Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Apr 2, 2012

derekh1965 99 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Background Insulin

Hi,

Don't know if this is any good to anyone, but when I was diagnosed in 1995 I was put on a Humilin Soluble and Isophane mix for a year. Then in 1996 when Humalog was available in the UK I was put on it and was told only to take my long acting (BI) at dinnertime as the humalog would cover me during the day. I have followed that routine up until a year ago when I done the dafne course and was told to take the BI to cover 24 hrs, split dose. I gained 4 kilos within 4 months, lost it now through extra exercise.
I am struggling to lose weight the way I used to in the past. Used to be fairly easy.

My BS has never been a problem in the past during the day, I only high sugars at breakfast time, but I blame the Humilin I for that as they are perfect with Levermir.

I thought I don't need to have BI during the day and put my theory to the test yesterday where my BS was perfect, same ratios, 3:1 breakfast and 2:1 all other times and before bed at 12 my BS was 6.5.

I am going to see if this will help me lose the weight better.

Obviously this is just my experience and not meant to be copied.

Best regards

Derek

Apr 2, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Spikes

They results are really good to be honest, yeah you were above target after 5 hours, but not much, and considering you started off higher (7.5), the 8.2 is within most blood monitoring meters error margin. An important fact to note though is that because you considered the timing of your dose, the spike you got was significantly reduced. This is good considering damage to the micro vascular system, which is increased with up and down [yoyoing] results..............

So we want good numbers as well as minor fluctuations to those numbers...........

If your confident with you carb count the majority of the time and you still get inconsistencies, then you could consider doing some basal testing, by the hour if your up for it, as with the pump the basal dose can be tweaked by the hour, so in theory, 24 basal rates programmed in............

Keep up the good work....... Wink

Apr 2, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

Its not a lot of carbs to be honest, if you could reduce them further it would be good, but not necessarily required........

the only other way that I know to reduce insulin is exercise.................so even just working some muscles slightly will get your sensitivity down..........

Is the reservoir size on your pump similar across all available models...............?

Apr 2, 2012

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

It is unbelievably inconvenient.

Usually I have 40g CHO for breakfast 25g rolled oats, 100mL milk, golf ball size apple (90g) and 8 almonds.
A cappuccino at about 10:00am (15g CHO).
Sandwich (30g CHO in bread) with salad fillings.
For dinner a salad with protein and 30gCHO
So it is a total of between 110-120g CHO most days.

If I eat more than this I put on weight! Snacks include cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and the occasional piece of cheese! and very occasionally some raw nuts.

Apr 2, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE

Its a shame you have not been offered help, are your team aware of the extent of your phobia..............

If you can get help, and have the time, I am confident things will improve.............

And as I say, if you make your team aware, you will probably go right up the list for a pump.

Would that be something that interests you.........?

Apr 2, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

I would imagine your predicament to be quite the nuisance..............

How many carbs are you eating in a day?

Apr 2, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / raised blood sugar after hypo.

I would imagine trying hard to not treat the hypo with quick acting sugar...............there have been several occasions where I have hypoed and my pancreas had done its job as its supposed to..............not ideal or safe though as we cant guarantee that the livers stores of energy will be sufficient after instruction from the pancreas......

I think the bigger picture would be to try and avoid quick and fairly low numbers, with preference to slower onset 3-4mmol/l hypos....

Apr 2, 2012

novorapidboi26 1,816 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Big Fat Fasco

thanks for the info mate............will take a look........ Razz

Apr 1, 2012

derekh1965 99 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Big Fat Fasco

Hi,
Don;t know if anyone's interested but I just watched a video on youtube called Big Fat Fiasco by Tom Naughton who produced a Film called Fat Head.
It is a talk about how insulin causes weight gain, although there's more to it than that, among other really interesting stuff.

