Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Sep 8, 2014

Warwick 423 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps

Very cool. I have shared it with one of my diabetes Facebook groups.

Sep 8, 2014

Rafa 99 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian....

Hi Gareth,

Fair play well done. Out of interest what way did you split the dose please and what times etc did you take the insulin please?

Sep 8, 2014

Gareth H 12 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian....

it kind of worked lol. Still went low so i guess that i misinterpreted their carb amounts or they misprinted! I also had nachos with them which they do not print the carbs for so it made it a bit difficult. But i got through it and this morning was sat on a 5.3 so i am happy enough!

Sep 7, 2014

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian....

Good luck, and hopefully it will work first time! But... please don't be disheartened if it doesn't, and certainly don't be put off the challenge of eating what you want (my approach is to do my best, be happy when I get it right, and remember that I know how to correct when I don't!).

Sep 7, 2014

GWM 10 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps

Hi,

I've made a new version of the animation & included a video of a blood test.

You can watch it here:

http://tinyurl.com/lscnkgz

Gareth

Sep 7, 2014

Gareth H 12 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Domino's Nachos

No guide on their website for this, they have it for everything else you can order.

Does anyone have any ideas on the Carbs in these things? i don't want to guess and then find they are like pringles and im way out!

Sep 7, 2014

Gareth H 12 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian....

on the course they recommended splitting the dose for things like pizza/kebabs where the carbs are likely to be covered in grease! I am about to have pizza for the first time since the course so hoping splitting works well Smile

Sep 7, 2014

mum2westiesGill 502 posts

Topic: General Discussion / My BGs - lots of drops here

Can anyone see any trends?

Any help in identifying trends and/or advice on how to improve my control would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Sep 7, 2014

mum2westiesGill 502 posts

Topic: General Discussion / My BGs - lots of drops here

Can anyone see any trends?

Sep 6, 2014

Iffat 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Planning for a Baby...Advice Needed

Thats really useful. Thanks for your responses Razz

Sep 6, 2014

Trish Skidmore 18 posts

Topic: General Discussion / metformin

Thanks everyone your comments have been really helpful.

Sep 6, 2014

Warwick 423 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Weight lose

I discussed with my endo last week the idea of a low-carb, high fat diet, and was very surprised to hear that she had no problem with me trying it. This will be my first ever diet, so will be interesting to see how it goes. It comes from talking to other type 1 diabetics at an exercise conference a month ago, some of whom were having much better success in managing their blood glucose with it.

The details are covered in the books The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Stephen D. Phinney, and The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Jeff S. Volek (both available from Amazon). I have both on order, but have not read them yet, but once I have, I plan to try the diet.

In my case, my goal is not particularly to lose weight (losing 5-8 kg would be nice), but rather to normalise blood glucose levels as much as possible. One of the things that I hadn't really thought about was if we reduce our carbs to he minimum required, then we take less insulin, and this leads to fewer hypos and extreme highs. Something clicked when I heard this at the conference. My most extreme BG swings occur on the days that I have the most carbs, so it makes sense to reduce carbs to the minimum required to still be healthy.

The T1Ds that I was talking to who have successfully implemented this diet, are on about 45 g of carb each day. There is a period though where the person doing the diet will feel very flat for a while as the body switches from being fueled by carbs to being fueled by fat, and for that reason, it isn't a diet that has a particularly high success rate.

Something I have been trialling while waiting for the books to arrive, is reducing my carbs down to about 40g per meal, and having protein with each meal. That has been really helpful in avoiding the swings. If I decide against doing the low-carb, high fat diet, then I'll look to do a low-carb with protein diet instead.

Your body's instinct is to hold onto weight when you diet, but if you keep making small changes, and exercising while eating less, you will eventually lose weight.

Whatever you decide, do run it past your GP or endo first so that you don't miss out on essential elements in your diet. All the best with it.

Sep 6, 2014

fi 1 post

Topic: General Discussion / Weight lose

Hello everyone,
I'm after some info on the issue of weight lose while being a type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me the other day that because of my two types of insulin I'm on and another medication I'm on it is going to be harder to lose weight!!!!! ðŸ˜¡ðŸ˜¡ðŸ˜¡ðŸ˜¡ not happy so wondering if anyone else out there has the same issue. My cal intake is less than 1200 four weeks no weight lose, first two weeks I exercised every second day (5k walk) second week walk (5k) every second day alternate day I road for 6-12 klm all that and no weight lose.
Do we have to have 130grms of carbs a day?? Was thinking if I replace one meal with no carbs I shouldn't need hardly any insulin??? And if other two meals I can reduce the carbs in them it's less insulin again?? Any thoughts and comments gladly appreciate.
Regards Fi ðŸ˜ƒ

Sep 5, 2014

Warwick 423 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts

There is an option called "Before Driving" which would be better to select. Hypo Check is used more for checking blood sugars after a hypo to check that the hypo is over :-)

Stress definitely contributes to high readings. There are a few hormones such as adrenaline involved that are produced by stress which make the body more insulin resistant, and therefore more insulin is required.

