Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Jul 6, 2011

Peter B 4 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / How to download data from iphone app

Simon said:
The upload is kicked off when you save an entry - so try going into one of your entries, making a change then saving it and see if that helps.

Simon, thanks for this feedback. I had the same problem which arose after I moved to a new iphone, re-saving an entry with the upload turned on fixed it. Smile

Jul 6, 2011

marke 681 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

Lizzie, sorry but if you ask for help you have to expect some people to have views that don't conflict with yours. I don't think Sarah was passing judgement on your life, just suggesting the solution is ultimately in your hands. Before you get upset with me, I'm not being critical, I too have a family that loves Chocolate and know all about temptation Wink

.
With regards to 'support' my experience is my wife went from being casual about my Diabetes to being paranoid after a had a 'proper' hypo. You can get too much support. But I know what you mean. The problem is finding simplistic information about Diabetes that a non-Diabetic won't find completely boring or mystifying. Diabetes UK do provide leaflets information and do have local support
groups your can find ones potentially in your area here . Most of these groups are run by Diabetics and can help if you can get your partner to go with you to one of their meetings. My group has helped a number of people and their partners with Diabetic issues.

With regard to unhealthly food all you can really do is try to strike a balance between 'crap' and healthy food. If we all ate only what was good for us then life would be pretty dull. So why not try a softly softly approach. Just cut one bit of the bad stuff at a time and gently steer to a healthier range of foods. Keep the chocolate for now, hey don't tell me you can quit it completely Laughing

, just try to reduce the amount you personally eat.

We are all happy to try to give support via this site, but typing to a computer screen is not the same as meeting and talking to people. Have you tired your DAFNE Educators or are they snowed under like most ?

Jul 6, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

the key thing to remember is you can eat what you like as any non diabetic would, letting your partner know this would be a good start.....

So its just general lifestyle choices that have to be made........

What things do you buy/eat together that you would consider unhealthy?

Do you think you eat this unhealthy food too much?

My circumstances are fortunate, I also accompany the wife on shopping trips, but ultimately she decides what goes in, with the odd treat, but the shopping list is like any other shopper.....

What involvement would you like to see from your partner, there is not much he can do to be honest, apart from helping you eat healthier by joining you at meal times with meals that are beneficial....

If your partner would like to talk to other diabetics and more importantly carers/partners of diabetics he can head over to the Diabetes Support Forum......

Everyone on there is friendly and basically there for support if things get too much, good also for you....

Jul 6, 2011

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

Hi Sarah

I don't know what you do in your household but in ours, meal times are when we eat together and talk about what has happened in the day. Sharing food is important. I know there is a modern trend for families to eat alone, off their laps, in their own rooms while glued to their individual TVs/computers. But I find this sad. I would like to spend time with my partner. We both work, so we only have evenings and weekends together. I don't want to waste this precious time. I love my partner and cooking for him is one way of demonstrating this. Also, I am concerned about his health.I don't want him to have health problems either. And then there is the shopping. If he is putting in unhealthy foods, I find it very hard to resist. Maybe you are some paragon of virtue who would put the chocolate back and put in a lettuce instead. But I am not. In our household we do the shopping together - for a start, I could not carry all the food on my own. The cost is divided in half. Maybe you are suggesting that we shop individually too? But what about items such as cleaning products, kitchen roll, milk, bread, that we both use? Do you live with a partner? If so do you shop and eat separately as you suggest? I know I have responsibility for what I eat. But in a shared household it makes sense that shopping and eating should be shared activities both for practical and emotional reasons.

My partner does love me. He has a tough job (working in a jobcentre). That is a crappy miserable place to work right now, and the DWP is planning to take away what little pension he was hoping for, and he will pay more each month, which adds to our financial worries. This has affected him and he often feels low. He is trying to find another job but it is really difficult at the moment. We are both struggling and comfort food is really appealing. I am desperately trying to change but have no support from anyone to do so and am struggling on my own.

I did not ask for judgement on how I live my life. I asked for helpful ideas on how to involve my partner. Other people's partners seem quite involved with their diabetes so I wanted tips on that. Do you have any?

Jul 6, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

Some good points there................

If he does respect and love you he can make changes, or allow you to make changes for yourself........ Wink

Jul 6, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

Your life is your own, but I would think its best to get back into a normal day/night routine............it will make control a lot easier and will allow other like myself and your diabetic team to help you more easily............

