Recent Posts - DAFNE Online

Mar 26, 2010

angelaallison 7 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Hi Chris,

Will give you feed back with pleasure. I have 5 daughters 1 with Type 1 Diabetes & Coeliacs and another with Coeliacs. Life is a challenge on occasions. Will pass the book onto our Dietician & Team if they haven't already purchased one. I am attending my local group on Staurday will promote it there, along with Dafne online which few people seem to be aware of.

Best wishes

Mar 26, 2010

ccheyette 3 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Hi Angela,

Thanks for the feedback it will be good to hear what you think of the book when you get it. It should be with you towards the end of next week.

Many thanks,

Chris

Mar 26, 2010

angelaallison 7 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Hi ccheyette,

I have just pre-ordered the book! I can't wait for the iphone application. I had already heard about the book on diabetes.org facebook site. People that am I friends with have shown a lot of interest. We all have children with Type 1. Quite a few are on pumps and carb counting.
Claudia is 9 , she weighs her own food and carb counts a lot on her own (we check). I think the book will help her become even more independant and help her with more complex foods.

Best wishes & thanks

Angela

Mar 26, 2010

ccheyette 3 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Hi All,

I am a diabetes specialist dietitian working at Kings College Hospital in London.

I have been working on a new IPhone app. which will be out in around 1 month (May 2010). This will be based on a new book coming out on the 29th March and will feature over 1200 food photographs of different portions of food and drink and include a range of meals and take-away food. Other features will include an insulin calculator, calendar function to store previous dayâ€™s intake and also the ability to add in your own data.
Details about this and the book can be found at www.carbsandcals.com

Mar 26, 2010

vanniebee 1 post

Topic: Questions for HCPs / Hypo recognition.

An interesting discussion and as I'm trying to regain my hypo awareness having suffered some seizures in the past month - very relevant too.

I agree with Peter - hypo symptoms come about from a rapid fall in BG which can of course happen even if your BGs are in the teens - if you experience a rapid drop, you will feel hypo. Interesting what someone said about symptoms/experience changing the longer you have the condition - as a relative newbie (6 yrs) I'm certainly going through a different phase in my diabetes now - perhaps the honeymood period really is over now!

Mar 26, 2010

Dr Jez McCole 11 posts

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

Excellent Idea. I have only recently got an Iphone and one of the first apps I was looking for was a glucose monitoring one. Shortly after graduating the Sheffield course in I think 2001 I wrote an Excel file that looks like the DAFNE log book but which takes the valus to chart average glucose by meal times or insulin dosings. It would also multiply up your insulin dosings based on the carb intake and QA ratio for that meal. This was great but requires a mobile Excel device or access to the PC for each dose. Cue the IPhone!
I have been looking at GlucoseBuddy on the Apps store (free) and this seems simple and navigable.

The idea of analysis of sugars to suggest alterations in the ratios as data is collected would be good.
The idea of an onboard carb count ready reckoner library would be good.
Hypo Spotter would be a useful alert, so that if they appear to be showing a pattern in terms of timing this could be pointed out.
The idea of an icon that links to on screen flow charting for sick day rules would be very helpful.
The ability to sync with the DAFNE online log would be great (much like the GlucoseBuddy software).
An HbA1c predictor tool would be very interesting from a research perspective, now that there is IFCC standardsation in the lab testing.

Not much to wish for!!

Happy to help though,

Kind regards,

Dr Jez McCole, GP
www.gleadlessmedicalcentre.co.uk
Type 1
[email protected]

Mar 26, 2010

Luggerz 10 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Home Made Meals

How do you manage your carb counting when you have peole make things like shepherd's pie or a fry up. I've only been carb counting and amending my dose for about 2 weeks and I've gone to my parents and one night had a fry up and the other time had shepherd's pie. The problem was the try up all the potato etc was cut up and mixed up with the other vegetables so was hard to count. Yesterday it was shepherd's pie and I could not find a figure for it anywhere help!

Marc

Mar 26, 2010

Luggerz 10 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Lantus and Apidra

Does anyone know if you can get lantus and apidra in cartridges for nova pens as well as the solostar pens?

Marc

Mar 26, 2010

Anthony Holmes 3 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Lantus Lasting 24 hours?

I also need to split my Lantus: 11UBI at 8:00 and 10UBI at 20:00. If I'm late by even as little as 45 minutes in giving my Lantus dose I see my blood glucose rising (in the absence of anything else to affect my level). My gut feeling is that for doses of around 20ish Units per day, there are a fairly large number of people who find it doesn't last 24 hours. This was a discovery that most of the people doing my DAFNE course made: a significant majority of them ended up splitting their Lantus (but not everybody).

