Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Dec 29, 2010

marke 686 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Brittle Diabetes

unfortunately I think the only answer to brittle diabetes is an islet transplant. A little while ago we were fortunate enough to have Richard Lane the president of Diabetes UK attend a DAFNE User Action Group meeting and he is/was a 'brittle' diabetic who had an islet transplant. It is not a 'cure' as such as it doesn't last forever, but apparently it made a huge difference to him. Another thing that helps, but at the moment is still expensive, is continuous glucose monitoring. These devices give you a BG reading every 10 mins or so and apparently also help greatly in managing BG as you can keep track of the effects of everything you eat.
All I can say is keep trying to control your diabetes, its not easy. We all have days when our BG's don't make sense, but to be in that situation all the time must be very frustrating. Hopefully there are others on here who can offer more practical advice based on experience.

Dec 29, 2010

MikeH 9 posts

Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Join Now !!

ok just done my application and sent

Dec 28, 2010

PNThompson 57 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / cold and flu medications

From my past experience, and asking my diabetic nurse or consultant, the warnings are aimed at Type 2, as you are correct to counteract any increases in blood sugar during the injections. That was some time ago, so it may be worth asking again. I've found that i've only had any luck with the Day Nurse and Night Nurse tablets/capsules, and they advise not taking them if you are diabetic.

Dec 28, 2010

JayBee 587 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Brittle Diabetes

I'm having a hard time finding a clear definition of what "brittle diabetes" is. It's got too much mix in with general statements about poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. I've been diabetic for 21 years and I've never heard of it.

With this, what advice have your DAFNE team given you since you've had this type of diabetes for so long?

If you take the same thing every day, have you tried the ratio adjustments to prevent post meal hypos? With you now being on a pump, my understanding of your regime is restricted because I inject manually.

Do you still have your DAFNE guidebook to help you? Five years is a long time to be doing DAFNE...

Best of luck with figuring it all out.

Dec 28, 2010

davidstyles82 4 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / cold and flu medications

When suffering from colds etc I sometimes use medications from over the counter such sudafed or nurofen.

Can any one tell me why it recommends i consult a doctor if i have diabetes or does this just refer to type 2 or poorly controlled diabetics?

All i have noticed is an increase in blood sugar which i can control with corrective doses or sick day rules?

Dec 28, 2010

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Carb Free Breakfast

Yes, I was a bit doubtful about "proteins counteracting carbs". Surely, if a meal contains carbohydrates, you have to count them to calculate your QA dosage, regardless of what you're having with them.

Dec 28, 2010

Broady 13 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat

The nutrition book I use is Dr. Wynnie Chan food and diet counter

Dec 27, 2010

PNThompson 57 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Carb Free Breakfast

Careful guys, as sausages do have carbohydrates. Despite Eggs and Bacon not having Carbohydrates, I would be carefule and consider that there may a few carbs in that.

Dec 27, 2010

Sue Brewer 2 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat

Many thanks. I'd be grateful if you could tell me what nutrition book you are using? Thanks again.
Sue

Dec 27, 2010

Broady 13 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat

In my nutrition book 25ml of Advocaat is equal to 7g of carbohydrates

Dec 27, 2010

Sue Brewer 2 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat

Does anyone know how many CP are in a serving of Advocaat please?

Dec 27, 2010

adamrit 4 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Brittle Diabetes

Has anyone found a way of coping with brittle diabetes. I've had it for 54 years. I used to have lots of bad hypos, so I did the DAFNE course and then, a nearly five years ago, I got a Medtronic 512 pump and last week the new Medtronic Veo replacement through Dr Darko at Central Middlesex. The pump reduced my hypos very considerably, but even though I calculate my food and relate my bolus (quick acting) and basal (background) rates to food and exercise, I have no way of anticipating what my blood glucose is. Eating exactly the same every morning, the same bolus and exercise and given the same pre-breakfast BG, the BG at 11.00 can be 2.5 or 16mm/l. I have to test my blood 8 times a day to avoid extreme hypos and hypers. The results defy the rules of DAFNE, so, though I follow them carefully, I still have no way to anticipate my BG readings.
Last night, after a very light meal (two toasts and salad) at 8.00pm, I was 9.0mmol/l at 11.30pm which is usually OK for me through the night, but at 4.00am I was over 16mmol/l. I took 4.5U of bolus which only brought my BG down to 11.5mmol/l at 8.00am. I had no breakfast but had another bolus of 2.4 which brought the BG down to 7.0mmol/l by lunchtime. I changed the insulin two days ago and was fine on the first day. I'm not ill, I have no sign of infection. Other days can be the opposite. Nothing is ever regular.
I am in pretty good health, at just over 6ft and 176lbs, about 10lb heavier than 20 years ago. My eyes and feet are OK. I'm fairly active. There is no regular pattern to my BG readings. My HbA1c are always between 7 and 8.4 which isn't good but not too bad.
What distresses me is that I try really hard to control my diabetes, but I can't find any way to regulate the metabolism of my diabetes. I never cheat and have a secret biscuit on the side and forget to put in in, there's no point. Anyone else with the same sort of problem?

