Desmond Day

[srobertson06]

I attended my Desmond Education Day on Friday, learning how the sugar and carbs you eat turn into sugar and how that either gets stored in your body as fat or used as energy and how if you don't produce enough insulin the sugar is blocked from being used. This I am sorry to say was the only real benefit to attending this day. There were 7 of us at the day and we played guessing games on how much sugar was in products and which food types go into low to high calorie groups...
When I brought up the subject of testing I was informed this was between my doctor and myself, when I then stated my doctor had already said no type 2 gets a testing kit and that I was thinking of buying my own I was given the website they recommend as a fairly cheap place to purchase the lancets and test strips, when I looked them up they were not as cheap as the code free kit which was mentioned on this web site.
Most of the group said they had lost weight - up to 3 stone - most of the group had increased their physical activity - one wanted nothing more that to get off of the Metformin. I had the highest blood sugar reading of the group - it surprised me to receive my newest BG, Cholesterol and blood pressure readings at this education day - why do you not get a copy from your doctor? is this something you have to ask for?

Anyway from my having purchased a testing kit I have so far found that bread - even gluten free pushes up my sugar levels. Long grain rice does the same. Porridge oats pushes up the levels a little, ready brek a lot. Potatoes do not seem to have a large effect - I have yet to test the effects of pasta. All pastry pushes up my BG levels -- without the meter I would not know this and with the advice from the diabetic nurse at my practice I would be eating carbs with every meal and my BG would remain far too high.
Even now I can only get a reading in single figures around once a day, which worries me.
I have another fasting blood test to get done this week and then have to make an appointment at my doctors to get the results and depending on that reading find out if they are going to increase my Metformin to help me get the readings into the 'normal' levels.

I still feel very new to being diabetic, I have gone through so many emotions about being diabetic - I had hoped I could learn quickly about what I needed to do to make keeping the diabetes under control and minimize the possible complications but although I have begun to understand I still feel I have a long way to go. Thankfully I found the diabetes forum and all the wonderful people here that give you information and advice as well as support.

Hope my thread will help someone else.

 

[DeejayR]

Good job, well done. You sorted the wheat from the chaff (I think). Don't worry about the long journey ahead -- one discovery at a time.
You're entitled to a copy of all your tests including the HbA1c at the surgery. Sometimes there's a fee for a print-out. Usually you have to ask.
How did it happen that you heard your results at the Desmond day?

 

[millymitz]

I attended my Desmond Education Day on Friday, learning how the sugar and carbs you eat turn into sugar and how that either gets stored in your body as fat or used as energy and how if you don't produce enough insulin the sugar is blocked from being used. This I am sorry to say was the only real benefit to attending this day. There were 7 of us at the day and we played guessing games on how much sugar was in products and which food types go into low to high calorie groups...
When I brought up the subject of testing I was informed this was between my doctor and myself, when I then stated my doctor had already said no type 2 gets a testing kit and that I was thinking of buying my own I was given the website they recommend as a fairly cheap place to purchase the lancets and test strips, when I looked them up they were not as cheap as the code free kit which was mentioned on this web site.
Most of the group said they had lost weight - up to 3 stone - most of the group had increased their physical activity - one wanted nothing more that to get off of the Metformin. I had the highest blood sugar reading of the group - it surprised me to receive my newest BG, Cholesterol and blood pressure readings at this education day - why do you not get a copy from your doctor? is this something you have to ask for?

Anyway from my having purchased a testing kit I have so far found that bread - even gluten free pushes up my sugar levels. Long grain rice does the same. Porridge oats pushes up the levels a little, ready brek a lot. Potatoes do not seem to have a large effect - I have yet to test the effects of pasta. All pastry pushes up my BG levels -- without the meter I would not know this and with the advice from the diabetic nurse at my practice I would be eating carbs with every meal and my BG would remain far too high.
Even now I can only get a reading in single figures around once a day, which worries me.
I have another fasting blood test to get done this week and then have to make an appointment at my doctors to get the results and depending on that reading find out if they are going to increase my Metformin to help me get the readings into the 'normal' levels.

I still feel very new to being diabetic, I have gone through so many emotions about being diabetic - I had hoped I could learn quickly about what I needed to do to make keeping the diabetes under control and minimize the possible complications but although I have begun to understand I still feel I have a long way to go. Thankfully I found the diabetes forum and all the wonderful people here that give you information and advice as well as support.

Hope my thread will help someone else.

I too am glad this forum exists...the nurse doing blood pressure gave me this site UNBELIEVABLE that the diabetes nurse didn't Eh? hope you get your head round it all very quickly it really is scary to me. I opt for cornflakes thinking they are good cos they aren't coated in choc/sugar only to find they are a big no no! good Luck

 

[srobertson06]

Good job, well done. You sorted the wheat from the chaff (I think). Don't worry about the long journey ahead -- one discovery at a time.
You're entitled to a copy of all your tests including the HbA1c at the surgery. Sometimes there's a fee for a print-out. Usually you have to ask.
How did it happen that you heard your results at the Desmond day?

During the desmond day they gave each of us our results printed on labels so we could stick them in our small folders, guess they are linked to the hospital and doctors and therefore had everyone's results that was attending on that day. I get told of the results but next time I go I will be taking a note book to write it all down.
I understand the once every three months fasting blood test giving an overview of what is happening with your blood sugar levels but doing it myself pre and post meals I find I am not able as yet to keep the levels fairly static.

Thank you for your replies.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. The Desmond course appears to have given you a good overview of the effect of carbs on blood sugar and good that you now have meter. Even with low-carbing you will find some variation in blood sugar that you can't account for; that's life as a diabetic I'm afraid. Medication can help. BTW the 3-monthly test you mention isn't a fasting test but the HBa1C test which measures your 3-month average and isn't a fasting test. We all used to have a fasting test as well but that has been discontinued and wasn't of any great use.

 

[DeejayR]

During the desmond day they gave each of us our results printed on labels so we could stick them in our small folders, guess they are linked to the hospital and doctors and therefore had everyone's results that was attending on that day.

I'm disturbed by this. I gave it a night's sleep and today I'm still bothered. It can't be right that confidential data about you which you haven't seen is transmitted to someone in another agency, who prints it out for distribution in an unsecure place.
Anyway, not to detract from your thread, so well done with your testing progress.

 

[debdebc]

When I saw my Nurse today and she went through the DESMOND day she said that I will have a blood test before I go and the results will be there, I asked about it as I was not sure it was necessary. She said that it is run by Nurse Practitioners and that they like to have a reading to see how high your levels are. The thing is is that being newly diagnosed your levels are going to be higher than say on your second HbA1c (hopefully).

I am still not sure that I like the idea of having to have yet another blood test just for a nurse practioner to look at, I feel like a pin cushion as it is!

 

[Phlogiston]

I suspect the idea of print outs with your data is standard Desmond stuff. It sounds as if your Desmond course was pretty much the same as mine - the idea is that having seen your data, you then set yourself some targets.
I don't think they actually said "carbs with every meal" - the biggest focus was on monounsaturated oil rather than saturated or polyunsaturated and identifying oily fish, to reduce cholesterol levels. They did say "nothing was banned" without explaining how to deal with the consequences of a piece of cake. Also funny that they never mentioned the saturated fats in cake.