I am currently one of the beta-testers for the coaching module which has just been added to the mySugr Diabetes Logbook app. You may have seen a recent announcement about this feature which will allow users to receive virtual coaching from Gary Scheiner and other CDE’s of Integrated Diabetes Services. To learn about the program, check out “mySugr Coaching – your shortcut to great diabetes management” by Scott Johnson, the USA Communications Lead for mySugr. Another good source of information is this Diabetes Mine article by Mike Hoskins titled “A New Age of Mobile Diabetes Education and Coaching.”

I have been using the mySugr Diabetes Logbook full-time for two months. To best describe the experience, I am sharing my journal of insights, problems, and opinions. Please note that I am in the early stages of the coaching experience and will share that story in another blogpost.

Journal

Thursday 7/21/16:  I saw Scott Johnson at an ADA seminar today. He asked if I would like some personal consulting sessions with Gary Scheiner of Integrated Diabetes Services. I have several times been a phone call away from calling IDS for help, but have never done it. So of course I said yes. According to Scott, the details of the project are still a little sketchy but will involve using the mySugr Logbook app to communicate virtually.

I like mySugr and have always thought that it is by far the best of the diabetes logging apps. But I have never been a faithful user. Too much data entry has always sidelined me after a week or two.

Friday, 7/22/16:  I began using mySugr again. I have to admit that it has been a year since I last used it and it is much more functional than before. My Dexcom CGM data is automatically synced to the app through Apple Health. Most of the data entry is easy with icons and the ability to customize, rearrange, and delete line items. My personal monster whom I named Glukomutant is cute.

Friday 7/29:  I am a week into logging and a day into using the Accu-Chek Connect meter provided to me by mySugr. The meter automatically sends BG numbers to my phone and the mySugr app.

The Connect meter makes mySugr infinitely easier to use because it is one more piece of data that I don’t have to type in. The hardest part of having my phone be a medical device is that I am using my sometimes-bad memory to coordinate data from the Dexcom app, the mySugr app, my pump, my meters, and my life. Scott showed me a couple of shortcuts and let me know what info he enters and what he ignores. He indicated that the app will “moosh” all data entered within 10 minutes into one entry. “Moosh” is Scott-lingo for “fetch and combine.” For example, I test my BG and enter a correction bolus. A few minutes later I decide I to eat and enter my food, carb count, and a couple of tags. It will “moosh” it all together into one log to prevent an unwieldy number of entries in the logbook.

Right now I keep forgetting bolus details the second the pump delivers the insulin and I have to go to the pump history menu to get the info. I’m sure that I will get better at remembering numbers and not get so tangled up creating an entry. Long term mySugr hopes to automate all data sources so that there is very little manual data entry.

Tuesday, August 2:  Today I started a new Dexcom sensor. For the 2 start-up calibrations, I got the following numbers from the Accu-Chek Connect meter: 85 / 108. I did a 3rd test to get a better sense and got 78. This is why I use Freestyle meters. I will try to stick with the Accu-Chek meter for my trial and I did order a bunch of test strips. Out of curiosity I tested on my Freestyle Lite meter. I got 84 / 87. For consistency I used the Accu-chek to calibrate my CGM which interpreted the two tests as 96. Since Freestyle is often considered to test on the low side, the numbers aren’t too horribly different.

Saturday, August 6:  The mySugr app allows basal changes by the hour or half-hour. When using half-hour, I would prefer that the basal rate still show the hourly rate because I have never thought of basal rates in half-hour segments although I often change rates on the half-hour. Does that make sense?

Saturday, August 6:  I am used to reviewing my CGM tracings and feel as though I get a good overview of the “forest.” With mySugr I feel as though I am down in the trees with a lot of emphasis on average and deviation, both of which are highly affected by a single number. I think that once I have more weeks of data, the summary reports will be more helpful.

Saturday, August 6:  Once again not thrilled with meter. CGM 145, Accu-Chek 118, Freestyle 138. Most of the time the meter is fine and aligns very well with my Freestyle. It syncs amazingly fast to my phone.

Sunday, Aug 7:  Would like an icon for combo/extended bolus and maybe a way to log it besides using notes.

Although the ability to take photos of food is nice, I rarely do it. One of the most useful features is Search. Since I live in a rut and often eat the same foods every day, I can search by things such as “Lunch” and “Salad” and compare how I have bolused for similar meals in the past.

Thursday August 11:  Love how the app learns words I use. For example: CGM, Oatmeal, Walking.

Wish pump bolus info was synced. I do everything on my pump and then enter it again on app. I have accessed my pump history more times in the last month than the previous four years. Wish I remembered it better.

Would like an icon for CGM calibration.

Sunday, August 14:  I learn something new every day. When scrolling down BG numbers, I see that the ones from the Accu-Chek meter are marked with a “Verified” symbol while manual entry ones aren’t.

Saturday, August 20:  I am definitely in the habit of logging, but am hitting the wall of data fatigue. It is quite horrible to see how many “interactions” I have with diabetes every day.

Wednesday Aug 24:  Noticed that my step count from Apple Health is now included in the mySugr daily summary. I love data that I don’t have to enter!

Sunday, Aug 28:  I need to learn more about the reports and graph. Would like to see the graph in landscape view.

Wednesday, Sept 7:  When I activated the consulting module, I filled out everything. Then when I went to settings to activate the camera for a selfie, everything was lost. The perils of being a beta-tester. 🙁

Monday, Sept 12:  Learned that I can swipe an entry to the right to see a menu of Share-Edit-Delete (I had been selecting the entry and pressing the Edit button). This is so much faster. Scott probably showed me this and I forgot. #OldAge. 😀

Saturday, September 17:  My consulting request has been submitted and I am waiting to hear back from Gary. I usually think that my numbers are erratic and unexplainable. However mySugr reports show that my 7-day, 14-day, and 30-day summaries are eerily consistent. I am nervous about having someone review my data.

To be continued…. 

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