Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Jul 25, 2014

marke 686 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Forgot BI today

Hi, I would do what you have done. Your BG will obviously go higher but it won't cause any long term damage and better to be high for a day than have a serious hypo by trying to do a BI injection now. We all forget injections from time to time, I forgot my BI earlier but fortunately it was only for 30mins. I have forgot QA doses in the past, just have to spend time getting my BG back under control when that happens.

Jul 25, 2014

Dinah 4 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Forgot BI today

Hi

I just found out that I hadn't taken my Lantus insulin this morning. I take it once a day, first thing. I expected my BG to be under 7.0 when I tested earlier but found it was 12.1. The only reason I could think of was the BI and I checked my pen lid that informed me it was 33.50mins since my last BI injection. I am nervous about taking any BI dose now (7.45pm) as it's effects will run into the next day. I have corrected my BG by adding 2units to a recent QA injection before a meal and can continue to do this before bedtime.

Any advice or suggestions?

Many thanks

Dinah

Jul 25, 2014

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics

HelenP said:
Hi, also a secondary teacher. After a particularly stressful morning and an extra playground duty I realised I was going low and sent my nerdiest kid to the canteen to get an ANZAC biscuit (very sweet...great for hypos) only to have her come back with an admonition from the canteen convener saying I was not allowed to have one as I was a diabetic. Second message to the office..."get me an ANZAC biscuit or an ambulance". Problem solved.

Helen

Does everyone know your diabetic? Its normal for most colleagues to have an idea, but the dinner lady?...seems strange.... Very Happy

Jul 25, 2014

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics

HelenP said:
Hi, also a secondary teacher. After a particularly stressful morning and an extra playground duty I realised I was going low and sent my nerdiest kid to the canteen to get an ANZAC biscuit (very sweet...great for hypos) only to have her come back with an admonition from the canteen convener saying I was not allowed to have one as I was a diabetic. Second message to the office..."get me an ANZAC biscuit or an ambulance". Problem solved.

Helen

Does everyone know your diabetic? Its normal for most colleagues to have an idea, but the dinner lady?...seems strange....

Jul 25, 2014

Warwick 425 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Dawn Phenomenon

Hi Tommo,

Very likely DP. Hot weather usually (but not always) leads to faster processing of insulin, leading to hypos so it probably isn't that, although there are always exceptions.

You could try increasing you basal insulin to compensate, but you do need to be careful of overnight hypos earlier in the night if you do that. Follow the DAFNE golden rules and only increase by 10%, or one to two units and monitor for a few days before increasing further.

Jul 25, 2014

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics

I was diagnosed at the age of 24 - a year after I got married (51 years ago). I found out a few years later, that my parents thought my diabetes was the result of my wife's cooking!

Jul 25, 2014

tommo 7 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Dawn Phenomenon

All this week my blood readings before breakfast, which is shortly after I wake up, have been ranging from 14.8 to 16.5 Is this the so-called Dawn Phenomenon or is it down to the very hot weather. Normally I wake to readings of 4.5 to 8.9. It is worrying but more to my wife than to me at present. My night time insulin is 4 units of Insulatard. I should be grateful for any advise anyone can offer please.

Jul 25, 2014

Muna A H 34 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics

Strong message Laughing

Jul 25, 2014

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics

Hi, also a secondary teacher. After a particularly stressful morning and an extra playground duty I realised I was going low and sent my nerdiest kid to the canteen to get an ANZAC biscuit (very sweet...great for hypos) only to have her come back with an admonition from the canteen convener saying I was not allowed to have one as I was a diabetic. Second message to the office..."get me an ANZAC biscuit or an ambulance". Problem solved.

Helen

Jul 24, 2014

GWM 10 posts

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

Hi Marke,

I kept having those lancet caps left rolling around & wondered if they could be put to work in some way.

Where did I find the time? I'm doing an MA in Drawing on the application of drawing for communication of scientific & medical concepts, particularly around diabetes. The animation took a little over a week to do & I am now going to remake an improved, hopefully smoother version. . .

Thanks for your help,

Gareth

Jul 23, 2014

marke 686 posts

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

Hi, I changed your post so the link can be clicked. My initial comment is where did you get the time to do it Crying or Very sad

It's very good and a different approach, although I'm not sure people would realise they were lancet caps unless you told us

Jul 23, 2014

Muna A H 34 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics

Thanks Vickyp. Yes, sometimes when I have hypos and start eating sugary food especially at work, I need to explain to other teachers the reason behind this...It is annoying.

