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DAFNE Course and Basal/Bolus Insulins

eddie1968

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,661
Location
Dumbarton, Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Pasta, sorry to me it's vile, yeuch lol (and full of nasty carbs)
Hi I am Type 2 and have been taking 136 IU of Humulin M3 Mixed Isophane Insulin for years now. At my last Hospital review my Consultant said if my HbA1c's didn't improve I would have to consider carbohydrate counting, attend a DAFNE course and switch to basal/bolus insulin.

Is carbohydrate counting a tricky thing to master and is the injection regime different ? I already inject twice a day and have got used to that now.

Thanks, sorry for dipping into the T1 forum but thought you would be in a better position than posting on the T2 with insulin forum.
 
Basal/bolus is more injections but you can get much better control of blood glucose levels.

Once you know what you are doing, carb counting will come as 2nd nature to you. I think most people start off with 1 unit of insuli for 10g carbs so if something had 50g carbs, its 5 units insulin.
 

How much carb are you eating in your meals Eddy? If you test your bg levels every 2.5hrs, you should be a ble to adjust the carb that you eat so that yr bg levels balance out better so you keep to good targets like 6mmol before a main meal then allow for a rise upto 8.5mmol by 2.5hrs which should then fall back to about 6mmol again by the time 4-5hrs has gone by.
 
The basal/bolus regime is the only way to go really when it comes to insulin injections.........

much more flexible and successful.......it allows you break down the insulin doses into more manageable and accurate doses.....

some can find carb counting tricky but it only really causes minor problems when eating out........when at home it cant be easier really.........

the good thing is that if you don't eat or don't feel like eating, you don't take and bolus........win win......
 
I try to eat a low-carb diet as much as possible but I am not measuring the estimated amount of carbs per portion yet. I know I am going to have to learn this.
 
I was taught carb counting in hospital when I was first diagnosed (and believe me, my head was everywhere) and I found it pretty simple, even in my ill, shocked state

Lots of carb info can be found on packets now eg on a loaf of bread, box of cereal, etc.

Now I hardly ever look up food to check the carbs as I've basically memorised them, so it's second nature.
 
eddie1968 said:
I try to eat a low-carb diet as much as possible but I am not measuring the estimated amount of carbs per portion yet. I know I am going to have to learn this.
Click to expand...

Just a tip for things like rice and pasta i would suggest buying the little baking measuring cups.

My unit of measure is 1/3 cup is roughly 15g or 1 serving. They make life so much easier.
 
I use a ramekin to measure most ingredients, rice, beans porridge oats, Peas etc. And I keep a list in my cupboard of each food how much weight is in the ramekin and carb content. of all regular foods we eat. That way if the hubby cooks I don't have to supervise he justs uses the ramekins and can let me know my carb amounts. Before this I had to do all the prep and cooking. And there's nothing better than someone else making you a nice meal.
 
eddie1968 said:
I try to eat a low-carb diet as much as possible but I am not measuring the estimated amount of carbs per portion yet. I know I am going to have to learn this.
Click to expand...

Eddie - I understand a number of people have enrolled on this online carb-counting course, developed in Bournemouth. http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Why not register fr it and start learning?

If I recall, @CollieBoy has done this course, and found it to be worthwhile.

I haven't done the course myself, but have managed to pick up as much as I currently need to know just by reading around.

Good luck with it all.
 
As an insulin dependent t1, I found the BDEC course to be excellent. Well worth a look if you want to learn about how to manage insulin.
 
@eddie1968,
looking at you ,as someone looking to eat outside a "bog standard diet" (i.e. using elements of LC) then it should make sense to go bolus & basal, rather than combined insulin, as combined does not allow you the "luxury" of tailoring your basal insulin requirements and then matching your bolus insulin to what you ACTUALLY eat, rather mixed insulin therapy runs on eating carbs to match your insulin dosage!
 
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