Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

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 425 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 425 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 4, 2014

Trish Skidmore 18 posts

Topic: General Discussion / metformin

Thank you stephen

Sep 4, 2014

Craigw 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts

Hi there,

Sleep aint the best as my daughter aint well atm, and my hypo checks are before I drive home at night from work to ensure im safe to drive! Other entries are to check readings to ensure my blood is going in the right direction not specifically hypo checks!!

Sep 4, 2014

stephenbrowne 37 posts

Topic: General Discussion / metformin

Hi Trish,
I have not personally taken metformin but before my retirement I worked in the NHS and used to work in a diabetes clinic where I encountered patients with type 1 diabetes who were treated with metformin in addition to insulin. Metformin is not always easy to take on account of side effects such as feeling sick, reduced appetite or loose bowels and abdominal discomfort . However once one gets used to it side effects seem less prominent. It definitely seems to improve blood sugars. It tends to increase one's sensitivity to insulin and lower morning fasting blood sugars by reducing the amount of glucose released from the liver in the early hours. It can help to avoid the vicious cycle of increasing insulin dosage leading to increased weight gain leading to increased blood sugars etc etc. I do hope you will find it a help.

Sep 4, 2014

Warwick 425 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts

How is your sleep? I'm guessing it's less than usual? I find that lack of sleep does affect the ability of my BGs. And kids in general give me some pretty bad hypos. You have a lot of hypo checks recorded without hypos recorded before them. Is the diary missing some entries? E.g. 1727 on 02/09, 1548 and 1730 on 03/09, 1020 on 04/09...

Sep 4, 2014

Craigw 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts

The past 5 weeks since I have had a new arrival in the family my bloods have been going nuts recently with no changes to my habits with eating and injecting and correcting high readings, not sure if stress attributes to high readings as well. Attached is a 3 day period of readings, looking for any advice as my bloods have been great up until the past 5 weeks as I said.

Thanks

Craig

Sep 4, 2014

alturn 78 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Anti-histamine and BG

I've been taking Piriton (which I believe is an anti-histamine) as got bitten by insect unknown on legs, body & arms. One of these swelled up to about 1" diameter. There was no sign of infection when checked by nurse. This also occurred in 2013, first summer since moving to current house. I used to get bitten, mainly around the ankles but no swelling.

My BG levels sometimes seem to rise (up to 12-14 range) for a while when taking Piriton and treating the bites with a cream.

I was wondering if any others have similar issues with Piriton or similar medications?

Sep 3, 2014

Trish Skidmore 18 posts

Topic: General Discussion / metformin

Hi, as anyone been prescribed metformin to take as well as insulin, I'm type 1 and been diabetic for 20 yrs and my sugars have been running high so I have been prescribed metformin to take with my insulin.

Sep 2, 2014

Phil Maskell 194 posts

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

If you're having problems I would make sure basal is correct first, zero or v. low carb day of testing (plus the dreaded overnight/3am tests), BG should hold steady, once this is dialled in you can play with QA and ratios, without that you could be going up or down due to basal and not know.


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 425 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 425 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 4, 2014 Trish Skidmore 18 posts	Topic: General Discussion / metformin Thank you stephen

Sep 4, 2014 Craigw 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts Hi there, Sleep aint the best as my daughter aint well atm, and my hypo checks are before I drive home at night from work to ensure im safe to drive! Other entries are to check readings to ensure my blood is going in the right direction not specifically hypo checks!!

Sep 4, 2014 stephenbrowne 37 posts	Topic: General Discussion / metformin Hi Trish, I have not personally taken metformin but before my retirement I worked in the NHS and used to work in a diabetes clinic where I encountered patients with type 1 diabetes who were treated with metformin in addition to insulin. Metformin is not always easy to take on account of side effects such as feeling sick, reduced appetite or loose bowels and abdominal discomfort . However once one gets used to it side effects seem less prominent. It definitely seems to improve blood sugars. It tends to increase one's sensitivity to insulin and lower morning fasting blood sugars by reducing the amount of glucose released from the liver in the early hours. It can help to avoid the vicious cycle of increasing insulin dosage leading to increased weight gain leading to increased blood sugars etc etc. I do hope you will find it a help.

Sep 4, 2014 Warwick 425 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts How is your sleep? I'm guessing it's less than usual? I find that lack of sleep does affect the ability of my BGs. And kids in general give me some pretty bad hypos. You have a lot of hypo checks recorded without hypos recorded before them. Is the diary missing some entries? E.g. 1727 on 02/09, 1548 and 1730 on 03/09, 1020 on 04/09...

Sep 4, 2014 Craigw 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood Sugars Going Nuts The past 5 weeks since I have had a new arrival in the family my bloods have been going nuts recently with no changes to my habits with eating and injecting and correcting high readings, not sure if stress attributes to high readings as well. Attached is a 3 day period of readings, looking for any advice as my bloods have been great up until the past 5 weeks as I said. Thanks Craig

Sep 4, 2014 alturn 78 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Anti-histamine and BG I've been taking Piriton (which I believe is an anti-histamine) as got bitten by insect unknown on legs, body & arms. One of these swelled up to about 1" diameter. There was no sign of infection when checked by nurse. This also occurred in 2013, first summer since moving to current house. I used to get bitten, mainly around the ankles but no swelling. My BG levels sometimes seem to rise (up to 12-14 range) for a while when taking Piriton and treating the bites with a cream. I was wondering if any others have similar issues with Piriton or similar medications?

Sep 3, 2014 Trish Skidmore 18 posts	Topic: General Discussion / metformin Hi, as anyone been prescribed metformin to take as well as insulin, I'm type 1 and been diabetic for 20 yrs and my sugars have been running high so I have been prescribed metformin to take with my insulin.

Sep 2, 2014 Phil Maskell 194 posts	Topic: General Discussion / So many things to watch our for..... If you're having problems I would make sure basal is correct first, zero or v. low carb day of testing (plus the dreaded overnight/3am tests), BG should hold steady, once this is dialled in you can play with QA and ratios, without that you could be going up or down due to basal and not know.