I also used to have more hypos but since I attended the DAFNE program, my levels got better Smile

Jul 22, 2014

GWM 10 posts

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

Hi,

I have made a short animation about blood glucose control using the round protective lancet caps from blood tests amassed over several years. You can see the movie by following the link below.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97278293@N03/14513951500/in/photostream/

I am in the process of remaking the video & would appreciate any feedback.

Do you think this sort or animation could be helpful in helping people learn about blood glucose control. Would it have helped you? How could it be improved? Or any other comments. . .

Thanks,

Gareth

Jul 22, 2014

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales

The carbs and cals app is excellent - I have it on my iPhone 4S. It's not perfect though - unless you regularly download the images (I don't, as I have memory issues - mainly the phone!) it can be problematic when you don't have Wi-Fi or 3G available at the time you want to use it. When you do have Wi-Fi / 3G, the app has an annoying habit of updating ("this may take a few minutes") before it lets you in. Although it usually only takes a few seconds it can be frustrating if you want to eat NOW! That said, I still wouldn't be without it.

Stew

Jul 22, 2014

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales

The carbs and cals app is excellent - I have it on my iPhone 4S. It's not perfect though - unless you regularly download the images (I don't, as I have memory issues - mainly the phone!) it can be problematic when you don't have Wi-Fi or 3G available at the time you want to use it. When you do have Wi-Fi / 3G, the app has an annoying habit of updating ("this may take a few minutes") before it lets you in. Although it usually only takes a few seconds it can be frustrating if you want to eat NOW! That said, I still wouldn't be without it.

Stew

Jul 21, 2014

Gerryvbc 3 posts

Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales

Thanks everyone, I have ordered a set of scales.

I understand that the Carbs/Cals booklet is available as an App. I've resisted getting a smart phone up to now, but that might just tip the balance if you'll excuse the pun!

Jul 21, 2014

Kim Dyos 3 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource?

Thanks all for replies. Education is offered in my area only three times a year, if you can do all day Thursday for some weeks, during term time. As a seasonal lecturer with a child in infant school, I can't make the very occasional courses run in this area. I have now secured a one to one education, but it is much reduced, and I have had to fight tooth and nail for it!

Jul 20, 2014

marke 686 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource?

hi, DAFNE and DAFNEOnline are two separate things. I can give a personal point of view from DAFNEOnline and I'm sure Simon will say if he disagrees with me. As far as DAFNE goes you would need to ask them at www,dafne,uk.com.
So my view is DAFNEOnline is a graduate run website for graduates and so we give up all our time and effort free of charge to help other graduates. Carbs and Cals is a charged for service that I assume is run to make a profit. I am not keen on charging people for things that I believe should be provided for free by either the NHS or us. I'm not even happy about graduates having to pay for paper diaries from the website above, but there is nothing I can do about it.
I'm not sure DAFNEOnline should be providing a free service to an app that is charged for. I think if you want this added to the app you should request it from the developers. If they want to do this that's fine, we are happy for people to use any service they find gives them the best facilities.DAFNEOnline will always be free.

Jul 20, 2014

Nat-Sav 15 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Corn on the cob

This is why we need DAFNE Smile

. When it comes to working out QA, carbohydrate info from packets/carbs&cals is not always a sufficient guide on its own. I would get things so wrong without DAFNE training: I now know that nuts, veg, cherries, pulses etc. need to be considered carefully.

Jul 20, 2014

Nat-Sav 15 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource?

I have just downloaded the Carbs & Cals app (Android version). It's much more comprehensive than I expected - it has a personalised diabetes section where you can record pretty much everything: BG, QA, BI, CPs, exercise - all in DAFNE format! (CPs it can record for you, if you go on each food and 'add to meal'; exercise you can specify time, duration and type from a very exhaustive list.)

However it doesn't yet have a back-up facility or a sharing facility. So if you are relying it to keep all your records, and something goes wrong, you're a bit stuck.

I wonder if it's possible for someone from DAFNE to liaise with Carbs&Cals so that the info we record on the Carbs&Cals app can be integrated with DAFNE online? This would make it so much more practical. I can't really repeat each record manually a second time.

Jul 20, 2014

Nat-Sav 15 posts

Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales

I find the Nutriscales useful too. But I tend to use the carb-counting feature only if my food doesn't come with sufficient nutritional info of it's own, because that is usually more accurate.

Jul 20, 2014

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Nutritional Values on package food

I have a credit card sized magnifier (with a built-in light!) which I keep in my wallet for reading those pesky tiny-text nutrition details!

Stew

Jul 19, 2014

marke 686 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource?

Hi, I'm curious which area you are in as its a requirement of all CCG's and Trusts to provide Diabetes Education. It is part of what they are assessed on and what they get paid for. If they are not providing it then that is an issue, however it maybe people not telling you the whole truth as its easier fir them not to refer you.

