DESMOND

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WendyFriendy

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Hi. Diagnosed for 5 years and just been told about structured education (NICE guidelines). DESMOND Referral offered. Would appreciate your thoughts about the course?
 
Like you, I was offered (and attended) the DESMOND course about 5 years following diagnosis. As I recall, it was useful, although by that point I'd read around Type 2 and so the more "technical" elements of the course I was quite familiar with. Diet advice steered towards more the traditional "everything based around starch" approach, but perhaps that's changed. I seem to remember coffee/tea with biscuits(!) were on constant offer.

As an aside, I was shocked at just how far into their diabetes journey some of the course participants were. One guy had been diagnosed 16 years previously and just started on insulin.

I just hope the NHS is more together with courses for newly-diagnosed Type 1s.
 
Nikki Gillam said:
I just hope the NHS is more together with courses for newly-diagnosed Type 1s.
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I am not sure what it is like now but I attended my first course 12 years after my diagnosis and there were other attendees who had been diagnosed a long time before me.
As Type 1 is a chronic condition often (but less than 50% of the time) diagnosed in children, there is a lot of "catching up" required.
Maybe people who are newly diagnosed are more likely to get onto a course but there are many who missed out decades ago and never given the chance.
 
WendyFriendy said:
Hi. Diagnosed for 5 years and just been told about structured education (NICE guidelines). DESMOND Referral offered. Would appreciate your thoughts about the course?
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I did a face to face Desmond and it was OK but was very much focused on the NHS standard advice based on the EatWell plate which really is not in tune with more enlightened approaches. I then did an on-line version with self guided modules which you work through. Very basic. There was a forum similar to here but unmoderated.
I think other than contact with other people you would learn more from looking at a link such as the Freshwell program https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/ which was designed by a GP surgery who found the standard NHS advise was not working for their Type 2 patients.
 
WendyFriendy said:
Hi. Diagnosed for 5 years and just been told about structured education (NICE guidelines). DESMOND Referral offered. Would appreciate your thoughts about the course?
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Never turn down an opportunity to learn
 
WendyFriendy said:
Hi. Diagnosed for 5 years and just been told about structured education (NICE guidelines). DESMOND Referral offered. Would appreciate your thoughts about the course?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum @WendyFriendy

We have had some different experiences from members of various DESMOND courses over the years. I think the ND stands for ‘newly diagnosed’ so the course content is intended to give you a basic overview of diabetes and its treatment to get you started.

You aren’t the only member to have been rather shocked at being offered biscuits @Nikki Gillam - which does seem a bit worrying to me.

Having seen discussion between various members discussing their experiences of DESMOND I get the feeling that the content can vary quite a bit depending on who is leading the course?

Hope you find it interesting and helpful if you give it a go Wendy.
 
I have no experience of a DESMOND course although I was sent on a Diabetes Prevention Course when I was pre-diabetic a few years back. I thought the Eat Well plate was too high in carbs and found the advice given here much more helpful and I managed to get back to the higher side of normal.

This year it has crept up a little again but I did not have much leeway. My friends are amazed that, even when it is normal, it is the higher side as I eat so healthily but the GP who specialises in diabetes thinks it is probably increased insulin resistance with age (I am 70) as I do not carry weight.
 
How much does it cost us, the tax payers, to put on a course and per person who attends?
 
Quizzy said:
How much does it cost us, the tax payers, to put on a course and per person who attends?
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I don’t know if these costs are advertised but the up front cost of running courses will be offset by the reduced long term costs of people managing their diabetes better
 
NICE guidelines are due for a review and so (therefore, I suspect) is some of the educational content of MyDesmond, the online cousin of DESMOND. Still a good idea to go on a course when you have the opportunity. You can certainly learn a lot from this website and forum.

I think YouTube videos of presentations by experts are very helpful too: Prediabetes (and T2D) Dr David Oliver; The nuts & bolts of drug free T2 diabetes remission, Dr David Unwin; Achieving T2D remission (May 2023) and Information for Doctors, Professor Roy Taylor.
 
I have been on the DESMOND course today. Alot of it I knew already but finally understand what diabetes does to your blood and how this, cholesterol and blood pressure interact. I found the portions of carbs they suggested quite big. Even a small jacket potatoe is alot of carbs. Carbs are sold as an important food group that should fill 1/4 plate. I question the nutritional value of a portion of white rice. So a mixed review really.
 
Ccash said:
Even a small jacket potatoe is alot of carbs.
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No it isn’t. The little jacket potatoes I buy are 18g carb each. That would be very easy to fit into a low carb diet of up to 130g carbs per day.

Photo evidence attached
 

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Lucyr said:
No it isn’t. The little jacket potatoes I buy are 18g carb each. That would be very easy to fit into a low carb diet of up to 130g carbs per day.

Photo evidence attached
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It is a matter of perception as to what a portion size is, I suspect many people would look at a potato that size and think it would be far too small as they are used to a jacket potato that would be served in a cafe which would be more like 75g carbs.
It needs some re-education on portion sizes. We had a cone of chips from our local chippy and it was still too much between 2.
 
Been waiting 13 years for my DESMOND course. I think it's a bit late now 🙂
 
Lucyr said:
I don’t know if these costs are advertised but the up front cost of running courses will be offset by the reduced long term costs of people managing their diabetes better
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Thanks Lucyr. Sorry to be so late responding. I might try to find the answer myself as was concerned that so few people attended and two educators, plus equipment, room hire and travelling expenses must add up. Personally was not impressed. Glad to read others more positive reactions.
 
Lucyr said:
I don’t know if these costs are advertised but the up front cost of running courses will be offset by the reduced long term costs of people managing their diabetes better
Click to expand...
The DESMOND course I attended was somewhat useful but did not open pathways to more information about the disease, diets, exercise programmes, etc. I had other dissatisfactions so was curious about its origins and organisation.I lost count of the Google responses to my search for DESMOND so delivering the programme must involve a lot of people. I asked "who funds DESMOND" and reply from Desmond National Programme is "What is this for? Please can you expand on your query, so I can help you." Is anyone else interested?
 
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