Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Jun 8, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Salted Nuts

I think there is about 4 grams of Carbs for every 25 grams of nuts. If you eat more than a handful that can add up and I too have found they drive my BS high. Maybe I just eat too many Rolling Eyes

Jun 8, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread

Its a multiseed low GI bread - really nice Very Happy

Jun 8, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Sick day rule help?

Hi Jodie.....Hope you are feeling better at this stage. When you say ++ what does that mean in figures eg 2.3, 3.5 etc?

Jun 7, 2015

GemmaNicholls 1 post

Topic: General Discussion / Night time Hypo - Depression!

What I find the most upsetting is going hypo just before bed, I always manage to clean my teeth and then find I'm low. I don't know if it's the hypo or the tiredness but sometimes I get really upset and I have been known to cry before now. Night time hypos are usually OK as long as I don't have to get up at 5AM for work but these are the worst for over eating for me, what I really hate is not being able to sleep all the way through the night because my BG is high and this has made me wake up needing a wee! It's probably the biggest part of Diabetes that makes me feel like I'm not a normal person!

Jun 6, 2015

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise

Hi Caspar,
I have split my Lantus dose for some time now, but take equal doses at bedtime and in the morning. Revisiting the course handbook, I see that the "profile" for Lantus shows a drop-off over the last few hours of it's 24 hour duration, hence the levelling effect of the split dose. I still don't understand how injecting different amounts can have an impact at different times of day when the amount of Lantus in the system is constant over the 24 hours? I can't find any mention of this in the handbook.

Stew

Jun 6, 2015

khy70 3 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Cyborg Times (new BG meter)

Had two sensors. Both failed within 3 days. I am afraid I won't be paying to bug test them.

Jun 6, 2015

sarahg 29 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Cyborg Times (new BG meter)

Hi Phil I totally agreed with you it is amazing, and feel very lucky to be able to self fund. Have had a few sensors that have failed but abbots have been great. Just wish the subscription for 12 months was up a running or could purchase at chemists, as I a pain to remember to order and the post and packing is a pain.

Jun 6, 2015

Jodie_Ennifer2 1 post

Topic: General Discussion / Sick day rule help?

Hey guys I just wanted to know what people would do earlier I had a blood glucose of 14.8 and ++ ketones I've been sick with a cold for the last week. I followed the flow chart in the hand book and on my first two hour check my blood glucose had come down to 8.1 but I stil had + ketones I had no reference for what to do in this situation so I took my next dose of TDD, would others have done the same

Thanks Jodie x

Jun 5, 2015

Caspar Aremi 6 posts

Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise

Hi Stew,

When you split, you typically will find you're able to take a lot less - as you're able to work out exactly how much you really need. When you're taking one big batch, you can't tell how long it's lasting, if your body is absorbing a lot while you sleep, or during the day when you're active etc. I've gone from 40 a day down to 28 (and am soon to try reducing it even further) thanks to splitting it and figuring out when in the day I'm going hypo (lots of overnight and early in the morning, so my night time dosage is too low, whereas I was also previously going low later in the afternoon, which was a hint to reduce the morning dose).

Your diabetes clinic/DAFNE team are the best to advise you based on your own circumstances, but without splitting I'd never have been able to work out how and when to reduce my dosage (and start abolishing those pesky night time hypos!).

Jun 5, 2015

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise

Hi Caspar, I'm not sure that I understand. I thought that the point of splitting BI into two doses was to even out the effect over 24 hours. i.e. BI doses are supposed to last 24 hours, but sometimes the impact can wear off before 24 hours is up, or you can end up with more or less than your dose for a short period if you do not inject at precise 24 hour intervals. Are you suggesting that injecting different amounts of BI on your splits will vary the total amount in your system at different times of the day?

Stew

Jun 5, 2015

Rafa 99 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread

Hightower said:
The Staffords one I eat is approximately 10g of Carbs per slice

Didn't know they had low gi bread. Thanks will try this.

