My DAFNE ‘experience’ started with a meeting invite to attend a presentation on DAFNE.
My consultant had asked me if I would be interested, at my last appointment,
right after telling me about the physician that had gone off to turn Europe to die.
He was a Diabetic and in those days that’s what you did ( and we think we have it tough !),
apparently he got a telegram saying ‘come home..stop…insulin discovered.. stop. Anyway I went
to the meeting to see what it was going to be about. I had read about DAFNE in Balance so I was
aware of it, but didn’t know the details. The biggest shock was it was a 5 day full time course.
It was explained that this was the only effective way to run the course. So I signed up !
The next ‘shock’ occurred during my ‘pre’ course meeting with one of the ladies running the course.
We went through a few forms and then we wrote a new insulin plan for me to start the night before
the course. I must say I was a bit dubious about this, but I had signed up for the course and they
must know what they are doing I thought. So after changing my insulin regime the night before the
course I arrived ready to go on the Monday morning. The first session showed that everyone was in the
same boat, we were all a bit dubious and nervous about what was going to happen but all wanted to give
it a try.
The biggest lesson of the first day, had nothing to do with the course as such ! It was the discovery
that if you put 8 diabetics in a room together, it is pretty soon apparent that we share a lot of the same
problems and concerns. It was very interesting and enlightening to be able to discuss as a group all aspects
of our Diabetes. It was also very interesting to have explained all manner of details about Diabetes and diet
that have never been explored with my consultant. It was clear to all of us that 15 minutes every 6 months , at
maximum, was not enough to get the level of understanding that we were getting on the course. This is NOT a
criticism of the consultants we see, we all understand that they do the best they can given the resources they
have available. However now we were getting the opportunity to ask all the questions we never knew we had.
As the course progressed we were also taught how to actively manage our diabetes. Part of every day was used
to monitor our progress doing this as a group. Again this was a very interesting experience. To see other people
struggle with their blood sugar levels like you, to see other people feel the same feelings of concern and guilt
about reading outside ‘normal’. It was a very interesting experience to realise that you are not alone with your
daily battle.
The course ended with us being told we would meet again at regular intervals and that there would be a half day
follow up meeting six weeks later. This meeting proved the benefit of the course, the progress made by some people
was amazing to say the least. I think ALL of us had made improvements and now felt a lot more ‘in control’ of our
condition. The course is by no means the end of the road, just the beginning. It gave us the tools to manage our
condition far more flexibly and aggressively, it is now up to us to use these tools and make the most of the opportunity
we have been given.