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Daphne Courses in Kent?

Rubyloo

Rubyloo

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi Everyone,

I went to see my consultant on friday & asked to be refered to a Daphne course. He agreed that it would be a good idea but then told me there would be at least a years wait! Has anyone been on one in the Kent area? I am in Herne Bay. He told me that they only do 4 a years. Has anyone been on one in this area & where is it held?

Thanks
Debs
 
Hi Debs, small world, I lived in Herne Bay for 30 odd years, I'm now on Sheppey. I'm with the Medway Health Authority and I had to wait 18 months to get a date for DAPHNE course (still haven't been on it yet though, long story) - I'm guessing Canterbury would be much the same.
 
Hi Alan,

What a coincidance! I can't believe you are still waiting after 18 months! I was diagnosed 3 years ago & I have never been shown how to carb count so I am very much trial & error....mainly error! (lol) When I saw the consultant on Friday he said he would make an appt for me to see a dietition! Heaven knows how long I will have to wait though.

Debs
 
Just a suggestion, but if you could attend one at short notice, then can you ask to be put on the waiting list? That's what I've done (not in Kent), but am still waiting after about 2 years!
 
Does your PCT only do DAFNE courses? I ask because mine did a much more condensed course, one morning a week over 3 weeks, that explained carb-counting and ratios etc. Obviously not as comprehensive as DAFNE, but I have successfully managed my control since doing the course with great flexibility and feeling of freedom. Although, if such a course existed in your area then I expect your consultant would have known about it.

I'm sure there's something in the NICE guidelines about the PCT having to provide education for self-management, but not sure if they are held to any kind of timescale.
 
Debs, the dietician seems to be pretty easy to see in my case. I have a regular quarterly appointment with her. She is one of the people who runs the DAPNE courses and has explained the basics to me - things seem to be going OK as my HbA1c went from 8.8 to 7.7 last time.
 
Hi Alan

Nice to know there is another Sheppeyite on this site.

Do you know if there is a local support group?

Mo
 
Not that I'm aware of Mo. I spoke with the practice nurse at Minster medical centre a long while ago, and offered to chat with anyone who was finding things difficult, but heard no more.
 
How ridiculous

Hi

I am amazed with the waiting lists, it really beggars belief.

Can I put your minds at ease and say that carb counting really is a piece of cake. ('scuse the pun).

Working out the ratios can be a bit more tricky but that can also be done without a course.

The rule of thumbe is to start about 1 unit to every 15 carbs eaten. You will soon start changing things.

Be aware that most people need lots more insulin in the morning than they do at tea time.

My daughter is on 1 to 10 for breakfast, 1 to 15 at lunch and 1 to 22 at tea time. See the huge difference.

The best way to see if you have it right is to test beforehand, inject and eat in whatever order you do it and then test two hours after the injection. You should be around about what you were when you tested before.

If you were too high before then you should try and work out your correction ratio. I know that 1 unit brings my daughter down by 6.5 mmol. This varies enormously from person to person.

You can get the Collins Gem carbohydrate counter book from Amazon or Smiths no doubt and it is really helpful. There are easy sums to work out the exact carb which I can tell you.

I'm in East Sussex, if you want learn to carb count I'll teach you but you'll have to get to me and I won't charge you. Seriously the offer is there.

They should supply a dietician who can carb count to teach everyone. It really is not rocket science.

:)
 
I'd agree that you can certainly learn the carb counting element without dafne, the dietician and a good book would be a great start to learning the principles of counting the carbs and also getting your ratios sorted. I would say make your you've got your basal rate sorted first as if that's out your ratios will be nigh on impossible to get right.

However even if you get your carb counting sorted still do dafne if you get the chance, yes it's mainly a carb counting course but there is so much more to it than that. I was expecting a 2 year wait for dafne but got on it in about 9 months as I indicated I would be happy to take up a place on short notice so got a cancellation.
 
Hi

Do they go into fibre and fat etc at the Daphne courses and the effect they have on the body?

Food is absolutely amazing what it does. Fat is sometimes a good thing, especially if worked out right to get you through the night etc.

Adrienne :)
 
Adrienne,

Has your daughter been on a dafne course(kick off for children)? I am trying to get Alex on a course - but have been told there is not enough funding here in Swindon! Bev
 
Adrienne said:
Hi

Do they go into fibre and fat etc at the Daphne courses and the effect they have on the body?

Food is absolutely amazing what it does. Fat is sometimes a good thing, especially if worked out right to get you through the night etc.

Adrienne :)
Click to expand...

It is touched on, how they may effect your bg levels, absorption rates etc but, on my course at least, we didn't go into a huge amount of depth but that's because it's really about equipping you with the tools to then go away and interpret your results, and make changes yourself, so I guess although not everything is is explicity covered you should come out of it able to understand how to get a good understanding of how different things affect you and what to do about it.
 
Hi Bev

No we have not been on a course. They are not for everyone. It just depends on how good your team are. We have one of the best teams in the UK, the DSN is highly regarded throughout the diabetes worlds. We are very lucky. We had an hour or so with the dietician and I picked it up quite easily. They don't let you go on a pump without knowing how to carb count. I was never told by my original team (very bad and I knew that!) that you had to carb count with MDI but you have to, that is widely known otherwise you are stabbing in the dark so to speak :confused:

The thing about carb counting is that it appears very complicated and really quite daunting. I was horrified to know that I would have to carb count every morsel of carb that went in my daughter's mouth for ever or until she takes over of course (but I imagine I will carb count forever, I probably do it in my sleep). Once you get over that initial 'oh my god what I am doing....' stage, it is not hard.

We were at a children support group meeting (mothers drinking coffee and one dad) tonight after school. One the children is on mixed, another friend is on MDI and my daughter is on a pump (the others are all MDI) we all live the same way so as the child on mixes needed to eat and the child on MDI has a bit longer window but still needs to eat we stopped at the local Toby for a carvery, very nice indeed. Myself and the mother of the child on MDI counted all these carbs out loud, the children joined in. This is pure guestimating, my friend had her book but we didn't have any scales but we are ok now to be able to guestimate ok. My friend has only been carb counting since October and is totally fine with it. She taught herself as our local team leave a lot to be desired.

Don't wait for a course, see what you can do. Let me know if you want any help off the message board or on. Then once you go on the course, it won't be gobbledegook to you, you will understand what they are talking about and perhaps pick up more.

Adrienne :)
 
I reckon a dietician should be able to teach you the basics in a couple of sessions. Your DSN could give you a start with ratio's and you could go from there.

have a look at this online carb counting course www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 
sofaraway said:
I reckon a dietician should be able to teach you the basics in a couple of sessions. Your DSN could give you a start with ratio's and you could go from there.

have a look at this online carb counting course www.bdec-e-learning.com/
Click to expand...

That's basically what happened with me. I've found that now, rather than actually carb counting, most of the time I just look at food and decide whether it's more or less carbs than other meals in my repertoire and adjust insulin accordingly. When I have something out of the ordinary, I try to relate it to something I know to give me a starting point. Seems to work pretty well so far!:)
 
A dietitian could teach you the basics. But I would still reccommend an education course. I was really panicky and could never have changed my insulin dosage on my own, I needed the support of a nurse and a dietitian and other diabetics. Plus I had to write down my results and show them to others which made me more likely to try my best. I also think it is beneficial to spend a whole week thinking of nothing but diabetes. It may be too much for some people. But I really needed to focus on it without the distractions of work or anything. And meeting other diabetics really helped too. Chatting here is good but it did really help to meet others in the flesh. I don't think an online course and a few sessions with a dietitian could help me in the same way. But everyone is different.
 
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