Re: Have you done the DAFNE/DESMOND courses or anything simi
I did one of these courses. I had great hopes of it at the time because I was frightened and bewildered by the diagnosis, and was hoping to have the condition explained to me sensibly, and to be advised on help that was available.
We were told categorically that there was little point in trying to control the condition, testing was a waste of time and NHS money, diabetics inevitable deteriorate, that 60% of our food intake should be carbs, that we should avoid natural (saturated) fats, and be moderate with protein, and finally, that diabetes is caused by overweight, and is a self inflicted condition.
I went home stunned and outraged, because a weeks research had already told me that every single thing the dietician told us was simply wrong. Since then, in two years, I have returned all my measures to normal, and reversed retinopathy, with diet alone, principally by ignoring everything they said.
Questions were brushed off, they just wanted to get through the lecture and go home. We deserved real help and information, but got none.
Diabetes is so common that the medical professionals involved are completely blase about it. Yet to every individual diagnosed it is a major life-shaking event. We have a serious illness that requires intense personal involvement in its care and treatment. They just want us to shut up and go away because there are too many of us.