I'd suggest testing a bit more often while you adjust to the new normal, and correcting where you need to. You will work out what your new insulin needs are within a short while. All the best with it.

Sep 5, 2014

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Artificial Pancreas

That's too technical for me to comment on. Let's hope the scientists who design these things have thought of that as well.

Sep 5, 2014

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / So many things to watch our for.....

If its over night then the basal is the first to look at.......

I would always suspect that basal needs adjusting as I would rather adjust it than change my ratios, but theoretically if you have tested your basal recently and you are getting a high reading before the same meal consistently, then the QA is a good bet...

Sep 5, 2014

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Artificial Pancreas

very interesting...........

I only recently discovered that our [diabetics] glucagon production actually may become hindered, at least for long term diabetics.......possibly due to the lack of communication between the aplha and beta cells over the years......

so this article should ask the question: what happens when our own alpha cells come into action and provide us with a glucose top up? will the glucagon pump still deliver? if the CGM reads a hypo, it may deliver glucagon on top of your own aplha cells glucagon, so too much glucagon leading to highs........which will be countered with insulin of course, but a waste of glucagon and insulin, no?

also CGMs take a glucose reading from the interstitial fluid, which is slightly delayed from the real time blood sugar level......will this be catered for?

Sep 5, 2014

Neville COL 23 posts

Topic: General Discussion / metformin

I ve been on metformin for about 4 years now, and it does make a difference and noticeable when I don t take it! On 500mg 3 times a day (with meals) which reduces the digestive issues! Awaiting results of first post DAFNE blood test to see if the new set up is working, as even with metformin my control was at best erratic!

Sep 5, 2014

Garry 328 posts

Topic: General Discussion / metformin

My consultant prescribed it for me some 3 years ago in an effort to reduce my insulin resistance. He told me to take anything between 500 to 3000 mg per day determined by experimentation. He told me that Metformin is probably the most widely used drug of its type with some 40 years of use by the NHS and only well known side effects.
No problems for me with it...once my bowels! and body got used to it.
Has generally reduced my QA ratios by 0.5 across the board resulting in an average TDD of QA down by 8u.
Regards
Garry

Sep 8, 2014 Warwick 423 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps Very cool. I have shared it with one of my diabetes Facebook groups.

Sep 8, 2014 Rafa 99 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian.... Hi Gareth, Fair play well done. Out of interest what way did you split the dose please and what times etc did you take the insulin please?

Sep 8, 2014 Gareth H 12 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian.... it kind of worked lol. Still went low so i guess that i misinterpreted their carb amounts or they misprinted! I also had nachos with them which they do not print the carbs for so it made it a bit difficult. But i got through it and this morning was sat on a 5.3 so i am happy enough!

Sep 7, 2014 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian.... Good luck, and hopefully it will work first time! But... please don't be disheartened if it doesn't, and certainly don't be put off the challenge of eating what you want (my approach is to do my best, be happy when I get it right, and remember that I know how to correct when I don't!).

Sep 7, 2014 GWM 10 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps Hi, I've made a new version of the animation & included a video of a blood test. You can watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/lscnkgz Gareth

Sep 7, 2014 Gareth H 12 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Domino's Nachos No guide on their website for this, they have it for everything else you can order. Does anyone have any ideas on the Carbs in these things? i don't want to guess and then find they are like pringles and im way out!

Sep 7, 2014 Gareth H 12 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pizza, chinese, indian.... on the course they recommended splitting the dose for things like pizza/kebabs where the carbs are likely to be covered in grease! I am about to have pizza for the first time since the course so hoping splitting works well

Sep 7, 2014 mum2westiesGill 502 posts	Topic: General Discussion / My BGs - lots of drops here Can anyone see any trends? Any help in identifying trends and/or advice on how to improve my control would be greatly appreciated Thank you

Sep 7, 2014 mum2westiesGill 502 posts	Topic: General Discussion / My BGs - lots of drops here Can anyone see any trends?

Sep 6, 2014 Iffat 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Planning for a Baby...Advice Needed Thats really useful. Thanks for your responses

Sep 6, 2014 Trish Skidmore 18 posts	Topic: General Discussion / metformin Thanks everyone your comments have been really helpful.

