late to do this and there are plenty of other
diabetics who are willing to support and help your friend, both on this site and at Diabetes UK.

Hi
Yea i agree with mark
You should let her diabetic support team now she could attend at short notice if this is the case.
I did just that and got a call the following week as somebody had to drop out.
good luck

Hi - just one note of caution.
Please don't be too heavy handed with your friend. We all need to be in control of our own destiny and things like diabetes can leave you feeling like you no longer have control over that. Other people doing things behind her back is not necessarily going to help her feel in control again.

All your friend needs to know is what resources are available to assist her and that people are routing for her and then she will, in her own time, make the choices that work for her and allow her to regain control of her situation in life. If you are frustrated with the time it takes her to come to terms with her condition, imagine how much more frustrating it is to realise that you're in a situation that will never end and that you are going to have to find the best way you can to manage it for the rest of your life.

Take a look around this site and you will see that people who have long ago (decades) come to terms with their condition are still working out what is the best way to manage it now. It can be a constantly changing situation, so please be patient with your friend and allow her to reach her long term conclusions and choices in her own time frame.

Best of luck to both of you.

Liz

im sure all waiting lists aintthe same i went to my first diabetes education centre for the first time eva and was on DAFNE in about 5 weeks and also with having type 1 for 15 years but it helped me loads for thinking i knew it all (lol) great cause and hope your friend has better control ASAP
steve