Dec 27, 2010

Broady 13 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / prawn crackers?

I have a nutrition book with values for many foods, in the book it says for every 70g of prawn crackers it is 37g of carbohydrates. I hope this helps

Dec 26, 2010

keyolekate 1 post

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / prawn crackers?

I always get stuck with calculating the CP's for prawn crakers. Has anybody worked this out?
Thanks

Dec 24, 2010

Stew B 125 posts

Topic: General Discussion / A very Merry Christmas to you all

Here here! Thanks to Simon and Marke for everything they've done to provide such an excellent resource!

I'll be echoing Simon in overindulging - I've just ticked my Xmas family-brunch order, it says "everything except the black pudding", pre-DAFNE I couldn't imagine being able to put in an order like that.

Compliments of the season to everyone!

Stew

Dec 24, 2010

Alan 49 284 posts

Topic: General Discussion / A very Merry Christmas to you all

Thanks Simon, Mark and everybody at DAFNE Online for all the hard work you do to give us a really helpful resource that I'm sure we all find very useful. Best wishes to all of you.

Dec 24, 2010

Simon 578 posts

Topic: General Discussion / A very Merry Christmas to you all

Further to Mark's news post, I'd just like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you all enjoy the festive season to the fullest - not wanting to encourage bad behaviour but I for one shall be eating and drinking too much, and hope you all do too Smile

To echo Mark's comments, we have doubled in size from 2126 to over 4700 users in the past year which is testament to the hard work by the DAFNE Educators and Central Management team so a big thank you to those guys for supporting us.

But, first and foremost - thanks to you, the users - without your participation in the forums, requests for new features and problem finding, DAFNE Online wouldn't be a success - so thank you to you all so much!

All the best for Christmas and the New Year

Simon

Dec 23, 2010

JayBee 587 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Needlessly Repeated BG Results...

My bad, my post was in Carb Counting, not General Discussion.

Dec 23, 2010

JayBee 587 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Needlessly Repeated BG Results...

Unfortunately both error messages are still happening. Ive posted a result for 14Dec10 today and I think it has done the repeating. Will post results later because I dont have the option to at the moment. A forum post I did in General Discussion brought up the non existing thread message. Shall get it with this post as well Im sure. Thanks.

Dec 23, 2010

JayBee 587 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Carb Free Breakfast

It doesnt really work too well to say "check the carbohydrates" for sausages, because its the proteins that counteract the carbs, so carbs will always be present on the labelling. Similiar goes for heinz tinned baked beans - you dont count the beans but there is sugar in the sauce. The best way around this is to only count the sugar content - Im doubtful the same method applies to sausages, so is there any other way of identifying? Im so glad Ive clearly only eaten meaty sausages, even when eating out!

Dec 23, 2010

JayBee 587 posts

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Information on menstrual cycle

My DAFNE nurse said that what happens varies from person to person so what you need to do for each time of the month is something you need to work out - this is why there are no guidance notes in the DAFNE book.

I do hope that notes may appear in the future after more research is done but for the record, even now, after 20 years of being diabetic, I still don't really know. With me being on a pill though, I've managed to identify that my levels raise about a week before my period starts. I wouldn't be surprised if what you need to do shifts considering I get different patterns each time I try to work out what it's doing.

If highs are consistant during that time across the day/night, I would put your BI up first instead of adjusting your ratios. Good luck with working it all out.

Dec 22, 2010

Simon 578 posts

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

Hi John,

Thanks for your positive feedback. We've had lots of requests for adding your own carb info / creating plates so we'll focus on adding this to the app in the new year.

If you find out what causes the app to crash then let us know, unfortunately it's hard to pin it down unless we know what's causing it.