It is an hour long in 5 parts.
If you use firefox there is an addon called video download helper
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/, that allows you to save youtube videos to your pc if you don't want to sit on youtube.
Then if you wanted to you could join all the files using a free program called Easy Video Joiner http://www.doeasier.org/joiner/ or Boilsoft Video joiner..

Hope it is of interest to someone else.

Derek

Apr 1, 2012

Simon 574 posts

Topic: General Discussion / uploading results from iphone to PC?

Hi there,

If you turn 'Diary Upload' on in the settings page, and then save a diary entry that entry should be uploaded to the site - is this not the case?

Thanks,

Simon

Apr 1, 2012

thebatoutofhull 60 posts

Topic: General Discussion / raised blood sugar after hypo.

Can anyone tell me how to lower my BG after a hypo? When I go down to under 2mmol/l my body gives me glycogen. How do I pre-empt the resulting BG high which follows?

Apr 1, 2012

Faulty Headl... 18 posts

Topic: General Discussion / uploading results from iphone to PC?

I have no bother downloading my results from my DAFNE account on my PC to my iphone but can't get it to upload the results from my iphone ap to my PC?
Anyone else have this problem? or am I doing something wrong. Confused

Apr 1, 2012

thebatoutofhull 60 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

Hi could you give more info on the weight reduction course please. Is it pump specific? type 1 specific? hospital lead? or something you took up on your own?

Apr 1, 2012

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

Thanks. How on earth did you lose the weight and how did you top up the cartridge?
My cartridge is 2mL (200u) but after priming you lose about 15u.
Your strategy would preserve the integrity of the data!
Helen

Apr 1, 2012

mcdonald9754 1 post

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

Helen I'm an old DAFNE Grad. 2002 and went on a pump September 2011. My 3ml Reservoir fitted near enough the three day Infusion set life but on occasion I used a little more so I used to top-up the Reseivoir to give a little space. Now, i've been on a weight reduction course and using quite a bit less Insulin so I now change the infusion set but keep the part used reservoir with a new set. I dont get hypo signs very often down to beloe 1.1 on the meter but I'm quite happy. Hay Ho hopethis helps Ian.

HelenP said:
I am on largish doses of insulin (about 70u a day, down from 90+ a day pre pump) and am trying to work out a system of "changes" that impacts less on my day to day life.
I have tried:
1) 1 hours exercise (drops the insulin requirement about 5-6u over the day)
2) 1 carb free meal a day (drops the insulin 6-8u a day) but is a bit haphazard.
3) using a pen for some breakfasts. This seems to work the best I can then easily stretch the cartridge out to 3 days changing at breakfast every third day. (Much more convenient than having it walk back by about three-four hours over the three days.) However, this does interesting things to the data from the pump!

I have read on an American site that some top up their cartridge (they apparently have smaller cartridges {100u} and do it as a cost saving strategy, but I have not gone down that road.

The cartridge I use (after priming) has about 185-190u but over a three day period I need about 210u. My reason for wanting to regulate the times is more for convenience that anything else. The cost saving is a bonus. I am also reluctant to change it every two days and throw out about 50u of insulin or only partially fill the cartridge.

Anyone else in this boat?

Helen

Mar 31, 2012

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue

I am on largish doses of insulin (about 70u a day, down from 90+ a day pre pump) and am trying to work out a system of "changes" that impacts less on my day to day life.
I have tried:
1) 1 hours exercise (drops the insulin requirement about 5-6u over the day)
2) 1 carb free meal a day (drops the insulin 6-8u a day) but is a bit haphazard.
3) using a pen for some breakfasts. This seems to work the best I can then easily stretch the cartridge out to 3 days changing at breakfast every third day. (Much more convenient than having it walk back by about three-four hours over the three days.) However, this does interesting things to the data from the pump!

I have read on an American site that some top up their cartridge (they apparently have smaller cartridges {100u} and do it as a cost saving strategy, but I have not gone down that road.