(Before I did DAFNE I was taking 50 Units of BI per day. Admittedly I also ate a lot more then,... but I have little doubt that the 50 units was lasting 24 hours or more.)

Mar 26, 2010

Anthony Holmes 3 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Help

I know what you mean about record keeping: you get a 'bad' result and you look at it staring up at you from the meter and you think 'I just can't stand to write that result down'.

And I reckon the whole problem is that we think of it as a 'bad' result. I'm a very positive person, yet it has taken me forever to reach the point where I can say to myself:

"What a stunningly off balance result. Oh well, it happened. It doesn't mean I'm a bad person." I simply write EVERYTHING down, no ifs, no buts, 'cos if I don't, I'll never really know what my body is doing.

The trick is: don't beat yourself up, and don't hide the results either. Trust me, I understand how much easier that is to say than to do. Repetition is the key. Each and every time tell yourself it's nothing to feel bad about. It's a fact, like the temperature. Write it down, think about how you got there and move on. The repetition where you tell yourself you aren't bad changes your ingrained tendency to beat yourself up. If you try to take the emotion out of it each and every time, eventually you relax. Take the stress out of it 100 times, and finally you'll start feeling more relaxed, and a lot of other things will fall into place as well.

Mar 25, 2010

Sam 64 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Parsnips

so do you count cp value in parsnips, I've weighed my portion of 100g which is 30/ 3cp. No sure if you count them or not, I thought I heard you do....help?

Sam x

Mar 25, 2010

Snjstar 2 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in?

I put everything seperatly in my handbag. My BG meter strips and pricker are in the case that came with my meter.

Mar 25, 2010

Iain H 3 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in?

Hi lizzie
I use An Umbro pencil case it is the pefect size ,zipped pocket
On side for both insulin pens & plenty of room on the main
Zipped compartment for one touch meter in its owncase & dafne
Diaries etc , available in a few colours

Iain

Mar 24, 2010

ACBrom 1 post

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Monster Energy Drink

Has anybody on DAFNE tried the Monster "Carb Free" energy drink (similar to Red Bull) either on its own or mixed with Jaigermeister (Jaiger-bomb!) and what where the effects? How many units did you inject, etc?

Mar 24, 2010

Karl 83 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in?

I use a DIA-PAK Deluxe - comes with a ice pack also

Mar 24, 2010

DavidJ 23 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in?

Hi Lizzie
I carry my BG meter, my diary, a spare tub of test strips and my pen in a plastic lunch box. It's boring, but practical.
Best wishes Dave.

Mar 24, 2010

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

I was similar, Steve. I also had years of not taking care of myself.

I would say take it slowly. After not thinking about diabetes, having a solid week of nothing but diabetes is really stressful. It can feel daunting at first. There is a lot to learn, and others who already have a good grip on their diabetes and just need a bit of a polish may move faster than you. Just take it at your own speed and keep us posted on your progress.

Mar 24, 2010

derby28 4 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

thanks all for the detailed replies! a great help, and to be honest i dont think its their fault, more when i was younger, i never really went to the centre, guess i didnt take it seriously, and they sent me a letter saying they were passing my care onto the doctors now instead.
At the time i was happier, mainly because my GP had taken extra courses/training in diabetes etc, however i have since moved to another area of derby and had to move to a different doctor, and ive seen him twice but he really doesnt seem to know much about it at all, definatly not to the same levels as my older doctor.
Either way, I have decided id like to take more care of it, and i like the look of DAFNE because i dont really have much idea of things like carb counting etc etc and it would be very useful.

Again, thanks for your time and efforts, will keep you posted, steve.

Mar 24, 2010

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in?

I am looking for a new bag/case to carry my diabetes stuff in. I have looked online and have seen specific diabetic ones like desang, Joe's Small-In-One, etc, but they all look, well, a bit boring really. I have tried cosmetic bags - I am using one right now, but it is a little too small to fit my DAFNE diary in, and others I have seen are too large to go in my handbag. I also tried a pencil case but it was flimsy and broke quite easily. What do other people use?

