Product Review: Phonetic logging

As I mentioned yesterday, there are no shortage of products headed to the market attempting to make life a little easier for people with diabetes. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Glooko and asked to review the Glooko MeterSync cable.

The cable downloads information from the “big six” meters (OneTouch UltraMini, OneTouch Ultra2, OneTouch UltraLink, Bayer’s Contour, FreeStyle Freedom Lite, FreeStyle Lite) into various iDevices.

I’ll be honest, I don’t log. Since I bought my MacBook as my personal computer a few years ago I don’t take the time to download the information from my pump on CareLink or my CGM results from my DexCom.

I do like apps though; I suppose the screenshot of diabetes apps on my iPad is evidence of that.

The product is simple – a cable that connects to the data port of my meter and then into the iDevice. I downloaded the app from the iTunes store, and then began the sync of my meter.

In just a few minutes, Glooko had 500 results from my meter.

There are a few things you can do with the app, and a few things you can’t (for good reason).

You can mark certain readings as pre and post meal results, and you can add notes about carb intake or insulin dosage to each reading. You cannot manually enter meter results, and as George points out, this may have its own benefits.

There are no charts or graphs or interpretations of the results in the Glooko app. I spoke with a representative from the company on the phone last week and there is good reason for that.

The FDA.

When a device or app CONTAINS data, the company is only required to file their product with the FDA. Once that data is manipulated by the device (e.g. producing charts or graphs), the FDA must clear the device, causing the delays we experience with most of our diabetes devices.

The Glooko app does provide the ability to export the data as a CSV file.

A quick e-mail to myself and I could view the data in an Excel spreadsheet.

I am not even close to an Excel expert, but it seems that once I have the data in Excel being able to manipulate it to analyze the information is an easy next step. I wasn’t sure what chart would best represent the results, but in about 2 minutes was able to produce this scatterplot of my data.

Things I Like:
The download was quick and easy. The cable and app had no trouble finding my meter. There was no code to input – just plug and play.

There is no manual logging necessary. The other diabetes apps I have found have required me to input my results manually. I have to deal with enough number input that I don’t need another device that needs me to do work. I want my life with diabetes to be easier, not harder.

Things I Don’t Like:
I do wish there was the ability for more feedback on the data within the application. Having the numbers is one thing, understanding what they mean can be quite another.

There is a section of the app and the website titled “Opinions” that seems to be using some sort of google alert to list the top diabetes headlines. This system could use a little update because some of the results are inaccurate or inappropriate.

Overall review:
I like this app. I will continue to use it to download my results and bring the 14 day report to my next endocrinologist appointment to see what she thinks of the report.

After speaking with a representative from the company, I am excited for the three potential next steps they are working on. In no particular order (because they don’t know what will be approved next) –

Compatibility for the Android platform, but it is more difficult to develop for the multiple phone manufacturers as opposed to the singular iDevice.
Functionality with other meter brands and types
Availability of charts and graphs to provide some analysis and interpretation of data.

You can find more information about Glooko on their website and order the cable from Amazon.

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Disclosure: I was provided the meter cable and a code from Glooko for review. All opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Product Review: Professional Traveler?

One nice benefit of Diabetes Awareness month is the opportunity to hear about and even review the newest products on the diabetes market. Today and tomorrow, I wanted to share two of the newest items in my collection.

The first item I received at Friends for Life this summer. Professional Case Inc. is a family owned and operated business since 1974 and the product line includes an insulated travel case for diabetes supplies.

I live so close to my work that I don’t really carry too many supplies with me on a daily basis and I just toss those in my purse. After a few trips in the late summer and this fall, I have had the opportunity to use the travel case enough to discover the pros and cons.

Things I Like:
It is a very well constructed case (Professional Case Inc is known for their doctor supply bags so this makes sense) and it reminds me of the Bible cases I used to carry when I was young.

There is an insulated pocket on each side for ice packs, so even on all-day airport adventures, all my supplies stayed cool.

There are plenty of pockets of different shapes and sizes to contain all the different items I pack for longer trips.

