Recent Posts by marke - DAFNE Online

Jul 3, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Site Development / On line carb counter

ok, I have just spent a lovely hour or so correcting the online carb counter so that it now matches version 8 of the book. i also corrected some duplicates that somehow crept in. If anyone spots any other errors please let us know !

Jul 3, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Useful link for looking up CPs

Ian, I have spoken to DAFNE Central and they suggest they can provide them if necessary however they would prefer you to get them from your DAFNE Educator. Why ? Because like all parts of the NHS they are under resourced and over worked. I do have the order form that I can send you to obtain copies from DAFNE Central, if this is your only option email admin at dafneonline.co.uk and we will send them to you.

Jul 2, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Introductions

Welcome Ann-Marie, with regard to your sugar levels not being quite as you would like them just keep the faith. Many people seem to think they are failures because they can't get everything under control immediately after the course. This is NOT the case, it takes time and you just need to keep focusing on the positives. Focus on what you have achieved so far and be patient, I'm sure there are many others on this forum that have had the same experience. For some people it takes longer than others and I have heard of people taking 12 months to finally get fully on top of their BG's. Remember we are all different !

Jul 2, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Site Development / On line carb counter

ok, ok, I admit I got it wrong :-) I will get it corrected ASAP, sorry.

Jul 2, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Useful link for looking up CPs

Ian, I have put your question to the nice ladies at DAFNE Central. i will update you when I have a reply. In the mean time you can always use the online version, it should be identical to the paper version.

Jun 30, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Changes to HbA1c reporting

Simon, I am NOT a HCP however my understanding is that blood meters measure the level of glucose in the blood at a particular moment. A HBA1c test measures the amount of glucose that is bound to the haemaglobin in your red blood cells. They are two different things like markets and meerkats ;^) You cannot really compare on with the other, so I don't think you will ever get a meter that does what you want.
It is true that HBA1c sort of gives you an average blood sugar over the last 3 months but its not necessarily a good idea to use one as a measure of the other. But hey as I said I'm not a HCP , I'm an IT person maybe a friendly HCP reading this can give a better answer.

Jun 29, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile site released

Hi, I removed the nbsp but then thought that its probably used in lots of places on the site :-( So I have now registered with the nokia site and will download their SDK to see if I can resolve the issue some other way. As soon as I have worked out what needs to be done I will let you know.

Jun 26, 2009

marke 657 posts

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

interesting you should ask about DAFNE and pumps, I attended the DAFNE Collaborative today ( a meeting of HCP's from all DAFNE
Centres) and one of the research studies at the moment is a DAFNE Course tailored for those on insulin pumps. So yes it IS possible and an area being looked at for possible more widespread implementation in the future.
I will write up a report about the meeting and put it on the site as there were a number of interesting bits of DAFNE news from the day.

Jun 26, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile site released

thanks for the feedback, I will look into the issue you have highlighted. The '&nbsp' is formatting used to add a 'space' making the page line up better and hopefully look better. All browsers 'should' support it, its possible there is an error in the definition of the page.

Jun 25, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Diaries

Chris,
I have the file to produce it from DAFNE Central but unfortunatley have not had chance yet to convert it into a format that is easily printable for users. I will hopefully get chance to do this in the near future and will post again once its online for you to access

Jun 11, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile

thanks for the postive comments and for feeding back your experience. We only have access to a limited number of devices to test with so we are keen to hear anyones experiences with other devices. We then know that the site does work with an number of devices. Obviously if anyone finds a device it doesn't work with, we will try to resolve the issue

Jun 11, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Questions ? / Protein Supplements

Hmm, interesting question. I would be interested what the body does with 'excess' protein. If you take protein supplements which contain more than you need does it get explelled in 'ahem' bodily waste ? I know that one of your 'tests' that is done along with Hba1c is protein in the urine as its an indicator of potential complications. If you had protein because of supplements could this cause false readings I wonder ?

With regard to Gym's my experience is they often are not aware of Diabetes at all. One tried to tell me I couldn't do this that and the other because of my diabetes. I'm ashamed to say, I didn't tell the last one I was diabetic to avoid complications. I now just enjoy natures bounty on
my bicycle and save my Gym fees, well we are in a recession ;^)

Jun 6, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work?

Patti,
Lizzie CAN comment as can I. If Jenny posts personnal details like she did then she should expect comments. Although quite what it
has to do with DAFNE escapes me. Please don't tell people they cannot comment that is NOT the philosophy of this website.

