Comments on: Why Data Logging Is Not the Holy Grail

By: David @ data acquisition

David @ data acquisition — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:14:59 +0000

There is little point in logging data unless you have to ability to act upon it. Why spend time and money on something you can’t use once you have got the output from it?

By: Scott K. Johnson

Scott K. Johnson — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:07:23 +0000

What a great conversation here! Thank you Amy for getting us started on it. There is a lot of great stuff over at tudiabetes.com as Manny linked to as well.

I do think that pking has a great point. The very act of logging does seem to encourage better behavior for me. But it is still a very stiff and artificial feeling (the better behavior), rather than something I could keep up with long term.

By: Ricco

Ricco — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:28:54 +0000

Hello Amy,
I am very happy that I have the chance to view your site. I am new and still exploring and I will let you know what I think when I get a chance.

Thanks,
Ricco

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:56:58 +0000

It’s about time people start to realize that merely collecting the data is of no direct use. Software developers are largely not going to create new means of treatment, that’s up to diabetics and innovative doctors (if there are any). The people writing the logging apps are merely mimicking what already exists and maybe making it more pretty.

What we need is decision support systems that take into account that each and every time I test my BG I do so because I want to act on the result and do something. I either want to eat, correct, or check that my assumptions about the other two earlier are correct. A data collection tool should also detect and recommend actions, such as increasing/decreasing, or at least testing basal rates. This is not something you should get once a month, recommendations should pop up when you enter the data.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:10:39 +0000

Manually logging sucks and cannot be maintained long term. I do love my MM with CGMS reports generated have carbs/bolus/basal/ etc. This makes tracking much much easier. However, there is more we could get out of this. Insurance needs to recognize that Diabetes need constant monitoring in order to stay motivated and healthy. I would not want any apps which require me to enter data but only if they were automatically integrated with my pump etc.

By: jules

jules — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:56:37 +0000

Bravo!!! This is definitely going in the right direction. Until major studies confirm that keeping data for the average person with diabetes has positive and reproducible results we’re not going to see anyone, including a govt. health plan, pay for this service. It’s always good to remember that only about 25% of the diabetes population is motivated or concerned enough to take the time to do type of review. Most diabetics I talk to dont know any of their basic numbers. It’s just part of nature. But that 25% motivated group will pay for their own tools because they see the benefit to their quality of life.

By: DS

DS — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:21:47 +0000

All of the data-collection in the world won’t help any given person, unless they can help themselves…

After decades of this disease, I can pinpoint the one factor that lead to better control of this affliction–and that was changing my doctor. I used to leave the doctor’s office feeling unglued, like I was a failure that my BGC wasn’t that of a ‘normal’ person’s. Sure, that would be the ideal, but the core of my problem (my) problem, as pointed out by my ‘then’ doctor, was that I wasn’t capable of gaining control due to my innate laziness, ineptitude, etc. etc. I begged for a training program at the local hospital, and was denied, the given reason being that ‘what could they possibly teach you that you haven’t already learned yourself?’

So I wandered from one doctor to the next, and after a couple of years found someone who was able to work with me–and I with him. Everyone’s different, but I identified the one key issue that turned my control in the right direction to being: good communication between the doctor and patient. In fact, I don’t even feel like a patient when I see my doctor. He’s wearing blue-jeans, a flannel shirt, is ready and curious to discover new therapies, makes jokes, (sit’s with me for up to an hour!!!), he’s up-to-date on cutting-edge technology, but acknowledges that he’s only human and can learn from ‘me!’, makes suggestions but gives me the decision-making power—wow! It’s a far cry from past mini-dictators who had all of 15 minutes to leave me in tears and lashing myself for my own inability to function…

So I would say, take good records, don’t rely on digital records as a cure-all, rather, listen to what other’s say ‘works’, but don’t read it as the gospel, and above all, make sure you have a doctor who works for you, not you for him/her.

NB: if your Diabetes doctor is not willing to see you for a minimum of thirty minutes, if they let you feel for one minute like a failure, leave them. Seek and you shall find the right one…it may take time.

By: pking

pking — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:13:30 +0000

Amy said: “it just strikes me that logging a bunch of BG data or static health information doesn’t do anything on its own”…

I don’t agree. Its my my experience over the past 18 years with type 1 that the simple act of writing down my BG, insulin, and rough carb intake results in better control. Not analyzing, not changing basal rates based on patterns, etc. Just writing them down. Time and again I’ve stopped keeping records and drifted away from control, then gotten back into keeping records and getting things closer to under control. My doctor says he’s seen the same thing in many other patients. It’s true that logging numbers doesn’t do anything on its own, but the act of writing something down means you’re paying attention at least long enough to enter the data. I’ve found repeatedly that that makes enough difference to justify the time.

I hate carrying a pen and paper so I used a palm pilot for years. I used a paper log most of last year, until getting my OneTouch Ping. The Ping (and the OmniPod) helps you capture all three bits of data, which has been great. Better visualization would be nice, but data logging does indeed have benefits.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:50:44 +0000

EASE of logging is my Holy Grail…

Has anyone seen that wizard? I think his name was Tim… And I have this damn shrubbery to deliver..

/wink

By: Bethanne

Bethanne — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:28:45 +0000

Logging can be a pain, and perhaps it’s not the Holy Grail, but you have to have it to get to the Grail. yes? I think Food is the hardest to keep constant track of… Carb counts are often pointless if I don’t know the food I ate. Everything else is easy to track nowadays–especially with the pump and linked meter. It has made my journey 100x better, more managable.

What’s being suggested is that diabeters becoming their own doctors. Knowing how to make the changes that will help them lead better lives… but it seems to me that lots do this already. I do. I can’t always wait for my doctor to get back to me even though he will look at my BG charts from an online source. After getting on the CGMS, I’ve been able to change my basal rates two or three times in order to tighten my control.

I look forward to trying out this software/programming. If nothing else, it would be nice to have all the testing in one spot.