What’s That Wednesday - Meters #WalkWithD

I have identical meters - a purse meter and a home meter.  My home meter is older and also gets a lot more use.  (Apparently I don’t get out much.)   Lately I’ve been  nervous that it might be time to replace it.  So I decided to do a side-by-side test with both meters.  I used the same drop of blood and strips from the same vial.  And I held me breath to see how closely the two tests would line up.



Yeah baby!!!  This really put my mind at ease.  And it was a perfect slice of diabetes life for me to share as part of the Walk With D campaign.  Have you shared some moments of your #WalkWithD yet?

Talk to Each Other . . . .

I like when my “toys” talk to each other.  (And now my head is filled with images from Toy Story.)  My new Fitbit wirelessly syncs to both my iPhone and my laptop.  When I log food into LoseIt, I can see it on the LoseIt site or the LoseIt app, and it’s magically reflected in Fitbit too.  When exercise has earned me a few more calories worth of snacks, Fitbit tells LoseIt that I can eat some more.  Life is easier when everything communicates seamlessly.

Now imagine a world where diabetes devices had the same seamless communication.  My stuff probably communicates better than most because the devices I use are designed to work with each other.  My Bayer Contour Next Link sends my blood glucose numbers directly to my 530G insulin pump.  My 530G works hand in hand with my Enlite CGM, showing all of that data too.  Good, yes?  Yes.  But it could be better.  What if, like Fitbit, my meter and CGM could also sync up to an app on my iPhone?  What if I could use that app to send a bolus to my 530G?  Oh my goodness, that would be awesome.  It would mean I could wear a dress without worrying about flashing too much leg or some boob every time I need to access a pump that is tucked into some unmentionables when I have no pockets.  In the winter, when my pump is buried under layer upon layer of wool, I could still see my CGM graph.  And it would mean I could put an app on Pete’s phone so that when I’m travelling and sleeping alone in a hotel room, he can take a peek from home and know I’m okay.

My world would work so much better if all of my diabetes stuff would not only talk to each other, but to the other electronic devices which have become a staple in my life.

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More about the #WeAreNotWaiting campaign.

This post is my May entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetescaf.org/2014/05/may-dsma-blog-carnival-4/

30 Years of Meters . . . .

Today I’m over at The Loop blog talking about the latest blood glucose meter I've been using.  It was fun to think back to my very first meter in the early ‘80s.  I think it looked similar to the meter in the upper left corner of this picture.

Picture courtesy of Christopher Tidy via Wikipedia.org

Every so often I get frustrated because I feel like diabetes technology is crawling at a snails pace compared to entertainment technology (like cell phones, e-readers, etc.) .  But when I think back to the tools I used 30 years ago, I start to appreciate how far my diabetes devices have come.

Do you remember the first meter you used?  Was is very different from today’s meters?

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

You Have Arrived?

We had tickets to see Eddie Izzard this weekend at one of the local casinos.  We knew it was going to be a fantastic show.  But first, we had to get there.  Seems like it would be easy, right?  We searched “Foxwoods Casino” on the GPS and followed the directions.  How hard can it be to spot a huge lighted casino after the sun has gone down?   Apparently pretty hard, because the GPS triumphantly announced “YOU HAVE ARRIVED!!!!” while we were in the middle of a dark desolate street.  No buildings topped with neon.  No happy jingle of slot machines.  No icky haze of cigarette smoke.  Just darkness and trees.  We were lost.  We tried going farther down the road.  We tried turning around and backtracking.  All in all, we had no idea where we were going.

It made me think about the comparison of our meters to a diabetes GPS.  I depend on my meter to guide me down the Blood Sugar Highway that is my life.  It lets me know if I’m headed in the right direction or if I need to make a u-turn.  It helps guide me down out of the mountains of a 300.  It helps me navigate out of the valley of a 40.  And when the information it gives me is wrong, I am lost. 

For example, when I tested before dinner on Valentine’s Day I was surprised that my blood sugar GPS clocked me at 192.  I was sure I hadn’t over-treated the low I had before we left for dinner, and even if I had it was odd to have shot up so quickly.  But I trusted the directions and corrected so I could hopefully get back on course.