Sep 6, 2014 Warwick 423 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Weight lose I discussed with my endo last week the idea of a low-carb, high fat diet, and was very surprised to hear that she had no problem with me trying it. This will be my first ever diet, so will be interesting to see how it goes. It comes from talking to other type 1 diabetics at an exercise conference a month ago, some of whom were having much better success in managing their blood glucose with it. The details are covered in the books The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Stephen D. Phinney, and The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Jeff S. Volek (both available from Amazon). I have both on order, but have not read them yet, but once I have, I plan to try the diet. In my case, my goal is not particularly to lose weight (losing 5-8 kg would be nice), but rather to normalise blood glucose levels as much as possible. One of the things that I hadn't really thought about was if we reduce our carbs to he minimum required, then we take less insulin, and this leads to fewer hypos and extreme highs. Something clicked when I heard this at the conference. My most extreme BG swings occur on the days that I have the most carbs, so it makes sense to reduce carbs to the minimum required to still be healthy. The T1Ds that I was talking to who have successfully implemented this diet, are on about 45 g of carb each day. There is a period though where the person doing the diet will feel very flat for a while as the body switches from being fueled by carbs to being fueled by fat, and for that reason, it isn't a diet that has a particularly high success rate. Something I have been trialling while waiting for the books to arrive, is reducing my carbs down to about 40g per meal, and having protein with each meal. That has been really helpful in avoiding the swings. If I decide against doing the low-carb, high fat diet, then I'll look to do a low-carb with protein diet instead. Your body's instinct is to hold onto weight when you diet, but if you keep making small changes, and exercising while eating less, you will eventually lose weight. Whatever you decide, do run it past your GP or endo first so that you don't miss out on essential elements in your diet. All the best with it.

Sep 6, 2014 fi 1 post	Topic: General Discussion / Weight lose Hello everyone, I'm after some info on the issue of weight lose while being a type 1 diabetic. My doctor told me the other day that because of my two types of insulin I'm on and another medication I'm on it is going to be harder to lose weight!!!!! ðŸ˜¡ðŸ˜¡ðŸ˜¡ðŸ˜¡ not happy so wondering if anyone else out there has the same issue. My cal intake is less than 1200 four weeks no weight lose, first two weeks I exercised every second day (5k walk) second week walk (5k) every second day alternate day I road for 6-12 klm all that and no weight lose. Do we have to have 130grms of carbs a day?? Was thinking if I replace one meal with no carbs I shouldn't need hardly any insulin??? And if other two meals I can reduce the carbs in them it's less insulin again?? Any thoughts and comments gladly appreciate. Regards Fi ðŸ˜ƒ

Sep 5, 2014 Warwick 423 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts There is an option called "Before Driving" which would be better to select. Hypo Check is used more for checking blood sugars after a hypo to check that the hypo is over :-) Stress definitely contributes to high readings. There are a few hormones such as adrenaline involved that are produced by stress which make the body more insulin resistant, and therefore more insulin is required. I'd suggest testing a bit more often while you adjust to the new normal, and correcting where you need to. You will work out what your new insulin needs are within a short while. All the best with it.

Sep 5, 2014 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Artificial Pancreas That's too technical for me to comment on. Let's hope the scientists who design these things have thought of that as well.

Sep 5, 2014 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / So many things to watch our for..... If its over night then the basal is the first to look at....... I would always suspect that basal needs adjusting as I would rather adjust it than change my ratios, but theoretically if you have tested your basal recently and you are getting a high reading before the same meal consistently, then the QA is a good bet...

Sep 5, 2014 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Artificial Pancreas very interesting........... I only recently discovered that our [diabetics] glucagon production actually may become hindered, at least for long term diabetics.......possibly due to the lack of communication between the aplha and beta cells over the years...... so this article should ask the question: what happens when our own alpha cells come into action and provide us with a glucose top up? will the glucagon pump still deliver? if the CGM reads a hypo, it may deliver glucagon on top of your own aplha cells glucagon, so too much glucagon leading to highs........which will be countered with insulin of course, but a waste of glucagon and insulin, no? also CGMs take a glucose reading from the interstitial fluid, which is slightly delayed from the real time blood sugar level......will this be catered for?

Sep 5, 2014 Neville COL 23 posts	Topic: General Discussion / metformin I ve been on metformin for about 4 years now, and it does make a difference and noticeable when I don t take it! On 500mg 3 times a day (with meals) which reduces the digestive issues! Awaiting results of first post DAFNE blood test to see if the new set up is working, as even with metformin my control was at best erratic!

Sep 5, 2014 Garry 328 posts	Topic: General Discussion / metformin My consultant prescribed it for me some 3 years ago in an effort to reduce my insulin resistance. He told me to take anything between 500 to 3000 mg per day determined by experimentation. He told me that Metformin is probably the most widely used drug of its type with some 40 years of use by the NHS and only well known side effects. No problems for me with it...once my bowels! and body got used to it. Has generally reduced my QA ratios by 0.5 across the board resulting in an average TDD of QA down by 8u. Regards Garry