Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Apr 28, 2010

fran 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / "Balance" letter about injecting in public

I am appalled that people ( a nurse especially) would be so narrow minded to think that injecting in public is a "no no". People eat in public and diabetics inject in public - dealt with it - it keeps us alive.

Apr 27, 2010

andyt 1 post

Topic: General Discussion / Lantus Lasting 24 hours?

Hi Mark

After DAFNE I struggled to get my Lantus dose right for me, I seemed to try everything - the time, spiliting it, the dose (2years!) I changed to Levmir a spilt am/pm last September and so far its seems to be a lot betters. Im counting down to my next appointment at the clinic to see if my Hba1c has come down!

Thanks

Andrea

Apr 26, 2010

DavidJ 23 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight

Hi,
Most of my hypos occurred during the evening after a physical day at work (not during the extra activity when I sometimes took extra CP's, but 6-8 hours later). I experimented with a 25% reduction in my QA for my dinner and a 40% reduction in my BI at bedtime. This gives me a fairly flat blood glucose over night and is more likely to keep me within target at bedtime. When I don't work that hard physically I leave the ratios and the background alone. Before DAFNE I used to hypo a lot during the evening and as a result I ate lots of sugary snacks. Since I've reduced the frequency of the hypos I've lost about 5Kg, which is quite a lot because I was only 65Kg to begin with. As we all know, ratios and background are an individual thing and what works for one person may be entirely different for someone else. I think it's in the DAFNE handbook about reducing QA and BI following prolonged exercise.

Apr 26, 2010

Harry 4 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Thanks marke!

I am a new DAFNE graduate and I would rather keep records on my WM device (instead of the printed DAFNE diaries...). Plus, I would love to have the carb calculation available in my WM device as well.

I had a bit of search around and I think that for now I'll opt for the DiabetesPilot <http://www.diabetespilot.com> which offers solutions for a variety of platforms. Does anyone have any impression on that?

I've also downloaded a pdf file of the carb lists in my device, so that would probably keep me going for now (until I find a DAFNE WM programme or decide to go to iPhone myself!).

Cheers,
Harry

Apr 26, 2010

Gat 1 post

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / taka way

hi i was wondering if any knows how many cps a portion of king prawn fried rice is i normally have the full tray

Apr 25, 2010

marke 655 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

given the time, we would like to develop something however I suspect its not going to happen in the near future unless someone volunteers to do it. I do have a windows mobile phone ( although I'm afraid windows mobile 6.1 drove me to the iphone which I am now in love with) and I thing the visual studio 2010 beta will let me do something for that platform. If I get time, othwerwise I can't afford a full copy of visual studio, the software needed to develop for windows mobile.
I will let you know if we do develop anything.

Apr 25, 2010

marke 655 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight

bad news Chris, the answer I believe is yes. You do need different BI and ratio on days you exercise and days you don't. As JWo points out your fitness levels effect your insulin requirements as the fitter you are the better your body uses insulin to assist the conversion of sugar to energy. You also need to understand that when you exercise it causes your muscles to increase their energy requirements for much longer than the exercise actually lasts. It can cause your BG to be lower for upto 24 hours. I used to have this problem on the mornings following a gym visit. I am not suprised that you hypo-ed in the night after your 28 mile ride. Your 'high' reading at 10pm was most likely due to all the sugar pumping around your body to feed your muscles during the exercise. As I said because the requirement lasts 'after' the exercise , your
BI probably assisted your body in keeping the flow of BG out of your blood into your muscles while you slept hence the hypo.
It is a tricky balance and there have been a number of posts on these forums about exercise and BG's. I don't think there is an easy answer unfortunately, although there should be a number of people that can help with advice.
The problems you have with weight could be due to the fact that exercise helps to convert 'fat' to muscle and of course muscle has weight so the net result may not be weightloss. Again I don't think there is an easy answer to this, I personally wish there was but thats life I guess.

Apr 25, 2010

Harry 4 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Hi All,

I know that this is a thread for an iPhone app, but it would be great if the same also existed for Windows Mobile...

Any ideas suggestions for any software that incorporate (i) DAFNE calculation of Carb portion list and/or (ii) DAFNE diary (ideally by downloading readings from the meter)?

Best wishes,
Harry

Apr 25, 2010

Anil 39 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter?

