I wanted to make a fun little roll call to see if anyone like me keeps logs even if your on a Pump/CGM stores all the information.
I’m always told that I do a great job keeping mine and that no one really keeps them,
I know other people keep them!
Right?
So do you keep logs? How do you store your information? Why does this benefit you? Do you have any tricks you do?
So to start, my pump, which stores information, you can print it out or just look over within the device.
Since day one, through these many years, I have kept logs, they have changed over the years, they are now a excel sheet I personally made to fit what I need to write down and gives me the information I need to see with whats been going on. I fit up to eight days on one paper, and this benefits me in every way you would think.
My daughter’s endo clinic has never downloaded pumps/meters/CGMs. We’ve always been required to furnish log sheets at appointments. I made a spreadsheet & wrote everything down until we started using the MySugr app. Now we print the reports from the app. I’m grateful my daughter knows how to spot trends & make changes from logs. If she ever loses access to technology, she’ll have the skills to go “old school”.
I use a combination of programs: MySugr as a general logbook with blood sugars, carbs eaten, basal and bolus amounts, and exercise times. MyFitnessPal (synced with Runkeeper) for more detailed meal tracking, exercise notes and carb calculation. And an Excel sheet with some Python scripts that pulls the last month of blood sugars, displays them in a 24-hour breakdown, and looks for certain features like repeated highs at the same time or correction boluses that ended up going low, which I use as a tool for identifying necessary pump changes.
I just started using the ONE DROP app to log my meds (since I’ve been doing injections now that I’m on a pump break) as well as my BGs. The app is for iPhone and Android…and when their meter gets FDA approved the BGs will sync to the app using bluetooth.
It also pulls in data from my Apple Watch (so my physical activity is in there), and any calories I put into MyFitness Pal. It’s nice to see one graph with all of those points.
I’ve been impressed with the app so far, and I’m really curious to see how I’ll enjoy the new meter once it comes out. Here’s a screen grab from their website:
I’ve only ever kept logs when absolutely required (by doc, CDE, insurance, etc.) – otherwise, I use the data from meter/pump/CGM. My current endo doesn’t ask to see any data, though he reviews any reports that I provide him. I’ve looked at many apps that log, but haven’t found one yet that I can keep up with for more than a short time.
I love to see all the different uses, I’ve viewed many apps as well, but I find it easier to do it old school, with just handwriting my logs in my personalized sheets, I will every now an again look within my device though. The most recent app I looked into was Glooko. Glad to see other options to look at.
I haven’t used hand written logs in a long time. My primary source of data to inform treatment choices going forward is the Dexcom Clarity app. I think engaging (examining and giving due thought) with your diabetes data, whether it’s a hand written log or reports based on D-device data uploads is an important habit to really understand your metabolism. All of these methods elevate your perspective so that you can “see the forest instead of just individual trees.”
For me, whenever I actively observe my D-data, it motivates me to drive that data in a favorable direction. I’ve found that it provides that little bit of extra motivation to do what it takes to keep my blood glucose in range. In short, I’ve found the mere act of my data observation leads to better numbers.
I am on MDI and absolutely hate to carry around a notebook with me. I use a Bayer Contour USB meter to log all the carbs/insulin taken and I also carry around a Dexcom G4 CGM. I upload the all the glucose meter and CGM data to Diasend so I can see all of the information (Glucose, CGM, Carbs, bolus insulin) on one report. This works ok for me but lacks the ability to add notes.
I then have the old manual notebook to log all the ratios (I:C, ISF, etc.) and basal insulin doses. I only log these when they change so I keep the notebook at home in the kitchen along with the cookbooks.
I recently started using xDrip+ with the Dexcom G4, so I find I am logging carbs, bolus insulin,and notes on xDrip+ as well putting them into the glucose meter. The duplication is starting to drive me nuts. I haven’t looked into downloading the info from xDrip+ and creating reports on my computer. I suspect that when I figure out how to do this, I will just use xDrip+ for logging everything and abandon the whole Diasend thing. I don’t think I will ditch the treatment notebook though.
