• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

DESMOND Course .

Guzzler said:
Her advice on Metformin is possibly why so many people think that it actively lowers their blood glucose to the extent that they can carry on eating all the foods they always have but in smaller quantities. If the lady is a trained HCP then someone needs to take her to one side and have a quiet word.... or a small smack.
Click to expand...
Agree but don't think smacking's allowed, how about a wallop?
 
SueJB said:
I had to hit the like button although I found the situation appalling. I think I'd have had the same response and kept quiet and then home and had a good rant. I really do expect people who run training courses to be more knowledgeable than course participants. They want to put me on a Daphne!! Shan't go!
Click to expand...

The T1 course is different, I believe. I have read on here that it covers things like carb counting etc. So you may find it useful.
 
SueJB said:
I had to hit the like button although I found the situation appalling. I think I'd have had the same response and kept quiet and then home and had a good rant. I really do expect people who run training courses to be more knowledgeable than course participants. They want to put me on a Daphne!! Shan't go!
Click to expand...
Although from what I gather the DAFNE courses for Type 1's are far better. Might be worth it..You might want to ask in the Type 1 forum for people's experiences of them.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
The T1 course is different, I believe. I have read on here that it covers things like carb counting etc. So you may find it useful.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I might not have a mardy then and go. I apologise from not really knowing what a DESMOND course was. I assumed DAFNE for the girlies and DESMOND for the guys
 
In hindsight ..my time on the DESMOND course was well spent.

I met other folk with diabetes ..and even today ..I sometimes wonder how my ✻cohort✻ has managed through the years.

There was a poignant moment ..an elderly lady wept when a ✻facilitator✻ asked her if she knew why her doctor had offered her a place on the course.
 
I have ordered a hannibal lectre mask. This for my own safety and the safety of the instructors. I can be a bit gubby sometimes, but I dont think I will keep quiet. I will mention this site Ad nauseam.... with the intention that if one person comes here and is treated the way I have been treated. Gets the info I have been able to gleen!!!, well that will have been a complete success.

Thats the plan........ being compliant... its not my bag!
 
@SueJB - I would really urge you to attend the DAFNE course. Lots of T1s rave about it, and aside from the valuable content, they find meeting other T1s, face to face, very worthwhile.

Also noteworthy is should you ever want to have a pump, my understanding is, you must have completed a carb-counting course prior to being considered. If you get it under your belt now, you've ticked that box already.

Of course, completing a carb counting course isn't the only criteria, but it would be frustrating to want one and qualify in all other respects.

Apologies, @rab5 . I won't deflect your thread any further. Hopefully your course will serve you some purpose.
 
DCUKMod said:
@SueJB - I would really urge you to attend the DAFNE course. Lots of T1s rave about it, and aside from the valuable content, they find meeting other T1s, face to face, very worthwhile.

Also noteworthy is should you ever want to have a pump, my understanding is, you must have completed a carb-counting course prior to being considered. If you get it under your belt now, you've ticked that box already.

Of course, completing a carb counting course isn't the only criteria, but it would be frustrating to want one and qualify in all other respects.

Apologies, @rab5 . I won't deflect your thread any further. Hopefully your course will serve you some purpose.
Click to expand...
No need to apologise. I learn so much about the whole diabetes problem.

RTab
 
DCUKMod said:
@SueJB
Also noteworthy is should you ever want to have a pump, my understanding is, you must have completed a carb-counting course prior to being considered. If you get it under your belt now, you've ticked that box already.

Of course, completing a carb counting course isn't the only criteria, but it would be frustrating to want one and qualify in all other respects.
Click to expand...

Highly dependent on your local authority. I've never been on any course, and am currently wearing a Medtronic 640g pump.

This may also be down to me lecturing my consultant on the historical basis of carb counting, carb 'exchanges' , the inherent restrictions in a two peak mixed insulin, and why I felt injecting to match not only the carb content but the fat content profile was better. That was the first meeting and he was prepared to explain that, while it was more complicated, if I could manage it a basal-bolus insulin regime might be better for me (poor guy!)

Although, I would have liked an opportunity to meet other diabetics face to face, so I may have out-smarted myself there.
 
Kentoldlady1 said:
I have just done the xpert course. The leader was really nice, but didn't really know much.