I agree, i guess the aim is just to bring your glucose to as normal and consistent as possible.
I was just thinking this because of the price of test strips, I mean for Â£25 ppk/50, or so, Id have thought it would be much more accurate and consistent across different test strips and meters,
Great response!
Thanks!
Anil

Apr 25, 2010

JayBee 582 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter?

Considering 10-20% is likely to be such a minut amount to be out by, are we sure it's worth bothering with changing to a machine that apparently gives more accurate readings?

It says on most manuals that results can be inaccurate, especially at higher readings, but that's because the higher the amount, the higher the 10-20% total will be. Even the machine testing stuff they send you to test your machine is reliable is set between two points and not an exact result...

With this, I don't think it's worth the change personally. Only when it's a case of seriously effecting your control, I'd check the monitor to see if it is functioning properly and then maybe consider the machine change if it wasn't.

Apr 24, 2010

MarkM 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter?

I think you're both right. Just before my post, my BG was 11.2 and then 12.2 using the same blood on my UltraEasy meter. I recently read on the following website:

http://www.mendosa.com/precision.htm

that precision, i.e. consistently getting similar readings on successive tests of the same blood sample, is more important than accuracy. I am generally very happy with the UltraEasy but would change to a different meter if I knew it had greater precision. I wonder if the Which consumer group or similar compares meters on that basis.

Mark

Apr 24, 2010

Barney 1 post

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Am i counting carbs right

Hey I just graduated and during the course took 22 units for a meal I would have guessed less than 10, just stick to rules and test if unsure, know Im new but seems to work, Kev

Apr 24, 2010

JayBee 582 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight

I'm not sure what else to suggest considering it says in the DAFNE handbook that if you want to aim to lose weight, aim to reduce your insulin. Considering my DAFNE nurse told my group that insulin is a growth hormone, I am not surprised by this being in the book.

When you do exercise, your body uses the insulin a lot more effectively resulting in you needing less of it to prevent a hypo. However, sometimes it's just as effective to eat more CPs before the exercise, but with the weigh loss plan, I would assume that this would not be as effective as simply reducing your insulin by the recommended amount in your DAFNE book for the exercise you take.

I am not sure how well it works if you don't take any insulin for a small meal before exercise... but you'd think that the BI would be enough for that...

If you have any doubt about your ratios or background, I would concentrate on that first because exercise can confuse things - but if you're finding that your results are good most of the time, especially considering you have a exercise heavy regime, I then think you're doing a marvelous job.

I do a lot of exercise most days of the week from just walking to work and doing my job generally. I've found that despite getting my blood sugar levels right most of the time to cater for this exercise, my weight hasn't shifted much... it hovers up and down half a stone... but I am at a weight that I'm happy with so I don't worry about it too much.
With this, I do wonder if you just need to give it a bit more time - or perhaps on a more positive thought, perhaps most of your weight is muscle?

Hope I've been of some help... best wishes!

Apr 24, 2010

Anil 39 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter?

Hi,
Yes i agree with the 10-20%.
I have a freestyle Lite, and have recently obtained a Accu-Check Mobile.
I pricked my finger and used the same blood on each machine.
At this time (after dinner), The freestyle lite shows my sugars to be 10.8, the Accu-check showed 12.4.
So i decided to stick with my freestyle lite for now, until I have better control over my sugars,
There definatley is a difference between different Blood Glucose machines, I was advise you to use the same one as before to ensure correct and accurate results.

Apr 23, 2010

JamjarsNZ 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / "Balance" letter about injecting in public

I have never had a problem injecting in public (buses, planes, pubs). If anyone asks what I am doing, usually someone I know or has just met me but never a stranger yet, they have not even noticed it was a needle. You can hardly see the needle at all! A quick explaination of what I am doing turns even quicker into a full blown conversation about diabetes and I get the chance to inform people about the condition. Don't know how many hours I have spent dispelling other peoples myths. I like it, education leads to less ignorance and discrimination.

Apr 23, 2010

Ryan Breakwell 3 posts

Topic: General Discussion / My Diary For First Week Of Dafne

Here Is My Diary From My Week Doing Dafne For The First Time. I Hope To See Major Improvements Before My Follow Up In Six Weeks Time Smile

Apr 23, 2010

superman3000 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight

I have had diabetes since I was nine, I am now 33, I am happy with my general control up until now. I have completed a Dafne course, which has helped me achieve a HPA1C of 7.1%, which I am very happy with.