I would prefer if you could keep the subject matter DAFNE related or at least clearly Diabetes related. Discussions about OH Doctors or
your opinions of HCP's should be kept for your website, which is aimed more at that kind of debate, our aim is to support DAFNE graduates
and those interested in the DAFNE Course. That doesn't exclude other subject matters, but we don't really want to get into debates
about the validity of HCP's.

Thank you

May 27, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Introductions

Welcome on board Jennifer, most of the people on my course had their background insulin split into 2 doses, however most of us were using Levemir. It certainly made a difference to me, but as ever we are all different. It can be a big jump of faith splitting the dose, I just thought I would let you know it has worked for me. I would discuss it with the people that ran your course and or your Diabetes Team and then maybe give it a try.
My course was full of people of a similiar age, a fair bit older than you ;-) but not old :-) We all had different issues and also a lot of similiar ones. This is one of the great things about the course, the chance to spend a week with people who understand EXACTLY what you are going though.
Slowly it seems the message about this site is being distributed by the different DAFNE centres and so hopefully the site will become more useful as graduates of all ages join increasing the age spread and thus ensuring there are people of a similiar age that can exchange information as well as exchanging views with the whole 'community'.

May 24, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work?

Not sure why you think there are legal implications on questioning the background of BERTIE and David Cavan, where you not the people talking about secrecy and open-ness. I was merely stating that anyones opinion even a repsected consultant is just an opinion. I have looked
at the BERTIE online site and indeed it does look interesting. It does contain a big discliamer though as I would expect and says if you are unsure consult your Diabetes care team. Which is basically my issue with online courses, you still need the support of your Diabetes team and this is the biggest issue.
Its good to see an PCT website with so much information and one willing to provide an 'online' course. However I would ask why PCT's can't co-ordinate to make this kind of thing available nationally rather than just from an individual PCT's website. I'm sure 99% of Diabetics would never find this site on their own and thus make use of the information on it. I think this is also true of DAFNE as well by the way.
I think I will bring to a close my comments on this subject now and let others have the opportunity to comment on the issues raised if they so desire.

May 24, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work?

I'm not dismissing the power of the internet, the problem is how do you know what to believe. Even 'intelligent' people can have problems with this, our natural inclination is to believe things that align with our own views even if they are incorrect. No disrespect to David Cavan but
how much research and study undermines his online course. I have a huge amount of respect for my Diabetes consultant however that doesn't mean he is always right. I will check out this online course as soon as I get the time and I agree, as I said before, that all diabetics should have access to education to allow them to make informed decisions about how to manage their diabetes. My concern is this needs to be done in co-ordination with the Diabetes care team, so that if they have problems they can get help and backup. If something goes wrong and all you have is the internet for backup you could be in big trouble. There will always be 3 differing views on what you should do and which is right ?
I also happen to believe that it is the NHS's job to use their budgets to educate Diabetics NOT make short term savings on education in exchange for long term larger costs of treatment for complications. On of the objectives of this site is to encourage PCT's to provide DAFNE
training for all Type 1's. I would also support people trying to get DESMOND training, although that is primarily not what this site is for. My worry is if people get online training they will not get access to more intense training like DAFNE.

May 23, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work?

it is NOT about secrecy, it is about backup and support. People who attend a DAFNE course often have radical changes made to their insulin regime. These are NOT the kinds of changes that can be made after reading some stuff on a website and trying it yourself. Terry may well have tried dose adjustment before DAFNE, I did too, however most people do not and need the support the course gives them to undertake these changes. There is no question of secrecy, if you have done the course you can have access to the course materials. If you have not we have been asked not to provide this material to people and for the reasons above we do not provide access. I don't think its worrying, I think it is sensible. We want to help people, not hinder them by providing information without the support and backup to apply it. I suspect you will disagree with this, as is your absolute right to do so, however since we have made a commitment to DAFNE central NOT to allow open access to the course materials we will not break this agreement.

I agree that education is good, however any 'online' education should be treated with caution. Anyone can set up a website and give information with no control whatsoever. I have seen some truly amazing information given by seemingly legitimate sites that is just plain insane. For this reason I would treat all websites for what they are peoples opinions and NOT facts. The same is true for this site, everything in the forums is opinion and should NOT be treated as fact. We encourage everyone to contribute opinions but that is all they are.

May 22, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Meeting up after the course

yes hopefully we can help. One of the aims of this site is to help graduates continue to enjoy the benefits of DAFNE, one of which is to meet a group of fellow Diabetics. One of the plans for the site is to provide areas of the site specific to DAFNE centres so the people running the course can keep their graduates informed and graduates from the same centre can stay in touch.

welcome to the site and I'm glad you enjoyed the course as much as we did !