Later that evening, I was stranded in The Lows.  It took me several low treats to get me cruising back on “Route 100” and the only thing I could figure was that the pre-dinner 192 was incorrect.  Just like the directions to the casino were incorrect.  We needed to cover 8 more miles to reach our destination, and I needed to ingest 15 more carbs to reach my blood sugar destination.

Both stories have happy endings.  The Valentine’s Low was a nasty one, but we didn’t let it ruin our evening.  And on Friday we finally found the casino and had a fantastic night of good food, great entertainment and wonderful friends.  But I still shutter at the memory of driving around in the dark when either GPS mistakenly announces “You Have Arrived!!!!!!”.

Only as Good as our Meters . . . .

Meter accuracy is definitely a big concern of mine.  When I really stop to think about it, it’s pretty scary that the accuracy requirement for blood glucose meters is + / - 20%.  After all, it’s those numbers on my meter that guide my important diabetes treatment decisions.  They help decide how much insulin I should take.  They let me know if I’m okay for exercise or if I need a snack first.  They tell me if it’s safe to drift off to sleep.  We are all expected to hit our A1C goals, but how can we do that if we are basing treatments on incorrect information?

When I posted recently about my switch from Accu-Chek to OneTouch, Carol left a comment raising the question of accuracy.  Until that point, I hadn’t really thought too much about different levels of accuracy between the two meters but I was so glad she planted the thought in my head.   (And I feel silly that it hadn’t occurred to me . . . . . )  I decided to do some simultaneous testing with both meters to see how the numbers stacked up.  Here’s what I found:

OneTouch	Accu-Chek
78	75
85	80
59	61
114	113
108	109
82	85
56	62
89	85

 
When I look at those numbers I have two thoughts.  #1 - WTF, how did I manage to have eight tests in a row with a number no higher than 114 / 113???  I can attest that my numbers don’t always run like this, and in the interest of full disclosure I offer this (not so) lovely number from Saturday as proof:


But I digress.  Thought #2 is that I’m glad to see the numbers on both meters are consistent with each other.  No, it doesn’t ensure that either meter is giving me accurate readings - they could both be off by 20%.  But the fact that they line up with each other does make me feel a little more confident in the results.

But honestly, I wish I could depend on my meter being closer to 100% accurate.

Bye-Bye Basic Black

I think I’ve been using the same brand of meter for more than nine years.  I loved my Accu-Chek Compact Plus for its convenience.  Strips come in a drum of 17 that gets preloaded into the meter and the lancet attaches right to the meters side.  It makes testing easy.  However, there are some drawbacks too.  The meter seems HUGE compared to other brands and it makes quite a racket when the drum advances for a test.  Lately I started eying OneTouch, which is the other brand my insurance will cover.  The UltraLink pings my readings straight to my pump.  And the cute little UltraMini adds very little bulk when tucked into my purse.  So I decided to make the switch.  I’m finding the main thing I miss about my old meter is the back lit screen, but other than that I’m very happy.

I decided that new smaller meters called for cute new cases, so I turned to etsy to see what I could find.  I struck gold at RKEMdesigns and ordered two small sized pouches (on sale!!!).



So adorable!!  The cupcake pouch was a no-brainer given the DOCs cupcake obsession.  I knew my UltraMini would fit in the case just fine, along with my strips and lancet and a tissue in case of gushers.  And the key ring on the side of each pouch is perfect to attach the travel pill container that I use to stash my used test strips!



The second pouch I ordered just because I’ve always had a thing for matryoshka dolls and it was too cute to pass up.  (I actually have a thing for almost anything Russian, but I digress.)  I didn’t really think the small pouch would be large enough to hold my UltraLink and supplies.  But I’m glad to say I was wrong - everything fits quite nicely.



No more big bulky meter and no basic black meter cases?  I’m one happy D-Gal!!

These numbers are not the same!!

Last night, as I lugged the laundry basket up the stairs, I knew something was wrong.  I felt that familiar shaky feeling.  So like a good diabetic, I grabbed my meter and tested.



