Monitoring machines and apps

[Jane Sowerby]

can anyone recommend a stripless monitoring machine and an app to help count carbs and calculate insulin doses

 

[Northerner]

Depends what you mean by a 'stripless' machine? The Accuchek Mobile uses a cassette of test strips so no loading of individual strips is required, and the meter has a built-in lancet also. I find it a bit bulky, but a lot of people like it 🙂 Quite expensive though, and a lot of GPs won't prescribe for it.

I'm too old to know anything about apps, and can't recommend one, although I have heard mySugr recommended by other members 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Not come across a BG monitor completely without strips - how would you get the blood into the machine without something like a strip?

There's a 'Carbs & Cals' App as well as the book and website to help you estimate the carbs and of course a couple of meters that calculate what insulin you need for whatever the carb value and your BG, are. These are the Accu-Chek 'Expert' or the Insulinx - may be others I don't know about. You have to tell it your carb ratios etc beforehand so these are usually available (just have to be asked for) from your hospital clinic and your DSN helps you get it set up. Either that - or you all automatically get one when you attend DAFNE or whatever course your hospital runs.

 

[Jane Sowerby]

Not come across a BG monitor completely without strips - how would you get the blood into the machine without something like a strip?

There's a 'Carbs & Cals' App as well as the book and website to help you estimate the carbs and of course a couple of meters that calculate what insulin you need for whatever the carb value and your BG, are. These are the Accu-Chek 'Expert' or the Insulinx - may be others I don't know about. You have to tell it your carb ratios etc beforehand so these are usually available (just have to be asked for) from your hospital clinic and your DSN helps you get it set up. Either that - or you all automatically get one when you attend DAFNE or whatever course your hospital runs.

Thanks Jenny

 

[trophywench]

Just as an example though - sometimes even after all this time - I fail spectacularly at guesstimating carbs in stuff. We were away at the weekend with a gang of folk we know and Friday is fish and chips night. Always hard to guesstimate - probably OK-ish with the chips but how many will I actually eat? Ditto the fish - and who knows how thick the batter's going to be? and again will I want all of it, so best underestimate and correct later if I need to. I ate all the fish, all the mushy peas and 3 parts of the chips - it was all rather good, not too thick batter so the fish was lovely too instead of 'soggy' - and most of the chips were good - none was too greasy and I thoroughly enjoyed it all. Hypo all blooming night. It had crossed my mind last week that I thought my basal insulin needed a bit of attention, so I dialled that down in the later evening on Friday. Saturday was Ok-ish except the early morning (6.30 am) hypo, but best ignore that since I had shedloads of Lucozade and biscuits on Friday night, so probably shot up high and then plummeted. So hypo again at 6am on Sunday, aarrghh. So turned basal down from 4am ish for a couple of hours. Out to Sunday lunch carvery and took 3 roasties and some sliced spuds done in cream in the oven - kind of Pommes Dauphinoise style but weren't that nice actually - not much taste at all. Carrots were warm but practically raw - we all complained about them. So guesstimated after eating - and was high all flippin day until the middle of the evening.

I've been absolutely fine all day since we came home though as I haven't eaten anything I had to guess!

A combination of not guesstimating correctly and my basal being wrong made it all worse of course, as normally I can get away with weekends like this without THAT much trouble - just the odd minor correction or an extra biscuit here or there. But when it just decides it isn't going to play nicely, you are fighting a losing battle really, so you simply have to handle it the best you can - then just shrug your shoulders and forget it!

 

[Ralph-YK]

I got the impression that all self testing equipment has consumables. There is a non invasive tester under development that won't have any. It's not here yet though, and not expected for a few years yet.