I´ve used Diasend with my Animas Vibe with integrated Dexom G4 for two years, but still does not know how to use the info I get. I am meeting with a nurse on friday and the purpose is to learn how to use Diasend in a meaningful way.
Can anynone give me some insights on the topic before the meeting that will make it moore rewarding for me?
Thanks in advance.
Siri
Does your nurse use diasend in her practice? If not then the issue is probably more about how you can use CGM data in a more strategic way to make beneficial changes to your regime.
Hi Siri - I don’t use all of the features on Diasend but I can share some of what is meaningful to me. There’s a lot of information in Diasend and I won’t go over everything I look at as I don’t want to get too long here.
The first thing I look at is the Compilation tab. This page summarizes the leading particulars of my diabetes management. I’ve set for myself some blood glucose goals and I compare the info on the compilation page with my goals.
My four main goals, in order of importance to me, are: CGM percent time in range, CGM percent time low, standard deviation, and average blood glucose.
My time-in-range goal is 80%; I set my range from 65 mg/dl (3.6 mmol/L) to 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L). I shoot to keep my CGM percent time low, below 65 mg/dl, to less than or equal to 5%. My standard deviation goal is less than or equal to 30 mg/dl (1.7 mmol/L). Finally, my average blood glucose goal is less than 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L). I look at the 14-day and one month time periods for these four goals.
The Compilation tab also show the average daily insulin dose and the number of carbs consumed. The carb number will only be accurate if you use the carb dose function on your pump. I monitor these numbers and can see, over time, if they are going up or down.
I also wear a FitBit exercise monitor bracelet. Diasend can pull this info into the program and also display it on the Compilation tab page.
In the CGM table on this page, I look at the AUC numbers for both high and low. AUC is a statistical term that means “area under the curve.” If you have zero excursion above or below your chosen upper and lower limits (mine are 65 and 140), then the AUC number will be zero, the best possible number. This information is also reflected in the % high and % low numbers elsewhere.
I check out my average daily insulin amount as well as the split between basal and bolus. Some doctors place an importance on this split being 50%/50%, but I don’t understand the value in that.
I like the standard day chart under the CGM tab. That shows the hour by hour graphic representation for whatever period you select. Here’s a recent 14-day CGM standard day graph for me:
I like the 14-day period. So, all the 1:00 a.m. hour info for all 14 days is put into one graphic image. This image, a stick-like one, shows average blood sugar, median, as well as all the percentile landmarks. The median is the 50th percentile. The lower and upper limits of the rectangular box are the 25th and 75th percentile. The sticks that extend above and below the box show the range of the data below the 25th percentile and above the 75th percentile.
So, if I haven’t lost you already, here’s what I look for in this graphic:
Ideally, all the averages, for each hour of the standard day, should be contained within your desired range.
Next, the lower edge of the box, the 25th percentile, should also be contained within your chosen range. If it’s not, then you are experiencing too much hypoglycemia. It wold be nice if Daisend also depicted the 10th percentile. You can estimate and if you can keep the 10th percentile within your ideal range, then that is best.
Now I look at the upper edge of each hourly box. Is that within your range? If so, that’s great. It means that you don’t spend much time in hyperglycemia.
Overall, in an ideal (non-diabetic) situation the hourly graphics would all be compact and within the ideal BG range.
So you can see, at a glance on my chart above, that my control is much better in the second half of the day than the first.
Sorry if I’ve overwhelmed or confused you. I was never formally trained in statistics and much of what I know has been learned trying to make some sense of my blood sugar numbers. What’s surprised me, however, is that most doctors don’t know much more than I do! I hope that your nurse has a good grasp of statistics and Daisend and can explain things well. I find Diasend valuable. I don’t use it everyday but do look at my charts a few times each month. Good luck. Please share what you learn on Friday.
This same information can be obtained in a text form (with exact numbers) by clicking on the Statistics tab under CGM. It gives a breakdown of hourly results, and then provides totals for the time period at the bottom right of table.
I look at much the same information as @Terry4, except I tend to look at it by the 7- and 14-day intervals. This is, in part, because my control can change drastically from one week to the next depending on what time of the month it is.
Another area I frequently check is under Comparison > Day by day, where I can look back over the previous few days and see how my control has been. It shows when I’ve bolused and when I’ve eaten (I enter carbs eaten wtihout a bolus into my Dexcom) so that I can get an idea of whether I should adjust pump settings. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show exercise, which would be really valuable information to display.
I don´t know if she uses Diasend in her practice or not. First time I meet with her on friday.
Thank you so much, @Terry4 and @Jen! This info was reallly valuable to me. I´ll share with you what I learn on friday.
I met with the nurse yesterday and she was really nice, helpful and took her time. She told me many of the same things @Terry4 and @Jen have written, so it´s not much for me to add. She also helped me to see patterns and help with topics specific to me. I´ve also understood that I should upload my pump once a week to get the most out of it. My first goal is to try to get a full night sleep and take it from there.
Thanks for the quick replies everyone.
I’ve seen statistics on the percentage of people with diabetes that regularly upload the data from their diabetes devices. It’s very small.
I have observed, in me, that the mere act of watching something, leads to my engagement with it and trying to make it better. Just following my diabetes data seems to improve my numbers without any other obvious effort!
I’m hooked on this habit because my health gets better in measurable ways. It makes my improvement concrete. It also suggests how I might experiment to improve. To me, it’s a potent virtuous self-energizing cycle.
For some reason, this is not as obvious to most people. It works for me. Nothing succeeds like success, the ultimate diabetes burn-out innoculator.
Good luck going forward; I hope you had a good night’s rest.
I’ve seen statistics on the percentage of people with diabetes that regularly upload the data from their diabetes devices. It’s very small.
I tend to upload my CGM daily (or almost daily) and my pump and meter weekly. I would upload my pump more often, but with the Ping it’s so incredibly slow compared to my Dexcom and Contour Next USB meter.
Does this make us “obsessive-compulsives” or members of an elite fraternity??! 
Or perhaps, neither.
Yeah, the infra-red Ping upload is painfully slow. Maybe it’s the cost for a waterproof pump but it’d be nice for the Ping to upload as fast as the Dexcom CGM.
I have a waterproof MP3 player (that’s designed to be used while swimming) that uses a USB connection, so that can be done. And I don’t see why a waterproof device couldn’t use Bluetooth. Maybe there’s security concerns about that, though. Hopefully whatever Animas comes out with next will have a much faster connection.
Jen, you rock!
I still don’t have nearly the kind of tight control you have, @Terry4! Still working at smoothing out my trends and having fewer highs and lows.
Jen, it takes a fellow-traveler on this diabetes road we move upon to appreciate just what it takes to do well. And do it in the face of incredible and unceasing adversity. I know just how difficult it is to do what you’ve done. Diabetes is a nasty and tenacious adversary. You made amazing gains, all while living a whole 'nother life! Enjoy your success.
This has been driving me crazy. I am posting this in case anyone else needs it.
In Diasend, go to “COMPARISON”, then DAY BY DAY. Then!!! over on right, there is a hyperlink to “Day by day Overview”. that link is a nice weekly or biweekly visual summary of CGM and insulin usage. I wish diasend had made it more obvious.
It´s only available as a pdf, but I agree it´s useful. Thanks for posting this.