When I fly, I tend to go “old-school” and carry a backpack, so it’s great to have a flexible case I can stuff in the big pocket of my pack but still easily access the items I need.

Things I Don’t Like:
I didn’t really notice any cons of the travel case until I used it for my first long trip. First I loaded in the tape for my infusion sets and my DexCom. I grabbed a few cleansing wipes because my family was headed to spend the day at Niagara Falls and I knew I’d be testing and eating on the run. A spare package of glucose tabs made sense of a day of hiking and stair climbing.

In the other set of pockets I include a ketone meter and strips, and my bottle of insulin.

I think this is a conservative amount of supplies, and not really even everything I carry on a multiple day trip – one that will require a site or pump reservoir change. But this is what it looks like when I tried to close the zipper on the case –

Overall Review:
I do tend to overpack and just throw everything I think I may use into my bag, so this case does provide a place for me to organize and store part of my travel collection.

The structure of the case provides needed protection in my larger bag as I toss it on the x-ray belt in security and shove it under the seat in front of me on the plane. But that same size and structure makes it impractical to toss into my every day purse.

I’m headed out of town for Thanksgiving. Did I mention I am spending the holiday with another member of the diabetes community (no, not Simon!)? My diabetes travel case from Professional Case Inc will definitely be in my luggage.

If you want a travel case of your own, you can visit their site to order or receive more information.

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Disclosure: The diabetes travel case was provided to me by Professional Case Inc for my review. I appreciate every opportunity to experience the newest diabetes products and technology on the market. All opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

The Days Grow Short When You Reach September

Maybe it is the start of the new school year that got everyone writing, but this group of the Best of the ‘Betes Blogs is the best we have seen so far. There is a record number of blogs nominated by a record number of people. Please visit every blog listed in this post. They all deserve our attention, encouragement, and comments as they represent what is best about the diabetes community.

Best Use of Humor

Meri and her kids help us create a new word when we don’t see the number we expect on our meters – it’s shockaprising!

Best Vlog

Warning: When you click on this vlog, make sure you have some Kleenex. Nicole takes us on the emotional journey of her daughter’s doctor’s appointment and first A1c result since pumping. (p.s. Remember, we are more than our numbers)

Best Recipe

I stand by my verdict that there is no better recipe than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Scully further proves my point with her killer peanut butter chocolate fudge.

Best Use of Photography Pictures

So it isn’t technically a photograph, but Bob’s picture for Diabetes Art Day is an amazing representation of the burden of diabetes control.

Best Advocacy

Ableism is the discrimination against people with diabetes. In part one, C encourages us to use our voices to educate more and in part two she reminds us that we are all beautiful.

Best Story of a D Meet-up

It wasn’t a D meet-up in the traditional sense, but Susi R. found that when you need the community the amazing DOC is there for you.

Best non-D Related Post

I don’t know what to say. I wish Kelly never wrote this beautiful post about her mom.

Best Post by a Type 1

She has been using the terms for twenty-one years, but Jacquie feels like she only recently began learning the language.

Best Post by a Type 2

Guilt? Forgiveness? Brenda Bell writes about how we can try to find a balance.

Best Post by a Type Awesome

I am not sure how many fathers of children with diabetes are out there, but Scott writes an amazing description of what it feels like to carry the burden of his daughter’s numbers and Arden’s unprompted thoughts on the issue.

Best Post by a LADA/ Type 1.5/ Not otherwise specified

Has anyone ever said to you – well, at least it’s not cancer? For Babs, it is cancer.

Best Story of a D-mistake

It wasn’t the day the music died, but on Holly’s blog it was the day the DexCom died.

Best Motivational Post

It started with a tweet and turned into a blog post. Jess helps to show us the power of just five words.

Best Diabetes Art

Since September contained Diabetes Art Day, I thought for sure the Best Diabetes Art would be posted on that day but a different day brought out the best. Jeff’s poems on September 11th are beautiful and painful to read.