May 22, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile site released

we have now added the forums to the mobile site. Can people PLEASE try accessing the site on their mobiles and feed back any issues. I'm sure there will be some since mobile phone browsers vary greatly in their functionalilty. It would be good to know if it does work on a wide range of phones.

May 20, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile Feature Requests

what do we mean by the full version ?
If you mean the same as the internet version , its because most phones can't handle the full version and will not display the pages. It really depends on the phone you have and what browser it has. I have a windows mobile phone with several browsers on. Skyfire didplays the 'full' site because it is a full browser that can handle it, opera mobile and IE both display the cutdown 'mobile' site because thats what they can handle. What phone do you have ? We can then investigate if it can handle the 'full' version of the site.

May 17, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Useful link for looking up CPs

The answer I'm afraid is your own experiences. Both are guidelines and are not set in stone since there are a number of factors involved.
I'm afraid you can only use them as a guideline and then see what happens. I would also recommend the following books:

food and diet counter - Dr Wynnie Chan - ISBN: 978-0-600-60709-0
Carb Counter - Collins Gem - ISBN: 0-00-717601-5

Both have lots of carb values in, they suggest that orange juice has 22g of carb for 250ml and apples has 24.8 of carb for 250ml. Hopes this helps.

May 17, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Introductions

Richard,
I'm glad you are finding the website useful as you say the more graduates we get signed up the better ! All views are welcome both positive and negative. Making all sides aware of issues can only improve DAFNE as a whole and help ensure that those who control it are aware of issues and can hopefully do something about them.

Welcome on board !

May 17, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / "Diabetes set off course" Balance letter

Jenny,
There was another topic discussing the 'suitability' of Type 2's and insulin resistant diabetics for DAFNE and to degree your and
Paul's experience seem to back it up. I think we all agree that every diabetic is different and no solution fits all, however it seems that
people that are insulin resistant find it a lot harder to follow DAFNE 'rules'. Recently I have had to take steriods and they have been
making me insulin resistant and screwed up my Blood sugars so I can empathise with your experiences.
I don't think this makes DAFNE not a good course, I think it underlines that HCP's need to think very carefully about including people
who are insulin resistant. I'm not suggesting they are excluded, merely that both sides understand the additional complications for
following the course for people who are insulin resistant.
Its still intereesting to hear your experiences and like I said to Paul, if you don't feel happy about DAFNE you have just as much right to express this view as we do to praise it. The course can only improve if all points of view are taken into account.

May 17, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: Questions ? / Eye photos

John,
What do you mean by the eye infirmary ? Are they linked to your diabetes clinic ? It sounds like the local trust is doing its own independent standalone system that as your say sounds VERY badly run. A letter saying you have slight changes is totally unacceptable without any details of what this means and a chance to disuss it with someone. I wouldn't be happy with an optician checking my eyes either.

In kent we have a very good eye service provided to the PCT by the local Diabetes Charity. It is staffed by Diabetic Eye specialists and has a number of mobile eye screening vans that visit GP's. When ever I have my eyes done, I have a chat with the person doing it and they show me the pictures on screen and explain what they are seeing. The pictures are still checked back at base and I get a letter about it, but I
do get chance to understand what the pictures mean. I am lucky I guess.

I would suggest that if you are concerned you call the Diabetes UK Careline. We had a presentation last week from Diabetes UK on what
care to expect and I know this is an area they are concerned about and will be interested to hear about the 'service' you are receiving.

May 8, 2009

marke 657 posts

Topic: General Discussion / Meeting up after the course

Lizzie,
Thanks for the tip about GATTO, as simon said we have plans to have regional areas on the site in the future to help 'local' DAFNE graduates keep in touch. The problem with this at the moment is we have only 53 graduates registered on the site out of 288 users. In addition 37 of the 288 are HCP's. This probably means the message about the site has not got to graduates yet. Once we have more graduates, there is a potential membership of 5000+, regional areas of the site will make more sense. We just need to boost the graduate
membership !

Lastly I totally agree that meeting other diabetics was one of the great things about the course. Spending a week with 7 other people who were like me and had the same experiences was a brilliant. At the moment my DAFNE meet-ups involve the same people I did the course with, but as more people do the course it may be necessary for me to do the same as you. I'm not sure that your PCT is meeting DAFNE guidelines if they don't give you follow up meetings and you keep missing out on them.