Hmmm, okay, 84.  I figured maybe I was just tired.  It has been a stressful week dealing with the car accident and the insurance company and trying to get a rental car, so I guessed I was just rung out.  I started putting away the laundry, working harder than usual to focus on sock sorting.  Then my CGM began to wail.  So I decided to lest again, just to make sure.


 Ah ha!!  44 seemed more in line with how I was feeling.  But just to be sure, I tested a third time to confirm.


 I know I’m not the first to blog about a meter variance like this.  And unfortunately, I know I won’t be the last.  But it still needs to be said, over and over and over.  Our insulin and food decisions, our very lives, rely on the numbers we see on our blood glucose meters.  What if I hadn’t tested again after seeing that 84?  What if I simply went on the assumption that my shakiness was stress catching up with me?  What if I just went to bed, not knowing that my blood sugar was really in the low 40s?  I don’t want to think about what could have happened.  And honestly, my meter should ensure that I don’t have to . . . .

Wordless Wednesday - Now With More Words!!

Today I’m using the prompt from the ADA’s Blog 30 Days of Diabetes in November - and beyond.  We are asked to post a Wordless Wednesday picture that answers the question  “What are the three most important things – in your opinion – that help with your diabetes management?”  And because it’s not like me to be “wordless”, I thought I’d add my thoughts about what I chose to include in my picture.

Number one is my insulin pump.  For me, I have a level of control with the pump that I never had with MDIs.  Part of this is because Lantus never gave me a true 24 hours of coverage, and even splitting the dose didn’t work well for me.  Also, I use my pump’s dual-wave feature a lot to (hopefully) better match my insulin delivery to the way my body processes some foods.

Number two is my meter.  Knowing my blood sugar level is the key to planning what and when to eat, when and how much insulin to take and what to do before and after exercise.  I love my CGM too, and it helps me a lot, but my meter is more important.  After all, the readings from my meter are used to calibrate my CGM.

Number three is . . .  my cat?  Well, sort of.  Number three is actually the things in my life that make me truly happy, the things I enjoy.  K.C. is one.  My husband, family and friends (including the D-OC) are a few more.  And yes, knitting (and all my yarn) are yet two more in this list of things that I love.  Diabetes is tough.  It takes a lot of focus, a lot of management, a lot of energy.  Focusing on the things in life that lift my spirits when the going gets tough is so important to energize me and keep me going!

Sometimes pretty makes a difference . . .

Let's face it.  Those plain black cases that come with our blood glucose meters are fine.  They are functional.  They are also damned boring and blah.  Flash to Amy's 2009 Holiday Survival Story Contest. I was really excited to be chosen as one of the winners of a fabulous diabetes prize pack. One of the items included was a meter case from Stick Me Designs.  And when it arrived, I loved it so much I ordered another one!  Now my "home meter" and my "travel meter", which lives in my pocketbook, can be equally decked out in style.

I love these cases because they are bright and fun.  But to be honest, if it ended there I wouldn't be using them.  When it comes to my meter cases, functionality is most important.  And that's where these cases win, hands down!  As you can see in the picture above, each case has a large zippered pocket on the outside.  But it's the inside of the case that really shines.

On the left there is a huge pocket that closes with Velcro - I use that to hold emergency syringes and alcohol wipes.  The outside of this pocket has another large zippered pocket in which I can stash rolls of Smarties, a spare battery and a nickel for unscrewing my pump's battery cap.  There is also an elastic loop, which I'm currently not using.  You can't see that loop in the picture because it's hidden behind a smaller zippered pocket which is perfect for holding my stash of lancets.  In the middle you can see two more elastic loops, in which I store my insulin and my Bio Flip, which I love because it prevents me for leaving a trail of old test strips behind.

Moving to the right side of the case, you can see a second smallish zippered pocket.  I use that to hold tissues for mopping up blood after finger sticks.   Behind that pocket is a pouch large enough to hold my Accu-Chek Compact Plus (which I call my Accu-Chek Bulky Plus because it really isn't compact at all).  I've stashed a spare drum of strips in the elastic loop above my meter.  And I still have one more elastic loop on the right that I'm not using.  The whole thing closes easily with a zipper that goes around three sides. This case holds all of my stuff with room to spare!

