Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Feb 2, 2011

maria51 22 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / BG rise at end of Lantus

I'm on lantus and was injecting once per night before bed like you with high BG before evening meals. The Dafne educators suspected that the lantus was running out by the afternoon therefore the BG rise before tea. They split my dose to twice per day : morning and night. It worked for me as my BGLs b4 tea are now between 5 & 7. Best to go see your HCP for advice re this if you want to give it a go because it took me a while to get the dose right plus I had to adjust the QA as well . Once again, seek advice first because the splitting of lantus must be done under medical supervision.

Good luck with your query.

Feb 1, 2011

Chchch 17 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / BG rise at end of Lantus

Hi

I've been T1 now for 23 years, and still realising I still have so much to learn from other diabetics' experiences, so I'm hoping one of you will be able to offer me some advise with this. It has me stumped!
I take my lantus on a night before bed, and find that from about tea time my BG is starting to rise. I think my lunch QA is about right as at about the four hour mark my BG is fine, but then as I generally have my tea about 6 hours after lunch my pre-tea BG is normally up to about 12...My tea ratio is 2:1 and I always go to bed on about a 11 or 12, but then it's down to about 5 on a morning. I don't feel inclined to increase the BI due to the low reading pre-breakfast, but clearly need something extra to help me through the last few hours of the BI.

I've tried Levemir in the past, but had problems with red and itchy injetions sites so went back to Lantus (I have to say though, it didn't make a massive difference to overall control for me).

Feb 1, 2011

Heather B 20 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Beans and lentils

Hi. I'm veggie too and eat a lot of beans, lentils and pulses. I was told on my DAFNE course not to count these when calculating my insulin dose as the GI is too low (I haven't heard of halving the carbohydrate, that was certainly not suggested to me). I therefore don't count them (except of course baked beans because of the sweet sauce-which is included in the DAFNE carb handbook) but I do count the sauce that I cook them in. I count the carbs in the tin of tomatoes, puree etc that I use to cook them in and then divide the total by the amount that I eat (a quarter of the pot etc) plus any carbs that I eat with them (such as rice) and that seems to work really well. If you find that you are bit high afterwards you could correct for it but I would assume that you would be correcting about 1 or 2 units at most at that point. I hope that helps.

Feb 1, 2011

Paul F 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Frozen Insulin

Thanks for your advice Maria. I threw out the bad batch now.

Feb 1, 2011

Rach14 2 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile

I did the DAFYDD course about 2 1/2 yrs ago and I'm now trying to refresh my memory. DAFYDD is the same as DAFNE but in Wales they called it DAFYDD. I just couldn't think what BI stood for, but now you have said it, i've remembered. Thank you, Rachel

Feb 1, 2011

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Eat Versus Treat - Hypos

Athena
It looks to me as if you need to take some rapid-acting carbs - even for BGs between 3.6 and 4.0. Then, if you don't feel an improvement after 5 minutes - repeat the dose. Not quite sure what you mean by 'eat instead of treat'.

Feb 1, 2011

Simon 578 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile

Hi Rachel,

Have you already done the DAFNE Course?

BI - Background Insulin (i.e. what you might take before bed)

Simon

Feb 1, 2011

Rach14 2 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile

I have just started using this app on my iphone but can somebody please tell me what 'BI Insulin' means when you are inputting a diary entry? Rachel x

Feb 1, 2011

Athena 52 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Eat Versus Treat - Hypos

hi Everyone,

Am I the only one who finds that if I eat instead of treat for BG,s of between 3.6 and 4 I very quickly end up in a lower hypo? I don't know why this is as we are not supposed to take fast acting sugar for these higher levels. However, I can't get this to work, they hypo just continues and the drop happens very quickly, down to the low 1's in five minutes if there is the accompanying feeling of dropping. Otherewise it takes up to 20 minutes to be down in the 1's. It is not as if I am eating low GI starches to feed this, so I can't work out what I am doing wrong. Treating a 3.9 works fine for me when I do this, I don't end up too high afterwards so maybe I am best to stick with this. Would be interested in any advice or hearing if other people are having the same problems.

thanks!