Mar 24, 2010

marke 686 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

I have to say I'm suprised , but not shocked, Steve. Government policy is to push the treatment of Type 2's into GP surgeries but NOT type 1, NHS Diabetes policy is that Type 1's should be seen by consultants at a hospital Diabetes centre. As Lizzie suggests generally GP's are NOT sufficiently trained to treat Type 1 and its potential complications. You should also be getting eye screening carried out at least once a year ( when they take pictures of your retina for potential damage). If you are covered by the same PCT as the hospital then you ARE eligible for a DAFNE Course, unfortunately you usually need to be referred and thus the 'problem' with not being seen by a Diabetes Consultant who fully understands the issues and necessary treatment.
Can I suggest you contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) here at your local PCT and get them to find out why you are NOT being seen at yuor local hospital by a Diabetes Consultant. Worst case they should be able to put you in contact with the Diabetes Centre at the hospital or even the DAFNE Educator and they should be able to tell you firstly how you get the treatment you are entitled too and secondly how you get onto a DAFNE Course at the hospital. Unfortunately a lot of centres have long waiting lists for the course, but if you are not on the list they you won't get on it !

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Mar 24, 2010

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

OK. Maybe you have a different setup where you live. But I go to the hospital for just about everything - eyes, consultant, dietitian, nurse, etc. My GP cannot offer this range of services. I would definitely look into getting your care at the hospital. It makes more sense to have everything in one place, so your doctor can see your eye test results and everything else. And in my experience GPs and GP surgery nurses know nothing or very little about diabetes. I think the fact they are generalists means they can't know a lot about every single condition in detail, not enough to help you manage it. And if the hospital are seeing you already, you can get onto the DAFNE course too.

Mar 24, 2010

derby28 4 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

Hi,

Yes i mean my GP at local doctors surgery, and for eye tests i goto a optician, and pay for all the additional tests, including the 3D scan thing etc..

Mar 24, 2010

Lizzie 87 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

Hi Steve

When you say you are seen by your doctor do you mean your GP? Do you go to the hospital at all, for eye tests or anything?

Mar 23, 2010

Simon 578 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps

Not sure you can test it as I have to get it approved on the app store, so you can't test until it's available for download, if you see what I mean. The exception to this is getting an 'Enterprise' developer account which costs Â£300 with Apple so it's something I just can't afford. Plus - if it's on the app store it will be advertising for this site.

Let me know what other features you guys need and I'll try and get them in. Those already mentioned seem pretty do-able. In the meantime you are able to access this site's CP list through the browser on your phone, especially formatted for display on small screens (obviously you need an internet connection for this though)

Mar 23, 2010

derby28 4 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course

just to clarify, i realise that my doctors cannot offer it, but i am very prepared to goto the hospital, if they allow me to do this..

Mar 26, 2010 angelaallison 7 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Hi Chris, Will give you feed back with pleasure. I have 5 daughters 1 with Type 1 Diabetes & Coeliacs and another with Coeliacs. Life is a challenge on occasions. Will pass the book onto our Dietician & Team if they haven't already purchased one. I am attending my local group on Staurday will promote it there, along with Dafne online which few people seem to be aware of. Best wishes

Mar 26, 2010 ccheyette 3 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Hi Angela, Thanks for the feedback it will be good to hear what you think of the book when you get it. It should be with you towards the end of next week. Many thanks, Chris

Mar 26, 2010 angelaallison 7 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Hi ccheyette, I have just pre-ordered the book! I can't wait for the iphone application. I had already heard about the book on diabetes.org facebook site. People that am I friends with have shown a lot of interest. We all have children with Type 1. Quite a few are on pumps and carb counting. Claudia is 9 , she weighs her own food and carb counts a lot on her own (we check). I think the book will help her become even more independant and help her with more complex foods. Best wishes & thanks Angela

Mar 26, 2010 ccheyette 3 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Hi All, I am a diabetes specialist dietitian working at Kings College Hospital in London. I have been working on a new IPhone app. which will be out in around 1 month (May 2010). This will be based on a new book coming out on the 29th March and will feature over 1200 food photographs of different portions of food and drink and include a range of meals and take-away food. Other features will include an insulin calculator, calendar function to store previous dayâ€™s intake and also the ability to add in your own data. Details about this and the book can be found at www.carbsandcals.com

Mar 26, 2010 vanniebee 1 post	Topic: Questions for HCPs / Hypo recognition. An interesting discussion and as I'm trying to regain my hypo awareness having suffered some seizures in the past month - very relevant too. I agree with Peter - hypo symptoms come about from a rapid fall in BG which can of course happen even if your BGs are in the teens - if you experience a rapid drop, you will feel hypo. Interesting what someone said about symptoms/experience changing the longer you have the condition - as a relative newbie (6 yrs) I'm certainly going through a different phase in my diabetes now - perhaps the honeymood period really is over now!