Jul 25, 2014 marke 686 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Forgot BI today Hi, I would do what you have done. Your BG will obviously go higher but it won't cause any long term damage and better to be high for a day than have a serious hypo by trying to do a BI injection now. We all forget injections from time to time, I forgot my BI earlier but fortunately it was only for 30mins. I have forgot QA doses in the past, just have to spend time getting my BG back under control when that happens.

Jul 25, 2014 Dinah 4 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Forgot BI today Hi I just found out that I hadn't taken my Lantus insulin this morning. I take it once a day, first thing. I expected my BG to be under 7.0 when I tested earlier but found it was 12.1. The only reason I could think of was the BI and I checked my pen lid that informed me it was 33.50mins since my last BI injection. I am nervous about taking any BI dose now (7.45pm) as it's effects will run into the next day. I have corrected my BG by adding 2units to a recent QA injection before a meal and can continue to do this before bedtime. Any advice or suggestions? Many thanks Dinah

Jul 25, 2014 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics HelenP said: Hi, also a secondary teacher. After a particularly stressful morning and an extra playground duty I realised I was going low and sent my nerdiest kid to the canteen to get an ANZAC biscuit (very sweet...great for hypos) only to have her come back with an admonition from the canteen convener saying I was not allowed to have one as I was a diabetic. Second message to the office..."get me an ANZAC biscuit or an ambulance". Problem solved. Helen Does everyone know your diabetic? Its normal for most colleagues to have an idea, but the dinner lady?...seems strange....

Jul 25, 2014 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics HelenP said: Hi, also a secondary teacher. After a particularly stressful morning and an extra playground duty I realised I was going low and sent my nerdiest kid to the canteen to get an ANZAC biscuit (very sweet...great for hypos) only to have her come back with an admonition from the canteen convener saying I was not allowed to have one as I was a diabetic. Second message to the office..."get me an ANZAC biscuit or an ambulance". Problem solved. Helen Does everyone know your diabetic? Its normal for most colleagues to have an idea, but the dinner lady?...seems strange....

Jul 25, 2014 Warwick 425 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Dawn Phenomenon Hi Tommo, Very likely DP. Hot weather usually (but not always) leads to faster processing of insulin, leading to hypos so it probably isn't that, although there are always exceptions. You could try increasing you basal insulin to compensate, but you do need to be careful of overnight hypos earlier in the night if you do that. Follow the DAFNE golden rules and only increase by 10%, or one to two units and monitor for a few days before increasing further.

Jul 25, 2014 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics I was diagnosed at the age of 24 - a year after I got married (51 years ago). I found out a few years later, that my parents thought my diabetes was the result of my wife's cooking!

Jul 25, 2014 tommo 7 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Dawn Phenomenon All this week my blood readings before breakfast, which is shortly after I wake up, have been ranging from 14.8 to 16.5 Is this the so-called Dawn Phenomenon or is it down to the very hot weather. Normally I wake to readings of 4.5 to 8.9. It is worrying but more to my wife than to me at present. My night time insulin is 4 units of Insulatard. I should be grateful for any advise anyone can offer please.

Jul 25, 2014 Muna A H 34 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics Strong message

Jul 25, 2014 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics Hi, also a secondary teacher. After a particularly stressful morning and an extra playground duty I realised I was going low and sent my nerdiest kid to the canteen to get an ANZAC biscuit (very sweet...great for hypos) only to have her come back with an admonition from the canteen convener saying I was not allowed to have one as I was a diabetic. Second message to the office..."get me an ANZAC biscuit or an ambulance". Problem solved. Helen

Jul 24, 2014 GWM 10 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps Hi Marke, I kept having those lancet caps left rolling around & wondered if they could be put to work in some way. Where did I find the time? I'm doing an MA in Drawing on the application of drawing for communication of scientific & medical concepts, particularly around diabetes. The animation took a little over a week to do & I am now going to remake an improved, hopefully smoother version. . . Thanks for your help, Gareth

Jul 23, 2014 marke 686 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps Hi, I changed your post so the link can be clicked. My initial comment is where did you get the time to do it It's very good and a different approach, although I'm not sure people would realise they were lancet caps unless you told us

Jul 23, 2014 Muna A H 34 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Non Diabetics Thanks Vickyp. Yes, sometimes when I have hypos and start eating sugary food especially at work, I need to explain to other teachers the reason behind this...It is annoying. I also used to have more hypos but since I attended the DAFNE program, my levels got better