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Thank you to those in the diabetes community who nominated posts this month including:
Joanne
Brian
Jess
Cherise
Dave (Sowerbee)
Caroline
Briley
Kim
Robbie
Martin
Bob Pedersen

According to the random number generator, Robbie (who is the parent of a child with diabetes and a “faithful blog reader”) has won the PAK BARA organizer. Additionally, I put the 14 categories listed above into the random number generator and Bob will also receive a free PAK BARA organizer. I will forward your information to PAK BARA so you both can pick your design. Congratulations!

There are only fourteen posts featured above, but THIRTY ONE blogs received nominations this month! Be sure to check out all of these great blogs too!
A Consequence of Hypoglycemia
Arden’s Day
Arnold and Me
Bab’s Blog
Bitter-Sweet
Brenda Bell on dlife
C’s Life With D
Canadian D-gal
Climbing Diabetes
DeeJay’s ‘Betes
Diabetesaliciousness
Diabetically Speaking
Every Day Ups and Downs, A Diabetes Blog
Instructions Not Included
Jeff Mather’s Dispatches
LADA Life
Lisa From Scratch
Me and D
Moments of Wonderful
Our Diabetic Life
RFamHere’s Ramblings
Six Until Me
Strangely Diabetic
Sweet Success: My life with Type 2 Diabetes
T Minus Two
Tales of Rachel
Texting My Pancreas
The Tales of Princess Mikkimoto
The We CARA Lot Blog
Typical Type 1
Victoria Cumbow
with a side of insulin

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If you are one of the Best ‘Betes Blogs for this month and would like to add a badge to your blog, you can find the information for the badge below.

Replace all [ ] with < >. [div align="center"][a href="http://www.bestofthebetesblogs.com" target="_blank"][img src="http://momentsofwonderful.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/bbblogo-final-e1309479808835.png"][/a][/div]

Can’t wait to see what you guys will find in October! Remember to continue to submit your nominations to bestbetesblogs@gmail.com.

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Review: The EndoGoddess App

I am a big fan of diabetes technology and anything that will make my life easier, so I like to keep a close eye on new and upcoming products. I posted recently on the MiniMed app, I downloaded the DexCom app after seeing it on Kerri’s blog, and this weekend I downloaded the EndoGoddess app.

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If you are not on Twitter or a listener of DSMA Live, EndoGoddess may be a new name for you. Dr. Jen Dyer, MD, MPH has been around the diabetes online community for a while. In her words, she is a “stylish pediatric endocrinologist, tech entrepreneur, former Texan who loves NYC and fashion, foodie who believes in the power of balanced nutrition to prevent disease.” She probably has one of the best avatars I have ever seen. Click on the Twitter link to check it out!

After exploring the power of social media in a study involving using text messages with her patients, Dr. Dyer took a leave from her practice to develop a mobile app for diabetes. It is here!

The app contains some similar concepts to other diabetes apps – you can record your glucose levels and insulin doses and keep track of your various types of insulin (esp for those on MDI).

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Some new features I don’t remember seeing before in other apps are the ability to record medical appointments and set blood glucose testing reminders.

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There is also a place to learn more about diabetes and everything it involves (types, nutrition, devices, etc) which will probably be most helpful for the newly diagnosed.

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The “Get Involved” link at the bottom contains more information about various associations, camps, and (most importantly) social media.

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Incorporating social media is what I believe has the potential to set this app apart from it’s competitors. Notice on the front page that there is the ability to earn “points” by using the app. The technology is not quite integrated into the app yet, but we will eventually have the ability to cash the points in for songs in iTunes.

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There is really no shortage of diabetes apps on the market. So far, they all do pretty much the same thing. With few exceptions, they record our information, but just like our diabetes devices, they do not provide a usable way to benefit from the records. I do not have a desire for another step in my diabetes management.

From the diabetes online community’s interactions with Dr. Dyer in the past, I am excited to see the next steps in the development of her app. I think she gets “it” and gets “us”, so I believe that this app will continue to set itself apart from the others on the market. If you listen to the DSMA Live show linked above, you will be encouraged as well.

If you want to stay updated on the most recent developments with the EndoGoddess app and other EndoGoddess adventures, you can follow along on her blog .