Jun 5, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pumps

I have been using the Medtronic Paradigm Veo for the last 4 years and love it Very Happy

Jun 5, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: General Discussion / DAFNE to PUMP conversion

Hi David, I have completed the DAFNE Pump course here in Dublin. The general rule is that if the hypo is close to your mealtime (within 3 hrs) its usually your bolus that needs to be adjusted. If its after this time it your basal. Have you been shown how to adjust your bolus and basal settings depending on readings.

Jun 5, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: General Discussion / think I cracked dawn phenomenon

Would agree with Andrew a pump is worth considering. Good results are always welcome Very Happy

Jun 5, 2015

Hightower 8 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread

The Staffords one I eat is approximately 10g of Carbs per slice

Jun 5, 2015

Phil Maskell 194 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Low Carb

Has anyone tried a Low Carb High Fat diet? Nutritional Ketosis?

https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes/

I am a keen cyclist (therfore avg to low weight for my height, this isn't to loose weight) and struggle on long rides, from about the half way point with low BG, I have to have a bar bag or pockets full of sugar, I was hoping something like this would mean I could function on less sugar, but I have also read that Low Carb is only really good for endurance sport and you loose some of the kick type power you get from glucose as an energy.

Anyone tried this, any sporty people had a go?

I am currently doing a more halfway house and lowering gradually my carbs, but not increasing my fat intake too much as this worries me.

What are peoples thoughts, is High Fat a bad idea?

Jun 5, 2015

Phil Maskell 194 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Cyborg Times (new BG meter)

I have had it since October (ish) last year, I've had a few teething troubles (Abbott have been brilliant). I had my last sensor pack up 6 days early last week (Abbott replaced it, without any issue), but this caught me off guard without a sensor for 2 days, I felt lost.

I know I shouldn't, but I only really test my blood at meal times now, so gone from 10 to 15 finger prick tests a day to 3, my fingers appreciate the relief

With seeing the overnight highs I have been unknowingly having my HbA1c has gone from 7.9 to 6.8

The drop in HbA1c and less finger prick test the NHS have to pay for, surely there are cost benefits? Its more of a known cost too, if it doesn't fail, they know it will cost X amount per 14 days, not a guess as to how many finger prick tests someone will need to do in a day.

I love it, and will continue to pay (I justify it by the fact I don't smoke and rarely drink so why not), but would rather get it on prescription, if nothing else for the ease of being able to go into the pharmacy and collect it, rather than waiting on DPD deliveries!

Jun 5, 2015

Phil Maskell 194 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Freestyle Libre

Type1Bri, I have had it since October (ish) last year, I've had a few teething troubles (Abbott have been brilliant). I had my last sensor pack up 6 days early last week (Abbott replaced it, without any issue), but this caught me off guard without a sensor for 2 days, I felt lost.

I know I shouldn't, but I only really test my blood at meal times now, so gone from 10 to 15 finger prick tests a day to 3, my fingers appreciate the relief Very Happy

With seeing the overnight highs I ahve been unknowingly having my HbA1c has gone from 7.9 to 6.8

Hope it works for you.

Jun 5, 2015

Rafa 99 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread

Hi, the low GI bread that I eat here in Ireland is 13.5 per slice.

Jun 5, 2015

Caspar Aremi 6 posts

Topic: General Discussion / QA:CP and QA:BG? BI? Help!

Hey Tans,
speak to your Diabetes consultant and get on a DAFNE course! It's five days long - either all in one week, or one day a week for 5 weeks. it sounds like a lot - and I really thought there was no way there could be enough content to last so long - but it's invaluable. You do repeat a lot of stuff a couple of times, but it helps drill it in. Like you I used to just run high all the time and just thought there was nothing I could do about it, how my levels ran were a mystery.

QA is quick acting. BI is background insulin. BG is blood glucose levels. CP is carb portions - usually 1 per 10grams of carbs in food. So QA:CP is the ratio of insulin to carbs you take - for most people, it's one unit of QA per 1 carb portion (10g carbs) so it's in your diary as 1:1.

The user guide is really the course, so get yourself on it asap and let us know how it goes. I've found threads on here which clarify almost everything I had trouble getting my head around.