How are you looking for jobs?Surely getting up early will help you look for jobs and prepare you for getting up for work when the time comes........

I think splitting your dose at this time might not be the best, as you might not be out of bed to give yourself the other dose on time, on the other hand it may encourage you to start getting up........

It will be a hard routine to get out of, I have seen it happen to friends, family even myself..........

Good luck.........

Jul 5, 2011

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

I think it is in "the make up". My EX-husband left on diagnosis (also left his second wife when she got sick!) but my son who was only two when husband left became so aware of my diabetic status even as a youngster that he used to get me sweets/cake/biscuits etc when he thought I was low. He was doing this reliably when he was in primary school. He became an intensive care paramedic. Which came first perception and awareness coupled with the caring nature or the necessity of being aware? My daughter (older by two years) used to stand by and watch. Even now she is only aware if I do something first...like get sweets!

We had a function for my daughter's birthday recently and ex-husband came and asked about my health (my greatest revenge is to live a long and healthy life). I told him about my almost new pump. The questions he asked were asinine. On the other hand my son and daughter in law just expect me to do and get what I need. If I am stuffing my face with JBs they will ask if I need anything but mostly I get on with it. Helen

Jul 5, 2011

MrGreenYeti 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

Well, I've been going to bed this late for like a year now, so it's not going to change soon, I would think.
It will do when I get a job. Unless I get a night job, then I don't have to change my sleeping pattern much.
I have my Lantus injection at about 12:30am, which is what it's been since I was diagnosed. So, it'll be about 5-6am, just before I go to bed, usually, unless I need to get up earlier then usual.

Jul 5, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

I would increase your lantus dose, but you should still do a 3am test, or in your case a 10 or 11am test to see if your going low........

Is your daily routine likely to stay like this, I would think that if your not forced to stay up this late with a job its unlikely.......and so making any permanent change might be in vain......

What are you doing on the computer, fun games I hope........lol

Jul 5, 2011

MrGreenYeti 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

Nah, I just stay up late at nights on the computer, as I don't have a need to get up in the morning.

So, I would need to get up at like 10am to check to see if the Dawn Phenomenon is having an effect.

I wake up at like 1-2pm everyday. So, what should I do? Split the Lantus, or increase it?

Jul 5, 2011

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

Hallo again

If we ate as much chocolate, pizza etc as my partner would want, I would have some serious problems. I am already fat, there is constant pressure from doctors to lose weight (have even been offered surgery) while my partner pushes the other way to buy unhealthy crap. My blood sugars are all over the place recently and I don't know why or what to do. My doctors have deserted me like they always do, the boxes are ticked why would they care? It would be nice to have someone to support me. I have tried Diabetes UK and they couldn't suggest anyone. My partner dislikes a lot of healthy foods and I can't be bothered making 2 different meals every night.

Jul 5, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

WOW.....................

so you go to bed at 5 in the morning, are you on night shift or something?

Never the less its all relative anyway.........being on once a day in my opinion is not very flexible for any lifestyle but it works for some people.........

I also suffer from Dawn Phenomenon, I get up at 6:30am every day, apart from weekends, so my hormonal response happens at about 4:30-5:00am every morning, and if I dont have any carbs it will continue to rise, even if I have corrected the high reading at 6:30...

What time do you actually wake up at? Is every day the same?

With Lantus you need to wait about 3 days to see the effect any change of dose has had, so twice a week is normal in this case.....

If you increase you dose it doesn't necessarily mean you will go low over night, your BI requirements might have just increased to a much higher amount, for no obvious reason, that's the beauty of diabetes............ Wink

If your QA has run out and your levels are continuing to rise well into the day, then it is your BI for sure..........increasing it doesn't mean you will be low before bed, but it might.........the reality is that your liver releases glucose at different rates throughout the day, so being on a single dose cant really deal with this well, you may need much less BI from waking to sleeping than you do overnight and vice versa.........hence the split, you can also do this with Lantus, but the best thing to do is test your BI with carb free/or no meals to see what is really going on, and also discuss it with your diabetic team.......................

Jul 5, 2011

MrGreenYeti 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

Thanks.