Disclosure: The EndoGoddess app costs $.99 in the App Store. It is currently available as an iPhone app but the resolution was just fine on my iPad. I paid to download the app on my own. I was not asked to review the content. As always, all opinions contained in this post are my own.

How I almost didn’t live uninterrupted

First the punch line – I finally have my 3 month supply of DexCom sensors.

In my almost eight years of pumping insulin, and my one year of using a CGM, I have never had so many things go wrong, but also so many people help make it right.

It all started when I put my last sensor in. Long story short (I told it here) – the final sensor of my previous supply turned out to be my first dud. Thankfully I was able to get a replacement sensor fairly quickly.

I wasn’t worried about my supply when I originally put that order in because I typically get at least two weeks wear from each sensor (FDA – two weeks is actually a new term for 7 days).

When I called to order my new supply, the kind rep on the phone let me know that the procedure to submit the order to my insurance had changed. I think I may have scared him a little when I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it. It was the third time in one year, that my insurance procedures changed.

Because he would have to resubmit to insurance, the rep told me he would call me back as soon as he had news. This was the first case on this insurance plan that he had worked on so he didn’t really have a timeline.

Almost two weeks later, I hadn’t heard anything yet and the replacement sensor was nearing the seven day mark. I was worried that I was stuck in an insurance spin cycle.

My local account specialist extraordinaire, Lori, offered to step in at this point and track down my status. She replied to my email at 9 PM Wednesday night, and by early Thursday morning I had an answer – the authorization had gone through and I was ready to order.

I called DexCom to finally place my order and spoke to Michael, the same rep I had spoken with the first time. He apologized for the delay and said he would ship the sensors with overnight delivery so that I would have them the next day.

When I thanked him, he added that he would call me before he left work to give me the confirmation order to let me know the order had shipped. About 45 minutes later, he called me again but it was not good news.

When he tried to submit the order, it would not process because it turns out I needed a new prescription. He had already tried to call my endocrinologist’s office but there was no answer. Thursday ended with the sensors nowhere closer to my house.

I was in a late afternoon meeting on Friday when I saw a missed call on my cell phone – and a second missed call five minutes later. It was Michael from DexCom calling me back. At the first available break in the meeting, I called him back.

He had finally gotten in touch with my endo’s office. No easy task – she abruptly left the practice and they only have a substitute a few days a week. Michael wanted me to call him back as quickly as I could to make sure my mailing address for Saturday would be the same as the weekday address. Due to the hassle of my order, DexCom was willing to pay for overnight Saturday delivery of my sensor supply.

I wish I could tell you I missed the FedEx delivery for a good reason, but to be totally honest – Saturday is my only day to sleep in and I slept through the knock at the door. Once I woke up, I found the note on my door and called the customer service number.

My box of sensors was located at the distribution center about 20 minutes away. If DexCom was going to pay extra for me to have my sensors as quickly as possible, I felt like I owed it to them to actually get the sensors on that day.

Later that afternoon, using the directions provided on the FedEx website, I headed to the center… and got lost in the industrial park. Their directions led me to the backside of a warehouse and a dead end alley. Did I mention that this center is located in an area where most people just drive by – and make sure their windows are locked?

After driving around in circles for a while, and only having a few minutes left until closing time, I finally pulled over and pulled up a map on my crackberry. Those directions didn’t make sense either, but I at least was able to find the right road. With ten minutes to spare, I finally had those hard fought sensors in my hand – and in the front seat of my car.

I have never had such an ordeal trying to obtain any of my diabetes supplies, but I am thankful that even when orders don’t work out at planned, DexCom employees like Lori and Michael are willing to go so far beyond the call of duty to make sure I can continue to “live uninterrupted.”

One year ago

One year ago today was a very important day for me. Any guesses on what I am celebrating? It is something I first attempted in 2007.

Continue reading →

Diabetes FAIL

On Thursday night, I had the perfect storm of diabetes device failure.

It was the last night for the infusion set on my pump. I wear the Sure-T so they are pretty reliable. Plus, with my DexCom CGM I can tell when there is an issue long before it becomes a big problem. Famous last words.