Feb 1, 2011

novorapidboi26 1,819 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Beans and lentils

Hi,

I also eat these things but always usually with a much quickly absorbed carb.....

I suppose it depends on how much of it you are eating, they are released into the blood as glucose very slowly, so a background dose will ususally suffice for small amounts....

Where do you get your beans and lentils, it would be better if it came from a pack, at least at first so you know how much carbs in x amount of lentils/beans.......

I have never heard of halfing the dose, things like these were never meant to be counted, but it may work....

To conclude I would say find out the carb content of your food per x grams and weigh each time, I would say only 1 or 2 units of insulin would be required for any meal containing these, if that......

Jan 31, 2011

sarahbarlow87 1 post

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Beans and lentils

Hi,
I'm vegetarian and the majority of my meals are lentils, bean and vegetables of some variety! I struggle counting the carbs as I always make a big pot of something and then find it quite tedious trying to work out how many lentils/beans are in my portion and also whether or not to half the carbs, at my clinic they said if i'm eating lentils and beans I should half the amount of carbs that are in them to work out the CP value.. sometimes if I do this it works, other times I go low and some times my sugars are sky high!
I know its all about trying and testing but its not really working.. I thought my diet should be pretty good as it is Low GI etc. but it seems i'd be safer in my blood sugars to eat things out of a packet with the carb values on!! ARGHH...
does anyone else have this problem? or does anyone have the answer for my problems?! Smile

Jan 31, 2011

maria51 22 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Frozen Insulin

Go and get a new lot of insulin Paul ASAP as the insulin you're using now has become ineffective due to being too cold. Have a read of the instruction leaflet that's enclosed with the insulin to find the correct temp to store it. If it becomes frozen, it's no good.

All the best,
Maria.

Jan 31, 2011

Paul F 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Frozen Insulin

I store my insulin in the fridge, but the temperature dial got turned up to max by mistake and everything froze. I didn't think to check my insulin, but I guess this froze too.

Anyway, I've been using this insulin for the last few days but it's not as effective at all. Looking at my readings over the last few days... they're nearly all high.

Did anyone else ever had the same experience?

-Paul

Jan 30, 2011

HelenP 218 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Weight

I have been watching my weight for years and years and have (at times become very depressed about it) I have even been put onto a protein sparing fast (in hospital for a week eating <600 calories!). i did not lose any measureable weight...the nursing staff suggested I was eating Mars bars or something but as they held all my insulin that would have resulted in interesting BG's. The explanation from the endo was that weight/insulin/insulin sensitivity was a very complex issue not simply food in. I was basically told to limit carbs to 10 CP a day and to eat a lot of salads and fat free where possible. Since that advice I have not put on weight but neither have I lost any. I have not put on any weight since Dafne! Basically my diet did not change although my HbA1c went down nearly 1%. Complex issue.

Jan 30, 2011

hld1904 5 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Weight

Hi Alan Constable, I agree if you eat less food your weight should go down but if i ate any less i would eat nothing!!! Lol

Jan 30, 2011

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Weight

My HCP told me that the best way to lose weight is to eat less. Obviously, if your intake of carbs goes down, then so should your insulin dose. This might not work for everybody, I accept, but it also seems obvious that if you eat more than you need to, the body will store the excess as fat. Eating less certainly worked for me, anyway.

Jan 30, 2011

PaulaY 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Weight

I have also found that my weight has increased, though I do intend to eat a lot of salads and fat free foods. Though I am concerned about my weight as is my consultant. My controls are much better since starting Dafne. And I would much rather be overweight than have poor control again.
I think what it has increased my weight, is knowing I can eat carbs and adjust my insulin accordingly. I have stopped eating so many carbs, and my weight is slowly coming off. I'm no longer raiding the biscuit barrel and saying to myself its only so many units of insulin. lol

Jan 30, 2011

MikeH 9 posts

Topic: Site Development / DAFNE Online iPhone application - help with content/design needed

i dont think so on the diary summary at the bottom you have Corrective QA Counts (14 day) for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Bed can you show the number of correcticve increases (+) and decreases(-) seperatly instead of just the total corrections for that time.