Jun 5, 2015

Caspar Aremi 6 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Ratio settings

I saw you've posted in the iPhone thread previously. In the app click on Settings, then Set Glucose Targets, then you can set the ratio depending on whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner or bed time. That will stick to the level you set. Changing it manually when entering diary information only changes it for that single entry.

Jun 5, 2015

Caspar Aremi 6 posts

Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise

I forgot to add - as James mentioned, splitting your BI into two doses can be a huge help. I used to take all of mine in the morning, and was often going hypo overnight, but waking up high on days i wasn't. Since splitting I've bene able to balance it and it's also reduced the total I take by over a third, because I can work out whether I'm taking too much int he morning or at night. It would definitely be worth talking about doing this with your DAFNE leaders.

It is an extra injection each day, but you'll be able to avoid night time hypos by reducing your night time insulin, and hopefully also avoid them during the day too. A carb free day will teach you if your day time one is at the right level, and then monitoring overnight with a 3am check and then what level you are at breakfast will teach you about the night time dose too.

It's one of those things I'd never have even considered without doing DAFNE! Good luck Smile

Jun 5, 2015

Caspar Aremi 6 posts

Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise

Since doing DAFNE and knowing what to look out for, I've found the same. Yesterday I skipped breakfast. I was 7.8 when I woke up. I was 18.1 a couple of hours later! An increase of 10. I know if I have breakfast and use a 1.5:1 ratio, i'm level at lunchtime.

I saw my DAFNE leader earlier this week and someone else mentioned the same thing. She suggested it was the dawn phenomenon (and the same reason many of us take a higher ratio with breakfast) - so on days we are going to skip breakfast, test with a couple of units of insulin to see if that keeps you level (but make sure you've got hypo treatment, just in case).

Before doing DAFNE I rarely tested, and rarely ate breakfast. Since doing it, and realising I need to take extra QA in the morning anyway, I've stuck to having muesli or at least belvita biscuits every morning, and now things are much more level.

Jun 4, 2015

actLiz207 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise

thanks. its good to know its not just me. I am going to check my BI dose, although I have to be careful as i tend to get night time hypos

Jun 8, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Salted Nuts I think there is about 4 grams of Carbs for every 25 grams of nuts. If you eat more than a handful that can add up and I too have found they drive my BS high. Maybe I just eat too many

Jun 8, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread Its a multiseed low GI bread - really nice

Jun 8, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Sick day rule help? Hi Jodie.....Hope you are feeling better at this stage. When you say ++ what does that mean in figures eg 2.3, 3.5 etc?

Jun 7, 2015 GemmaNicholls 1 post	Topic: General Discussion / Night time Hypo - Depression! What I find the most upsetting is going hypo just before bed, I always manage to clean my teeth and then find I'm low. I don't know if it's the hypo or the tiredness but sometimes I get really upset and I have been known to cry before now. Night time hypos are usually OK as long as I don't have to get up at 5AM for work but these are the worst for over eating for me, what I really hate is not being able to sleep all the way through the night because my BG is high and this has made me wake up needing a wee! It's probably the biggest part of Diabetes that makes me feel like I'm not a normal person!

Jun 6, 2015 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise Hi Caspar, I have split my Lantus dose for some time now, but take equal doses at bedtime and in the morning. Revisiting the course handbook, I see that the "profile" for Lantus shows a drop-off over the last few hours of it's 24 hour duration, hence the levelling effect of the split dose. I still don't understand how injecting different amounts can have an impact at different times of day when the amount of Lantus in the system is constant over the 24 hours? I can't find any mention of this in the handbook. Stew

Jun 6, 2015 khy70 3 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Cyborg Times (new BG meter) Had two sensors. Both failed within 3 days. I am afraid I won't be paying to bug test them.

Jun 6, 2015 sarahg 29 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Cyborg Times (new BG meter) Hi Phil I totally agreed with you it is amazing, and feel very lucky to be able to self fund. Have had a few sensors that have failed but abbots have been great. Just wish the subscription for 12 months was up a running or could purchase at chemists, as I a pain to remember to order and the post and packing is a pain.