Jul 3, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Site Development / On line carb counter ok, I have just spent a lovely hour or so correcting the online carb counter so that it now matches version 8 of the book. i also corrected some duplicates that somehow crept in. If anyone spots any other errors please let us know !

Jul 3, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Useful link for looking up CPs Ian, I have spoken to DAFNE Central and they suggest they can provide them if necessary however they would prefer you to get them from your DAFNE Educator. Why ? Because like all parts of the NHS they are under resourced and over worked. I do have the order form that I can send you to obtain copies from DAFNE Central, if this is your only option email admin at dafneonline.co.uk and we will send them to you.

Jul 2, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Introductions Welcome Ann-Marie, with regard to your sugar levels not being quite as you would like them just keep the faith. Many people seem to think they are failures because they can't get everything under control immediately after the course. This is NOT the case, it takes time and you just need to keep focusing on the positives. Focus on what you have achieved so far and be patient, I'm sure there are many others on this forum that have had the same experience. For some people it takes longer than others and I have heard of people taking 12 months to finally get fully on top of their BG's. Remember we are all different !

Jul 2, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Site Development / On line carb counter ok, ok, I admit I got it wrong :-) I will get it corrected ASAP, sorry.

Jul 2, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Useful link for looking up CPs Ian, I have put your question to the nice ladies at DAFNE Central. i will update you when I have a reply. In the mean time you can always use the online version, it should be identical to the paper version.

Jun 30, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Changes to HbA1c reporting Simon, I am NOT a HCP however my understanding is that blood meters measure the level of glucose in the blood at a particular moment. A HBA1c test measures the amount of glucose that is bound to the haemaglobin in your red blood cells. They are two different things like markets and meerkats ;^) You cannot really compare on with the other, so I don't think you will ever get a meter that does what you want. It is true that HBA1c sort of gives you an average blood sugar over the last 3 months but its not necessarily a good idea to use one as a measure of the other. But hey as I said I'm not a HCP , I'm an IT person maybe a friendly HCP reading this can give a better answer.

Jun 29, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile site released Hi, I removed the nbsp but then thought that its probably used in lots of places on the site :-( So I have now registered with the nokia site and will download their SDK to see if I can resolve the issue some other way. As soon as I have worked out what needs to be done I will let you know.

Jun 26, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / "Balance" letter about injecting in public interesting you should ask about DAFNE and pumps, I attended the DAFNE Collaborative today ( a meeting of HCP's from all DAFNE Centres) and one of the research studies at the moment is a DAFNE Course tailored for those on insulin pumps. So yes it IS possible and an area being looked at for possible more widespread implementation in the future. I will write up a report about the meeting and put it on the site as there were a number of interesting bits of DAFNE news from the day.

Jun 26, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile site released thanks for the feedback, I will look into the issue you have highlighted. The '&nbsp' is formatting used to add a 'space' making the page line up better and hopefully look better. All browsers 'should' support it, its possible there is an error in the definition of the page.

Jun 25, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Diaries Chris, I have the file to produce it from DAFNE Central but unfortunatley have not had chance yet to convert it into a format that is easily printable for users. I will hopefully get chance to do this in the near future and will post again once its online for you to access

Jun 11, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / DAFNE On Line Mobile thanks for the postive comments and for feeding back your experience. We only have access to a limited number of devices to test with so we are keen to hear anyones experiences with other devices. We then know that the site does work with an number of devices. Obviously if anyone finds a device it doesn't work with, we will try to resolve the issue

Jun 11, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Questions ? / Protein Supplements Hmm, interesting question. I would be interested what the body does with 'excess' protein. If you take protein supplements which contain more than you need does it get explelled in 'ahem' bodily waste ? I know that one of your 'tests' that is done along with Hba1c is protein in the urine as its an indicator of potential complications. If you had protein because of supplements could this cause false readings I wonder ? With regard to Gym's my experience is they often are not aware of Diabetes at all. One tried to tell me I couldn't do this that and the other because of my diabetes. I'm ashamed to say, I didn't tell the last one I was diabetic to avoid complications. I now just enjoy natures bounty on my bicycle and save my Gym fees, well we are in a recession ;^)