The cartridge I use (after priming) has about 185-190u but over a three day period I need about 210u. My reason for wanting to regulate the times is more for convenience that anything else. The cost saving is a bonus. I am also reluctant to change it every two days and throw out about 50u of insulin or only partially fill the cartridge.

Anyone else in this boat?

Helen

Mar 31, 2012

Rupert 7 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Levemir

thanks for all your help guys, i'll see what i can do Smile

Mar 31, 2012

claire88 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE

Sorry i didnt get back to you sooner garry but thanks for your reply, i use the 4mm needles. My issues have always been about actually putting the needle in, because i can see it i know when its going to hurt (i probably sound so stupid) and i cant look away for fear that i will do it wrong, it takes a long time for me to actually inject myself and i get in such a state sweating, shaking, even crying at times if im already feeling down. Im lucky to have a supportive partner who does some of the needles for me, he sees how worked up i get and takes the pressure off me by doing maybe 1 a day. I know its all in my head but i cant escape it.

Mar 31, 2012

Garry 328 posts

Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE

If you carry no fat why not ask your Health Care Professionals if you can try shorter needles.
As I said before I use 4 mm 31 gauge, which are the shortest out there at the moment. They may help avoid muscle damage.
Regards
Garry

Mar 30, 2012

claire88 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE

Yes you are right every injection is in my legs which are very bruised and sore at the best of times, i used to use my arms but have been advised to stop this as i havent got alot of meat on them and probably hitting muscle each time.

My needle phobia does effect my quality of life and it always has, i have not been offered any help like therapy, i think this problem gets overlooked by healthcare professionals, i think a lot of people dont understand how a diabetican CAN have a fear of injecting.

Thank you for the insight about your personal corrections, I will experiment with the corrections and have noticed if my BG is 14mmol/l or over the correction doesnt work but it does under 14 so i will change the ratio for that.

I have been put forward for a pump but dont know how long the wait is, i have a great consultant who really helps and listens so hopefully wont be long.

novorapidboi26 said:
I cant begin to imagine how hard that must be for you having a phobia of needles..............

Have you had any help regarding this like therapy etc..........[I don't know what else would be available...].....?

As I don't have the phobia trying to explain that there is nothing to worry about it pointless I suppose. Has it not eased of your 21 years, the needles now, as you well know are considerably different to the ones you first encountered.....

Having a fear like this will be effecting your quality of life and therefore would qualify you for a pump, however this still requires inserting a cannula which some find a bit more invasive, so might scare you even more.......has a pump been mentioned...........

What I was saying about the corrections is that the rules you know about, the 2-3mmol/l one, will not work if your BG is above 10-11mmol/l, so you need to investigate and test to see how much 1 unit drops you when your BG is at different levels..........

For me at the extreme end of the scale, I worked out the if my BG is above 17mmol/l, 1 unit of insulin only drops me 1mmol/l, so if was 20mmol/l, which aint that often....... , I would need 15 units correction.....

Another question, where do you do your injections, I can assume with a fear of them, you may have picked one spot to use more than others, which can come with absorption problems if your not rotating.....

Mar 30, 2012

sugarplum 9 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Spikes

Thanks for this.

That's true, I can't use it to it's full potential! I was really nervous when I first got it and didn't have a clue what I was doing to be honest. I am a lot more confident now but haven't explored it more than the basics.

I was told that every young person is encouraged to go on the pump now, I am not so young (32) but as I am planning a pregnancy this probably also went towards my case. I had my eye check recently before the pump and the Optician was horrified that I was not on one and said I encourage you to get one straight away and explained about the difference he sees between patients with and without a pump. It is very unfair that different places get different services when it is something so important.

Thats really helpful what you have explained about the GI, thanks. Yes I record all my information, the pump does it too.

My readings last night post meal were:
1 hour 7.5
2 hours 8.4
3 hours 9.3
4 hours 7.9
5 hours 8.2

I do not always have them so high 5 hours later but I do not seem to have a consistant pattern. Some days I have perfect control and others I can't find an explanation as to why its risen.