She was t1d and told us that it was all our own fault. Not in so many words, but she did say that she keeps telling her husband that if he does not watch his weight he will end up with t2d.
She said that there are no long term studies of lchf, didn't know about its use for other health problems or why its a good idea.
She said take metformin with food because it works on the food response (?) and that it is useless to take it without food. Not because of tummy problems, but because of the insulin response!
She took time to explain the starvation mode (I kid you not) and said that t2ds must not use intermittent fasting.
She said that we could eat up to 260grms carbs a day, but less was ok. But not too much less. But we needed to eat carbs because that is brain food.
She said we can eat anything we like, so long as we don't eat too much. No mention of carb craving, hunger response etc.
She di9dnt know anything about reasons for t2d, except we are all fat. Not everyone in class is overweight. I am not, but she made no mention of that)
She did give us all a glucose metre and said she would ensure we all get given strips. Hurray!! But then said we only need to test once or in exceptional circumstances, twice a month. Not a day. A month. How that helps I am not sure.

On the other hand she did explain food labels, which was correct.

It has taken nearly a year to get on this course, and I am so glad for the delay. If I had got on it at the beginning I would not have gone looking for myself and found this forum, Jason fung and keto.

I did start out thinking I was going to argue, but decided not to--not because I am shy but because I think that for about 2/3 of the class this was probably the only input they have had into t2d. Some of us had already done a fair bit of digging, but most had not. Some had never heard of carbohydrates although we all had heard of calories.

Nothing I said was going to make any difference to her and it would have confused some of the others. I did disagree with her on the section about carbs and fasting, but she just skated over the bits I disagreed with--and just carried on.

My experience has just shown me that no one size fits all. Some people needed a great deal more than the few classes that were offered and some (like me) probably didn't need any. It is not a good system but is better than nothing.

There is a written appraisal and I will be honest. But I don't think much will change. It takes actual money to change anything. And as long as the nhs is willing to pay for this rubbish it will keep getting pushed on us as helpful.

Strangely enough, the book was far more helpful, more balanced and much more up to date. Think there might be a problem with the training.

Sorry, not a funny response!!!
Click to expand...

Please write to xperthealth at their headofffice telling them the above, as they are very much into LCHF themselves, but can't remove course leaders if no one tells them about the problems.
 
rab5 said:
I have ordered a hannibal lectre mask. This for my own safety and the safety of the instructors. I can be a bit gubby sometimes, but I dont think I will keep quiet. I will mention this site Ad nauseam.... with the intention that if one person comes here and is treated the way I have been treated. Gets the info I have been able to gleen!!!, well that will have been a complete success.

Thats the plan........ being compliant... its not my bag!
Click to expand...
By all means make your feelings known but if your course is anything like mine there will be some people on the course who will need the basic information. Don't be surprised if they don't want to spend much time discussing low carb when some people don't know what carbohydrates are, have never read a nutrition label, let alone understand there are conflicting opinions about diet.
 
Daibell said:
Based on many posts over the years a good deal of any diabetes course content will be useless NHS advice, but some trainers are up to date and good and there will always be good points. Be prepared to bite your lip and either keep quiet or argue; your choice. I'm glad I've never been invited to any course by my surgery in 15 years but I'm a nerdy 'know it all'!
Click to expand...

Oh no, I was diagnosed in December as type 2 and attending my first part of the Xpert course tomorrow. I have done my homework but thought it would be a good thing to do, not sure now!
 
SueJB said:
I had to hit the like button although I found the situation appalling. I think I'd have had the same response and kept quiet and then home and had a good rant. I really do expect people who run training courses to be more knowledgeable than course participants. They want to put me on a Daphne!! Shan't go!
Click to expand...

My dad is Type 1 - he's really educated and informed and always has been, he found Daphne incredibly useful. He raves about it years later. Maybe it's not the absolute waste of time the type 2 courses seem to be.
 
The consultant today said I wouldn't get anything out of a DAFNE course. I don't know whether she was complimenting me or what
 
BB8.HG said:
My dad is Type 1 - he's really educated and informed and always has been, he found Daphne incredibly useful. He raves about it years later. Maybe it's not the absolute waste of time the type 2 courses seem to be.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. The 5 people on my course ranged from 6 months to 35 years diagnosed. We had an absolutely wonderful week, learning things we thought we already knew and just generally supporting each other. It is not often you get to spend a whole week with fellow type 1s. We were genuinely excited at the start of each day.
 
Back
Top