Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

May 9, 2014

Annette Bell 72 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Time zone change

I don't think that'd work as both doses are different & I'd be doing daytime things in the day so my night dose wouldn't be sufficient etc. Unfortunately I no longer live in a DAFNE area, so my diabetes nurse knows nothing about DAFNE. I'm pretty much on my own. Am hoping a DAFNE HCP might see this & help! Thanks anyway!

May 9, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Time zone change

Could you keep your BI doses on your uk time, or thereabouts? I'm not sure what the health professionals would say....discuss it with your specialist nurse, I'm sure they will be asked this a lot?

May 9, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Time off for Hospital Appmts

No, they have to allow the time off, but it is not paid time. This is because hospital appointments are usually on set days or set times, so cannot be arranged out of work hours.

May 9, 2014

Annette Bell 72 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Time zone change

I am travelling to New Zealand next February, a 29 hour total flightime, and across several time zones. I am wondering what to do about timings of my BI doses. I am using Levemir, 8 units a.m. and 6 units p.m. Can anyone advise me on this please?

May 9, 2014

Jono20201 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Time off for Hospital Appmts

Hi,

Asking this for my Dad, as I am self-employed so doesn't really apply to me.

His employer says that he is able to take time off work for hospital appointments, however it is unpaid. I know the DAA says they must give time off for you to be able to attend appointments, but does it also state that they must pay you for this time?

Thanks!

May 9, 2014

marke 686 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Basal Correction

Hi, I think you will need to provide us with more information. When do you inject your background insulin and what dose do you take. Do you inject your
background insulin one or twice a day. Also one high reading is not necessarily a problem does it happen every day ? This is why the key to DAFNE is recording
your BG before every meal and looking for patterns.
Welcome to the site by the way, its good to have graduates posting from Singapore Smile

May 9, 2014

avanella 9 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Need advise

I just graduates DAFNE from Singapore.
My BG is very high in the evening. Please advise and share your opinion.

Breakfast (9am) : 11 mmol/l
CP : 32.9g | QA : 4 +1

Lunch (1pm) : 4.4 mmol/l
CP : 47.6g | QA : 5 +1

Dinner (8pm) : 25 mmol/l
CP: | QA :

May 9, 2014

avanella 9 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Basal Correction

I just graduates DAFNE from Singapore.
My BG is very high in the evening. Please advise and share your opinion.

Breakfast (9am) : 11 mmol/l
CP : 32.9g | QA : 4 +1

Lunch (1pm) : 4.4 mmol/l
CP : 47.6g | QA : 5 +1

Dinner (8pm) : 25 mmol/l
CP: | QA :

May 9, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Diabetic jokes

D-Dose adjustment for normal eating
A-Always there from dawn 'till dusk.
F-Figure out your ratios, hypos- we must stop meeting,
N-Nearly there, carb counting's a must.
E-Eventually we can curb the cheating, and QA we can adjust.

May 8, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Buddies

Hi, I don't know if this has been mentioned before.... I have used other online websites (for weight loss) that use a buddy system. I found this really useful to have a buddy for support...those times when you need a listening ear. I know there are probably some people here who read lots of posts, but never comment. Wink

Anyway, I would Iove a buddy.... I've been diabetic 30 years, who would like to be my buddy?

Post below if you would like one too Very Happy

May 8, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / iPhone app redesign

Hi, I've just read through these posts...I'm wondering if the iPad users out there know that you can download an iPhone app onto the iPad....you just have to search in the App Store for iPhone apps. The iPad will make the app fit the screen- so may also be useful for the partially sighted people? Just a thought....

May 8, 2014

africanparsley 1 post

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / iPhone app redesign

I love this app and Dafne in general, I'm still trying to get it all to help with improved HbA1C and I hope that soon this will happen.
However, I'd like exercise to be split in 2 please - we know that resistance exercise (lifting weights) and cardio (running) affects BG differently, which results in needing different starting BGs and usually different ending ones. E.g. weights make your numbers go up so I want to start on 4-7mmol, a normal good BG and also inject either 0.5 if it's above 6 or more if I haven't had any insulin for 4+ hrs. After it's likely to go up and you may want to then inject to bring it down again. So your set up - ideal BG where the app will give you a correction - will differ to cardio, where I would like to start on 8mmol, and after 40-60 mins, it'll come down to about 4.2-6 depending on a range of things (some QA needed if no insulin for 4 hrs too).

Can we therefore add these to the options:
exercise - resistance
exercise - cardio

And also something that tells you you've not had QA for 4 hrs, as a reminder, regardless of your numbers and where they should be depending on the option you have selected.

