Diabetes X-PERT course leaving me more confused?!

[SerialLurker]

So, I went to the first session of the 6-week Diabetes X-PERT course on Tuesday, and left feeling rather confused.
They started by going on about how YOU are the most important person in looking after your diabetes, as you only see medical specialists about it for about 3 hours a year. Which is fine, but then later in the session they said people on diet/metformin alone shouldn't be testing themselves as "it will stress you out and you won't do anything with the results anyway" 😡
Apparently the HbA1c every 3-6 months is all you need, and we should be aiming for a value of 6.5 on that.
Not sure how useful this course is going to be, but I'll stick it out so I get the tick in the box 😉

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I think they got the first part right.

But they absolutely cannot tell how you will respond to doing your own BG checks and whether it will be the making or your diabetes self-management (what everyone here finds) or something else.

It also seems rather glib just to say "you won't do anything with the results..." - Well what if you want the results to, say... I don't know... find out which foods adversely affect your BG and so need to be reduced/avoided/saved for rarer occasions.

The academic studies which have associated BG monitoring with increased distress seemed to have very odd structures, eg checking perhaps only once a day rather than a pair of checks before and after eating to see the difference. They also seemed determined that people should carry on eating exactly what they had been told - rather than make changes to their individual diet plan based on how different foods affected them as an individual.

So if all you ever see are out of range numbers but are forbidden from doing anything about it then it doesn't help. Well surprise, surprise! But that is completely not the same as using BG results to inform your own self-care and reducing/changing the carbs you eat on the basis of what you see!

 

[Ljc]

Hi, it's as Mike says IMO these tests were set up to ensure people failed and the relevant bodies got the results they wanted, rather than the truth. probably to save on the cost of testing strips.
My advise to you is be a rebel and test. If they raise the issue again, either smile sweetly and say nothing or say you have no intention of stopping and why.
If they haven't already They will probably encourage the eatwell plate or whatever it's called now at some stage.
This is fine for non D (muggles) people but not for us
Do what works for you.🙂

 

[Pine Marten]

Pffft! Ignore them, SL, it's outdated advice which will be shown up by even a cursory look at the posts here. By all means get your ticked box and, as Ljc says, smile and nod at them or just tell them the truth. I remember the eatwell plate from the DESMOND course I went on once, and I don't think it's changed much if at all. By far the best information and support is what is found on these forums, given by real people who have experienced D for real!

 

[SerialLurker]

I bit my tongue this week, as I didn't want to get labelled as the troublemaker straight away. I'll save that for a couple of weeks time 😉
I have been testing (bought a codefree meter as recommended on here), and although I haven't made major changes to my diet yet, I've identified a few things which definitely spike me, so I've been trying to find alternatives, or just having smaller portions.
I somehow ended up with a copy of v11 of the handbook when everyone else seemed to have v10, so next week's session on diet could be interesting - I don't think v10 contains much/any info on LCHF for example, but v11 does
Very tempted to write the forum address on slips of paper and discretely scatter them throughout the room... *whistles innocently*

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

Sounds like a load of patronising twatery to me!

 

[Dollypolly]

Sounds like the one of dietician thing I went to
I got carbs are needed for brain function and I'm like no it ain't food regardless of what form is for brain function.
Plus this gem I can't advocate a low carb diet it's against the NHS guidelines. So you want us on meds rather than change a few things. She tried to ignore me a few times and I was having none of it.

 

[Ljc]

Sounds like the one of dietician thing I went to
I got carbs are needed for brain function and I'm like no it ain't food regardless of what form is for brain function.
Plus this gem I can't advocate a low carb diet it's against the NHS guidelines. So you want us on meds rather than change a few things. She tried to ignore me a few times and I was having none of it.

You rebel you

 

[Dollypolly]

I was never one to do things quietly and I've got worse with age @Ljc 😉

 

[Ljc]

I was never one to do things quietly and I've got worse with age @Ljc 😉

Funny you should say that, so have I 🙂

 

[Forgetful55]

Hi

Since I got my codefree I have not had one single glucose reading on the Urine test I got told to do by the Diabetic Education Nurse.. they have all been negative.. because I can see what spikes me (so far Potatoes which I don't eat much of) however chips in small portions are fine?? ( due to the fat I presume) pasta is ok in small portions and puddings and cake are OBVIOUSLY not ok.. so how does this worry me ( this is what I too got told when I asked the DSN for a meter) it makes me LESS WORRIED and more in control.. and most of my readings two hours after meals are in the non diabetic range thanks to watching my carbs and listening to the advice on here! So thanks guys!!