My BI is once a day, at about 12:30am. I'm on Lantus. I have increased the dose, twice in about a week, actually. I usually got to bed at about 5:00am (I know, very late, indeed.) And when I check my BG before bed it's around 7-9.
I have a feeling it's the Dawn Phenomenon in the morning raising it (because I usually get up late), and it stays high throughout the day. But only after my QA is running out. So, it's most likely the BI. But, when I do raise it again, wouldn't it cause me to be to low before bed?

Jul 5, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

I think it sounds as if you want to watch the calories, which is fine, but in terms of DAFNE you can eat what you like and in quantities you desire...........

So the chocolate, crisps, pizzas are all OK, its just you might find you will be putting on a few pounds if you eat them too much....

So I think your partners lack of knowledge is in a general portion size sense as opposed to thinking, or not in this case, that diabetics are restricted, as a DAFNE graduate, you are not restricted............ Wink

Jul 5, 2011

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

Thanks for replying novorapidboi. I do the cooking, I think if my boyfriend did it we would live on cheese on toast! My BF takes some interest in carb counting but not much and I keep having to remind him or ask him not to get tons of chocolate, crisps, cake etc when we do the food shopping. Last week we were looking at pizzas. We worked out one of them had around 100g carb for half of it and he did not know that this was too high!

Jul 5, 2011

vinod 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / medical leave during DAFNE course

I think it makes sense ringing Diabetes.co.uk and checking with them if this is part of medical leave, which you should take and dont have to sacrifice your holidays as Anil said! Why dont we ask DAFNE to make comment here? They should make this inevitable to all organizations in UK to follow this norm. Offer three or five days medical leave to all those who are going to attend DAFNE course. Why every company should have their own standards to consider this as medical leave or not? In first instance when NHS provided a letter to my employer, I was thinking that letter is enough to prove that I am legally allowed to take five days medical leave and my employer has to respect this letter. However it's more clear now that each company has their own set of standards and NHS/Diabetes UK/DAFNE doesnt force them to accept this as a medical leave! I'll decide what to do after I speak with Diabetes UK team. Thanks for your response guys. I really appreciate that.

With Regards,

Vinod Kavle

Jul 5, 2011

Carolin 83 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Menstrual Cycle, BI

Athena said:

Just to update you that I did not hear back from the DAFNE folk.

Hi Athena,

As Chair of the national DAFNE Educator group I have taken on board you comments and we will address this as suggested.

The course curriculum and workbook have just undergone their 3-yearly update, which is a huge and very expensive task, so it is unlikely that anything formal will be added to the course resources until 2013.

However, I believe in some centres (indeed in my own) menstrual cycle is discussed during the course, perhaps more by experienced Educators. I will keep checking these discussion threads and maybe we can come up with some clear guidance that we can issue as an 'addendum' for Educators and Graduates alike, until such time as we can include it in the curriculum and workbook.

What do you think? Smile

Jul 5, 2011

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / blended fruit

I don't know much about blending, but I would have thought that just churning things up makes no difference to the carb contents of the constituents. If you put a couple of apples (1 CP each) and a banana (2 CPs) in a blender, you're going to get something that has 4 CPs.

Jul 5, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / blended fruit

The carbohydrate values of the fruit and vegetables will still remain the same even if you blend them, what may change in the speed at which that glucose from the carbohydrate is released into the blood stream, in this case they may effect your blood glucose levels quicker..............

So my answer would be yes, you do still count them.....

You do realize they will taste the same, is is the raw, natural form of fruit and veg that bothers you.....?

Jul 5, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs

Welcome to the forum.....

If your have no QA insulin left by the time bedtime comes then its a good guess to assume its your BI running out......!!

Is your BI dose once a day or twice...?

If once you may need to increase your dose, if twice then you may also need to increase your daytime dose or look at timings of dose. eg. a 12 hour split would get even coverage, however some people take their evening dose just before bed to assist in dropping morning readings, if this is the case for you, then moving your evening dose to a few hours before bed may help also...........lots of options I know....... Wink

Jul 5, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

Thats a tricky one..............

My personal situation is my partner does the cooking, so she is involved with the carb counting, however I think I am lucky in that she took a general interest from the start.....

And I think she knows what to do in an emergency, not that there has ever been one, she knows what i need to eat or drink in the event of a hypo at least....

What do you want/need them to know?

Or is it just a general interest you want your partner to take?

Jul 5, 2011

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved

How can I get my partner involved? Currently I just check my blood sugar when I need to and take insulin/sugar/whatever on my own. But I think from a safety point of view it would be good for him to know more. It would also be nice to have some support from him.

