Life these days is moving faster than normal with Joseph and Ethan going to school, Joseph playing T-Ball, and getting ready for JDRF Children's Congress I feel like blogging has fallen down on the list and I am just not able to find the time to write down my thoughts.
So this morning I am making a point to write a blog to let you all know that I am still here in the trenches working away and juggling life.
Joseph's blood sugars have been running stubbornly low lately, and when I say stubborn, I mean stubborn! This kid is pretty much living on basal insulin with no boluses, low!
Thankfully we haven't had dangerous levels but he just seems to hang out at the 70-80 range no matter how many carbs are given. So, now we have to play the game of basal adjustments because clearly they have become too aggressive for his body. Making adjustments is always a fun act as it always seems we go the opposite way and start running on the higher side.
Why the sudden change? Well I ask myself that same question but as we all know there are so many variables when it comes to managing T1D. It could be a growth spurt has ended, the weather is changing and in warmer weather you sweat more and your body works harder, or it could just be diabetes being....well diabetes! In any case we have to figure out where and how the changes need to be made. Thankfully we have Nightscout and now the Dexcom Share, to help us keep an eye on him while he is at school, otherwise these past two weeks I would have lost what little mind I have left ;)
So, as promised I am going to talk a little about the Nightscout system on the Pebble vs Dexcom Share on the Apple Watch. I have made it a point to use both while JP is at school so that I am able to tell you the distinct differences.
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| Pebble Watch on the left, Apple Watch on the right |
The Negatives of the Apple Watch
The main difference that I noticed right away was the Apple Watch goes to sleep while my Pebble watch displays the blood sugar number constantly. It was a little annoying to have to raise my hand or tap the screen to be able to see JPs number. Tip: you have to set your watch to "view last app" or it will automatically go to the home screen when it goes to sleep and you will have to tap and swipe to get to the Share App and view the data.
The next difference is the Apple watch doesn't vibrate to the same settings that you have set on the Dexcom, it will ding and display the same alert that you get on your phone while using the share system, making it a little harder to see highs or lows coming on.
The Dexcom Share is only available to Apple products. We thankfully had an ipod for Joseph with the Share set up, so I was able to test out the system at school using their wifi network. In order to use it all the time we will have to get him an iPhone so we are able to use it on the go like Nightscout (it only runs off of an android phone)
The Positives of the Apple Watch
One of the best things about the Apple watch is that it doesn't require all of the cords to be attached to the Dexcom or uploader phone. For those of us that use the Nightscout system we all know that these cords are a PAIN! The cords short out, and they can cause the ports to break in the phone and in your Dexcom and that is a huge problem. For me cord free was a huge positive!
The Apple Watch also displays the trend graph from the Dexcom, which you do not have access to on your Pebble watch. It is always nice to be able to see the graph because sometimes the arrows don't match to what the blood sugar is actually doing.
If you are an iPhone user the Apple Watch has some really amazing features that you get to take advantage of while you are Sugar Stalking ie: Calorie Tracking, Heart Rate, Text, Email etc. etc.
Both watches and systems are amazing and allow a completely different level of T1D management. If you haven't started remote monitoring, I can promise that you will not regret it, especially if you have a child with T1D. This allows so much peace of mind and you can manage it the same as if you were right there with them. I "Sugar Stalk" Joseph and will text his teachers if I see something brewing so we are able to prevent it before it happens. If you have older children who want to do sleep overs or play sports this will allow you to not be a "helicopter" parent and hover over them or prevent them from childhood experiences.
If you want any further information, please email or comment below. I hope that this has been helpful and if I find any additional tips or tricks I will be sure to share them with you :)
-until next time
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