Jul 22, 2014 GWM 10 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Blood glucose animation using protective lancet caps Hi, I have made a short animation about blood glucose control using the round protective lancet caps from blood tests amassed over several years. You can see the movie by following the link below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/97278293@N03/14513951500/in/photostream/ I am in the process of remaking the video & would appreciate any feedback. Do you think this sort or animation could be helpful in helping people learn about blood glucose control. Would it have helped you? How could it be improved? Or any other comments. . . Thanks, Gareth

Jul 22, 2014 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales The carbs and cals app is excellent - I have it on my iPhone 4S. It's not perfect though - unless you regularly download the images (I don't, as I have memory issues - mainly the phone!) it can be problematic when you don't have Wi-Fi or 3G available at the time you want to use it. When you do have Wi-Fi / 3G, the app has an annoying habit of updating ("this may take a few minutes") before it lets you in. Although it usually only takes a few seconds it can be frustrating if you want to eat NOW! That said, I still wouldn't be without it. Stew

Jul 22, 2014 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales The carbs and cals app is excellent - I have it on my iPhone 4S. It's not perfect though - unless you regularly download the images (I don't, as I have memory issues - mainly the phone!) it can be problematic when you don't have Wi-Fi or 3G available at the time you want to use it. When you do have Wi-Fi / 3G, the app has an annoying habit of updating ("this may take a few minutes") before it lets you in. Although it usually only takes a few seconds it can be frustrating if you want to eat NOW! That said, I still wouldn't be without it. Stew

Jul 21, 2014 Gerryvbc 3 posts	Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales Thanks everyone, I have ordered a set of scales. I understand that the Carbs/Cals booklet is available as an App. I've resisted getting a smart phone up to now, but that might just tip the balance if you'll excuse the pun!

Jul 21, 2014 Kim Dyos 3 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource? Thanks all for replies. Education is offered in my area only three times a year, if you can do all day Thursday for some weeks, during term time. As a seasonal lecturer with a child in infant school, I can't make the very occasional courses run in this area. I have now secured a one to one education, but it is much reduced, and I have had to fight tooth and nail for it!

Jul 20, 2014 marke 686 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource? hi, DAFNE and DAFNEOnline are two separate things. I can give a personal point of view from DAFNEOnline and I'm sure Simon will say if he disagrees with me. As far as DAFNE goes you would need to ask them at www,dafne,uk.com. So my view is DAFNEOnline is a graduate run website for graduates and so we give up all our time and effort free of charge to help other graduates. Carbs and Cals is a charged for service that I assume is run to make a profit. I am not keen on charging people for things that I believe should be provided for free by either the NHS or us. I'm not even happy about graduates having to pay for paper diaries from the website above, but there is nothing I can do about it. I'm not sure DAFNEOnline should be providing a free service to an app that is charged for. I think if you want this added to the app you should request it from the developers. If they want to do this that's fine, we are happy for people to use any service they find gives them the best facilities.DAFNEOnline will always be free.

Jul 20, 2014 Nat-Sav 15 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Corn on the cob This is why we need DAFNE . When it comes to working out QA, carbohydrate info from packets/carbs&cals is not always a sufficient guide on its own. I would get things so wrong without DAFNE training: I now know that nuts, veg, cherries, pulses etc. need to be considered carefully.

Jul 20, 2014 Nat-Sav 15 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource? I have just downloaded the Carbs & Cals app (Android version). It's much more comprehensive than I expected - it has a personalised diabetes section where you can record pretty much everything: BG, QA, BI, CPs, exercise - all in DAFNE format! (CPs it can record for you, if you go on each food and 'add to meal'; exercise you can specify time, duration and type from a very exhaustive list.) However it doesn't yet have a back-up facility or a sharing facility. So if you are relying it to keep all your records, and something goes wrong, you're a bit stuck. I wonder if it's possible for someone from DAFNE to liaise with Carbs&Cals so that the info we record on the Carbs&Cals app can be integrated with DAFNE online? This would make it so much more practical. I can't really repeat each record manually a second time.

Jul 20, 2014 Nat-Sav 15 posts	Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Nutrition Scales I find the Nutriscales useful too. But I tend to use the carb-counting feature only if my food doesn't come with sufficient nutritional info of it's own, because that is usually more accurate.

Jul 20, 2014 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Nutritional Values on package food I have a credit card sized magnifier (with a built-in light!) which I keep in my wallet for reading those pesky tiny-text nutrition details! Stew

Jul 19, 2014 marke 686 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Good carb counting resource? Hi, I'm curious which area you are in as its a requirement of all CCG's and Trusts to provide Diabetes Education. It is part of what they are assessed on and what they get paid for. If they are not providing it then that is an issue, however it maybe people not telling you the whole truth as its easier fir them not to refer you.