Jun 6, 2015 Jodie_Ennifer2 1 post	Topic: General Discussion / Sick day rule help? Hey guys I just wanted to know what people would do earlier I had a blood glucose of 14.8 and ++ ketones I've been sick with a cold for the last week. I followed the flow chart in the hand book and on my first two hour check my blood glucose had come down to 8.1 but I stil had + ketones I had no reference for what to do in this situation so I took my next dose of TDD, would others have done the same Thanks Jodie x

Jun 5, 2015 Caspar Aremi 6 posts	Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise Hi Stew, When you split, you typically will find you're able to take a lot less - as you're able to work out exactly how much you really need. When you're taking one big batch, you can't tell how long it's lasting, if your body is absorbing a lot while you sleep, or during the day when you're active etc. I've gone from 40 a day down to 28 (and am soon to try reducing it even further) thanks to splitting it and figuring out when in the day I'm going hypo (lots of overnight and early in the morning, so my night time dosage is too low, whereas I was also previously going low later in the afternoon, which was a hint to reduce the morning dose). Your diabetes clinic/DAFNE team are the best to advise you based on your own circumstances, but without splitting I'd never have been able to work out how and when to reduce my dosage (and start abolishing those pesky night time hypos!).

Jun 5, 2015 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise Hi Caspar, I'm not sure that I understand. I thought that the point of splitting BI into two doses was to even out the effect over 24 hours. i.e. BI doses are supposed to last 24 hours, but sometimes the impact can wear off before 24 hours is up, or you can end up with more or less than your dose for a short period if you do not inject at precise 24 hour intervals. Are you suggesting that injecting different amounts of BI on your splits will vary the total amount in your system at different times of the day? Stew

Jun 5, 2015 Rafa 99 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread Hightower said: The Staffords one I eat is approximately 10g of Carbs per slice Didn't know they had low gi bread. Thanks will try this.

Jun 5, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pumps I have been using the Medtronic Paradigm Veo for the last 4 years and love it

Jun 5, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: General Discussion / DAFNE to PUMP conversion Hi David, I have completed the DAFNE Pump course here in Dublin. The general rule is that if the hypo is close to your mealtime (within 3 hrs) its usually your bolus that needs to be adjusted. If its after this time it your basal. Have you been shown how to adjust your bolus and basal settings depending on readings.

Jun 5, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: General Discussion / think I cracked dawn phenomenon Would agree with Andrew a pump is worth considering. Good results are always welcome

Jun 5, 2015 Hightower 8 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread The Staffords one I eat is approximately 10g of Carbs per slice

Jun 5, 2015 Phil Maskell 194 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Low Carb Has anyone tried a Low Carb High Fat diet? Nutritional Ketosis? https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes/ I am a keen cyclist (therfore avg to low weight for my height, this isn't to loose weight) and struggle on long rides, from about the half way point with low BG, I have to have a bar bag or pockets full of sugar, I was hoping something like this would mean I could function on less sugar, but I have also read that Low Carb is only really good for endurance sport and you loose some of the kick type power you get from glucose as an energy. Anyone tried this, any sporty people had a go? I am currently doing a more halfway house and lowering gradually my carbs, but not increasing my fat intake too much as this worries me. What are peoples thoughts, is High Fat a bad idea?

Jun 5, 2015 Phil Maskell 194 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Cyborg Times (new BG meter) I have had it since October (ish) last year, I've had a few teething troubles (Abbott have been brilliant). I had my last sensor pack up 6 days early last week (Abbott replaced it, without any issue), but this caught me off guard without a sensor for 2 days, I felt lost. I know I shouldn't, but I only really test my blood at meal times now, so gone from 10 to 15 finger prick tests a day to 3, my fingers appreciate the relief With seeing the overnight highs I have been unknowingly having my HbA1c has gone from 7.9 to 6.8 The drop in HbA1c and less finger prick test the NHS have to pay for, surely there are cost benefits? Its more of a known cost too, if it doesn't fail, they know it will cost X amount per 14 days, not a guess as to how many finger prick tests someone will need to do in a day. I love it, and will continue to pay (I justify it by the fact I don't smoke and rarely drink so why not), but would rather get it on prescription, if nothing else for the ease of being able to go into the pharmacy and collect it, rather than waiting on DPD deliveries!

