I am trying to create or use an existing system that tracks all the important metrics, blood sugar, food, insulin sliced reasonably (by time, meal, exercise) that works well without being overwhelming.
I move around a lot but am pretty well connected to the web. I use Sugarstats.com and text my BGs to the site most of the time. But I know that’s just the first step - getting it up there…
I was diagnosed and trained 20 years ago, so even carb counting is kind of new to me. I use Calorieking when I can,etc.
What do you all suggest? What are your tricks and how do you integrate it all?
Abbott’s Co-Pilot software sounds like it will do what you want. You pre-program time slots for bed, sleep, pre-breakfast, post-breakfast, pre-lunch, post-lunch, pre-dinner, and post-dinner. All add up to 24 hours. The software reads the BG readings from your meter via serial cable, and puts them into a table. You can then click on each entry and customize time since last meal, food, exercise, insulin, etc.
I’m a bit more chatty and tend to use an Excel file I started when I was first diagnosed.
I guess i am just terribly old fashioned. I write in a log book and also use a couple of graph sheets. i keep track of everything I eat and the amount of liguids i take in each day. ( I have a severe kidney problem too ). I also keep track of my blood pressure. I write the blood sugars down and put them on the graph as well. and i keep track of all my blood work and put it on a separate graph too. When i go to the doctor he looks at all of it and dates and initials it . Sometimes he even adds a very brief note and initials that too. I get very nice praise from him for this record keeping. He says it saves him a lot of time. When he wants copies of anything he just has it copied and returns the sheets to me. I think whatever works for you and makes it easier for you is the best thing to do. Since I write everything I get to add my own notes on the sides. This works for me, but may be too much for someone else. When i go over it, I think it is easier for me to make adjustments to what i want to do.
Do you carry around any kind of PDA?
I use Diabetes Pilot (http://www.diabetespilot.com/index.php) with my Palm Treo phone. It has everything you need for data management. It has a food database which you can add to. I create my own meals I have all the time. It also will do the math for you for carb ratios (I use 1u/10g carb) and corrections if you enter a high BS. It also creates all kinds of graphs and log books which I output to Excel and e-mail to my Endo. It is a very nice product
I think CalorieKing has a Palm application also that uses their food database and has logging capabilities for the sugars.
I use Diabetes Pilot and I am very pleased about it. There are some missing things but it works fine for me. Maybe you should give it a try. Just google for the web site for downloading. Please feel free to ask any questions if you need.
I guess I haven’t found a PDA that I can stomach as a phone and I don’t have a Phone-less PDA, either. Unfortunately, also I am a PowerPC Mac user, meaning I can’t boot into Windows to run all these software packages. I am not really a pen and paper guy because I am just too geeky and lazy for that.
I may be out of luck and just have to get a PDA and/or PC?
It’s not free, but you might want to check out Health Engage as described here.
A few more options are listed under the heading “Mac Software” here. Diabetes Logbook X runs on Leopard and Palm OS and is free.
I use the Diabetes Pilot. I’m not into using a Palm but I use the PC version and keep a copy at home and at the office for reference. Their food database is excellent with a favorite feature that I use often. Over time I’ve just learned the carb/fat count on the foods I eat the most. I usually print my BG readings with diet/exercise data to bring with me to the Doctor. I find myself often using the chart/graph features to check trends. I believe you can use it for awhile free before buying so you can at least test drive. Good luck!
I use a program called Glucose One. It keeps track of everything, has a quick bolus feature, an area where you can input your a1c, vitals, carb counts on food. The guy who developed the program did an amazing job, it is free and you can donate if you want. I have had problems in the past with the program not running correctly when I upgraded my palm pilot and I emailed him, told him what was going on and he went in and fixed it immediately.
You guys are unbelievable. I have felt so completely alone in this and have for long stretches just checked and guessed on food and insulin for laziness and lack of tools. This is absolutely great to have people sharing their best practices.
I pretty much just text my BG and glance at each day occasionally for trends. As far as on the spot management, I just have to look up what calorie king says and dose based on a 15:1 carb ratio.
If I can indulge the community further, I have a few more questions:
What features in your daily diabetes management could you not live without?
How and how often do you look at trends to make adjustments? Any tips there so I don’t get overwhelmed?
For me I couldn’t live without my palm pilot besides Ophelia (insulin pump). I record everything in it, keep a list of foods I regularly eat and how many carbs (best friend and i eat out a lot). I also keep a list of all my meds there as well as any questions I have for any of my doctors. And all my appointments, then sync it to my computer when I get home. Hmmm I am considering naming my palm pilot Hamlet after realizing it is a big part of my life.
Online support totally changes diabetes. I am so grateful it is here.
I’m not the palm pilot type, so I use a desktop based program to look up nutrition, LifeForm at http://lifeform.com. Over the ten years I’ve been counting carbs, I’ve memorized just about everything I eat so the biggest issue for me when I started insulin was using a food scale to make sure that the portions I was eating matched the portion the count was based on. This is crucial.
Whatever software you use, check out portion size, and spend some time weighing food until you really know what portion is. I was often off by a factor of 20-30 grams with some foods because I misguessed the weight.
The feature of my daily management I couldn’t live without is other people who deal with the same issues.
As far as trends and adjustements, I’ve been using insulin for several years now (I have a form of MODY) and I can’t think of when I haven’t had to make adjustements. Every time I get used to a certain insulin and certain dosing, something changes. The doc will take me off a pill or put me on a pill that changes my insulin sensitivity (which is very high to start with). Or the insulin I’m using gets discontinued (UL), or I develop antibodies to the one that worked best (R), or my hormones get changed, etc etc.
So I’m constantly testing and tweaking. And I vary in how much carb I eat, too. When my control gets sloppy, I do a Bernstein type low carb diet for a few weeks to get rid of the bad habits and then gradually raise the carbs again.