Jun 6, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work? Patti, Lizzie CAN comment as can I. If Jenny posts personnal details like she did then she should expect comments. Although quite what it has to do with DAFNE escapes me. Please don't tell people they cannot comment that is NOT the philosophy of this website. I would prefer if you could keep the subject matter DAFNE related or at least clearly Diabetes related. Discussions about OH Doctors or your opinions of HCP's should be kept for your website, which is aimed more at that kind of debate, our aim is to support DAFNE graduates and those interested in the DAFNE Course. That doesn't exclude other subject matters, but we don't really want to get into debates about the validity of HCP's. Thank you

May 27, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Introductions Welcome on board Jennifer, most of the people on my course had their background insulin split into 2 doses, however most of us were using Levemir. It certainly made a difference to me, but as ever we are all different. It can be a big jump of faith splitting the dose, I just thought I would let you know it has worked for me. I would discuss it with the people that ran your course and or your Diabetes Team and then maybe give it a try. My course was full of people of a similiar age, a fair bit older than you ;-) but not old :-) We all had different issues and also a lot of similiar ones. This is one of the great things about the course, the chance to spend a week with people who understand EXACTLY what you are going though. Slowly it seems the message about this site is being distributed by the different DAFNE centres and so hopefully the site will become more useful as graduates of all ages join increasing the age spread and thus ensuring there are people of a similiar age that can exchange information as well as exchanging views with the whole 'community'.

May 24, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work? Not sure why you think there are legal implications on questioning the background of BERTIE and David Cavan, where you not the people talking about secrecy and open-ness. I was merely stating that anyones opinion even a repsected consultant is just an opinion. I have looked at the BERTIE online site and indeed it does look interesting. It does contain a big discliamer though as I would expect and says if you are unsure consult your Diabetes care team. Which is basically my issue with online courses, you still need the support of your Diabetes team and this is the biggest issue. Its good to see an PCT website with so much information and one willing to provide an 'online' course. However I would ask why PCT's can't co-ordinate to make this kind of thing available nationally rather than just from an individual PCT's website. I'm sure 99% of Diabetics would never find this site on their own and thus make use of the information on it. I think this is also true of DAFNE as well by the way. I think I will bring to a close my comments on this subject now and let others have the opportunity to comment on the issues raised if they so desire.

May 24, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work? I'm not dismissing the power of the internet, the problem is how do you know what to believe. Even 'intelligent' people can have problems with this, our natural inclination is to believe things that align with our own views even if they are incorrect. No disrespect to David Cavan but how much research and study undermines his online course. I have a huge amount of respect for my Diabetes consultant however that doesn't mean he is always right. I will check out this online course as soon as I get the time and I agree, as I said before, that all diabetics should have access to education to allow them to make informed decisions about how to manage their diabetes. My concern is this needs to be done in co-ordination with the Diabetes care team, so that if they have problems they can get help and backup. If something goes wrong and all you have is the internet for backup you could be in big trouble. There will always be 3 differing views on what you should do and which is right ? I also happen to believe that it is the NHS's job to use their budgets to educate Diabetics NOT make short term savings on education in exchange for long term larger costs of treatment for complications. On of the objectives of this site is to encourage PCT's to provide DAFNE training for all Type 1's. I would also support people trying to get DESMOND training, although that is primarily not what this site is for. My worry is if people get online training they will not get access to more intense training like DAFNE.

May 23, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Does Dafne work? it is NOT about secrecy, it is about backup and support. People who attend a DAFNE course often have radical changes made to their insulin regime. These are NOT the kinds of changes that can be made after reading some stuff on a website and trying it yourself. Terry may well have tried dose adjustment before DAFNE, I did too, however most people do not and need the support the course gives them to undertake these changes. There is no question of secrecy, if you have done the course you can have access to the course materials. If you have not we have been asked not to provide this material to people and for the reasons above we do not provide access. I don't think its worrying, I think it is sensible. We want to help people, not hinder them by providing information without the support and backup to apply it. I suspect you will disagree with this, as is your absolute right to do so, however since we have made a commitment to DAFNE central NOT to allow open access to the course materials we will not break this agreement. I agree that education is good, however any 'online' education should be treated with caution. Anyone can set up a website and give information with no control whatsoever. I have seen some truly amazing information given by seemingly legitimate sites that is just plain insane. For this reason I would treat all websites for what they are peoples opinions and NOT facts. The same is true for this site, everything in the forums is opinion and should NOT be treated as fact. We encourage everyone to contribute opinions but that is all they are.

May 22, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Meeting up after the course yes hopefully we can help. One of the aims of this site is to help graduates continue to enjoy the benefits of DAFNE, one of which is to meet a group of fellow Diabetics. One of the plans for the site is to provide areas of the site specific to DAFNE centres so the people running the course can keep their graduates informed and graduates from the same centre can stay in touch. welcome to the site and I'm glad you enjoyed the course as much as we did !

