Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Jul 14, 2011

MelissaF 56 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / No change to HbA1c

Hi Chchch,

Thanks for your post. I've been trying really hard and my day to day results are a lot better but I haven't had my HbA1c tested for months so I can only hope that it's reflected in that (although it didn't seem to be last time). My hospital are adamant that they won't test more than every 3 months but I have an appointment coming up in the next couple of months so I'm sure that I will be allowed a test then. After the disappointment of my last test, I'm concentrating more on my daily results and just trying to get them as good as I can. I don't want to start worrying if my HbA1c isn't as good as I want it to be as a I don't really have the luxury of delaying conception for too much longer because of my age.

I haven't really been offered any specialist pre-conception advice unfortunately although one of the diabetes midwives did offer her services as a contact if I needed her. I think that this was more an act of kindness than a professional strategy though. It's a shame really as I think that it's really important and would probably help a lot of people.

How are things going on the pump? Are you really finding it OK? I still really hate the idea although anything that improves your health should really be an appealing thing I think.

Are you using it for pre-conception purposes too? Do you think that it's helping and how long would you be planning on using it for? Would this be your first baby?

It's interesting that you say that your hospital say that you don't seem to be getting the results that you deserve with the amount of work that you put in. This is kind of how I feel about my situation as well. I wonder if it's just something to do with our bodies and how the diabetes affects us in particular or whether the knowledge that's imparted from the DAFNE course can sometimes work against you. I'm ofter guilty of over-correcting for instance which then leads to yo-yoing between highs and lows instead of more stable results. What do you find?

Melissa xx

Jul 14, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

thats a valuable bit of info in terms of the Lantus action, now you will know how long to wait before seeing an effect of any change...........

good luck with the job hunt............

Jul 14, 2011

MrGreenYeti 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

Just figured I should update this. I didn't do anything to the Lantus, like I said I would. Which was probably the right idea. because the day after I said I would change it, but didn't, my BG in the morning was 7.4. Then at lunch it was 8.3. it used always be above 12. It's been around 6-10 at lunch now. Which is better then it was. But still a bit on the high side, maybe?
Which means the Lantus take about 4 days to have an effect on me.

I'm fine with going to bed late, and getting up late, as I do want to get a night time job. So, if I started getting up early again, it would make it harder to stay up late.

Jul 11, 2011

sarahg 29 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries

sarahg said:
Hi thanks for this i have been doing the DAFNE thing for over a year now and really happy with the way things are going until this week had a bowl of cherries for dinner did not find the carb on the DAFNE list, so looked on line injected as the advice from the carb counter i found on line (for 2.5 CP as the weight was a fair amount). BG fine when went to bed then 2 hours later had horrible hypo should have looked here first. i shall look as this advice page from now on first thank you

hi big thank you to ever one who replied Very Happy

Jul 11, 2011

Athena 52 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Menstrual Cycle New Course Book

Hi All,

See the reply from Carolin the DAFNE Educators chair. They are going to add something about this to the next course book when it is developed, and also hope to give some guidelines to add to the course to DAFNE educators in the meantime. Isn't this brilliant news! All our discussions on line have been ntoed and are now being acted on. Fantastic, I am just so pleased. Very Happy

Jul 11, 2011

Athena 52 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Menstrual Cycle, BI

Carolin, can't thank you enough for this. It is great to see that people are really caring about our concerns. It will be brilliant if future participants are alerted to this problem . I know not everyone experinces it, but lots of us do and give up thinking they just can't get the hang of DAFNE. I understand that things can't jsut change magically overnight, but changes to the course book in the coming years wou ld be great.

THANK YOU!

Jul 11, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets

I believe if its says sugar free there should be no sugar, but sometimes this means no additional sugar to whats there already in the form or carbohydrate...........

its all about the carb content...............

Jul 11, 2011

chrisinbrum 41 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries

Does 'proper fresh' mean you personally pick fruit from the trees or bushes?! Well I do on my allotment, as well as buying fruit in supermarkets when I want to; that way I can check the CP value of what I'm eating!
It's not really helpful to a discussion on the CP value/injecting for cherries to criticise what you 'think' my shopping habits are, is it??
Don't buy them if you don't want, but there's no harm in having a look at the label while they're on the shelf if you want to is there?

The point I was trying to make is that I've found that I need to inject for some foods that DAFNE says I shouldn't need to, so I confirm what the CP value is and take the appropriate QA - I've found what works for me, other people might need to do the same Smile

Jul 10, 2011

ang78 12 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets

Thats what I thought to be honest. Think I will just stick with my Toffee Crisp!!

