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DAFNE Course

HigherThanThe_Sun

HigherThanThe_Sun

Member
I have been advised that I should attend a DAFNE course.

For me to do this I would have to take a week's holiday as I don't think that I would get away with a week's sickie.

Anyway, has anybody been on one of these courses and did you find it useful?

Thanks
 
I would try and get it off, or some it off as medical leave if that would be possible....

its worth it in my opinion, if you have no dose adjustment experience to date.....even worth it if you do....
 
HigherThanThe_Sun said:
Thanks.
That's my thoughts too. Just wondering what the course covers.
Click to expand...

Carb counting and dose adjustment are the main things...

within that are basal tests, insulin/carb ratios, correction factors, insulin sensitivity, illness, activity....

and you get to do lunch alongside your fellow diabetics and test and calculate a dose for it, then see how that dose worked out towards the end of the day and discuss....

i completed mine in 2009 so I am confident it may have changed slightly but not significantly....

the end result is basically you being able to go through your diabetic life with pretty much no assistance from anyone else [Healthcare Professional]....
 
novorapidboi26 said:
Carb counting and dose adjustment are the main things...

within that are basal tests, insulin/carb ratios, correction factors, insulin sensitivity, illness, activity....

and you get to do lunch alongside your fellow diabetics and test and calculate a dose for it, then see how that dose worked out towards the end of the day and discuss....

i completed mine in 2009 so I am confident it may have changed slightly but not significantly....

the end result is basically you being able to go through your diabetic life with pretty much no assistance from anyone else [Healthcare Professional]....
Click to expand...
Thanks again.
 
I think when I did the DAFNE course no one had holiday or sick leave, everyone on the course (apart from the self employed) had it off as some kind of paid leave "other". It didn't sound like anyone had to have any kind of battle with their employer to get it.

DAFNE is a course that is basically thought of as being required for diabetic management, I'm sure you could get a letter from the course provided to the effect that it is required.

So, you've go a course that you are required to attend for the purpose of managing your diabetes. Under the equality act type 1 diabetes is a disability and employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate their employees disabilities. A week off that doesn't come out of your holiday and doesn't count as sick leave seems pretty reasonable for most jobs. Any reasonable employer shouldn't make you take it as holiday and there should be no "getting away with" taking it as sick leave.

It's worth just asking if you can have the time off as "other" leave. Check to see if your policies say anything helpful.
 
catapillar said:
I think when I did the DAFNE course no one had holiday or sick leave, everyone on the course (apart from the self employed) had it off as some kind of paid leave "other". It didn't sound like anyone had to have any kind of battle with their employer to get it.

DAFNE is a course that is basically thought of as being required for diabetic management, I'm sure you could get a letter from the course provided to the effect that it is required.

So, you've go a course that you are required to attend for the purpose of managing your diabetes. Under the equality act type 1 diabetes is a disability and employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate their employees disabilities. A week off that doesn't come out of your holiday and doesn't count as sick leave seems pretty reasonable for most jobs. Any reasonable employer shouldn't make you take it as holiday and there should be no "getting away with" taking it as sick leave.

It's worth just asking if you can have the time off as "other" leave. Check to see if your policies say anything helpful.
Click to expand...
Thanks. The problem is that we are a pretty small team at work and any absences can cause grief.
I shall speak with my Boss and hopefully a compromise can be reached.
 
I had special leave with pay to attend DAFNE and I found it very useful as a newly diagnosed diabetic.
Covers carb counting & how to estimate using visuals/adjustments/ correction factor/exercise/alcohol/sick day rules/hypos/hyper that's all I can remember, but there's a lot to take in! It's tiring!
Everyone keeps a log book of their readings and helps to un pick what's going on so you learn to do it yourself.
We also went out for lunch to practice eating out and estimating.
I would say some grasped the concept better than others and some just would not change their ways.
They all had serious complications and as a newbie, it terrified me a bit, but I'm very pleased that DAFNE was available to me as early in my diagnosis as it was.
 
Hi @HigherThanThe_Sun . DAFNE ( dose adjustment for normal eating) does exactly what the title says.
Definitely do the course you will learn and benefit immensely from it.
I did the course after 20 yrs + being T1 and can honestly say it was great to learn so much and also be in a room with 9 other T1's all sharing there own experiences.
My employer was good about time off but nonetheless the course organisers and my diabetic consultant sent a letter to explain the importance and advantages of me doing the course.
 