Apr 2, 2012 derekh1965 99 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Background Insulin Hi, Don't know if this is any good to anyone, but when I was diagnosed in 1995 I was put on a Humilin Soluble and Isophane mix for a year. Then in 1996 when Humalog was available in the UK I was put on it and was told only to take my long acting (BI) at dinnertime as the humalog would cover me during the day. I have followed that routine up until a year ago when I done the dafne course and was told to take the BI to cover 24 hrs, split dose. I gained 4 kilos within 4 months, lost it now through extra exercise. I am struggling to lose weight the way I used to in the past. Used to be fairly easy. My BS has never been a problem in the past during the day, I only high sugars at breakfast time, but I blame the Humilin I for that as they are perfect with Levermir. I thought I don't need to have BI during the day and put my theory to the test yesterday where my BS was perfect, same ratios, 3:1 breakfast and 2:1 all other times and before bed at 12 my BS was 6.5. I am going to see if this will help me lose the weight better. Obviously this is just my experience and not meant to be copied. Best regards Derek

Apr 2, 2012 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Spikes They results are really good to be honest, yeah you were above target after 5 hours, but not much, and considering you started off higher (7.5), the 8.2 is within most blood monitoring meters error margin. An important fact to note though is that because you considered the timing of your dose, the spike you got was significantly reduced. This is good considering damage to the micro vascular system, which is increased with up and down [yoyoing] results.............. So we want good numbers as well as minor fluctuations to those numbers........... If your confident with you carb count the majority of the time and you still get inconsistencies, then you could consider doing some basal testing, by the hour if your up for it, as with the pump the basal dose can be tweaked by the hour, so in theory, 24 basal rates programmed in............ Keep up the good work.......

Apr 2, 2012 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue Its not a lot of carbs to be honest, if you could reduce them further it would be good, but not necessarily required........ the only other way that I know to reduce insulin is exercise.................so even just working some muscles slightly will get your sensitivity down.......... Is the reservoir size on your pump similar across all available models...............?

Apr 2, 2012 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue It is unbelievably inconvenient. Usually I have 40g CHO for breakfast 25g rolled oats, 100mL milk, golf ball size apple (90g) and 8 almonds. A cappuccino at about 10:00am (15g CHO). Sandwich (30g CHO in bread) with salad fillings. For dinner a salad with protein and 30gCHO So it is a total of between 110-120g CHO most days. If I eat more than this I put on weight! Snacks include cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and the occasional piece of cheese! and very occasionally some raw nuts.

Apr 2, 2012 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE Its a shame you have not been offered help, are your team aware of the extent of your phobia.............. If you can get help, and have the time, I am confident things will improve............. And as I say, if you make your team aware, you will probably go right up the list for a pump. Would that be something that interests you.........?

Apr 2, 2012 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue I would imagine your predicament to be quite the nuisance.............. How many carbs are you eating in a day?

Apr 2, 2012 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / raised blood sugar after hypo. I would imagine trying hard to not treat the hypo with quick acting sugar...............there have been several occasions where I have hypoed and my pancreas had done its job as its supposed to..............not ideal or safe though as we cant guarantee that the livers stores of energy will be sufficient after instruction from the pancreas...... I think the bigger picture would be to try and avoid quick and fairly low numbers, with preference to slower onset 3-4mmol/l hypos....

Apr 2, 2012 novorapidboi26 1,816 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Big Fat Fasco thanks for the info mate............will take a look........