Jul 10, 2011

maria51 22 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets

Carb content comes first. I buy "sugar free" sweets which contain 0.0 carbs & 0.1 sugars. If the sweets you're looking at as you say have high carb contents, I personally don't think it's worth it Angela.
Another thought is; When injecting for sweets, does the sugar "fix" stay in your system very long & would your BG go low after a short time? This happens to me when I have the odd chocolate treat.

Jul 10, 2011

ang78 12 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets

Having a sweet tooth, I have found a online shop selling sugar free sweets. They advertise as suitable for diabetics but i'm a bit confused. Looking at the nutritional information, they still have a pretty high carb content per 100g (the 'of which is sugars' bit is low though). Which figure is it that i look at for working out insulin needs? And if its the first high number, is it worth buying sugar free? I hope someone understands what i'm trying to say because i think i've even confused myself!!!!

Angela

Jul 9, 2011

ClaireH 14 posts

Topic: General Discussion / nightshift

I stopped doing nights as a Midwife as my diabetes was always poor. I was referred to occupational health and they stopped me. Apparently all endocrine conditions are affected by night shifts and the 2 month run I did when I became ill really messed me up Sad

Jul 9, 2011

ClaireH 14 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Metformin /Type 1

Simon Heller said:
The evidence that metformin makes a difference in Type 1 diabetes is not strong but some professionals use it to reduce insulin dose, weight gain etc There is some evidence of benefit for PCOS. It appears to be very safe but with some pretty unpleasant side effects of diarrhoea, abdo pain and anorexia for some people! The slow release preparation is better tolerated generally.
Simon

Ive recently been asked to commence metformin for insulin resistance and heart benefits?

Jul 8, 2011

Linda S123 8 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Metformin /Type 1

Hi,

I was advised to start the metformin to increase sensitivity and as a side bonus may also lose weight. Been ID diabetic for 40 years so insulin slowing down, apparantly. Been on a week now and have noticed all BG results much better and quite steady, but went quite low (2.9)
at 5pm today. Have had a couple of lower that normal results so going to reduce background Levemir in morning by couple units and monitor. Going to do carb free lunch tomorrow and check teatime results

Jul 8, 2011

meltow 78 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries

There's fresh, ...................and there's proper fresh Exclamation

Jul 8, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries

from where, stuff in tubs are fresh are they not............?

Jul 8, 2011

meltow 78 posts

Topic: General Discussion / nightshift

Isn't nightshift, life turned upside down? Confused

Jul 8, 2011

meltow 78 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries

Sorry, but any fruit/veg bought in labelled punnets is a complete NO NO! Just yuk....
For heavens sake, can't you buy fresh, hand picked and get them weighed?
Please, please resist all these wrapped/packaged/regurgitated F&V
My stress levels are off the richter scale, thanks to some of the comments on here! Wink

Jul 8, 2011

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Thyroxine side effects

Maria, thanks for that. There's nothing on the website of the makers of my tablets and I had problems using the website address in your posting. I'm beginning to think that the warning on the leaflet is just put there to cover the makers against any sort of comeback.

I suppose that being DAFNE-trained, our 'diabetic treatment' is altered every mealtime. I'm glad that the Thyroxine has not affected you and I also find it re-assuring. Once again, thanks.

Alan

Jul 8, 2011

Chchch 17 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / No change to HbA1c

The idea is that as soon as you start making changes and bringing your overall levels down, this will be reflected in your a1c within a few weeks. You are absolutely right about it being only a test though - I still find that too much emphasis is placed on A1Cs (especially by consultants) and that even a decent a1c can mask widely differing blood glucose results on a daily basis.

Jul 8, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / nightshift

not done night shift for many years but I know it didn't do me any favours, however that was pre dafne........

as long as your background insulin is doing its job you should be fine, rotating shift patterns from day to night might confuse the liver I suppose which might mean your are constantly tweaking your background dose to keep up.........

also rushing about, which you may do as a nurse might need to be considered, so keeping some hypo resolve on you might be wise too..............

have fun............. Smile

Jul 8, 2011

maria51 22 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Thyroxine side effects

Alan, I've been taking Thyroxine pre & post Type 1. My GP, Endo & Dafne team all know I'm on it & have never mentioned altering diabetic treatment. I'll be asking them about it on my next appointment. As far as I can tell, Thyroxine has had no affect on me & diabetes.
The company that makes mine is Sigma & they have a website for consumer medicine information: www.sigmaco.com.au/prescription.cfm or your Thyroxine box may have info on it to a website in the UK.

