What is DAFNE?

DAFNE stands for Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating and is a way of managing Type 1 diabetes for adults and provides the skills necessary to estimate the carbohydrate in each meal and to inject the right dose of insulin.  As well as carbohydrate counting, the course covers a broad range of issues including hypoglycaemia (and how to avoid it), adjusting insulin for exercise, the adjustments required for alcohol intake and what to do with insulin doses during illness.

The aim of DAFNE is to help you lead as normal a life as possible, while controlling your blood glucose levels, hence reducing the risk of long-term diabetes complications.

DAFNE involves attending a 5-day training course (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) plus a follow-up session around 8 weeks after the course. The structured teaching programme is delivered to groups of 6-8 participants under the supervision of DAFNE-trained Educators. The DAFNE course is about learning from experience. During the week you practice the skills of carbohydrate estimation and insulin adjustment (click here for example timetable).

Most of the training is built around group work, sharing and comparing experiences with other participants. However, there are opportunities for each person to speak to DAFNE Educators individually.

DAFNE allows people to fit diabetes into their lifestyle, rather than changing their lifestyle to fit in with their diabetes.

DAFNE has been proven to:

-        Improve general wellbeing

-        Improve treatment satisfaction

-        Improve dietary freedom

-        Reduce the frequency of hypoglycaemia

-        Improve overall glucose control (HbA1c)

What Edinburgh patients have to say about DAFNE

How do I sign up for a DAFNE course?

If you would like to do the DAFNE course, please ask your clinic doctor / nurse specialist / dietitian.  

Find out more at the official DAFNE website.