EG. outside of exercise, I've had days where I've been 5.2 when I leave work at 5pm having had lunch at 12pm, but when I get home at 7pm, it's gone up, possibly due to stress, rushing but likely from hours of not eating and no QA.

That would also help.

Sorry this is a long winded point, couldn't work out how to put it more succintly without providing examples.

Hope this makes sense - thanks all

May 7, 2014

Warwick 425 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's

Cool. DAFNE tends to help, but it doesn't work for everyone, and sometimes a pump is the best way of managing type 1. I recommend trying to get your BG management under the best control possible, because it will help when and if you go on a pump.

Take care,
Warwick.

May 7, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Struggling with emotions

I've been diabetic for 30 years. I think because I was 6 when I was diagnosed, I was very confused, frightened, isolated and in a way kept in the dark by my parents.

The DAFNE course helped me understand better, but I feel I have issues I need to deal with. If anyone feels anything similar and would like to message me, I would be grateful x

May 7, 2014

Amanda1 1 post

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Struggling with emotions

How long have you been diabetic & was this the first DAFNE course you have been on?
I found when I was first diagnosed I had a lot of issues with emotions mainly anger & sometimes tearful, especially once I had attended DAFNE as I felt such a failure. But a year on & things are much better. It's true when they say having the knowledge helps to make things easier to manage diabetes. I found going to see my diabetic nurse & talking helped as GP's don't always have the knowledge or the time & I didn't want to be given anti-depressants.
I hope you find the help you need & wish you all the best.

May 7, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's

well i have discussed my results with my health care professionals, who think it is due to me being overly sensitive to activity (your point of how can sugars drop so low with no QA present).... i have only done mild exercise- walking for example. i do however also have insulin resistance, so could well be a combo of insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity during mild exercise. Who would have thought it could be that complicated?
I am continuing to monitor for another week- reducing my insulin ratios to avoid the hypos, and if this is still the case next week it is being suggested that i look into the insulin pump!

May 7, 2014

Warwick 425 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's

OK. Thanks for that. On Saturday at 12.07, you are 16.8. 1 hour later, you have a hypo, but according to the diary you should have almost no QA in your body as the 9 am dose will have been used up.

I note that the 1207 entry is before exercise though. Can I ask what the exercise was? I'm curious to know what would drop your BGs so quickly and so far without any QA being present.

In general, with the DAFNE approach, we aim to get your BI correct, before looking at the QA. The easiest way to do that is to check your before-bed readings with your before breakfast readings. If they differ by more than 1.5, then that tends to indicate that the BI needs changing.

Unfortunately, based on your readings so far, we can't do that as your before bed readings are high, and you then need to correct them with QA which negates the BI overnight test.

There are a couple of possibilities as to why your before bed readings are high. First, it may be that your dinner QA ratio is too low and you need to increase it. The second possibility is that your Lantus runs out before the full 24-hour period.

I found this myself when I was on Lantus. My readings would peak before bed, but increasing dinner QA would cause a hypo shortly after dinner. Switching to injecting Lantus twice a day solved the issue for me.

I suggest looking at slightly increasing your dinner ratio from 1.5:1 to 2:1. Then run a check of your BGs about 90 minutes after dinner to check that you are not dropping too low.

Doing this will either cause you to hypo after dinner, or reach bed time with good BGs (hopefully the latter). If you start getting good BGs at bed time, then we can start looking at whether your BI is at an appropriate level.

If you start having hypos after dinner, then we can look at dropping the QA dinner ratio back to what it is now and increase the BI instead, and how to split the dose so that it lasts the full 24 hours.

Cheers,
Warwick.

May 7, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's

Sorry, think that is my error with the app....I'm on 27u lantus at night and humalog QA.

May 7, 2014

Garry 328 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Fevertree Tonic Water

One fevertree is nearly 1 CP. Libby mentioned 200 ml/bottles and 3.9g/100 ml or 0.78 CP per bottle.
I'm not a Health Care Professional but personally speaking I don't worry about 1 CP between meals as the beauty of DAFNE is...eat normally...live normally...and OK so I may need make an insulin adjustment at the next meal time, that's easy to do once familar with your individual response to QA.
Regards
Garry

May 7, 2014

Faulty Headl... 18 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / How to upload diary from app to website

These are old posts so I'm sure you have figured it all out now. I can download results from laptop to phone but it doesn't always work the other way around.
to delete a result, when on the diary page on iphone click on edit at top left. then when on result you want to delete flick your finger up or down until it says delete. I'm using screen reader so might be slightly different.

just checked and I don't even think u have to click on edit. just find the result and flick

May 7, 2014

Warwick 425 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's

Hello Sharon,

Are you sure that this is correct? The reason I ask is that basal insulin usually doesn't change from day to day unless there is a special reason for it to do so, but from your diary, you took no BI on Thursday, 27+27=54 units on Friday, none on Saturday, 27 units on Sunday, 22-8=14 units on Monday.