Simon

Dec 22, 2010

marke 686 posts

Topic: DUAG Committee / Christmas Greetings to all Committee Members

same to you as well Brian, see you all on the 21st Jan hopefully. By then I will be off the steriods and back imbibing red wine my favourite tipple :-)

Dec 29, 2010 marke 686 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Brittle Diabetes unfortunately I think the only answer to brittle diabetes is an islet transplant. A little while ago we were fortunate enough to have Richard Lane the president of Diabetes UK attend a DAFNE User Action Group meeting and he is/was a 'brittle' diabetic who had an islet transplant. It is not a 'cure' as such as it doesn't last forever, but apparently it made a huge difference to him. Another thing that helps, but at the moment is still expensive, is continuous glucose monitoring. These devices give you a BG reading every 10 mins or so and apparently also help greatly in managing BG as you can keep track of the effects of everything you eat. All I can say is keep trying to control your diabetes, its not easy. We all have days when our BG's don't make sense, but to be in that situation all the time must be very frustrating. Hopefully there are others on here who can offer more practical advice based on experience.

Dec 29, 2010 MikeH 9 posts	Topic: DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) / Join Now !! ok just done my application and sent

Dec 28, 2010 PNThompson 57 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / cold and flu medications From my past experience, and asking my diabetic nurse or consultant, the warnings are aimed at Type 2, as you are correct to counteract any increases in blood sugar during the injections. That was some time ago, so it may be worth asking again. I've found that i've only had any luck with the Day Nurse and Night Nurse tablets/capsules, and they advise not taking them if you are diabetic.

Dec 28, 2010 JayBee 587 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Brittle Diabetes I'm having a hard time finding a clear definition of what "brittle diabetes" is. It's got too much mix in with general statements about poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. I've been diabetic for 21 years and I've never heard of it. With this, what advice have your DAFNE team given you since you've had this type of diabetes for so long? If you take the same thing every day, have you tried the ratio adjustments to prevent post meal hypos? With you now being on a pump, my understanding of your regime is restricted because I inject manually. Do you still have your DAFNE guidebook to help you? Five years is a long time to be doing DAFNE... Best of luck with figuring it all out.

Dec 28, 2010 davidstyles82 4 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / cold and flu medications When suffering from colds etc I sometimes use medications from over the counter such sudafed or nurofen. Can any one tell me why it recommends i consult a doctor if i have diabetes or does this just refer to type 2 or poorly controlled diabetics? All i have noticed is an increase in blood sugar which i can control with corrective doses or sick day rules?

Dec 28, 2010 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Carb Free Breakfast Yes, I was a bit doubtful about "proteins counteracting carbs". Surely, if a meal contains carbohydrates, you have to count them to calculate your QA dosage, regardless of what you're having with them.

Dec 28, 2010 Broady 13 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat The nutrition book I use is Dr. Wynnie Chan food and diet counter

Dec 27, 2010 PNThompson 57 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Carb Free Breakfast Careful guys, as sausages do have carbohydrates. Despite Eggs and Bacon not having Carbohydrates, I would be carefule and consider that there may a few carbs in that.

Dec 27, 2010 Sue Brewer 2 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat Many thanks. I'd be grateful if you could tell me what nutrition book you are using? Thanks again. Sue

Dec 27, 2010 Broady 13 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat In my nutrition book 25ml of Advocaat is equal to 7g of carbohydrates

Dec 27, 2010 Sue Brewer 2 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Advocaat Does anyone know how many CP are in a serving of Advocaat please?

Dec 27, 2010 adamrit 4 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Brittle Diabetes Has anyone found a way of coping with brittle diabetes. I've had it for 54 years. I used to have lots of bad hypos, so I did the DAFNE course and then, a nearly five years ago, I got a Medtronic 512 pump and last week the new Medtronic Veo replacement through Dr Darko at Central Middlesex. The pump reduced my hypos very considerably, but even though I calculate my food and relate my bolus (quick acting) and basal (background) rates to food and exercise, I have no way of anticipating what my blood glucose is. Eating exactly the same every morning, the same bolus and exercise and given the same pre-breakfast BG, the BG at 11.00 can be 2.5 or 16mm/l. I have to test my blood 8 times a day to avoid extreme hypos and hypers. The results defy the rules of DAFNE, so, though I follow them carefully, I still have no way to anticipate my BG readings. Last night, after a very light meal (two toasts and salad) at 8.00pm, I was 9.0mmol/l at 11.30pm which is usually OK for me through the night, but at 4.00am I was over 16mmol/l. I took 4.5U of bolus which only brought my BG down to 11.5mmol/l at 8.00am. I had no breakfast but had another bolus of 2.4 which brought the BG down to 7.0mmol/l by lunchtime. I changed the insulin two days ago and was fine on the first day. I'm not ill, I have no sign of infection. Other days can be the opposite. Nothing is ever regular. I am in pretty good health, at just over 6ft and 176lbs, about 10lb heavier than 20 years ago. My eyes and feet are OK. I'm fairly active. There is no regular pattern to my BG readings. My HbA1c are always between 7 and 8.4 which isn't good but not too bad. What distresses me is that I try really hard to control my diabetes, but I can't find any way to regulate the metabolism of my diabetes. I never cheat and have a secret biscuit on the side and forget to put in in, there's no point. Anyone else with the same sort of problem?

