I use the term "geeks" here in a respectful, affectionate way!
I've had T1D for 28 years and recently received a diagnosis of gastroparesis, a diabetes complication that makes management of my blood glucose more difficult. That motivates me to step up my BG management game in a large way.
Learning about the effects on my BG caused by various meals is my #1 focus now.
I'm looking for technical help as I'm sure at least a few in the tuD community have considered this topic and perhaps have already done what I seek to do. I think answers to this question could help many here.
I have a DexCom CGM, an Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump, and two Accu-Check Aviva meters. Each of these devices can download their respective data to my computer.
What I seek is a way to integrate the data from each of these sources into a one page per day report that shows the CGM BG curve for the day along with all my fingerstick BG data, pump basal and bolus data, AND manual entry of all nutrition data (carb, protein, and fat grams) together with exercise intensity and duration.
I know that's a mouthful! I intend to collect and use this data probably for no longer than one month and then from time to time as needed. That should give me at least an idea about how my body currently processes food. I know things will change, of course; if diabetes has taught me one thing is that change is the only constant!
Has anyone here tried to do this before? Do you have any tips or suggestions? Any help or insight would be appreciated.
Hi Terry. I'm not a geek, but I thought you might be interested in the group, Gastroparesis, http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/gastroparesis. I have slow digestion, so I have some idea of the problems you are dealing with. I do like Boost Glucose Control, which doesn't cause my blood glucose to spike and keeps me full for a couple of hours -- 7g fat; 16g carbs; 3g fiber; 16g protein. Liquids are easier to handle in general than solid food with Gastroparesis, which you most likely know already. Best luck.
I have T2, no pump or insulin of any kind and my A1Cs are in the low 5's, but I do have autonomic neuropathy and gastroparesis seems to be part of that. I take one Nature's Way Aloelax tablet a day to keep things moving. I tend to have a weekly cycle that involves being constipated for a couple of days, then diarrhea for a couple of days, with maybe one or two days a week with no problem. I concentrate on avoiding constipation because that seems to prevent the diarrhea. None of this bothers my blood glucose much, though. It's maybe 5 points higher on a constipation day. Again, I'm not dealing with insulin. I eat a lot of green matter - spinach, lettuce, green vegetables - and that helps.
A lot of times with gp things are not consistent day to day or hour to hour. Some days things could be relatively normal, days slightly delayed and days significantly delayed. So probably another data element that you will want to capture as part of your geek fest.
Trudy - Thanks for the reply and advice concerning Boost Glucose Control. I'm aware of the GP group and I intend to participate there but for now I thought my discussion would be better positioned in the General Diabetes area. It may be a bit too narrow to interest this group, however. We'll see.
Thanks for the reply, Jim. The tool I'm seeking to build would help me figure out my patterns. What I fear is that there are no real patterns I will simply have to respond to an ever changing reality.
Consumne - It sounds like your BGs are relatively stable despite your GP. Your low A1c (congrats!) makes your experience much different than mine. I'm sorry for the symptoms that you must deal with. Thanks for your response.