If you can have your BI intake much the same from day to day, then it will certainly help with identifying patterns.

Also, if you can post what types of QA and BI insulin you are on, then that helps in working out how long each are likely to be active for in your body.

Thanks,
Warwick.

May 6, 2014

Sharon doodle 15 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Struggling with emotions

Hi, it seems like the DAFNE course has opened a can of worms for me. I have lots of undealt with gremlins. Gas anyone else found this? I'm going to follow it up with my gp, but I'm just wondering if there is support out there for us?

May 6, 2014

Sue Marshall 1 post

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Fevertree Tonic Water

Hi Libby. I think this is part of the whole very serious and sinister 'creep' of sugar into all our foods. It puts diabetics into a difficult position -- make a fuss with bar staff who won't really 'get it', and try to get bar managers to stock proper slimline drinks, or end up drinking in sugars that will not help us with our control. They'll also make us fat as they will probably be excess to our needs and the sugar will end up being stored as fat. It's not just fats that make us fat, but sugars too. I would suggest you try other drinks if you end up in a bar that only serves fevertree and the like. Two G&Ts with that stuff and you're up to nearly 10 carbs (or one CP if you use those exchanges). You control may not be dented too much by that, but it's another thing to have to take into consideration. If ended up pretty much stuck with white wine, as most mixers are sugary, as are many beers. It's dreadful that alcoholic drinks do not have to have carb and fat breakdowns on their labels. If they did, you could at least choose what to drink based on that info (as could everyone). It shows how much clout the drinks industry has. I rant on a bit about the 'sugar free' rubbish that gets stuck on labels as it's an actual health threat to me. I was in a pharmacy just weeks ago and they had 'sugar free' sweets on the counter. Read the label, and it was 35g of carb per 100g. OK, so that's a lot of sweets to get through, but they were NOT sugar free. When was a boiled sweet a carbohydrate. It's not called a sweet for nothing, it's full of sugar! It's not just likely to make unsuspecting diabetics have problems with their control, but it's making the population at large unwell too. So, rant rant. Read the labels. Make the choices that keep you well. And 'out' the baddies. I did not know about Fevertree. I do now. Sue

May 9, 2014 Annette Bell 72 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Time zone change I don't think that'd work as both doses are different & I'd be doing daytime things in the day so my night dose wouldn't be sufficient etc. Unfortunately I no longer live in a DAFNE area, so my diabetes nurse knows nothing about DAFNE. I'm pretty much on my own. Am hoping a DAFNE HCP might see this & help! Thanks anyway!

May 9, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Time zone change Could you keep your BI doses on your uk time, or thereabouts? I'm not sure what the health professionals would say....discuss it with your specialist nurse, I'm sure they will be asked this a lot?

May 9, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Time off for Hospital Appmts No, they have to allow the time off, but it is not paid time. This is because hospital appointments are usually on set days or set times, so cannot be arranged out of work hours.

May 9, 2014 Annette Bell 72 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Time zone change I am travelling to New Zealand next February, a 29 hour total flightime, and across several time zones. I am wondering what to do about timings of my BI doses. I am using Levemir, 8 units a.m. and 6 units p.m. Can anyone advise me on this please?

May 9, 2014 Jono20201 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Time off for Hospital Appmts Hi, Asking this for my Dad, as I am self-employed so doesn't really apply to me. His employer says that he is able to take time off work for hospital appointments, however it is unpaid. I know the DAA says they must give time off for you to be able to attend appointments, but does it also state that they must pay you for this time? Thanks!

May 9, 2014 marke 686 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Basal Correction Hi, I think you will need to provide us with more information. When do you inject your background insulin and what dose do you take. Do you inject your background insulin one or twice a day. Also one high reading is not necessarily a problem does it happen every day ? This is why the key to DAFNE is recording your BG before every meal and looking for patterns. Welcome to the site by the way, its good to have graduates posting from Singapore

May 9, 2014 avanella 9 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Need advise I just graduates DAFNE from Singapore. My BG is very high in the evening. Please advise and share your opinion. Breakfast (9am) : 11 mmol/l CP : 32.9g \| QA : 4 +1 Lunch (1pm) : 4.4 mmol/l CP : 47.6g \| QA : 5 +1 Dinner (8pm) : 25 mmol/l CP: \| QA :

May 9, 2014 avanella 9 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Basal Correction I just graduates DAFNE from Singapore. My BG is very high in the evening. Please advise and share your opinion. Breakfast (9am) : 11 mmol/l CP : 32.9g \| QA : 4 +1 Lunch (1pm) : 4.4 mmol/l CP : 47.6g \| QA : 5 +1 Dinner (8pm) : 25 mmol/l CP: \| QA :

May 9, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Diabetic jokes D-Dose adjustment for normal eating A-Always there from dawn 'till dusk. F-Figure out your ratios, hypos- we must stop meeting, N-Nearly there, carb counting's a must. E-Eventually we can curb the cheating, and QA we can adjust.