I woke up some time in the early morning and checked my DexCom receiver (if I wake up unexpectedly the first thing I do is always check the receiver). I saw a message that I had not seen before “Sensor Failed.”

I thought it was odd, but in my sleepy stupor I didn’t think too much of it. I restarted the sensor, rolled back over, and fell back asleep. When I woke up with my alarm clock, the screen had the same error message. The stubborn person I am, I tried restarting it again while I got ready for work. It shortly failed again, and I knew I had to give up on it.

It was then that I remembered I hadn’t checked my blood sugar yet.

Not the highest level I’d ever seen, but not something I wanted to see first thing in the morning. As I changed the infusion set on my pump (something I was scheduled to do anyway), I noticed that my stomach didn’t feel quite right.

I headed to my bedroom to search through my diabetes closet for my ketone meter. I have never had anything other than normal results when I test for ketones. Other than at diagnosis, I cannot actually remember ever having ketones before.

That is why I was so surprised when this number came up.

And here is the chart:

To put it mildly, even though the ketones were not that high, my body was not a fan. It was a tough morning.

Once I started to feel a little bit better, I got on the phone with DexCom. Because the sensor lasted less than 7 days, I knew they would replace it. Plus it was time for me to reorder my monthly supply. Actually, it was past time. The failed sensor was the last sensor in my supply.

On the phone with tech support, we figured out why the sensor failed. Here is what a sensor should look like. Keep in mind I wore this one for 17 days.

This is what the failed sensor looked like. When I took the transmitter out, a few extra pieces had detached and came with it.

I had never seen anything like it before, but when I headed online I saw similar pictures from some friends (Lorraine, Sarah).

So that was a tough day, but something that I could fix within a few hours. The bad news came in the conversation with DexCom.

Because of the holiday, the replacement sensor is not going to make it to me until at least Thursday (almost a week later). And my insurance has decided to change their ordering procedures for the third time in a year so the request will have to be submitted to them and I won’t even hear anything about the progress until Thursday – and they could deny the claim for new sensors all together.

I keep trying to remind myself that I went without sensors for many years and that most people with diabetes go without. But right now, it makes me nervous not to be able to rely on that continuous information.

What do I believe

Something happened to my iPhoto library and it’s connection to my Flickr account. The pictures for this post were unfortunate victims of a horrible syncing accident. I can tell you this – they were all pictures of my meters not matching each other and not matching my DexCom.

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Meter accuracy is not a new issue.

As I wrote in a post on my other blog back in May, usually my meter and my CGM match up close enough that I don’t spend too much time thinking about the results. That day however, I had results that were 100 points different from each other within one minute. Three test strips, one DexCom, and I still had no idea what number to believe.

At Friends for Life, I received a coupon for a free meter from Nova. When I first started pumping in 2004, Nova was the brand that was linked to the MiniMed pump, but I remember nothing but accuracy issues from that time. I trusted OneTouch and doubted Nova. Now I’m not sure who to believe.

The new Nova meter came with 10 strips which I used to conduct a little experiment. I wish it wasn’t so difficult to get test strips because I’d love to try a few different meters at the same time, but not enough to pay out of pocket (at $1 a strip) for them.

The past two weeks or so, I use different situations (high, low, steady, dropping, etc) to see if I could find some sort of pattern (Kerri also recently checked out accuracy).

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Nova and DexCom seem to agree, with One Touch significantly off.

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Nova seems a little lower than the other two (but without doing the math, I bet they are all within 20%).

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We seem to all agree on this one. Time for a snack.

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OneTouch loses again.

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They all agree that it is time for a snack.

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Different night, same snack.

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Note the time on this one. Can I also point out that this is why I am frustrated.

A lot of the time they all agree, but then sometimes it’s a mess.

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I had inserted a new DexCom sensor so I was waiting for it to warm up. Totally surprised by the results at 11:30. Then at 12:30, I was frustrated by the difference. How quickly was I dropping?

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Since the OneTouch didn’t agree with itself (?!), I got out the other meter for a comparison. That is a pretty significant different when I am worried about dropping too quickly.

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Same night – at 1 am, another Nova comparison. Since I didn’t have a CGM ready as back-up I really wanted to know if I was still dropping before bed. I was, but by how much?