Jul 6, 2011 Peter B 4 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / How to download data from iphone app Simon said: The upload is kicked off when you save an entry - so try going into one of your entries, making a change then saving it and see if that helps. Simon, thanks for this feedback. I had the same problem which arose after I moved to a new iphone, re-saving an entry with the upload turned on fixed it.

Jul 6, 2011 marke 681 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved Lizzie, sorry but if you ask for help you have to expect some people to have views that don't conflict with yours. I don't think Sarah was passing judgement on your life, just suggesting the solution is ultimately in your hands. Before you get upset with me, I'm not being critical, I too have a family that loves Chocolate and know all about temptation . With regards to 'support' my experience is my wife went from being casual about my Diabetes to being paranoid after a had a 'proper' hypo. You can get too much support. But I know what you mean. The problem is finding simplistic information about Diabetes that a non-Diabetic won't find completely boring or mystifying. Diabetes UK do provide leaflets information and do have local support groups your can find ones potentially in your area here . Most of these groups are run by Diabetics and can help if you can get your partner to go with you to one of their meetings. My group has helped a number of people and their partners with Diabetic issues. With regard to unhealthly food all you can really do is try to strike a balance between 'crap' and healthy food. If we all ate only what was good for us then life would be pretty dull. So why not try a softly softly approach. Just cut one bit of the bad stuff at a time and gently steer to a healthier range of foods. Keep the chocolate for now, hey don't tell me you can quit it completely , just try to reduce the amount you personally eat. We are all happy to try to give support via this site, but typing to a computer screen is not the same as meeting and talking to people. Have you tired your DAFNE Educators or are they snowed under like most ?

Jul 6, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved the key thing to remember is you can eat what you like as any non diabetic would, letting your partner know this would be a good start..... So its just general lifestyle choices that have to be made........ What things do you buy/eat together that you would consider unhealthy? Do you think you eat this unhealthy food too much? My circumstances are fortunate, I also accompany the wife on shopping trips, but ultimately she decides what goes in, with the odd treat, but the shopping list is like any other shopper..... What involvement would you like to see from your partner, there is not much he can do to be honest, apart from helping you eat healthier by joining you at meal times with meals that are beneficial.... If your partner would like to talk to other diabetics and more importantly carers/partners of diabetics he can head over to the Diabetes Support Forum...... Everyone on there is friendly and basically there for support if things get too much, good also for you....

Jul 6, 2011 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved Hi Sarah I don't know what you do in your household but in ours, meal times are when we eat together and talk about what has happened in the day. Sharing food is important. I know there is a modern trend for families to eat alone, off their laps, in their own rooms while glued to their individual TVs/computers. But I find this sad. I would like to spend time with my partner. We both work, so we only have evenings and weekends together. I don't want to waste this precious time. I love my partner and cooking for him is one way of demonstrating this. Also, I am concerned about his health.I don't want him to have health problems either. And then there is the shopping. If he is putting in unhealthy foods, I find it very hard to resist. Maybe you are some paragon of virtue who would put the chocolate back and put in a lettuce instead. But I am not. In our household we do the shopping together - for a start, I could not carry all the food on my own. The cost is divided in half. Maybe you are suggesting that we shop individually too? But what about items such as cleaning products, kitchen roll, milk, bread, that we both use? Do you live with a partner? If so do you shop and eat separately as you suggest? I know I have responsibility for what I eat. But in a shared household it makes sense that shopping and eating should be shared activities both for practical and emotional reasons. My partner does love me. He has a tough job (working in a jobcentre). That is a crappy miserable place to work right now, and the DWP is planning to take away what little pension he was hoping for, and he will pay more each month, which adds to our financial worries. This has affected him and he often feels low. He is trying to find another job but it is really difficult at the moment. We are both struggling and comfort food is really appealing. I am desperately trying to change but have no support from anyone to do so and am struggling on my own. I did not ask for judgement on how I live my life. I asked for helpful ideas on how to involve my partner. Other people's partners seem quite involved with their diabetes so I wanted tips on that. Do you have any?

Jul 6, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved Some good points there................ If he does respect and love you he can make changes, or allow you to make changes for yourself........

