I love my Freestyle Lite meter! It’s not a vampire like my early ones.
I also love my Dia-Pak kit. It holds everything–insulin, strips, meter, lancer, glucose tabs, glucagon kit, syringes, medical ID, cold packs, etc. I got the large size.
My current fave, though, is the Diabetes Buddy program for my iPhone. It tells me more than I really want to know about my food consumption, carbs, bGs, meds, weight, etc., and automatically records date and time–and it will email all this to your doc. I love it.
Here’s what my favorite diabetes gadget would look like if it existed:
• A single site on your body with two cannulas: one that delivers insulin, and the other that gets true BG readings from your blood (not the interstitial tissue).
• The site is connected to a lightweight pump that gives you a choice of being wireless, or connected via tubing.
• A lightweight wireless remote is as fully-functional as the pump, and includes a meter if you want additional fingerstick readings.
• And the most important feature of all that would absolutely clinch my purchase decision: Customer service that includes a masseuse at my beck and call.
I recently got the One Touch software. It cost $30 but I just love it. Downloads all numbers right from your meter and prints out a variety of graphs. My doc thought it was great also. You can manually enter insulin and carb info. All the charts can be directly emailed to your provider.
When I got it I had trouble installing the software and after calling the helpline was told that it wasn’t compatible with Windows Vista/ She then said she “wasn’t supposed to tell anyone” but there was a sneaky way we could try. It worked.
And, I don’t know what the big secret was because their initial message was “all calls are recorded for quality of service”.
…duh
I love my ANIMAS One-Touch Ping pump and my remote meter. It has made life a lot simpler. I started using my Dexcom-7 yesterday, so I hope it becomes just as helpful or MORE.
I have a kitchen scale…I believe it is called the “perfect portions” (it is at my in-laws right now) that helps cooking from scratch so much easier. It gives the carb counts (and other nutrients) for ingredients you are weighing. It will continue to add them together for the entire recipe you are making. When you are finished, you just need to divide the total carbs by the number of servings. Its wonderful for cooking and baking at home.
Does anyone have favorite apps for smart phones that help you look up carb info for restaurants? I hope to by a smart phone, probably an iphone. I’m tired of asking for nutrition info at restaurant and be told “you can get that online”. Any suggestions?
Phyl, the Diabetes Buddy has a limited amount of information specific to restaurants, but you can look up literally any food in the extensive database and get all the info. You can adjust for portions, preparation methods, etc. You can also add your own custom info, for homecooked or restaurant foods, and save it in the db or add to your favorites list.
I used it last night at IHOP and had a great meal–and a 96 reading after 2 hours.
My Accu-Chek SoftClix finger stabber. A simple thing but it hurts less and causes less callus buildup than others I have used.
I use a WaveSense Presto meter but It’s pretty basic. My main reason for sticking with it are cheaper strips. WaveSense has some nice software to print charts and graphs, that my doc really likes.
I got a Bayer USB and it’s pretty slick but the strips are significantly higher.
Dexcom Seven Plus is my 1st fave, even though my skin hates the adhesive.
My 2nd would be my FRIO chill pack for carrying my insulin bottles around, since I still do MDI. (Waiting to jump onboard the Animas Ping paired with Dexcom CGM in the future.) The FRIO is such a simple idea (evaporative cooling) and works for many days (5-7), then it just needs a soak in water, and good to go again.
WS, please use the search tool (at the upper right corner of any page) and search for “Skin-Prep”. It solves my IR problem, and it also helps to prevent the pad edges from curling up for a much longer time. Lots of Dexcom users on the board have become fans of the product, you’ll be seeing LOTS of posts.
Yeah, I’m worried about this. I am allergic to adhesive and end up with a red, bumpy, itchy rash every time I have tape or an adhesive bandage on my skin. This doesn’t bode well for CGM or a pump in my future.
Yes I have a Dexcom and it’s my most favorite. But, I really love the old case from my Accu-Chek Advantage. You know the one that was approx. 4x6 inches? It now holds my OmniPod, in it’s silicone skin, a needle for “just in case”, a vial of insulin, a Accu-Chek Multiclix and two extra drums for it. I also have in the pocket of it, all of my doctors business cards and my insurance card. The Accu-Chek Advantage meter is long gone but it’s case goes on.
Well, there is a lot of stuff to experiment with before you give up. Barrier wipes like Skin-prep, and different adhesives like Hypafix, Tegaderm and IV300. This is not an exhaustive list. I had a lot of problems with tapes when I first went on the pump (and we had to secure a safety loop with tape), and found that Hypafix was the only thing that worked for me. 12 years later, I’m finding that I CAN tolerate Tegaderm for the CGM, so things can change.
If you decide to try, a CDE with knowedge of the different products available can really help.
I said “limited” restaurant info, and I was dead wrong–I just hadn’t looked in the right place! There’s extensive data about almost every national and regional chain, which makes entering food choices a snap. I have learned more about my D in the past few days than in the previous 20 years, just because I’m recording so much information and can see correlations between foods and spikes, etc., so easily.