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I have absolutely no idea what to do next. Other than put all my meters somewhere special.

Sometimes I can’t

The past few days have been difficult ones for the diabetes community. Two beautiful young people were taken way too soon.

A few of us were in a Google+ hangout (a video chat) after #dsma on Wednesday talking about how we were feeling about everything. I couldn’t get what we talked about out of my mind on Thursday.

I don’t know if it is a result of being involved in social media or if people with diabetes outside the online community do this too, but I feel like I spend a lot of time proving to people that diabetes is “no big deal.”

I tell them I can eat whatever I want. I do things that people with diabetes “aren’t supposed to do.” My pump is usually tucked into my pocket and my DexCom on my torso so that if you didn’t know I have diabetes, there would be no external sign. When people ask me about my diabetes management I usually downplay the work that is required to pretend that I have control.

When I hear about another life lost, it reminds me and unfortunately shifts my focus and attitude to how difficult and scary it is to live with diabetes. If a 9th grader can pass away from a stroke or an 18 year old can die in her sleep, what prevents that from happening to me or any of the people I know and love.. It’s frightening.

When I have a low near bedtime I wonder what could happen if it drops lower during the night and I don’t hear my alarms. There are definitely mornings were I have woken up, looked at my receiver, and wondered how I didn’t hear the alarms that should/must have been going off for the previous few hours.

Sometimes diabetes is easy. But sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it fits easily into my life. But sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I know I will live a long and healthy life with diabetes. But sometimes I worry. Sometimes I think that I can do this. But sometimes I can’t.

It didn’t start well

It has been well documented that I am not a morning person. Thankfully I have an understanding boss and she “covers” the morning shift and I am able to stay late for any after hours appointments.

I knew that getting up on time for my flight this morning was going to be a challenge. I started packing on Monday night and tried to go to bed early Tuesday night so that I would be ready. My alarm was set for 5:15 so that I could shower and pack my last minute items.

I woke up at 4:30 to the buzz of my DexCom. I looked over and the screen displayed LOW. I never actually tested – just went for the juice boxes – but I was probably around the 40 mg/dL. In my fuzzy low brain I thought about just getting up then, but decided that I could use the extra 45 minutes of sleep. That may have been a mistake.

I am pretty sure that my alarm went off at 5:15 and that I hit snooze, but I am not entirely sure even of that. The next thing I remember is looking at my cell phone to see that it said 6:09! I was planning to leave my apartment at 6:15!!!

I don’t think that I have ever showered and gotten ready so fast. Nor have i ever been so thankful to have laid out my clothes the night before! I was in the car by 6:34, drove 15 minutes to meet my ride (and pick up the boarding pass I left at work), and make the short trip to the airport.

I arrived a few minutes before 7. There was no line at the bag drop – so far so good! Security slowed me down a little bit but only because of the people in front of me, not actually my fault. As I stepped into the full body scanner, the TSA agent noticed my pump and alerted the viewer. The swiped my hands as I stepped out, and I was on my way.

7:08. 17 minutes to spare before boarding.

I never want to cut it that close again, but compared to all the tweets I saw from people headed to the same conference who were delayed and canceled in Chicago I am happy to be writing this on my second flight.

Now the baby behind me on the first flight and next to me on the second flight is an entirely different story

Moments of Wonderful

…rather than a lifetime of nothing special. A blog about diabetes and other moments.

Tag Archives: DexCom

Product Review: Phonetic logging

Product Review: Professional Traveler?

The Days Grow Short When You Reach September

Best Use of Humor

Best Vlog

Best Recipe

Best Use of Photography Pictures

Best Advocacy

Best Story of a D Meet-up

Best non-D Related Post

Best Post by a Type 1

Best Post by a Type 2

Best Post by a Type Awesome

Best Post by a LADA/ Type 1.5/ Not otherwise specified

Best Story of a D-mistake

Best Motivational Post

Best Diabetes Art

How I almost didn’t live uninterrupted

One year ago

Diabetes FAIL

What do I believe

Sometimes I can’t

It didn’t start well