Apr 1, 2012 derekh1965 99 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Big Fat Fasco Hi, Don;t know if anyone's interested but I just watched a video on youtube called Big Fat Fiasco by Tom Naughton who produced a Film called Fat Head. It is a talk about how insulin causes weight gain, although there's more to it than that, among other really interesting stuff. It is an hour long in 5 parts. If you use firefox there is an addon called video download helper https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/, that allows you to save youtube videos to your pc if you don't want to sit on youtube. Then if you wanted to you could join all the files using a free program called Easy Video Joiner http://www.doeasier.org/joiner/ or Boilsoft Video joiner.. Hope it is of interest to someone else. Derek

Apr 1, 2012 Simon 574 posts	Topic: General Discussion / uploading results from iphone to PC? Hi there, If you turn 'Diary Upload' on in the settings page, and then save a diary entry that entry should be uploaded to the site - is this not the case? Thanks, Simon

Apr 1, 2012 thebatoutofhull 60 posts	Topic: General Discussion / raised blood sugar after hypo. Can anyone tell me how to lower my BG after a hypo? When I go down to under 2mmol/l my body gives me glycogen. How do I pre-empt the resulting BG high which follows?

Apr 1, 2012 Faulty Headl... 18 posts	Topic: General Discussion / uploading results from iphone to PC? I have no bother downloading my results from my DAFNE account on my PC to my iphone but can't get it to upload the results from my iphone ap to my PC? Anyone else have this problem? or am I doing something wrong.

Apr 1, 2012 thebatoutofhull 60 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue Hi could you give more info on the weight reduction course please. Is it pump specific? type 1 specific? hospital lead? or something you took up on your own?

Apr 1, 2012 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue Thanks. How on earth did you lose the weight and how did you top up the cartridge? My cartridge is 2mL (200u) but after priming you lose about 15u. Your strategy would preserve the integrity of the data! Helen

Apr 1, 2012 mcdonald9754 1 post	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue Helen I'm an old DAFNE Grad. 2002 and went on a pump September 2011. My 3ml Reservoir fitted near enough the three day Infusion set life but on occasion I used a little more so I used to top-up the Reseivoir to give a little space. Now, i've been on a weight reduction course and using quite a bit less Insulin so I now change the infusion set but keep the part used reservoir with a new set. I dont get hypo signs very often down to beloe 1.1 on the meter but I'm quite happy. Hay Ho hopethis helps Ian. HelenP said: I am on largish doses of insulin (about 70u a day, down from 90+ a day pre pump) and am trying to work out a system of "changes" that impacts less on my day to day life. I have tried: 1) 1 hours exercise (drops the insulin requirement about 5-6u over the day) 2) 1 carb free meal a day (drops the insulin 6-8u a day) but is a bit haphazard. 3) using a pen for some breakfasts. This seems to work the best I can then easily stretch the cartridge out to 3 days changing at breakfast every third day. (Much more convenient than having it walk back by about three-four hours over the three days.) However, this does interesting things to the data from the pump! I have read on an American site that some top up their cartridge (they apparently have smaller cartridges {100u} and do it as a cost saving strategy, but I have not gone down that road. The cartridge I use (after priming) has about 185-190u but over a three day period I need about 210u. My reason for wanting to regulate the times is more for convenience that anything else. The cost saving is a bonus. I am also reluctant to change it every two days and throw out about 50u of insulin or only partially fill the cartridge. Anyone else in this boat? Helen

Mar 31, 2012 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Pump cartridge issue I am on largish doses of insulin (about 70u a day, down from 90+ a day pre pump) and am trying to work out a system of "changes" that impacts less on my day to day life. I have tried: 1) 1 hours exercise (drops the insulin requirement about 5-6u over the day) 2) 1 carb free meal a day (drops the insulin 6-8u a day) but is a bit haphazard. 3) using a pen for some breakfasts. This seems to work the best I can then easily stretch the cartridge out to 3 days changing at breakfast every third day. (Much more convenient than having it walk back by about three-four hours over the three days.) However, this does interesting things to the data from the pump! I have read on an American site that some top up their cartridge (they apparently have smaller cartridges {100u} and do it as a cost saving strategy, but I have not gone down that road. The cartridge I use (after priming) has about 185-190u but over a three day period I need about 210u. My reason for wanting to regulate the times is more for convenience that anything else. The cost saving is a bonus. I am also reluctant to change it every two days and throw out about 50u of insulin or only partially fill the cartridge. Anyone else in this boat? Helen

