carb counting

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smile4loubie

smile4loubie

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
i'm not sure if this is the right place to post this so i'm sorry if its not.
I was never told to carb count and have no idea how to do it. My fiance was talking to a guy he works with who has diabetes and it was him that told him i should be. Please help. My doc's are the worst with help or support in any aspect of my diabetes. X
 
Hi, I see that you are on levemir and novorapid, so it would be better if you did know how to carb count as you could then control your levels better by adjusting your insulin injections. Have you been offered no advice on this? I think it is a responsibility of every PCT that they have to provide education when people go onto basal/bolus regime like you are on. The main courses are called DAFNE and DESMOND, but some PCT's offer their own version.

Do you take a fixed amount of novorapid every day? Carb-counting isn't difficult, it just involves knowing how much insulin is needed per 10grams of carb in the food you are about to eat. There is an online cours you can pick the basics up from - I'll put it in this post when I find it!

Here it is:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 
Hiya

Yes this is right, carb counting is the best way to get control of levels (or the best control you can get). I am now making a presumption that you are on MDI (multiple daily injections ie Lantus or Levemir and Novorapid to cover meals). I know you are not on a pump as all pumpers HAVE to carb count. I am presuming you are an adult and your team, as rubbish as they might be, haven't put you on twice daily injections.

The idea of carb counting is that for ever carb that goes in your mouth you have to match the right amount of novorapid to cover that carb. It sounds simple but different foods do different things.

There are courses you can go on ie DAFNE, DESMOND to learn how to carb count but people find these hard to get on so lots of us (all the parents on this forum for a start) learn it themselves.

Your team should be working out your carb to insulin ratio and a correction factor ie how many units of insulin will bring your levels down by ie 1 unit will lower your level by say 4 mmols. A starting point for carb counting could be 1 unit to every 15 grams of carbs eaten. ie an average slice of bread is 15 carbs so you would inject 1 unit to cover that slice of bread.

100g of basmati rice is 30 carbs so you would inject 2 units to cover those 30 carbs.

If they have put you on a set amount of novorapid for each meal then that is wrong and they should be teaching your carb counting.

What is your HbA1c? Anything over 7.5 % is not great, don't get me wrong I'm not preaching here but if it is over 7.5% your team should be working their hardest with you to get it below that. If they are that bad you are entitled to get referred to a hospital who is good. Do some research and find a hospital that is good. To me a good hospital will do insulin pumps. Even if you do not want a pump, it means the hospital is up to date (in theory) with all the latest technology, they will do carb counting etc etc.

Carb counting can seem very daunting when you start, I've been there, but after a few weeks, it is a piece of cake. 🙂

I hope this has helped.
 
i don't know what my hab1c is. Noone has been testing for it. I gotta book everything my self. I.ve just moved house so have to registar with new doc's so hopefully they will be better. And no i have to guess how much novarapid to take. I take approx 38 units of levemir at night. My diabetic nurse always asks if i really need to see her to i don't wanna make an appointment because i feel she's getting angry that i see try and see her often. My control is pretty rubbish tbh but then i have no real idea what i'm doing and when i say this they just go on about how my pancreas isn't making enough insulin and i know all that. They just don't listen to me. They don't have any course's in my area at mo i asked when i saw her last about 4/5 months ago.
 
i also asked about the pumps and all she said was they weren't suitable for me. No explanation or anything.
 
smile4loubie said:
i don't know what my hab1c is. Noone has been testing for it. I gotta book everything my self. I.ve just moved house so have to registar with new doc's so hopefully they will be better. And no i have to guess how much novarapid to take. I take approx 38 units of levemir at night. My diabetic nurse always asks if i really need to see her to i don't wanna make an appointment because i feel she's getting angry that i see try and see her often. My control is pretty rubbish tbh but then i have no real idea what i'm doing and when i say this they just go on about how my pancreas isn't making enough insulin and i know all that. They just don't listen to me. They don't have any course's in my area at mo i asked when i saw her last about 4/5 months ago.
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My dear, this virtually amounts to negligence! Do not be worried about asking to see your nurse as often as you feel you have to, and you should certainly be aware of your HbA1c which should be taken a minimum of once a year. Time to kick up a fuss - they are letting you down badly!😱
 
yeah i thought so. I'm registering in the new year with new doc's and new clinic which should be better just getting fed up now xx
 
Carb counting can be complicated if you are type 2. If like me you are making little or no insulin and are quite insulin sensititve you will find that the Bournmouth on line course Northerner recommended should help you a lot. If you are insulin resistant and still producing a lot of insulin things get complicated.

Are you seeing a hospital diabetes specialist nurse who can give you advice? If not ask your new GP to refer you to the hospital diabetes clinic. All hospital clinics should have some sort of training available by now but if it's a DAFNE type course they may not want to include type 2s. Even if they don't have a course the DSN should be able to give you help starting to carb count and should give you a number to contact him/her at any time for help.
 
Yay!!

Just completed the course you posted. Thank You sooooooooooooooo much, Its really helpful. You guys are amazing and Im sooooo glad Salmonpuff introduced me to it!!!
 
smile4loubie said:
Just completed the course you posted. Thank You sooooooooooooooo much, Its really helpful. You guys are amazing and Im sooooo glad Salmonpuff introduced me to it!!!
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Great news that you found the course useful - it should also give you some understanding so that you can ask your new DSN any questions you might have. Things sound like thay are starting to go your way too, with the recommendation that ChrisP gave about the Basingstoke DSN's!🙂
 
maybe not lol. Gotta move back in with parents. They want to put the rent up!
 
I am waiting list to get on the DAFNE course. They should let you on if you have any problems let me know as I got approval from my doctors saying that those with MODY should be allowed on.
What you might find is that you are more sensitive to insulin than your typical type 1's.
Carb counting can be tricky at first but you'll pick it up quickly and you'll wonder how you ever manged before. thats certainly how I felt, i can't imagine not counting (or estimating) my carbs now.
 
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