Jul 6, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs Your life is your own, but I would think its best to get back into a normal day/night routine............it will make control a lot easier and will allow other like myself and your diabetic team to help you more easily............ How are you looking for jobs?Surely getting up early will help you look for jobs and prepare you for getting up for work when the time comes........ I think splitting your dose at this time might not be the best, as you might not be out of bed to give yourself the other dose on time, on the other hand it may encourage you to start getting up........ It will be a hard routine to get out of, I have seen it happen to friends, family even myself.......... Good luck.........

Jul 5, 2011 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved I think it is in "the make up". My EX-husband left on diagnosis (also left his second wife when she got sick!) but my son who was only two when husband left became so aware of my diabetic status even as a youngster that he used to get me sweets/cake/biscuits etc when he thought I was low. He was doing this reliably when he was in primary school. He became an intensive care paramedic. Which came first perception and awareness coupled with the caring nature or the necessity of being aware? My daughter (older by two years) used to stand by and watch. Even now she is only aware if I do something first...like get sweets! We had a function for my daughter's birthday recently and ex-husband came and asked about my health (my greatest revenge is to live a long and healthy life). I told him about my almost new pump. The questions he asked were asinine. On the other hand my son and daughter in law just expect me to do and get what I need. If I am stuffing my face with JBs they will ask if I need anything but mostly I get on with it. Helen

Jul 5, 2011 MrGreenYeti 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs Well, I've been going to bed this late for like a year now, so it's not going to change soon, I would think. It will do when I get a job. Unless I get a night job, then I don't have to change my sleeping pattern much. I have my Lantus injection at about 12:30am, which is what it's been since I was diagnosed. So, it'll be about 5-6am, just before I go to bed, usually, unless I need to get up earlier then usual.

Jul 5, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs I would increase your lantus dose, but you should still do a 3am test, or in your case a 10 or 11am test to see if your going low........ Is your daily routine likely to stay like this, I would think that if your not forced to stay up this late with a job its unlikely.......and so making any permanent change might be in vain...... What are you doing on the computer, fun games I hope........lol

Jul 5, 2011 MrGreenYeti 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs Nah, I just stay up late at nights on the computer, as I don't have a need to get up in the morning. So, I would need to get up at like 10am to check to see if the Dawn Phenomenon is having an effect. I wake up at like 1-2pm everyday. So, what should I do? Split the Lantus, or increase it?

Jul 5, 2011 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved Hallo again If we ate as much chocolate, pizza etc as my partner would want, I would have some serious problems. I am already fat, there is constant pressure from doctors to lose weight (have even been offered surgery) while my partner pushes the other way to buy unhealthy crap. My blood sugars are all over the place recently and I don't know why or what to do. My doctors have deserted me like they always do, the boxes are ticked why would they care? It would be nice to have someone to support me. I have tried Diabetes UK and they couldn't suggest anyone. My partner dislikes a lot of healthy foods and I can't be bothered making 2 different meals every night.

Jul 5, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs WOW..................... so you go to bed at 5 in the morning, are you on night shift or something? Never the less its all relative anyway.........being on once a day in my opinion is not very flexible for any lifestyle but it works for some people......... I also suffer from Dawn Phenomenon, I get up at 6:30am every day, apart from weekends, so my hormonal response happens at about 4:30-5:00am every morning, and if I dont have any carbs it will continue to rise, even if I have corrected the high reading at 6:30... What time do you actually wake up at? Is every day the same? With Lantus you need to wait about 3 days to see the effect any change of dose has had, so twice a week is normal in this case..... If you increase you dose it doesn't necessarily mean you will go low over night, your BI requirements might have just increased to a much higher amount, for no obvious reason, that's the beauty of diabetes............ If your QA has run out and your levels are continuing to rise well into the day, then it is your BI for sure..........increasing it doesn't mean you will be low before bed, but it might.........the reality is that your liver releases glucose at different rates throughout the day, so being on a single dose cant really deal with this well, you may need much less BI from waking to sleeping than you do overnight and vice versa.........hence the split, you can also do this with Lantus, but the best thing to do is test your BI with carb free/or no meals to see what is really going on, and also discuss it with your diabetic team.......................

Jul 5, 2011 MrGreenYeti 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs Thanks. My BI is once a day, at about 12:30am. I'm on Lantus. I have increased the dose, twice in about a week, actually. I usually got to bed at about 5:00am (I know, very late, indeed.) And when I check my BG before bed it's around 7-9. I have a feeling it's the Dawn Phenomenon in the morning raising it (because I usually get up late), and it stays high throughout the day. But only after my QA is running out. So, it's most likely the BI. But, when I do raise it again, wouldn't it cause me to be to low before bed?