 

[Forgetful55]

Ha forgot to add my brain is working fine !

 

[DaveB]

In my opinion the NHS could save a lot of money by not running these courses which last too long and contain a fair amount of twaddle. I've survived my diabetes without any of these courses thru the use of forums and the Internet in general.

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi

Since I got my codefree I have not had one single glucose reading on the Urine test I got told to do by the Diabetic Education Nurse.. they have all been negative.. because I can see what spikes me (so far Potatoes which I don't eat much of) however chips in small portions are fine?? ( due to the fat I presume) pasta is ok in small portions and puddings and cake are OBVIOUSLY not ok.. so how does this worry me ( this is what I too got told when I asked the DSN for a meter) it makes me LESS WORRIED and more in control.. and most of my readings two hours after meals are in the non diabetic range thanks to watching my carbs and listening to the advice on here! So thanks guys!!

You've hit the nail on the head, Forgetful, that's exactly why we test! Specific information regarding what spikes, what doesn't, and how we control it - it's barking mad to suggest that this would worry us, and personally I find that not knowing worries me far more 🙄

 

[Forgetful55]

I agree but I think I got too complacent with my good results (spoke too soon) had a lazy day today winding down as going away on Monday so had a nice pub lunch with OH then coffee with a friend (was good no cake) but then tonight thought I would see what happened if I had three pieces of garlic bread and some cheese which broke my no more than 30g of carbs at a meal rule .. some grapes (oh oh) and ginger biscuit with a cuppa . Two hours later my result was 11.7 highest result yet.. but now I know that combination does not work and I wont repeat it! Without testing how would I have a clue what to eat?

 

[mikeyB]

Quick technical point: your brain can only utilise glucose for energy. That's why in a hypo it is so difficult to think. How your body makes that glucose from the food you eat is an entirely different matter, and what that food is doesn't really matter. Ask an Inuit- you can't grow spuds in ice.

 

[Wirrallass]

Hi SerialLurker - I too attended a 6wk X-pert course some 4 months after I was dx - I found the weekly discussions both interesting and enlightening - however I couldn't grasp the bits about the pancreas, liver, overweight cells, blood vessels and the KEY to unlock the cell door to let the glucose into a normal cell 😱

Having said that, I believe if I were offered the Course today with all the knowledge I have gleaned from this forum & it's members - then I would definitely have a much better understanding of the crucial facts of my T2 diabetes - and believe I wouldn't have gone into denial for the nine months that I did. So in hindsight I wish I had joined this forum when I was first dx.

I hasten to add that the lovely Dietician who conducted the Course was friendly, patient & covered all aspects of the different types of diabetes - it was just that diabetes was new to all who attended the Course & most of us found it difficult to comprehend and left us feeling like dummies - and I say this without any disrespect to the Dietician. In no way did she not advocate the use of meter kits & explained the importance of testing as a means of managing our individual diabetes.

SerialLurker, I would suggest you continue to attend the X-Pert course through to the end but should there be anything you don't understand between the weekly sessions then do please ask here, take care x
WL

 

[pav]

I did the course a good while back, and if I eat the carbs they recommend to keep the brain alive and working I would be in a lot more trouble than I am in at the moment. Even though I have only had one appointment with the hospital team, even she thought the course and some nurses are out of date on whats going on with diabetes.

Metering ones levels is a very important thing to do, again I made the mistake of following doctors advice years ago instead of listening to ones head and information on the forum and now have paid the price of it. Had my 3 monthly feet check up today, and she is very happy that I am trying to get things sorted out and levels down to where I am happy. Diabetes is an individual thing and should be treated by the professionals as such and not the one for all advice or treatment works for everyone.

The EXPERT course can't cater for individual oddities as there are so many, but it does give a insight to what's happening and perhaps needs bringing up to date on things, especially on the like of carb intake.