Mar 31, 2012 Rupert 7 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Levemir thanks for all your help guys, i'll see what i can do

Mar 31, 2012 claire88 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE Sorry i didnt get back to you sooner garry but thanks for your reply, i use the 4mm needles. My issues have always been about actually putting the needle in, because i can see it i know when its going to hurt (i probably sound so stupid) and i cant look away for fear that i will do it wrong, it takes a long time for me to actually inject myself and i get in such a state sweating, shaking, even crying at times if im already feeling down. Im lucky to have a supportive partner who does some of the needles for me, he sees how worked up i get and takes the pressure off me by doing maybe 1 a day. I know its all in my head but i cant escape it.

Mar 31, 2012 Garry 328 posts	Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE If you carry no fat why not ask your Health Care Professionals if you can try shorter needles. As I said before I use 4 mm 31 gauge, which are the shortest out there at the moment. They may help avoid muscle damage. Regards Garry

Mar 30, 2012 claire88 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / new to DAFNE Yes you are right every injection is in my legs which are very bruised and sore at the best of times, i used to use my arms but have been advised to stop this as i havent got alot of meat on them and probably hitting muscle each time. My needle phobia does effect my quality of life and it always has, i have not been offered any help like therapy, i think this problem gets overlooked by healthcare professionals, i think a lot of people dont understand how a diabetican CAN have a fear of injecting. Thank you for the insight about your personal corrections, I will experiment with the corrections and have noticed if my BG is 14mmol/l or over the correction doesnt work but it does under 14 so i will change the ratio for that. I have been put forward for a pump but dont know how long the wait is, i have a great consultant who really helps and listens so hopefully wont be long. novorapidboi26 said: I cant begin to imagine how hard that must be for you having a phobia of needles.............. Have you had any help regarding this like therapy etc..........[I don't know what else would be available...].....? As I don't have the phobia trying to explain that there is nothing to worry about it pointless I suppose. Has it not eased of your 21 years, the needles now, as you well know are considerably different to the ones you first encountered..... Having a fear like this will be effecting your quality of life and therefore would qualify you for a pump, however this still requires inserting a cannula which some find a bit more invasive, so might scare you even more.......has a pump been mentioned........... What I was saying about the corrections is that the rules you know about, the 2-3mmol/l one, will not work if your BG is above 10-11mmol/l, so you need to investigate and test to see how much 1 unit drops you when your BG is at different levels.......... For me at the extreme end of the scale, I worked out the if my BG is above 17mmol/l, 1 unit of insulin only drops me 1mmol/l, so if was 20mmol/l, which aint that often....... , I would need 15 units correction..... Another question, where do you do your injections, I can assume with a fear of them, you may have picked one spot to use more than others, which can come with absorption problems if your not rotating.....

Mar 30, 2012 sugarplum 9 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Spikes Thanks for this. That's true, I can't use it to it's full potential! I was really nervous when I first got it and didn't have a clue what I was doing to be honest. I am a lot more confident now but haven't explored it more than the basics. I was told that every young person is encouraged to go on the pump now, I am not so young (32) but as I am planning a pregnancy this probably also went towards my case. I had my eye check recently before the pump and the Optician was horrified that I was not on one and said I encourage you to get one straight away and explained about the difference he sees between patients with and without a pump. It is very unfair that different places get different services when it is something so important. Thats really helpful what you have explained about the GI, thanks. Yes I record all my information, the pump does it too. My readings last night post meal were: 1 hour 7.5 2 hours 8.4 3 hours 9.3 4 hours 7.9 5 hours 8.2 I do not always have them so high 5 hours later but I do not seem to have a consistant pattern. Some days I have perfect control and others I can't find an explanation as to why its risen.