The problem is I have become a keen mountain biker, and have been regular riding for about 8 mouths and have covered 2000+ miles. But I am yet to lose any weight. I am 5â€™8â€ and weigh 92kg which is too heavyâ€¦ On a normal Sunday and Wednesday night ride I would cover approximately 30miles and burn 3500 calories each ride.

Because I have not got the results I am after, I have stepped up my training to, going out around three times a week doing approximately 30 miles on each ride, as well as three times a week I cycle on an exercise bike for an hour at 60% heart rate (fat burning zone).

When I first started riding I was having to eat a lot the following day to stop myself from becoming low, but now I have reduced my insulin ratio from 1.5:1 to 1:1 which has stopped me from having to eat. But if I miss any training I have to return to my normal ratio the following day otherwise I will go high.

Last night I went out for a 28 mile ride, I had a 3cp for dinner (new boiled potatoes 200g at 6pm) with a blood sugar level of 5.6. When I arrived home my blood sugar level was 11.6 @ 10pm. I did not eat or drink any carbohydrate. I then checked my sugar level at 11.30 before bed which was 5.8, I was keen to see if my background was correct, so I didnâ€™t eat anything. This morning I was woken by the paramedic after recovering me from a hypo.

Does this mean I have to have two different background amounts and two different ratios for when I am exercising and when I am notâ€¦. I am trying very hard to get this under control but I donâ€™t know the best way to work out all the variablesâ€¦.

I am assuming my metabolic rate speeds up when I am exercising, and my body needs less insulin to control my blood sugar level. So, do I need to do the same level of exercise all the time so my metabolic rate stays the same, giving me time to get my background and ratio right?
It does annoy me when I am having to take on loads of calories just to stop me for being low.
Any ideas on what I should do would be great.

Cheers Chris

Apr 22, 2010

NiVZ 82 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter?

Hello,

I've heard that meters can be as much as 10-20% inaccurate. Not sure what the most accurate meter is though.

NiVZ

Apr 28, 2010 fran 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / "Balance" letter about injecting in public I am appalled that people ( a nurse especially) would be so narrow minded to think that injecting in public is a "no no". People eat in public and diabetics inject in public - dealt with it - it keeps us alive.

Apr 27, 2010 andyt 1 post	Topic: General Discussion / Lantus Lasting 24 hours? Hi Mark After DAFNE I struggled to get my Lantus dose right for me, I seemed to try everything - the time, spiliting it, the dose (2years!) I changed to Levmir a spilt am/pm last September and so far its seems to be a lot betters. Im counting down to my next appointment at the clinic to see if my Hba1c has come down! Thanks Andrea

Apr 26, 2010 DavidJ 23 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight Hi, Most of my hypos occurred during the evening after a physical day at work (not during the extra activity when I sometimes took extra CP's, but 6-8 hours later). I experimented with a 25% reduction in my QA for my dinner and a 40% reduction in my BI at bedtime. This gives me a fairly flat blood glucose over night and is more likely to keep me within target at bedtime. When I don't work that hard physically I leave the ratios and the background alone. Before DAFNE I used to hypo a lot during the evening and as a result I ate lots of sugary snacks. Since I've reduced the frequency of the hypos I've lost about 5Kg, which is quite a lot because I was only 65Kg to begin with. As we all know, ratios and background are an individual thing and what works for one person may be entirely different for someone else. I think it's in the DAFNE handbook about reducing QA and BI following prolonged exercise.