Mar 26, 2010 Dr Jez McCole 11 posts	Topic: Site Development / DAFNE Online iPhone application - help with content/design needed Excellent Idea. I have only recently got an Iphone and one of the first apps I was looking for was a glucose monitoring one. Shortly after graduating the Sheffield course in I think 2001 I wrote an Excel file that looks like the DAFNE log book but which takes the valus to chart average glucose by meal times or insulin dosings. It would also multiply up your insulin dosings based on the carb intake and QA ratio for that meal. This was great but requires a mobile Excel device or access to the PC for each dose. Cue the IPhone! I have been looking at GlucoseBuddy on the Apps store (free) and this seems simple and navigable. The idea of analysis of sugars to suggest alterations in the ratios as data is collected would be good. The idea of an onboard carb count ready reckoner library would be good. Hypo Spotter would be a useful alert, so that if they appear to be showing a pattern in terms of timing this could be pointed out. The idea of an icon that links to on screen flow charting for sick day rules would be very helpful. The ability to sync with the DAFNE online log would be great (much like the GlucoseBuddy software). An HbA1c predictor tool would be very interesting from a research perspective, now that there is IFCC standardsation in the lab testing. Not much to wish for!! Happy to help though, Kind regards, Dr Jez McCole, GP www.gleadlessmedicalcentre.co.uk Type 1 [email protected]

Mar 26, 2010 Luggerz 10 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Home Made Meals How do you manage your carb counting when you have peole make things like shepherd's pie or a fry up. I've only been carb counting and amending my dose for about 2 weeks and I've gone to my parents and one night had a fry up and the other time had shepherd's pie. The problem was the try up all the potato etc was cut up and mixed up with the other vegetables so was hard to count. Yesterday it was shepherd's pie and I could not find a figure for it anywhere help! Marc

Mar 26, 2010 Luggerz 10 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Lantus and Apidra Does anyone know if you can get lantus and apidra in cartridges for nova pens as well as the solostar pens? Marc

Mar 26, 2010 Anthony Holmes 3 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Lantus Lasting 24 hours? I also need to split my Lantus: 11UBI at 8:00 and 10UBI at 20:00. If I'm late by even as little as 45 minutes in giving my Lantus dose I see my blood glucose rising (in the absence of anything else to affect my level). My gut feeling is that for doses of around 20ish Units per day, there are a fairly large number of people who find it doesn't last 24 hours. This was a discovery that most of the people doing my DAFNE course made: a significant majority of them ended up splitting their Lantus (but not everybody). (Before I did DAFNE I was taking 50 Units of BI per day. Admittedly I also ate a lot more then,... but I have little doubt that the 50 units was lasting 24 hours or more.)

Mar 26, 2010 Anthony Holmes 3 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Help I know what you mean about record keeping: you get a 'bad' result and you look at it staring up at you from the meter and you think 'I just can't stand to write that result down'. And I reckon the whole problem is that we think of it as a 'bad' result. I'm a very positive person, yet it has taken me forever to reach the point where I can say to myself: "What a stunningly off balance result. Oh well, it happened. It doesn't mean I'm a bad person." I simply write EVERYTHING down, no ifs, no buts, 'cos if I don't, I'll never really know what my body is doing. The trick is: don't beat yourself up, and don't hide the results either. Trust me, I understand how much easier that is to say than to do. Repetition is the key. Each and every time tell yourself it's nothing to feel bad about. It's a fact, like the temperature. Write it down, think about how you got there and move on. The repetition where you tell yourself you aren't bad changes your ingrained tendency to beat yourself up. If you try to take the emotion out of it each and every time, eventually you relax. Take the stress out of it 100 times, and finally you'll start feeling more relaxed, and a lot of other things will fall into place as well.

Mar 25, 2010 Sam 64 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Parsnips so do you count cp value in parsnips, I've weighed my portion of 100g which is 30/ 3cp. No sure if you count them or not, I thought I heard you do....help? Sam x

Mar 25, 2010 Snjstar 2 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in? I put everything seperatly in my handbag. My BG meter strips and pricker are in the case that came with my meter.

Mar 25, 2010 Iain H 3 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in? Hi lizzie I use An Umbro pencil case it is the pefect size ,zipped pocket On side for both insulin pens & plenty of room on the main Zipped compartment for one touch meter in its owncase & dafne Diaries etc , available in a few colours Iain

Mar 24, 2010 ACBrom 1 post	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Monster Energy Drink Has anybody on DAFNE tried the Monster "Carb Free" energy drink (similar to Red Bull) either on its own or mixed with Jaigermeister (Jaiger-bomb!) and what where the effects? How many units did you inject, etc?