Jun 5, 2015 Phil Maskell 194 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Freestyle Libre Type1Bri, I have had it since October (ish) last year, I've had a few teething troubles (Abbott have been brilliant). I had my last sensor pack up 6 days early last week (Abbott replaced it, without any issue), but this caught me off guard without a sensor for 2 days, I felt lost. I know I shouldn't, but I only really test my blood at meal times now, so gone from 10 to 15 finger prick tests a day to 3, my fingers appreciate the relief With seeing the overnight highs I ahve been unknowingly having my HbA1c has gone from 7.9 to 6.8 Hope it works for you.

Jun 5, 2015 Rafa 99 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Low GI bread Hi, the low GI bread that I eat here in Ireland is 13.5 per slice.

Jun 5, 2015 Caspar Aremi 6 posts	Topic: General Discussion / QA:CP and QA:BG? BI? Help! Hey Tans, speak to your Diabetes consultant and get on a DAFNE course! It's five days long - either all in one week, or one day a week for 5 weeks. it sounds like a lot - and I really thought there was no way there could be enough content to last so long - but it's invaluable. You do repeat a lot of stuff a couple of times, but it helps drill it in. Like you I used to just run high all the time and just thought there was nothing I could do about it, how my levels ran were a mystery. QA is quick acting. BI is background insulin. BG is blood glucose levels. CP is carb portions - usually 1 per 10grams of carbs in food. So QA:CP is the ratio of insulin to carbs you take - for most people, it's one unit of QA per 1 carb portion (10g carbs) so it's in your diary as 1:1. The user guide is really the course, so get yourself on it asap and let us know how it goes. I've found threads on here which clarify almost everything I had trouble getting my head around.

Jun 5, 2015 Caspar Aremi 6 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Ratio settings I saw you've posted in the iPhone thread previously. In the app click on Settings, then Set Glucose Targets, then you can set the ratio depending on whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner or bed time. That will stick to the level you set. Changing it manually when entering diary information only changes it for that single entry.

Jun 5, 2015 Caspar Aremi 6 posts	Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise I forgot to add - as James mentioned, splitting your BI into two doses can be a huge help. I used to take all of mine in the morning, and was often going hypo overnight, but waking up high on days i wasn't. Since splitting I've bene able to balance it and it's also reduced the total I take by over a third, because I can work out whether I'm taking too much int he morning or at night. It would definitely be worth talking about doing this with your DAFNE leaders. It is an extra injection each day, but you'll be able to avoid night time hypos by reducing your night time insulin, and hopefully also avoid them during the day too. A carb free day will teach you if your day time one is at the right level, and then monitoring overnight with a 3am check and then what level you are at breakfast will teach you about the night time dose too. It's one of those things I'd never have even considered without doing DAFNE! Good luck

Jun 5, 2015 Caspar Aremi 6 posts	Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise Since doing DAFNE and knowing what to look out for, I've found the same. Yesterday I skipped breakfast. I was 7.8 when I woke up. I was 18.1 a couple of hours later! An increase of 10. I know if I have breakfast and use a 1.5:1 ratio, i'm level at lunchtime. I saw my DAFNE leader earlier this week and someone else mentioned the same thing. She suggested it was the dawn phenomenon (and the same reason many of us take a higher ratio with breakfast) - so on days we are going to skip breakfast, test with a couple of units of insulin to see if that keeps you level (but make sure you've got hypo treatment, just in case). Before doing DAFNE I rarely tested, and rarely ate breakfast. Since doing it, and realising I need to take extra QA in the morning anyway, I've stuck to having muesli or at least belvita biscuits every morning, and now things are much more level.

Jun 4, 2015 actLiz207 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / morning blood sugar rise thanks. its good to know its not just me. I am going to check my BI dose, although I have to be careful as i tend to get night time hypos