Apr 26, 2010 Harry 4 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Thanks marke! I am a new DAFNE graduate and I would rather keep records on my WM device (instead of the printed DAFNE diaries...). Plus, I would love to have the carb calculation available in my WM device as well. I had a bit of search around and I think that for now I'll opt for the DiabetesPilot <http://www.diabetespilot.com> which offers solutions for a variety of platforms. Does anyone have any impression on that? I've also downloaded a pdf file of the carb lists in my device, so that would probably keep me going for now (until I find a DAFNE WM programme or decide to go to iPhone myself!). Cheers, Harry

Apr 26, 2010 Gat 1 post	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / taka way hi i was wondering if any knows how many cps a portion of king prawn fried rice is i normally have the full tray

Apr 25, 2010 marke 655 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps given the time, we would like to develop something however I suspect its not going to happen in the near future unless someone volunteers to do it. I do have a windows mobile phone ( although I'm afraid windows mobile 6.1 drove me to the iphone which I am now in love with) and I thing the visual studio 2010 beta will let me do something for that platform. If I get time, othwerwise I can't afford a full copy of visual studio, the software needed to develop for windows mobile. I will let you know if we do develop anything.

Apr 25, 2010 marke 655 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight bad news Chris, the answer I believe is yes. You do need different BI and ratio on days you exercise and days you don't. As JWo points out your fitness levels effect your insulin requirements as the fitter you are the better your body uses insulin to assist the conversion of sugar to energy. You also need to understand that when you exercise it causes your muscles to increase their energy requirements for much longer than the exercise actually lasts. It can cause your BG to be lower for upto 24 hours. I used to have this problem on the mornings following a gym visit. I am not suprised that you hypo-ed in the night after your 28 mile ride. Your 'high' reading at 10pm was most likely due to all the sugar pumping around your body to feed your muscles during the exercise. As I said because the requirement lasts 'after' the exercise , your BI probably assisted your body in keeping the flow of BG out of your blood into your muscles while you slept hence the hypo. It is a tricky balance and there have been a number of posts on these forums about exercise and BG's. I don't think there is an easy answer unfortunately, although there should be a number of people that can help with advice. The problems you have with weight could be due to the fact that exercise helps to convert 'fat' to muscle and of course muscle has weight so the net result may not be weightloss. Again I don't think there is an easy answer to this, I personally wish there was but thats life I guess.

Apr 25, 2010 Harry 4 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Hi All, I know that this is a thread for an iPhone app, but it would be great if the same also existed for Windows Mobile... Any ideas suggestions for any software that incorporate (i) DAFNE calculation of Carb portion list and/or (ii) DAFNE diary (ideally by downloading readings from the meter)? Best wishes, Harry

Apr 25, 2010 Anil 39 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter? I agree, i guess the aim is just to bring your glucose to as normal and consistent as possible. I was just thinking this because of the price of test strips, I mean for Â£25 ppk/50, or so, Id have thought it would be much more accurate and consistent across different test strips and meters, Great response! Thanks! Anil

Apr 25, 2010 JayBee 582 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter? Considering 10-20% is likely to be such a minut amount to be out by, are we sure it's worth bothering with changing to a machine that apparently gives more accurate readings? It says on most manuals that results can be inaccurate, especially at higher readings, but that's because the higher the amount, the higher the 10-20% total will be. Even the machine testing stuff they send you to test your machine is reliable is set between two points and not an exact result... With this, I don't think it's worth the change personally. Only when it's a case of seriously effecting your control, I'd check the monitor to see if it is functioning properly and then maybe consider the machine change if it wasn't.

Apr 24, 2010 MarkM 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter? I think you're both right. Just before my post, my BG was 11.2 and then 12.2 using the same blood on my UltraEasy meter. I recently read on the following website: http://www.mendosa.com/precision.htm that precision, i.e. consistently getting similar readings on successive tests of the same blood sample, is more important than accuracy. I am generally very happy with the UltraEasy but would change to a different meter if I knew it had greater precision. I wonder if the Which consumer group or similar compares meters on that basis. Mark

Apr 24, 2010 Barney 1 post	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Am i counting carbs right Hey I just graduated and during the course took 22 units for a meal I would have guessed less than 10, just stick to rules and test if unsure, know Im new but seems to work, Kev