HigherThanThe_Sun said:
Anyway, has anybody been on one of these courses and did you find it useful?
Click to expand...

It's a good course and very worthwhile doing.

HigherThanThe_Sun said:
Thanks. The problem is that we are a pretty small team at work and any absences can cause grief.
I shall speak with my Boss and hopefully a compromise can be reached.
Click to expand...

Some hospitals do the DAFNE course over several weeks on an evening or weekend to accommodate those who find it difficult to get time off, maybe worth enquiring if yours does the same.
 
I did my DAFNE course over 5 weeks at one day a week. My employers allowed me time off to attend, provided I made up the hours during the course of each week.

Being able to attend in this way was very helpful in that;

1. I kept my job!
2. I was able to fully take in all the information given out, as my brain was still fuzzy at the time from those high BGs.
3. It gave me time to process and apply the knowledge gained over the course of each week, so that on my next attendance I was prepared with questions for any scenario that had occurred, plus was very helpful to hear of other folks responses during that week.
4. It gave better bonding for the group as a whole, and several have kept in touch long after the course has ended - it's always good to know other T1's to 'compare notes'.

To anyone who is offered DAFNE, I would say 'go for it', though be aware that they didn't (at that time) advocate a LCHF lifestyle when I was there, they were very impressed by my reducing BGs as I progressed through the course (started LCHF a week before the course started). DAFNE gave me the confidence and knowledge to safely reduce the amount of insulin I needed to match my new lifestyle. I currently need NO insulin at all.
 
Nidge247 said:
I did my DAFNE course over 5 weeks at one day a week. My employers allowed me time off to attend, provided I made up the hours during the course of each week.

Being able to attend in this way was very helpful in that;

1. I kept my job!
2. I was able to fully take in all the information given out, as my brain was still fuzzy at the time from those high BGs.
3. It gave me time to process and apply the knowledge gained over the course of each week, so that on my next attendance I was prepared with questions for any scenario that had occurred, plus was very helpful to hear of other folks responses during that week.
4. It gave better bonding for the group as a whole, and several have kept in touch long after the course has ended - it's always good to know other T1's to 'compare notes'.

To anyone who is offered DAFNE, I would say 'go for it', though be aware that they didn't (at that time) advocate a LCHF lifestyle when I was there, they were very impressed by my reducing BGs as I progressed through the course (started LCHF a week before the course started). DAFNE gave me the confidence and knowledge to safely reduce the amount of insulin I needed to match my new lifestyle. I currently need NO insulin at all.
Click to expand...

Completely agree

I attended DAFNE week course last March and it was full of information

I learned importantly that you had to be five to drive

Go on it if you can
 
HigherThanThe_Sun said:
Thanks. The problem is that we are a pretty small team at work and any absences can cause grief.
I shall speak with my Boss and hopefully a compromise can be reached.
Click to expand...
I'm hoping to be offered the course at next appointment. I had to be diagnosed a year apparently. I will be asking for special leave from my employer which is paid. I have previously been reluctant to ask for things like this but others do so I'm going to
 
Agree with others. I definitely thought it was worth it. My partner and family also joined me for a couple of the sessions, and they thought it was really valuable for them too.
 
I did it in June last year, after 20 years of being type 1, its definitely changed my life, however i was on 2 a day before hand, it offers a great deal of flexibility which you could possibly sell to your boss as it would improve your work days
 
From my experience, I enjoyed DAFNE.

Some parts were highly useful in plugging some serious holes in my exercise know-how living with diabetes, and others were a little tedious in terms of covering what I already knew about biology, carb counting, and nutrition.

I already new the biological mechanisms behind type 1 diabetes, which they do cover mainly in the first day, with a smattering more throughout the week. They teach good carb counting methods, which, although I already knew my insulin/carb ratio, gave me more confidence. Their exercise session is excellent, they gave really detailed and useful knowledge for the practical issues with exercising. And..... it's nice to be in a room with around seven other diabetics. It's a good place to have a bit of a grumble and the camaraderie was particularly good among my DAFNE course mates. It is very well thought out (based on some heavy duty research) and parts are very useful.

Overall, it fills in the gaps and bolsters up your confidence. I'd say go for it!
 
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