Cheers, Maria

Jul 14, 2011 MelissaF 56 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / No change to HbA1c Hi Chchch, Thanks for your post. I've been trying really hard and my day to day results are a lot better but I haven't had my HbA1c tested for months so I can only hope that it's reflected in that (although it didn't seem to be last time). My hospital are adamant that they won't test more than every 3 months but I have an appointment coming up in the next couple of months so I'm sure that I will be allowed a test then. After the disappointment of my last test, I'm concentrating more on my daily results and just trying to get them as good as I can. I don't want to start worrying if my HbA1c isn't as good as I want it to be as a I don't really have the luxury of delaying conception for too much longer because of my age. I haven't really been offered any specialist pre-conception advice unfortunately although one of the diabetes midwives did offer her services as a contact if I needed her. I think that this was more an act of kindness than a professional strategy though. It's a shame really as I think that it's really important and would probably help a lot of people. How are things going on the pump? Are you really finding it OK? I still really hate the idea although anything that improves your health should really be an appealing thing I think. Are you using it for pre-conception purposes too? Do you think that it's helping and how long would you be planning on using it for? Would this be your first baby? It's interesting that you say that your hospital say that you don't seem to be getting the results that you deserve with the amount of work that you put in. This is kind of how I feel about my situation as well. I wonder if it's just something to do with our bodies and how the diabetes affects us in particular or whether the knowledge that's imparted from the DAFNE course can sometimes work against you. I'm ofter guilty of over-correcting for instance which then leads to yo-yoing between highs and lows instead of more stable results. What do you find? Melissa xx

Jul 14, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs thats a valuable bit of info in terms of the Lantus action, now you will know how long to wait before seeing an effect of any change........... good luck with the job hunt............

Jul 14, 2011 MrGreenYeti 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs Just figured I should update this. I didn't do anything to the Lantus, like I said I would. Which was probably the right idea. because the day after I said I would change it, but didn't, my BG in the morning was 7.4. Then at lunch it was 8.3. it used always be above 12. It's been around 6-10 at lunch now. Which is better then it was. But still a bit on the high side, maybe? Which means the Lantus take about 4 days to have an effect on me. I'm fine with going to bed late, and getting up late, as I do want to get a night time job. So, if I started getting up early again, it would make it harder to stay up late.

Jul 11, 2011 sarahg 29 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries sarahg said: Hi thanks for this i have been doing the DAFNE thing for over a year now and really happy with the way things are going until this week had a bowl of cherries for dinner did not find the carb on the DAFNE list, so looked on line injected as the advice from the carb counter i found on line (for 2.5 CP as the weight was a fair amount). BG fine when went to bed then 2 hours later had horrible hypo should have looked here first. i shall look as this advice page from now on first thank you hi big thank you to ever one who replied

Jul 11, 2011 Athena 52 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Menstrual Cycle New Course Book Hi All, See the reply from Carolin the DAFNE Educators chair. They are going to add something about this to the next course book when it is developed, and also hope to give some guidelines to add to the course to DAFNE educators in the meantime. Isn't this brilliant news! All our discussions on line have been ntoed and are now being acted on. Fantastic, I am just so pleased.

Jul 11, 2011 Athena 52 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Menstrual Cycle, BI Carolin, can't thank you enough for this. It is great to see that people are really caring about our concerns. It will be brilliant if future participants are alerted to this problem . I know not everyone experinces it, but lots of us do and give up thinking they just can't get the hang of DAFNE. I understand that things can't jsut change magically overnight, but changes to the course book in the coming years wou ld be great. THANK YOU!

Jul 11, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets I believe if its says sugar free there should be no sugar, but sometimes this means no additional sugar to whats there already in the form or carbohydrate........... its all about the carb content...............

Jul 11, 2011 chrisinbrum 41 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries Does 'proper fresh' mean you personally pick fruit from the trees or bushes?! Well I do on my allotment, as well as buying fruit in supermarkets when I want to; that way I can check the CP value of what I'm eating! It's not really helpful to a discussion on the CP value/injecting for cherries to criticise what you 'think' my shopping habits are, is it?? Don't buy them if you don't want, but there's no harm in having a look at the label while they're on the shelf if you want to is there? The point I was trying to make is that I've found that I need to inject for some foods that DAFNE says I shouldn't need to, so I confirm what the CP value is and take the appropriate QA - I've found what works for me, other people might need to do the same

Jul 10, 2011 ang78 12 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets Thats what I thought to be honest. Think I will just stick with my Toffee Crisp!!