Dec 27, 2010 Broady 13 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / prawn crackers? I have a nutrition book with values for many foods, in the book it says for every 70g of prawn crackers it is 37g of carbohydrates. I hope this helps

Dec 26, 2010 keyolekate 1 post	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / prawn crackers? I always get stuck with calculating the CP's for prawn crakers. Has anybody worked this out? Thanks

Dec 24, 2010 Stew B 125 posts	Topic: General Discussion / A very Merry Christmas to you all Here here! Thanks to Simon and Marke for everything they've done to provide such an excellent resource! I'll be echoing Simon in overindulging - I've just ticked my Xmas family-brunch order, it says "everything except the black pudding", pre-DAFNE I couldn't imagine being able to put in an order like that. Compliments of the season to everyone! Stew

Dec 24, 2010 Alan 49 284 posts	Topic: General Discussion / A very Merry Christmas to you all Thanks Simon, Mark and everybody at DAFNE Online for all the hard work you do to give us a really helpful resource that I'm sure we all find very useful. Best wishes to all of you.

Dec 24, 2010 Simon 578 posts	Topic: General Discussion / A very Merry Christmas to you all Further to Mark's news post, I'd just like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you all enjoy the festive season to the fullest - not wanting to encourage bad behaviour but I for one shall be eating and drinking too much, and hope you all do too To echo Mark's comments, we have doubled in size from 2126 to over 4700 users in the past year which is testament to the hard work by the DAFNE Educators and Central Management team so a big thank you to those guys for supporting us. But, first and foremost - thanks to you, the users - without your participation in the forums, requests for new features and problem finding, DAFNE Online wouldn't be a success - so thank you to you all so much! All the best for Christmas and the New Year Simon

Dec 23, 2010 JayBee 587 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Needlessly Repeated BG Results... My bad, my post was in Carb Counting, not General Discussion.

Dec 23, 2010 JayBee 587 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Needlessly Repeated BG Results... Unfortunately both error messages are still happening. Ive posted a result for 14Dec10 today and I think it has done the repeating. Will post results later because I dont have the option to at the moment. A forum post I did in General Discussion brought up the non existing thread message. Shall get it with this post as well Im sure. Thanks.

Dec 23, 2010 JayBee 587 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Carb Free Breakfast It doesnt really work too well to say "check the carbohydrates" for sausages, because its the proteins that counteract the carbs, so carbs will always be present on the labelling. Similiar goes for heinz tinned baked beans - you dont count the beans but there is sugar in the sauce. The best way around this is to only count the sugar content - Im doubtful the same method applies to sausages, so is there any other way of identifying? Im so glad Ive clearly only eaten meaty sausages, even when eating out!

Dec 23, 2010 JayBee 587 posts	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Information on menstrual cycle My DAFNE nurse said that what happens varies from person to person so what you need to do for each time of the month is something you need to work out - this is why there are no guidance notes in the DAFNE book. I do hope that notes may appear in the future after more research is done but for the record, even now, after 20 years of being diabetic, I still don't really know. With me being on a pill though, I've managed to identify that my levels raise about a week before my period starts. I wouldn't be surprised if what you need to do shifts considering I get different patterns each time I try to work out what it's doing. If highs are consistant during that time across the day/night, I would put your BI up first instead of adjusting your ratios. Good luck with working it all out.

Dec 22, 2010 Simon 578 posts	Topic: Site Development / DAFNE Online iPhone application - help with content/design needed Hi John, Thanks for your positive feedback. We've had lots of requests for adding your own carb info / creating plates so we'll focus on adding this to the app in the new year. If you find out what causes the app to crash then let us know, unfortunately it's hard to pin it down unless we know what's causing it. Simon

Dec 22, 2010 marke 686 posts	Topic: DUAG Committee / Christmas Greetings to all Committee Members same to you as well Brian, see you all on the 21st Jan hopefully. By then I will be off the steriods and back imbibing red wine my favourite tipple :-)