Apr 24, 2010 JayBee 582 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight I'm not sure what else to suggest considering it says in the DAFNE handbook that if you want to aim to lose weight, aim to reduce your insulin. Considering my DAFNE nurse told my group that insulin is a growth hormone, I am not surprised by this being in the book. When you do exercise, your body uses the insulin a lot more effectively resulting in you needing less of it to prevent a hypo. However, sometimes it's just as effective to eat more CPs before the exercise, but with the weigh loss plan, I would assume that this would not be as effective as simply reducing your insulin by the recommended amount in your DAFNE book for the exercise you take. I am not sure how well it works if you don't take any insulin for a small meal before exercise... but you'd think that the BI would be enough for that... If you have any doubt about your ratios or background, I would concentrate on that first because exercise can confuse things - but if you're finding that your results are good most of the time, especially considering you have a exercise heavy regime, I then think you're doing a marvelous job. I do a lot of exercise most days of the week from just walking to work and doing my job generally. I've found that despite getting my blood sugar levels right most of the time to cater for this exercise, my weight hasn't shifted much... it hovers up and down half a stone... but I am at a weight that I'm happy with so I don't worry about it too much. With this, I do wonder if you just need to give it a bit more time - or perhaps on a more positive thought, perhaps most of your weight is muscle? Hope I've been of some help... best wishes!

Apr 24, 2010 Anil 39 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter? Hi, Yes i agree with the 10-20%. I have a freestyle Lite, and have recently obtained a Accu-Check Mobile. I pricked my finger and used the same blood on each machine. At this time (after dinner), The freestyle lite shows my sugars to be 10.8, the Accu-check showed 12.4. So i decided to stick with my freestyle lite for now, until I have better control over my sugars, There definatley is a difference between different Blood Glucose machines, I was advise you to use the same one as before to ensure correct and accurate results.

Apr 23, 2010 JamjarsNZ 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / "Balance" letter about injecting in public I have never had a problem injecting in public (buses, planes, pubs). If anyone asks what I am doing, usually someone I know or has just met me but never a stranger yet, they have not even noticed it was a needle. You can hardly see the needle at all! A quick explaination of what I am doing turns even quicker into a full blown conversation about diabetes and I get the chance to inform people about the condition. Don't know how many hours I have spent dispelling other peoples myths. I like it, education leads to less ignorance and discrimination.

Apr 23, 2010 Ryan Breakwell 3 posts	Topic: General Discussion / My Diary For First Week Of Dafne Here Is My Diary From My Week Doing Dafne For The First Time. I Hope To See Major Improvements Before My Follow Up In Six Weeks Time

Apr 23, 2010 superman3000 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help how to loose weight I have had diabetes since I was nine, I am now 33, I am happy with my general control up until now. I have completed a Dafne course, which has helped me achieve a HPA1C of 7.1%, which I am very happy with. The problem is I have become a keen mountain biker, and have been regular riding for about 8 mouths and have covered 2000+ miles. But I am yet to lose any weight. I am 5â€™8â€ and weigh 92kg which is too heavyâ€¦ On a normal Sunday and Wednesday night ride I would cover approximately 30miles and burn 3500 calories each ride. Because I have not got the results I am after, I have stepped up my training to, going out around three times a week doing approximately 30 miles on each ride, as well as three times a week I cycle on an exercise bike for an hour at 60% heart rate (fat burning zone). When I first started riding I was having to eat a lot the following day to stop myself from becoming low, but now I have reduced my insulin ratio from 1.5:1 to 1:1 which has stopped me from having to eat. But if I miss any training I have to return to my normal ratio the following day otherwise I will go high. Last night I went out for a 28 mile ride, I had a 3cp for dinner (new boiled potatoes 200g at 6pm) with a blood sugar level of 5.6. When I arrived home my blood sugar level was 11.6 @ 10pm. I did not eat or drink any carbohydrate. I then checked my sugar level at 11.30 before bed which was 5.8, I was keen to see if my background was correct, so I didnâ€™t eat anything. This morning I was woken by the paramedic after recovering me from a hypo. Does this mean I have to have two different background amounts and two different ratios for when I am exercising and when I am notâ€¦. I am trying very hard to get this under control but I donâ€™t know the best way to work out all the variablesâ€¦. I am assuming my metabolic rate speeds up when I am exercising, and my body needs less insulin to control my blood sugar level. So, do I need to do the same level of exercise all the time so my metabolic rate stays the same, giving me time to get my background and ratio right? It does annoy me when I am having to take on loads of calories just to stop me for being low. Any ideas on what I should do would be great. Cheers Chris

Apr 22, 2010 NiVZ 82 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What is the most accurate meter? Hello, I've heard that meters can be as much as 10-20% inaccurate. Not sure what the most accurate meter is though. NiVZ