May 8, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Buddies Hi, I don't know if this has been mentioned before.... I have used other online websites (for weight loss) that use a buddy system. I found this really useful to have a buddy for support...those times when you need a listening ear. I know there are probably some people here who read lots of posts, but never comment. Anyway, I would Iove a buddy.... I've been diabetic 30 years, who would like to be my buddy? Post below if you would like one too

May 8, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / iPhone app redesign Hi, I've just read through these posts...I'm wondering if the iPad users out there know that you can download an iPhone app onto the iPad....you just have to search in the App Store for iPhone apps. The iPad will make the app fit the screen- so may also be useful for the partially sighted people? Just a thought....

May 8, 2014 africanparsley 1 post	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / iPhone app redesign I love this app and Dafne in general, I'm still trying to get it all to help with improved HbA1C and I hope that soon this will happen. However, I'd like exercise to be split in 2 please - we know that resistance exercise (lifting weights) and cardio (running) affects BG differently, which results in needing different starting BGs and usually different ending ones. E.g. weights make your numbers go up so I want to start on 4-7mmol, a normal good BG and also inject either 0.5 if it's above 6 or more if I haven't had any insulin for 4+ hrs. After it's likely to go up and you may want to then inject to bring it down again. So your set up - ideal BG where the app will give you a correction - will differ to cardio, where I would like to start on 8mmol, and after 40-60 mins, it'll come down to about 4.2-6 depending on a range of things (some QA needed if no insulin for 4 hrs too). Can we therefore add these to the options: exercise - resistance exercise - cardio And also something that tells you you've not had QA for 4 hrs, as a reminder, regardless of your numbers and where they should be depending on the option you have selected. EG. outside of exercise, I've had days where I've been 5.2 when I leave work at 5pm having had lunch at 12pm, but when I get home at 7pm, it's gone up, possibly due to stress, rushing but likely from hours of not eating and no QA. That would also help. Sorry this is a long winded point, couldn't work out how to put it more succintly without providing examples. Hope this makes sense - thanks all

May 7, 2014 Warwick 425 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's Cool. DAFNE tends to help, but it doesn't work for everyone, and sometimes a pump is the best way of managing type 1. I recommend trying to get your BG management under the best control possible, because it will help when and if you go on a pump. Take care, Warwick.

May 7, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Struggling with emotions I've been diabetic for 30 years. I think because I was 6 when I was diagnosed, I was very confused, frightened, isolated and in a way kept in the dark by my parents. The DAFNE course helped me understand better, but I feel I have issues I need to deal with. If anyone feels anything similar and would like to message me, I would be grateful x

May 7, 2014 Amanda1 1 post	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Struggling with emotions How long have you been diabetic & was this the first DAFNE course you have been on? I found when I was first diagnosed I had a lot of issues with emotions mainly anger & sometimes tearful, especially once I had attended DAFNE as I felt such a failure. But a year on & things are much better. It's true when they say having the knowledge helps to make things easier to manage diabetes. I found going to see my diabetic nurse & talking helped as GP's don't always have the knowledge or the time & I didn't want to be given anti-depressants. I hope you find the help you need & wish you all the best.

May 7, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's well i have discussed my results with my health care professionals, who think it is due to me being overly sensitive to activity (your point of how can sugars drop so low with no QA present).... i have only done mild exercise- walking for example. i do however also have insulin resistance, so could well be a combo of insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity during mild exercise. Who would have thought it could be that complicated? I am continuing to monitor for another week- reducing my insulin ratios to avoid the hypos, and if this is still the case next week it is being suggested that i look into the insulin pump!

