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Education Courses

Butterflies

Butterflies

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello

Just wondered if anyone has been referred to the NHS Education courses for diabetes? I went on one about six months after diagnosis, run by my local NHS at the hospital. It was nice to meet others in a similar situation, but I found them to be very basic and sadly lacking the knowledge I and others would have liked to have received. Although its not compulsory some people are referred to these courses by their GP's and I wondered what other people who may have been on them thought?

For me it needed to be more informative and intense with less stating the obvious. I don't mean to sound patronising, but wonder if the NHS could divert their resources elsewhere to help diabetics other than something like this.

They skimmed over issues and when pressed for answers either didn't know or avoided the question as best they could.

Shame for those of us who were in attendance.

Was I on the wrong course at the wrong time or have others also found these course to be inadequate?

Thanks in anticipation of any replies.
 
You do not say which course you did. I did XPert in November which was also a bit of a let down and now they are having to retrain advisers because they realise they have been singing from the wrong hymn sheet! Fortunately I had already joined this wonderful forum and learned so much following advice, recipes and asking, I got my BG under control lost weight and brought all my numbers down. In short I was better off here than on the course as everything they taught went out the window in favour of LCHF search the site, ask questions, there is loads of information here and lots of help
 
Good for you poohtiggy, well done.

It was the NHS Diabetes Awareness Course I went on.
 
Hi I was diagnosed with type 2 last week and the nurse put a request in for me to attend an NHS course but I have no idea how long I will have to wait, and that is all the help I have received apart from two booklets. I am so confused about it all and by the sounds of your experience from going an a course I will be even more confused.
 
@Dilly40 Hi, don't worry about the course until you get a date -- it may not be for quite a while! Many of us were confused at first. What are the booklets you were given?
Joining this forum is a good start, well done.
 
i went on the desmond course which i found was a let down
i found this forum to be alot for helpful plus with my trusted meter
 
I've previously asked (on here) about courses as a fairly newly diagnosed pre-diabetic. But, from the information I've obtained it would appear that these courses often give you the opposite advice and tell you it's ok to eat lots of carb rich food i.e. potatoes etc.

I'm learning far more by just being on here regularly and "meeting" all the lovely and helpful forum members on here. And, unlike the course facilitators the information I'm gaining is coming from people managing diabetes and living with it. They know what works and what doesn't, what you should eat and what you shouldn't (although we may react differently to certain foods). Now, if I went on a course I wouldn't get that would I?! ;)

I wouldn't say No to a course if I was offered one locally, purely just to see what advice they give . . .

In the meantime, I'm sticking with the Forum :D
 
Dilly40 said:
Hi I was diagnosed with type 2 last week and the nurse put a request in for me to attend an NHS course but I have no idea how long I will have to wait, and that is all the help I have received apart from two booklets. I am so confused about it all and by the sounds of your experience from going an a course I will be even more confused.
Click to expand...

Guess I was lucky the way things happened. I was diagnosed last May and it was like a thunderbolt, I was given no information just sent home to await all my appointments. I had a letter from the course leader saying the list was long and it would probably take a year to get on the course. I Wasn't' prepared for diabetese and certainly wasn't going to wait a year to get started, I browsed the net and found this site and following what I picked up here I lost the weight etc and by the time I got on the course only 6 months later my BG was under control. I say I was lucky because had I started the course on diagnosis, I would have followed their advice and would, by now be obese with uncontrolled BG I immediately stopped sugar in tea, cut out pasta, bread, rice and potatoes and bought a BG meter.Try some of the recipes, test, test and test and you will discover for yourself what foods don't suit you. I still did the course but was selective of what I took on board. I have, to date lost 2st 3lb and my glucose is still controlled. Good luck you are at the right place
 
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