Jul 10, 2011 maria51 22 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets Carb content comes first. I buy "sugar free" sweets which contain 0.0 carbs & 0.1 sugars. If the sweets you're looking at as you say have high carb contents, I personally don't think it's worth it Angela. Another thought is; When injecting for sweets, does the sugar "fix" stay in your system very long & would your BG go low after a short time? This happens to me when I have the odd chocolate treat.

Jul 10, 2011 ang78 12 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Sugar Free Sweets Having a sweet tooth, I have found a online shop selling sugar free sweets. They advertise as suitable for diabetics but i'm a bit confused. Looking at the nutritional information, they still have a pretty high carb content per 100g (the 'of which is sugars' bit is low though). Which figure is it that i look at for working out insulin needs? And if its the first high number, is it worth buying sugar free? I hope someone understands what i'm trying to say because i think i've even confused myself!!!! Angela

Jul 9, 2011 ClaireH 14 posts	Topic: General Discussion / nightshift I stopped doing nights as a Midwife as my diabetes was always poor. I was referred to occupational health and they stopped me. Apparently all endocrine conditions are affected by night shifts and the 2 month run I did when I became ill really messed me up

Jul 9, 2011 ClaireH 14 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Metformin /Type 1 Simon Heller said: The evidence that metformin makes a difference in Type 1 diabetes is not strong but some professionals use it to reduce insulin dose, weight gain etc There is some evidence of benefit for PCOS. It appears to be very safe but with some pretty unpleasant side effects of diarrhoea, abdo pain and anorexia for some people! The slow release preparation is better tolerated generally. Simon Ive recently been asked to commence metformin for insulin resistance and heart benefits?

Jul 8, 2011 Linda S123 8 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Metformin /Type 1 Hi, I was advised to start the metformin to increase sensitivity and as a side bonus may also lose weight. Been ID diabetic for 40 years so insulin slowing down, apparantly. Been on a week now and have noticed all BG results much better and quite steady, but went quite low (2.9) at 5pm today. Have had a couple of lower that normal results so going to reduce background Levemir in morning by couple units and monitor. Going to do carb free lunch tomorrow and check teatime results

Jul 8, 2011 meltow 78 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries There's fresh, ...................and there's proper fresh

Jul 8, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries from where, stuff in tubs are fresh are they not............?

Jul 8, 2011 meltow 78 posts	Topic: General Discussion / nightshift Isn't nightshift, life turned upside down?

Jul 8, 2011 meltow 78 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Cherries Sorry, but any fruit/veg bought in labelled punnets is a complete NO NO! Just yuk.... For heavens sake, can't you buy fresh, hand picked and get them weighed? Please, please resist all these wrapped/packaged/regurgitated F&V My stress levels are off the richter scale, thanks to some of the comments on here!

Jul 8, 2011 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Thyroxine side effects Maria, thanks for that. There's nothing on the website of the makers of my tablets and I had problems using the website address in your posting. I'm beginning to think that the warning on the leaflet is just put there to cover the makers against any sort of comeback. I suppose that being DAFNE-trained, our 'diabetic treatment' is altered every mealtime. I'm glad that the Thyroxine has not affected you and I also find it re-assuring. Once again, thanks. Alan

Jul 8, 2011 Chchch 17 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / No change to HbA1c The idea is that as soon as you start making changes and bringing your overall levels down, this will be reflected in your a1c within a few weeks. You are absolutely right about it being only a test though - I still find that too much emphasis is placed on A1Cs (especially by consultants) and that even a decent a1c can mask widely differing blood glucose results on a daily basis.

Jul 8, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / nightshift not done night shift for many years but I know it didn't do me any favours, however that was pre dafne........ as long as your background insulin is doing its job you should be fine, rotating shift patterns from day to night might confuse the liver I suppose which might mean your are constantly tweaking your background dose to keep up......... also rushing about, which you may do as a nurse might need to be considered, so keeping some hypo resolve on you might be wise too.............. have fun.............

Jul 8, 2011 maria51 22 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Thyroxine side effects Alan, I've been taking Thyroxine pre & post Type 1. My GP, Endo & Dafne team all know I'm on it & have never mentioned altering diabetic treatment. I'll be asking them about it on my next appointment. As far as I can tell, Thyroxine has had no affect on me & diabetes. The company that makes mine is Sigma & they have a website for consumer medicine information: www.sigmaco.com.au/prescription.cfm or your Thyroxine box may have info on it to a website in the UK. Cheers, Maria