carb counting?

[Bettyboop]

Hi im going to go onto the pump, but i have been told i would need to do carb counting?

can anyone give me some help with this please?

Thanks

Tanya :)

[Subby]

Hi. Who told you about the need to carb count? Was it your doctor? They should hook you up with a diabetes educator and/or dietician to learn carefully about carb counting and also answer any other questions about pump therapy. Did they offer this or indicate it would happen down the track?

As a quick answer here, what carb counting literally means is counting up the grams of carbs you are about to eat, usually by looking at the label of the food or by refering to a book or list of carb content in foods.

You end up with a total of the carbs you are eating, and this is entered into the pump which then calculates the dose required.

The carbs are a main part of the dose and generally all you need to work with in typical day to day pumping... but you need a better understanding of what else goes into the calculation and how those other factors work or can be changed. It's not rocket science at all but should be done one on one with an educator so you can soak it up at your pace and ask the right questions for understanding.

[Razo681]

One of the best references for me is this book by calorie king.

Shop CalorieKing - Buy online - Health products (http://www.calorieking.com/shop/11-The-CalorieKing-Pocket-Calorie-Fat-Carbohydrate-Counter-2008-Edition.html)

I picked it up 2 copies at a department store when I was diagnosed and its awesome.

Like Subby said though it isn't an exact science, but you'll learn how certain foods effect you and it'll become so routine in no time. I'm just wondering why you haven't been carb counting before. Where you just diagnosed?