Mar 24, 2010 Karl 83 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in? I use a DIA-PAK Deluxe - comes with a ice pack also

Mar 24, 2010 DavidJ 23 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in? Hi Lizzie I carry my BG meter, my diary, a spare tub of test strips and my pen in a plastic lunch box. It's boring, but practical. Best wishes Dave.

Mar 24, 2010 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course I was similar, Steve. I also had years of not taking care of myself. I would say take it slowly. After not thinking about diabetes, having a solid week of nothing but diabetes is really stressful. It can feel daunting at first. There is a lot to learn, and others who already have a good grip on their diabetes and just need a bit of a polish may move faster than you. Just take it at your own speed and keep us posted on your progress.

Mar 24, 2010 derby28 4 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course thanks all for the detailed replies! a great help, and to be honest i dont think its their fault, more when i was younger, i never really went to the centre, guess i didnt take it seriously, and they sent me a letter saying they were passing my care onto the doctors now instead. At the time i was happier, mainly because my GP had taken extra courses/training in diabetes etc, however i have since moved to another area of derby and had to move to a different doctor, and ive seen him twice but he really doesnt seem to know much about it at all, definatly not to the same levels as my older doctor. Either way, I have decided id like to take more care of it, and i like the look of DAFNE because i dont really have much idea of things like carb counting etc etc and it would be very useful. Again, thanks for your time and efforts, will keep you posted, steve.

Mar 24, 2010 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / What do you carry your diabetes stuff in? I am looking for a new bag/case to carry my diabetes stuff in. I have looked online and have seen specific diabetic ones like desang, Joe's Small-In-One, etc, but they all look, well, a bit boring really. I have tried cosmetic bags - I am using one right now, but it is a little too small to fit my DAFNE diary in, and others I have seen are too large to go in my handbag. I also tried a pencil case but it was flimsy and broke quite easily. What do other people use?

Mar 24, 2010 marke 686 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course I have to say I'm suprised , but not shocked, Steve. Government policy is to push the treatment of Type 2's into GP surgeries but NOT type 1, NHS Diabetes policy is that Type 1's should be seen by consultants at a hospital Diabetes centre. As Lizzie suggests generally GP's are NOT sufficiently trained to treat Type 1 and its potential complications. You should also be getting eye screening carried out at least once a year ( when they take pictures of your retina for potential damage). If you are covered by the same PCT as the hospital then you ARE eligible for a DAFNE Course, unfortunately you usually need to be referred and thus the 'problem' with not being seen by a Diabetes Consultant who fully understands the issues and necessary treatment. Can I suggest you contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) here at your local PCT and get them to find out why you are NOT being seen at yuor local hospital by a Diabetes Consultant. Worst case they should be able to put you in contact with the Diabetes Centre at the hospital or even the DAFNE Educator and they should be able to tell you firstly how you get the treatment you are entitled too and secondly how you get onto a DAFNE Course at the hospital. Unfortunately a lot of centres have long waiting lists for the course, but if you are not on the list they you won't get on it ! Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Mar 24, 2010 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course OK. Maybe you have a different setup where you live. But I go to the hospital for just about everything - eyes, consultant, dietitian, nurse, etc. My GP cannot offer this range of services. I would definitely look into getting your care at the hospital. It makes more sense to have everything in one place, so your doctor can see your eye test results and everything else. And in my experience GPs and GP surgery nurses know nothing or very little about diabetes. I think the fact they are generalists means they can't know a lot about every single condition in detail, not enough to help you manage it. And if the hospital are seeing you already, you can get onto the DAFNE course too.

Mar 24, 2010 derby28 4 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course Hi, Yes i mean my GP at local doctors surgery, and for eye tests i goto a optician, and pay for all the additional tests, including the 3D scan thing etc..

Mar 24, 2010 Lizzie 87 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course Hi Steve When you say you are seen by your doctor do you mean your GP? Do you go to the hospital at all, for eye tests or anything?

Mar 23, 2010 Simon 578 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Iphone Apps Not sure you can test it as I have to get it approved on the app store, so you can't test until it's available for download, if you see what I mean. The exception to this is getting an 'Enterprise' developer account which costs Â£300 with Apple so it's something I just can't afford. Plus - if it's on the app store it will be advertising for this site. Let me know what other features you guys need and I'll try and get them in. Those already mentioned seem pretty do-able. In the meantime you are able to access this site's CP list through the browser on your phone, especially formatted for display on small screens (obviously you need an internet connection for this though)

Mar 23, 2010 derby28 4 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Want to do DAFNE Course just to clarify, i realise that my doctors cannot offer it, but i am very prepared to goto the hospital, if they allow me to do this..