Feb 2, 2011 maria51 22 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / BG rise at end of Lantus I'm on lantus and was injecting once per night before bed like you with high BG before evening meals. The Dafne educators suspected that the lantus was running out by the afternoon therefore the BG rise before tea. They split my dose to twice per day : morning and night. It worked for me as my BGLs b4 tea are now between 5 & 7. Best to go see your HCP for advice re this if you want to give it a go because it took me a while to get the dose right plus I had to adjust the QA as well . Once again, seek advice first because the splitting of lantus must be done under medical supervision. Good luck with your query.

Feb 1, 2011 Chchch 17 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / BG rise at end of Lantus Hi I've been T1 now for 23 years, and still realising I still have so much to learn from other diabetics' experiences, so I'm hoping one of you will be able to offer me some advise with this. It has me stumped! I take my lantus on a night before bed, and find that from about tea time my BG is starting to rise. I think my lunch QA is about right as at about the four hour mark my BG is fine, but then as I generally have my tea about 6 hours after lunch my pre-tea BG is normally up to about 12...My tea ratio is 2:1 and I always go to bed on about a 11 or 12, but then it's down to about 5 on a morning. I don't feel inclined to increase the BI due to the low reading pre-breakfast, but clearly need something extra to help me through the last few hours of the BI. I've tried Levemir in the past, but had problems with red and itchy injetions sites so went back to Lantus (I have to say though, it didn't make a massive difference to overall control for me).

Feb 1, 2011 Heather B 20 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Beans and lentils Hi. I'm veggie too and eat a lot of beans, lentils and pulses. I was told on my DAFNE course not to count these when calculating my insulin dose as the GI is too low (I haven't heard of halving the carbohydrate, that was certainly not suggested to me). I therefore don't count them (except of course baked beans because of the sweet sauce-which is included in the DAFNE carb handbook) but I do count the sauce that I cook them in. I count the carbs in the tin of tomatoes, puree etc that I use to cook them in and then divide the total by the amount that I eat (a quarter of the pot etc) plus any carbs that I eat with them (such as rice) and that seems to work really well. If you find that you are bit high afterwards you could correct for it but I would assume that you would be correcting about 1 or 2 units at most at that point. I hope that helps.

Feb 1, 2011 Paul F 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Frozen Insulin Thanks for your advice Maria. I threw out the bad batch now.

Feb 1, 2011 Rach14 2 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile I did the DAFYDD course about 2 1/2 yrs ago and I'm now trying to refresh my memory. DAFYDD is the same as DAFNE but in Wales they called it DAFYDD. I just couldn't think what BI stood for, but now you have said it, i've remembered. Thank you, Rachel

Feb 1, 2011 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Eat Versus Treat - Hypos Athena It looks to me as if you need to take some rapid-acting carbs - even for BGs between 3.6 and 4.0. Then, if you don't feel an improvement after 5 minutes - repeat the dose. Not quite sure what you mean by 'eat instead of treat'.

Feb 1, 2011 Simon 578 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile Hi Rachel, Have you already done the DAFNE Course? BI - Background Insulin (i.e. what you might take before bed) Simon

Feb 1, 2011 Rach14 2 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile I have just started using this app on my iphone but can somebody please tell me what 'BI Insulin' means when you are inputting a diary entry? Rachel x

Feb 1, 2011 Athena 52 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Eat Versus Treat - Hypos hi Everyone, Am I the only one who finds that if I eat instead of treat for BG,s of between 3.6 and 4 I very quickly end up in a lower hypo? I don't know why this is as we are not supposed to take fast acting sugar for these higher levels. However, I can't get this to work, they hypo just continues and the drop happens very quickly, down to the low 1's in five minutes if there is the accompanying feeling of dropping. Otherewise it takes up to 20 minutes to be down in the 1's. It is not as if I am eating low GI starches to feed this, so I can't work out what I am doing wrong. Treating a 3.9 works fine for me when I do this, I don't end up too high afterwards so maybe I am best to stick with this. Would be interested in any advice or hearing if other people are having the same problems. thanks!