I second @Terry4’s and @David_dns comment’s. Looking at numbers in a book doesn’t help me much. Looking at the trends and statistics over the long term helps. If I were to dwell on individual numbers I may make rash decisions to change dosing based on one number. Having the trends makes me take a longer term view and has helped my control greatly.
I find constant logging behavior has contributed to past D burnout for me…right now I check the pump for daily totals of carbs, insulin, BG high and low averages and if I’m not happy with those numbers I do a couple of days of meals with known carb amounts to “prove” out my current settings. My CDE would like me to upload to care link - don’t think I would gain much at this time as I’m well controlled and she grabs the last month when we meet to go over the graphs…my life is pretty spreadsheet free right now and I’m happy to keep it that way
I have a pocket spiral notebook and golf pencil used for a stream of consciousness log in my own style of shorthand. Best use for me is reviewing past meals to see carb amounts, effect on BG, etc. For about a year and half I kept a super detailed log but gave that up when I started with a CGM. I print selected daily BG plots from the Dexcom Clarity software and add notes, bringing those to endo appts to discuss specific issues.
I do minimal logging, as I’m currently in a pretty steady-state with good control, and most things in my life are pretty predictable.
I use dexcom, pump and afrezza, which makes it easy to basically make more ‘in the moment’ decisions/corrections that get me quickly back into range. Occasionally I have downloaded the dexcom and pump data, either to prepare for dr’s appt, or to have as reference when needed, in case my ‘steady-state’ goes awry.
I have used Dexcom Studio reports to find patterns/trends for basal adjustments, and to get general sense of time in range and averages during different times of the day. Then maybe start logging specific times to address what I think needs adjusting.
It looks like you’ve struck a nice balance between burnout and too little monitoring. I like your technique of falling back to known meals to reset your efforts.
Usually I’m really thorough about using logs. In addition to watching trends, I find it helpful for carb counting. With a bunch of food allergies, my food is cooked from scratch and most of the online carb databases don’t contain the info I need. So the log is my carb counting reference too.
That being said, I’ve been a little burnt out & am taking a short break from it. Will probably start up again soon.
I used to keep either a notebook log or a log on my computer until I started pumping in 2007. These days I use a pump, CGM, and Contour USB meter. Everything is logged automatically, so I see no need to keep a duplicate log. I enter any manual injections I do into the Contour USB. I try to also log lows that I treat (when the carbs wouldn’t be entered into the pump). A huge downside I’ve found of “sugar surfing” is that trends become much harder to spot, because I don’t go low four times in one week, I just eat a bunch of carbs to prevent that low four times in one week. Insulin adjustmetn adjustment is still necessary, but it’s very hard to spot looking at the reports available in the current software.
I log activity by using a Fitbit. Like @roodgirl, virtually all of my food is made at home due to food allergies, so apps that use carb databases aren’t of much use to me. Fitbit does allow me to “create” customized meals, and I need to look into whether it supports custom recipes, which would be nice.
Yes, I enter everything into my Dexcom reciever and use it every two weeks to spot trends and/or problems. But I also use a log book. I find it very, very helpful when I am troubleshooting. I can see what food I ate, so I can understand why the numbers look the way they look. Food is usually the reason for most of my oops. It has been super helpful when talking with the doctors in the clinical trial I’m in when we look at dexcom readings to see what happened. I use Smart Charts that I get from diabetesnet.com It allows food, exercise, basal, bolus and corrections. Everything is there for any doctor visit of trend spotting. It’s the size of a checkbook so I just slip it in my meter case. Yes, still old school but kinda new old school😃
I live in Vermont, and for me, the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions “logging” is lumberjacks cutting down trees. I was wondering why Mike Lawson didn’t like that and wondered what it had to do with diabetes. Then it hit me. Oh, right.
