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DAFNE

Tom.thomas61

Tom.thomas61

Active Member
Messages
38
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi,

So I have been put forward to go on a DAFNE course in a few months time, after 9 years of having no sort of help from any specialists or even doctors. I was just wondering if many other people have been on it? And what should I expect to achieve from it? Was it beneficial?

Any help is much appreciated.
 
How is your control now or more importantly how do you feel about diabetes?
Dafne was good for me because I met a great bunch of people who i still go to the pub with every 6 weeks!
Beyond that it formalised what I was already doing (ie. adjusting dosage for food) and was useful on not overtreating a hyop. I did not agree with the dietary philosophy of low fat/high carb.
Don't know how you treat your diabetes but I understand that doing the course is also a pre requisite for having a pump in some places.
So if your employer is happy to let you go (and I think they are obliged to be) I think anything that gives you some more tools to help with your control is worthwhile.
 
My control has not been the best but it is slowly getting better the last 3 months or so.
That sounds great, how long did the course last for? A pump is something a diabetic nurse has mentioned but explained funding is a bit complicated with lots of people wanting them. Hopefully I can get one soon.
 
Definitely give it a go, @Tom.thomas61 .

The format is different depending on which bit of the country you're in.

The one I was on involved me and 5 other T1s, ranging from 1 to 36 yrs dx'd turning up for 5 days and doing a series of lectures and practical exercises re carb counting, run by a dsn and dietician, with some input from a consultant.

I've got to admit I was a bit sceptical about it to begin with, thinking I've been doing this for 30 yrs already, what can you tell me, but I'm pleased to say it did actually help an old dog learn new tricks, and let me polish up a few bad habits I'd acquired over the years.

One of the most useful things was having us all test every few hours (the practical exercises involved us eating on different days at the staff kitchen, the public canteen, and a free range buffet - not much scope for pre-bolusing in those scenarios, but hey-ho), scribbling them down on acetate for an overhead projector, so, at the end of the day, all six of us would review each other's results and pitch in with views on them. Sounds terrifying, I know, but that sort of collegiate approach helped a few people sort out some fundamental issues with ratios which had been seriously out of whack. Which is the main point of the course.

We learned just as much blethering with each other during the break periods.
 
Tom.thomas61 said:
Hi,

So I have been put forward to go on a DAFNE course in a few months time, after 9 years of having no sort of help from any specialists or even doctors. I was just wondering if many other people have been on it? And what should I expect to achieve from it? Was it beneficial?

Any help is much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hi @Tom.thomas61 , I did the dafne course after 30 odd years with diabetes, and I found it really helpful. Catching up on new things; insulins etc, we also did a carb counting refresher. Ultimately its your call, but I would say go for it. I hope you enjoy it.
 
The course I went on in South Wales was pretty much as @Scott-C describes, very useful stuff which I use every single day. We all worked out our ratios properly, and the sick day rules are invaluable. Well worth going on, and really engaging with so that you get the very most out of it.
 
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