Hounslow EXPERT meeting July 26th

[IanD]

Will I see any of the forum in Hounslow Montague Public Hall this evening - from 7 p.m.

The group includes Diabetes & Cardiovascular.

Our next Meeting is on Tuesday July 26th . Members, of all Groups are welcome to attend, with their family, loved ones and carers

Dr Nadia Raja cannot attend due to personal reasons. Instead Jennifer Bank Smith ( Health Promotion Manager with the Hounslow PCT) and three colleagues will give a presentation on the Expert Patient Plan.

The programme for the evening:

7.00pm Open for Tea and refreshments
7.25pm Jennifer Bank Smith and colleagues: Expert Patient Plan.
8.35pm Open Forum chaired by Colin Stacey and Ron Grant
9.05pm Raffle.

9.15pm Close



Venue: Montague Public Hall, 30 Montague Road, Hounslow TW3 1LD. One of members requested that I include a location map and how to get to Montague.

 

[IanD]

22 views but no replies - does no other forum member live within reach of Hounslow?

 

[IanD]

Missed you all

Interesting evening. The EXPERT Patient plan is a general course covering a range of conditions resulting in similar problems - pain, fatigue, depression, etc - the course seeking to provide a framework for mutual encouragement. It is not the T2 Diabetes X-PERT course which I went on & have reported on another thread.

I introduced myself as an expert patient as I have overcome a range of complications & am now in good health. I stressed this forum for mutual support & the low carb advice I received & implemented. I took along my almond buns for folk to try.

There was a lot of interest. They want me to go on the EXPERT course, & to supply information to circulate to the group.

My submission to the group was:

I was invited on the XPERT course early in 2010. I would recommend the course to everybody.

I can fairly say that I have become an expert patient in that I have reversed debilitating complications to become fit & well.

Over 3 years ago I was suffering from crippling muscle pains, chronic tiredness & the beginning of retinopathy. Changing to a low carbohydrate diet has made a tremendous difference & I have sustained that diet for over 3 years without any adverse effects. I am 72 & play tennis at club standard.

Diabetes UK strongly recommend that half of what we eat should be starchy carbohydrate. They warn against a low carbohydrate diet.

I, & many contributors to the the http://www.diabetes.co.uk/ forum, have found by experience that the diet advice diabetics are routinely given contributes to the progress of the disease, & the resultant complications.

We have found that carbohydrate restriction is only beneficial.

D uk have recently produced a “Position Statement” on low carb diets, warning that “there is a lack of evidence related to long-term safety and benefit of following this diet.” They seem to ignore a 44 month Swedish study, citation 13 which states: “ the present high-carbohydrate dietary advice resulting in unnecessary hyperglycemia and insulin resistance seems difficult to support and for diabetes patients, current dietary recommendations seem to be a major part of their problem rather than being part of the solution. Carbohydrate restriction, however, reverses or neutralises all aspects of the metabolic syndrome.”

Comments please.

 

[IanD]

Expert Patients Programme Self-Management Courses

Many on this forum have conditions additional to diabetes.

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The majority of Expert Patients Programme courses are delivered by trained tutors who have personal experience of living with a long-term health problem. Courses usually run over six weekly sessions and include topics such as dealing with pain, extreme tiredness, coping with feelings of depression, relaxation techniques, exercise, healthy eating, communicating with family, friends and health care professionals and planning for the future.

 

[IanD]

Have any of the Hounslow group checked in on this forum? You took details & said you would.

I've been invited on the EXPERT course starting Sept. 16 or Nov. 11. I suspect it will be for my contributions rather than my benefit.

 

[IanD]

Have any of the Hounslow group checked in on this forum? You took details & said you would.

I've been invited on the EXPERT course starting Sept. 16 or Nov. 11. I suspect it will be for my contributions rather than my benefit.

I spoke to the organiser, & said I would be happy to contribute to a session, but as my diabetes & general health are well-controlled, I did not need to go on a 6 week course.

 

[hanadr]

I did the expert patient programme about a year ago. It actually didn't teach me anything new[ although Idid persuade the T1 "leader" to try dropping her carbs and her insulin. which she did and said she felt really good on that!] I'm already assertive in a polite and gentle way ;which is the main benefit of the course I think. I did learn why some people do not take charge of their own situation. It's simply too scary for them.
We have such a strong culture of believing the health care professions, that many people dare not question their decisions and will go along with anything they say, even if the can't follow the advice every well.
My own mother is a perfect example of this. Although my vet brother[ a medic of course] tells her to follow my guidelines on diabetic diet, because I really understand this thing. And despite the fact that the universe revolves around my brother, she still does what the village doctor tells her to do and eats what she[the doctor] says she should. not surprisingly her sugars, measured only once a week, are often high.
The only thing that makes this less worrying is that at 94, my mother doesn't probably have enough time to develop many more complications. Her sight is impaired, but not to the level of not being able to read at all. She uses a magnifyer
Hana