One case that can hold everything I need is awesome.  Even more awesome is the thrill I get when I pull it out to test my blood!  It's fun to have something bright and stylish instead of that plain black case.  And beyond looking pretty, the fabric these cases are made out of is heavy and durable.  Even after 8 - 10 finger sticks a day, my cases are in the same shape as they were when I got them.

If you are looking for a meter case that mixes functionality with fun, I highly recommend checking out Stick Me Designs.  I wouldn't trade mine for the world!

My meter of choice

A few days ago in one of the forums I peruse, someone posted that they were getting ready to buy a meter and wanted to know which one we preferred and why.  She was thinking of buying a One-Touch Ultra Mini.  I posted that I own one and use it as a back-up because it's small enough to stash permanently in my purse.  I also let her know there was a good chance she could qualify for a free one (scroll down and click on "Get a meter").

However, my favorite meter, the one I use all the time, is the Accu-Check Compact Plus.  Since they just came out with a new version, I thought I'd write a post about what I love . . . . and also what I don't love . . . about my meter.

WHY I LOVE MY COMPACT PLUS (new - on the left & old - on the right):

• The strips.  They come in drums of 17 which you load into the meter, so you don't have to fiddle with individual strips each time you test.
• The lancet.  It's pretty painless.  And it snaps right onto the side of the meter.  So not only do you not have to fiddle with strips, but you don't have to juggle the lancet device.
• Uploading your results.  I did have to buy the cord, for $15, to allow me to upload my blood sugars to my computer.  But for me, it was well worth it.  I like the on-line software Accu-Check has for printing results, averages, trends and other reports.

WHY I LOVE MY NEW VERSION COMPACT PLUS EVEN MORE:

• The case.  I loved the old case, above on the right.  I wasn't sure what I'd think about the new case, but I love it even more.  The meter slide into a pocket, instead of being held in by an elastic loop.  Under the pocket is a little flap that makes a compartment meant for spare drums of strips.  I use mine to hold an emergency syringe and bottle of insulin.  In the old case, it was out in the open and at times I felt self-conscious having it out there for the world to see.  I appreciate that it's now hidden away.  On top is a pocket for spare lancets.  And the whole thing folds in half and secures with an elastic.  I was skeptical at first, but I love it even more than the old zippered case.
  
• The backlight.  That's right, no more struggling to see results in dim lighting.  The new backlight is awesome.
• "Strip Tally"  If you hold down the off button, it tells you how many strips are left.  There is also a window on the back, like the old version - but over the years the window on my meter got cloudy and I couldn't see the numbers below.  Being able to see  my strip tally on the screen is much better.
  
•  I got it for free.  Actually, better than free.  Target was selling it for almost $70, but I knew better than to buy it then.  I waited two weeks, and CVS had them on sale for $10.  Plus, if you bought it, you got $10 in ExtraCare bucks back.  And, there is a rebate in the box for your purchase price back, up to $40.  If you watch for offers, it's pretty easy to get meters for free, because the companies want you to buy their strips.
  

WHAT I DON'T LOVE ABOUT THE COMPACT PLUS:

• The size.  The old meter wasn't really all that compact, and the new one is even larger.  I understand it needs to be large enough to hold the drum of strips, but it's about three times as tall as a drum.   I'm disappointed that the new version got bigger instead of smaller.
  
• It doesn't ping my pump.  I'm always sure to enter each and every blood sugar into my pump.  But it would be nice if Minimed had partnered with Accu-Check so my Compact Plus sent the results to the pump automatically.
• The strips are not "preferred".  My co-pay for the Accu-Check strips is pretty high.  I have to admit, this ticks me off.  Bad enough I'm stuck doing 8 - 10 fingersticks a day, but the fact that my insurance company tries to dictate what meter I use is pretty infuriating.  But that's another fight for another day.

So there you go.  My thoughts on the Compact Plus. I hope it's helpful - whether you decide these features are what you are looking for in a meter or not.