Jul 5, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved I think it sounds as if you want to watch the calories, which is fine, but in terms of DAFNE you can eat what you like and in quantities you desire........... So the chocolate, crisps, pizzas are all OK, its just you might find you will be putting on a few pounds if you eat them too much.... So I think your partners lack of knowledge is in a general portion size sense as opposed to thinking, or not in this case, that diabetics are restricted, as a DAFNE graduate, you are not restricted............

Jul 5, 2011 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved Thanks for replying novorapidboi. I do the cooking, I think if my boyfriend did it we would live on cheese on toast! My BF takes some interest in carb counting but not much and I keep having to remind him or ask him not to get tons of chocolate, crisps, cake etc when we do the food shopping. Last week we were looking at pizzas. We worked out one of them had around 100g carb for half of it and he did not know that this was too high!

Jul 5, 2011 vinod 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / medical leave during DAFNE course I think it makes sense ringing Diabetes.co.uk and checking with them if this is part of medical leave, which you should take and dont have to sacrifice your holidays as Anil said! Why dont we ask DAFNE to make comment here? They should make this inevitable to all organizations in UK to follow this norm. Offer three or five days medical leave to all those who are going to attend DAFNE course. Why every company should have their own standards to consider this as medical leave or not? In first instance when NHS provided a letter to my employer, I was thinking that letter is enough to prove that I am legally allowed to take five days medical leave and my employer has to respect this letter. However it's more clear now that each company has their own set of standards and NHS/Diabetes UK/DAFNE doesnt force them to accept this as a medical leave! I'll decide what to do after I speak with Diabetes UK team. Thanks for your response guys. I really appreciate that. With Regards, Vinod Kavle

Jul 5, 2011 Carolin 83 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Menstrual Cycle, BI Athena said: Just to update you that I did not hear back from the DAFNE folk. Hi Athena, As Chair of the national DAFNE Educator group I have taken on board you comments and we will address this as suggested. The course curriculum and workbook have just undergone their 3-yearly update, which is a huge and very expensive task, so it is unlikely that anything formal will be added to the course resources until 2013. However, I believe in some centres (indeed in my own) menstrual cycle is discussed during the course, perhaps more by experienced Educators. I will keep checking these discussion threads and maybe we can come up with some clear guidance that we can issue as an 'addendum' for Educators and Graduates alike, until such time as we can include it in the curriculum and workbook. What do you think?

Jul 5, 2011 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / blended fruit I don't know much about blending, but I would have thought that just churning things up makes no difference to the carb contents of the constituents. If you put a couple of apples (1 CP each) and a banana (2 CPs) in a blender, you're going to get something that has 4 CPs.

Jul 5, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / blended fruit The carbohydrate values of the fruit and vegetables will still remain the same even if you blend them, what may change in the speed at which that glucose from the carbohydrate is released into the blood stream, in this case they may effect your blood glucose levels quicker.............. So my answer would be yes, you do still count them..... You do realize they will taste the same, is is the raw, natural form of fruit and veg that bothers you.....?

Jul 5, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Unexplained Highs Welcome to the forum..... If your have no QA insulin left by the time bedtime comes then its a good guess to assume its your BI running out......!! Is your BI dose once a day or twice...? If once you may need to increase your dose, if twice then you may also need to increase your daytime dose or look at timings of dose. eg. a 12 hour split would get even coverage, however some people take their evening dose just before bed to assist in dropping morning readings, if this is the case for you, then moving your evening dose to a few hours before bed may help also...........lots of options I know.......

Jul 5, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved Thats a tricky one.............. My personal situation is my partner does the cooking, so she is involved with the carb counting, however I think I am lucky in that she took a general interest from the start..... And I think she knows what to do in an emergency, not that there has ever been one, she knows what i need to eat or drink in the event of a hypo at least.... What do you want/need them to know? Or is it just a general interest you want your partner to take?

Jul 5, 2011 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Getting partner involved How can I get my partner involved? Currently I just check my blood sugar when I need to and take insulin/sugar/whatever on my own. But I think from a safety point of view it would be good for him to know more. It would also be nice to have some support from him.