May 22, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile site released we have now added the forums to the mobile site. Can people PLEASE try accessing the site on their mobiles and feed back any issues. I'm sure there will be some since mobile phone browsers vary greatly in their functionalilty. It would be good to know if it does work on a wide range of phones.

May 20, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: DAFNE Online Mobile / Mobile Feature Requests what do we mean by the full version ? If you mean the same as the internet version , its because most phones can't handle the full version and will not display the pages. It really depends on the phone you have and what browser it has. I have a windows mobile phone with several browsers on. Skyfire didplays the 'full' site because it is a full browser that can handle it, opera mobile and IE both display the cutdown 'mobile' site because thats what they can handle. What phone do you have ? We can then investigate if it can handle the 'full' version of the site.

May 17, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Carbohydrate Counting / Useful link for looking up CPs The answer I'm afraid is your own experiences. Both are guidelines and are not set in stone since there are a number of factors involved. I'm afraid you can only use them as a guideline and then see what happens. I would also recommend the following books: food and diet counter - Dr Wynnie Chan - ISBN: 978-0-600-60709-0 Carb Counter - Collins Gem - ISBN: 0-00-717601-5 Both have lots of carb values in, they suggest that orange juice has 22g of carb for 250ml and apples has 24.8 of carb for 250ml. Hopes this helps.

May 17, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Introductions Richard, I'm glad you are finding the website useful as you say the more graduates we get signed up the better ! All views are welcome both positive and negative. Making all sides aware of issues can only improve DAFNE as a whole and help ensure that those who control it are aware of issues and can hopefully do something about them. Welcome on board !

May 17, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / "Diabetes set off course" Balance letter Jenny, There was another topic discussing the 'suitability' of Type 2's and insulin resistant diabetics for DAFNE and to degree your and Paul's experience seem to back it up. I think we all agree that every diabetic is different and no solution fits all, however it seems that people that are insulin resistant find it a lot harder to follow DAFNE 'rules'. Recently I have had to take steriods and they have been making me insulin resistant and screwed up my Blood sugars so I can empathise with your experiences. I don't think this makes DAFNE not a good course, I think it underlines that HCP's need to think very carefully about including people who are insulin resistant. I'm not suggesting they are excluded, merely that both sides understand the additional complications for following the course for people who are insulin resistant. Its still intereesting to hear your experiences and like I said to Paul, if you don't feel happy about DAFNE you have just as much right to express this view as we do to praise it. The course can only improve if all points of view are taken into account.

May 17, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: Questions ? / Eye photos John, What do you mean by the eye infirmary ? Are they linked to your diabetes clinic ? It sounds like the local trust is doing its own independent standalone system that as your say sounds VERY badly run. A letter saying you have slight changes is totally unacceptable without any details of what this means and a chance to disuss it with someone. I wouldn't be happy with an optician checking my eyes either. In kent we have a very good eye service provided to the PCT by the local Diabetes Charity. It is staffed by Diabetic Eye specialists and has a number of mobile eye screening vans that visit GP's. When ever I have my eyes done, I have a chat with the person doing it and they show me the pictures on screen and explain what they are seeing. The pictures are still checked back at base and I get a letter about it, but I do get chance to understand what the pictures mean. I am lucky I guess. I would suggest that if you are concerned you call the Diabetes UK Careline. We had a presentation last week from Diabetes UK on what care to expect and I know this is an area they are concerned about and will be interested to hear about the 'service' you are receiving.

May 8, 2009 marke 657 posts	Topic: General Discussion / Meeting up after the course Lizzie, Thanks for the tip about GATTO, as simon said we have plans to have regional areas on the site in the future to help 'local' DAFNE graduates keep in touch. The problem with this at the moment is we have only 53 graduates registered on the site out of 288 users. In addition 37 of the 288 are HCP's. This probably means the message about the site has not got to graduates yet. Once we have more graduates, there is a potential membership of 5000+, regional areas of the site will make more sense. We just need to boost the graduate membership ! Lastly I totally agree that meeting other diabetics was one of the great things about the course. Spending a week with 7 other people who were like me and had the same experiences was a brilliant. At the moment my DAFNE meet-ups involve the same people I did the course with, but as more people do the course it may be necessary for me to do the same as you. I'm not sure that your PCT is meeting DAFNE guidelines if they don't give you follow up meetings and you keep missing out on them.