May 7, 2014 Warwick 425 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's OK. Thanks for that. On Saturday at 12.07, you are 16.8. 1 hour later, you have a hypo, but according to the diary you should have almost no QA in your body as the 9 am dose will have been used up. I note that the 1207 entry is before exercise though. Can I ask what the exercise was? I'm curious to know what would drop your BGs so quickly and so far without any QA being present. In general, with the DAFNE approach, we aim to get your BI correct, before looking at the QA. The easiest way to do that is to check your before-bed readings with your before breakfast readings. If they differ by more than 1.5, then that tends to indicate that the BI needs changing. Unfortunately, based on your readings so far, we can't do that as your before bed readings are high, and you then need to correct them with QA which negates the BI overnight test. There are a couple of possibilities as to why your before bed readings are high. First, it may be that your dinner QA ratio is too low and you need to increase it. The second possibility is that your Lantus runs out before the full 24-hour period. I found this myself when I was on Lantus. My readings would peak before bed, but increasing dinner QA would cause a hypo shortly after dinner. Switching to injecting Lantus twice a day solved the issue for me. I suggest looking at slightly increasing your dinner ratio from 1.5:1 to 2:1. Then run a check of your BGs about 90 minutes after dinner to check that you are not dropping too low. Doing this will either cause you to hypo after dinner, or reach bed time with good BGs (hopefully the latter). If you start getting good BGs at bed time, then we can start looking at whether your BI is at an appropriate level. If you start having hypos after dinner, then we can look at dropping the QA dinner ratio back to what it is now and increase the BI instead, and how to split the dose so that it lasts the full 24 hours. Cheers, Warwick.

May 7, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's Sorry, think that is my error with the app....I'm on 27u lantus at night and humalog QA.

May 7, 2014 Garry 328 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Fevertree Tonic Water One fevertree is nearly 1 CP. Libby mentioned 200 ml/bottles and 3.9g/100 ml or 0.78 CP per bottle. I'm not a Health Care Professional but personally speaking I don't worry about 1 CP between meals as the beauty of DAFNE is...eat normally...live normally...and OK so I may need make an insulin adjustment at the next meal time, that's easy to do once familar with your individual response to QA. Regards Garry

May 7, 2014 Faulty Headl... 18 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / How to upload diary from app to website These are old posts so I'm sure you have figured it all out now. I can download results from laptop to phone but it doesn't always work the other way around. to delete a result, when on the diary page on iphone click on edit at top left. then when on result you want to delete flick your finger up or down until it says delete. I'm using screen reader so might be slightly different. just checked and I don't even think u have to click on edit. just find the result and flick

May 7, 2014 Warwick 425 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help...AWOL bm's Hello Sharon, Are you sure that this is correct? The reason I ask is that basal insulin usually doesn't change from day to day unless there is a special reason for it to do so, but from your diary, you took no BI on Thursday, 27+27=54 units on Friday, none on Saturday, 27 units on Sunday, 22-8=14 units on Monday. If you can have your BI intake much the same from day to day, then it will certainly help with identifying patterns. Also, if you can post what types of QA and BI insulin you are on, then that helps in working out how long each are likely to be active for in your body. Thanks, Warwick.

May 6, 2014 Sharon doodle 15 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Struggling with emotions Hi, it seems like the DAFNE course has opened a can of worms for me. I have lots of undealt with gremlins. Gas anyone else found this? I'm going to follow it up with my gp, but I'm just wondering if there is support out there for us?

May 6, 2014 Sue Marshall 1 post	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Fevertree Tonic Water Hi Libby. I think this is part of the whole very serious and sinister 'creep' of sugar into all our foods. It puts diabetics into a difficult position -- make a fuss with bar staff who won't really 'get it', and try to get bar managers to stock proper slimline drinks, or end up drinking in sugars that will not help us with our control. They'll also make us fat as they will probably be excess to our needs and the sugar will end up being stored as fat. It's not just fats that make us fat, but sugars too. I would suggest you try other drinks if you end up in a bar that only serves fevertree and the like. Two G&Ts with that stuff and you're up to nearly 10 carbs (or one CP if you use those exchanges). You control may not be dented too much by that, but it's another thing to have to take into consideration. If ended up pretty much stuck with white wine, as most mixers are sugary, as are many beers. It's dreadful that alcoholic drinks do not have to have carb and fat breakdowns on their labels. If they did, you could at least choose what to drink based on that info (as could everyone). It shows how much clout the drinks industry has. I rant on a bit about the 'sugar free' rubbish that gets stuck on labels as it's an actual health threat to me. I was in a pharmacy just weeks ago and they had 'sugar free' sweets on the counter. Read the label, and it was 35g of carb per 100g. OK, so that's a lot of sweets to get through, but they were NOT sugar free. When was a boiled sweet a carbohydrate. It's not called a sweet for nothing, it's full of sugar! It's not just likely to make unsuspecting diabetics have problems with their control, but it's making the population at large unwell too. So, rant rant. Read the labels. Make the choices that keep you well. And 'out' the baddies. I did not know about Fevertree. I do now. Sue