Feb 1, 2011 novorapidboi26 1,819 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Beans and lentils Hi, I also eat these things but always usually with a much quickly absorbed carb..... I suppose it depends on how much of it you are eating, they are released into the blood as glucose very slowly, so a background dose will ususally suffice for small amounts.... Where do you get your beans and lentils, it would be better if it came from a pack, at least at first so you know how much carbs in x amount of lentils/beans....... I have never heard of halfing the dose, things like these were never meant to be counted, but it may work.... To conclude I would say find out the carb content of your food per x grams and weigh each time, I would say only 1 or 2 units of insulin would be required for any meal containing these, if that......

Jan 31, 2011 sarahbarlow87 1 post	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Beans and lentils Hi, I'm vegetarian and the majority of my meals are lentils, bean and vegetables of some variety! I struggle counting the carbs as I always make a big pot of something and then find it quite tedious trying to work out how many lentils/beans are in my portion and also whether or not to half the carbs, at my clinic they said if i'm eating lentils and beans I should half the amount of carbs that are in them to work out the CP value.. sometimes if I do this it works, other times I go low and some times my sugars are sky high! I know its all about trying and testing but its not really working.. I thought my diet should be pretty good as it is Low GI etc. but it seems i'd be safer in my blood sugars to eat things out of a packet with the carb values on!! ARGHH... does anyone else have this problem? or does anyone have the answer for my problems?!

Jan 31, 2011 maria51 22 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Frozen Insulin Go and get a new lot of insulin Paul ASAP as the insulin you're using now has become ineffective due to being too cold. Have a read of the instruction leaflet that's enclosed with the insulin to find the correct temp to store it. If it becomes frozen, it's no good. All the best, Maria.

Jan 31, 2011 Paul F 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Frozen Insulin I store my insulin in the fridge, but the temperature dial got turned up to max by mistake and everything froze. I didn't think to check my insulin, but I guess this froze too. Anyway, I've been using this insulin for the last few days but it's not as effective at all. Looking at my readings over the last few days... they're nearly all high. Did anyone else ever had the same experience? -Paul

Jan 30, 2011 HelenP 218 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Weight I have been watching my weight for years and years and have (at times become very depressed about it) I have even been put onto a protein sparing fast (in hospital for a week eating <600 calories!). i did not lose any measureable weight...the nursing staff suggested I was eating Mars bars or something but as they held all my insulin that would have resulted in interesting BG's. The explanation from the endo was that weight/insulin/insulin sensitivity was a very complex issue not simply food in. I was basically told to limit carbs to 10 CP a day and to eat a lot of salads and fat free where possible. Since that advice I have not put on weight but neither have I lost any. I have not put on any weight since Dafne! Basically my diet did not change although my HbA1c went down nearly 1%. Complex issue.

Jan 30, 2011 hld1904 5 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Weight Hi Alan Constable, I agree if you eat less food your weight should go down but if i ate any less i would eat nothing!!! Lol

Jan 30, 2011 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Weight My HCP told me that the best way to lose weight is to eat less. Obviously, if your intake of carbs goes down, then so should your insulin dose. This might not work for everybody, I accept, but it also seems obvious that if you eat more than you need to, the body will store the excess as fat. Eating less certainly worked for me, anyway.

Jan 30, 2011 PaulaY 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Weight I have also found that my weight has increased, though I do intend to eat a lot of salads and fat free foods. Though I am concerned about my weight as is my consultant. My controls are much better since starting Dafne. And I would much rather be overweight than have poor control again. I think what it has increased my weight, is knowing I can eat carbs and adjust my insulin accordingly. I have stopped eating so many carbs, and my weight is slowly coming off. I'm no longer raiding the biscuit barrel and saying to myself its only so many units of insulin. lol

Jan 30, 2011 MikeH 9 posts	Topic: Site Development / DAFNE Online iPhone application - help with content/design needed i dont think so on the diary summary at the bottom you have Corrective QA Counts (14 day) for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Bed can you show the number of correcticve increases (+) and decreases(-) seperatly instead of just the total corrections for that time.