Log Books?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Neonpossum

Neonpossum

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Does anyone know where to buy log books? I usually get them from the clinic but I've ran out as I haven't been for years due to COVID. Looking for something similar to the DAFNE ones
 
Not sure, my son got me one from Amazon but it is too big to fit in the case with my meter etc, but I did notice that the HomeHeath site sell the small ones that come with the GlucoNavii starter kit, I'm still using that one at the moment. I've not done any courses yet due to covid, though my nurse said she'd put me forward for it/them, so I don't know what the DAFNE one looks like.

Check HERE for DAFNE resources, I can see a BG log
 
Most books were supplied via the drug and meter companies but I believe many have stopped doing them. Apps seem to have replaced them for many.
 
Is your clinic based at a hospital? If you give them a call they might be able to leave some logbooks for you at the main hospital reception. Otherwise an ordinary notebook is a good alternative as you can make a format that works best for you.

Were you encouraged to use the LibreView when you got the Libre?
 
I don't use DAFNE work books anymore now that I have Libre as I just log my injections and food intake on there.
 
I'm not sure what DAFNE ones look like but you can order novo nordisk ones for free via Medisa but I just use the Libre app these days xx
 
Do you have a smartphone @Neonpossum?

There are a number of different apps (some free, some paid-for) where you can log BGs, food, keep notes etc.

mySugr includes a bolus calculator which can help you work out your doses, no matter how tricky your ratios 🙂
 
We just us a page-a-day diary bought from any stationery shop and write whatever we think is useful in it.
 
Oh I feel dumb, I am on the libre but I didn't know I could log food etc in it!
 
Have you figured out how to do it now or do you need help? I use the reader and when I scan and get a reading there is a a highlighted blue square in the top right hand corner with a pencil which leads you to a menu for short acting/long acting insulins, food and then the next page if you scroll down has exercise and medication options. I think the Librelink app if using your phone may have the option of more detailed input. There is a 15 min window of opportunity for inputting data onto a scan result with the reader and no option to go back and edit after that time.

Do you use the other functions of Libre like the "Time in Range" which really helps me to feel better about my diabetes management because the targets are broader and I am only aiming to get a good percentage in range rather than either being in target or feeling like I have failed when I am not. I treat it like a computer game to try to get a personal best score when I am doing well, so I tend to really focus at those times when I am close to a PB and when I am doing less well I have learned to relax rather than get uptight about it, because I know it will just be a phase and my management will improve again and it is just a natural ebb and flow. After all just like top level athletes, we can't achieve a PB every time out.... there is a limit to how good you can get at managing diabetes because perfection is just not possible. For me this approach really helps me mentally.
 
Treating it as a game sounds like a good idea! Gamifying things like that helps me a lot! And I don't know why I didn't really notice it before, guess I just wasn't looking for it
 
The only snag with Libre for logging is that your opportunity to add/edit the entries is a bit on the short side. Well it is if you are as dithery and forgetful as me :rofl:
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
The only snag with Libre for logging is that your opportunity to add/edit the entries is a bit on the short side. Well it is if you are as dithery and forgetful as me :rofl:
Click to expand...
Only on the reader, if your using the app there is no time frame, I could even go back and add notes to a day last week xx
 
Kaylz said:
Only on the reader, if your using the app there is no time frame, I could even go back and add notes to a day last week xx
Click to expand...

Ah that’s great to hear!

I abandoned the Flash logging with the reader because I wasn't allowed to be in charge of my own logs!
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Ah that’s great to hear!

I abandoned the Flash logging with the reader because I wasn't allowed to be in charge of my own logs!
Click to expand...
I sort of understand in theory the benefit of recording these extra things, but I've just never been that good at doing it, much to the annoyance of those looking after me. Fortunately they now seem to be OK just with the various automatically produced graphs from Libre, which I find most useful too.
 
Bruce Stephens said:
I sort of understand in theory the benefit of recording these extra things, but I've just never been that good at doing it, much to the annoyance of those looking after me. Fortunately they now seem to be OK just with the various automatically produced graphs from Libre, which I find most useful too.
Click to expand...

I logged full time with mySugr for almost a decade.

Partly it gave me a moment to ponder, or explain my reasoning, or vent, every time I took a BG reading.

Additionally it gave me a searchable database, because I’d note some of the usual ‘tricky’ suspects, and could look up what I did last time, and whether or not it worked.

I do know that keeping that amount of detail over so many years is pretty unusual. Most people I know generally only seem to keep going for less than a year. :rofl:
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Additionally it gave me a searchable database, because I’d note some of the usual ‘tricky’ suspects, and could look up what I did last time, and whether or not it worked.
Click to expand...
Was that actually useful enough to be worth it?

I can imagine it might be, but then I can also imagine it really not being (I'm trying to learn as I go along so I tend to assume my current approach is going to be at least as good as whatever I did a year ago). (Quite possibly that's self deception on my part. Roll on the time when I have a closed loop with an app that can estimate what I'm eating and can use machine learning to improve its operation over time.)
 
Bruce Stephens said:
Was that actually useful enough to be worth it?
Click to expand...

Definitely for a period. I went through some pretty substantial changes in my management strategies and was doing quite a lot of experimentation, plus it was the period when I switched from MDI to pump.

Actually I think quite a lot of the benefit was just to pause and think, and have a moment to process. I’ve not been logging for about a year, and I still find myself occasionally mentally composing the note I would have added to the entry 🙂
 
Wow! !0 years is very impressive! I found it quite hard work logging actual food intake on an app after a year, particularly when I was trying to log stuff on Libre as well and whilst I felt guilty letting it slip on the app, the Libre was more useful to me and my team had ready access, so I concentrated on that.
I log all my insulin on Libre.... except for the very odd occasion when I don't remember to input it within the 15 min window with the reader.... which I do find really frustrating!!
With eating low carb, I find logging my food intake more difficult as I can only input carbs, not the actual food and I refuse to ty to calculate a carb conversion for protein so I usually just input a small token amount of carbs and insulin for it (1-4 units) and then I do corrections for protein later (usually 2 hours after eating) as necessary but I just go off my Libre readings so I inject a couple of units when my levels are in the 8s and drifting upwards. If an hour and a half after that, they are still drifting upwards in the 8s or 9s I will stack another correction unit on top and that usually works pretty well. I find that I can be much more flexible with my diabetes management by responding to Libre rather than formally trying to calculate the insulin I will need. It takes a lot of the strain off my management by being reactive and my low carb way of eating means that I don't get fast moving BG levels so I have time to react with insulin afterwards.
People here have suggested that I would manage better with a pump, but I have no idea how I would adapt my current system to that as it has become quite intuitive rather than structured and I don't know how a pump would cope with me stacking insulin. I know there is dual wave etc but you are doing that in advance and I don't know in advance how my body will respond to protein until I see it releasing on the Libre.
I love that Libre allows me to manage my diabetes in this more flexible, reactive way.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top