O.T. Diabetic monitoring programs?

My DH, who has been diabetic since summer of 2002, hasn't tested his blood
sugar in almost a year, but has shown interest in a program that would let
him download the readings onto our iMac and keep track of it that way. He
quit testing mainly because it always seemed to be normal. If it wasn't,
it was because he knew what he had eaten to throw it off.

Has anyone out there heard of the Vigora monitoring programs? The Dr.
hadn't heard of it off the top of his head, but he is all for anything that
would get John back into the habit of testing regularly. He's doing well
and has improved his diet drastically, but I would feel better if I had
numbers to look at. :-) On the other hand, it's not MY fingers getting
poked regularly. . . . . . (or not).

Thanks.
Liz from Humbug
--

Liz, I am not sure this message is going to help, but it might. Some
two years ago, my doctor (a female) diagonize me as a "pre-diabetic"; and it
sounds like your DH is in the same category. She sent me on a course
given by a nurse and diatician which explained all about the subject, and
the reasons why my blood sugar needs to be tested regularly. With me,
when I know *why* things need to be done, I have little trouble finding the
means to do it.
What I learned was that if one's pancreas is slowly failing, there
may be a time when it is necessary to take some form of medication. Now
as is well known, medication can be beneficial, but can also have nasty
side effects. If my doctor has a record of how my blood sugar is
responding over a long period of time, she is in a much better position to
decide if and when medication is required, and what that medication should
be.
May I suggest that if a diabetes awareness course is available, it
might benefit your DH to go. Here in Canada they are free, and the
strips, which cost a dollar each, are also almost free. The course was four,
two hour sessions held once per week. HTH.

Liz Hampton ) writes:
My DH, who has been diabetic since summer of 2002, hasn't tested his blood
sugar in almost a year, but has shown interest in a program that would let
him download the readings onto our iMac and keep track of it that way. He
quit testing mainly because it always seemed to be normal. If it wasn't,
it was because he knew what he had eaten to throw it off.

Has anyone out there heard of the Vigora monitoring programs? The Dr.
hadn't heard of it off the top of his head, but he is all for anything that
would get John back into the habit of testing regularly. He's doing well
and has improved his diet drastically, but I would feel better if I had
numbers to look at. :-) On the other hand, it's not MY fingers getting
poked regularly. . . . . . (or not).

Thanks.
Liz from Humbug
--




--
Jim Cripwell.
From Canada. Land of the Key Bird.
This creature of doom flies over the frozen tundra in winter,
shrieking its dreaded call; "Key, Key, Key, Key rist but it's cold!!"

It`s easy enough to set up your own chart with MS Works or something
similar - Works will even work out the averages for you! Don`t go to the
expense of buying a dedicated programme for it. Even a table in Word will
do the job, although you`d have to work out the averages with a calculator
if you wanted them.

We do ours fairly infrequently, but do it four times a day for a week or two
before our diabetic checkups - or if we just don`t feel right. Same with our
blood pressure gadget - we do a week of tests at the same time of day before
a checkup. In fact it all goes on the same chart.

Don`t forget that there`s such a thing as "Too much information".

Pat P
--
East Anglian Xstitch
http://homepages.tesco.net/~porter
"Liz Hampton" wrote in message
...
My DH, who has been diabetic since summer of 2002, hasn't tested his
blood
sugar in almost a year, but has shown interest in a program that would let
him download the readings onto our iMac and keep track of it that way.
He
quit testing mainly because it always seemed to be normal. If it wasn't,
it was because he knew what he had eaten to throw it off.

Has anyone out there heard of the Vigora monitoring programs? The Dr.
hadn't heard of it off the top of his head, but he is all for anything
that
would get John back into the habit of testing regularly. He's doing well
and has improved his diet drastically, but I would feel better if I had
numbers to look at. :-) On the other hand, it's not MY fingers getting
poked regularly. . . . . . (or not).

Thanks.
Liz from Humbug
--

Excel will do the math for you!

Cheryl
On 1/19/05 8:19 AM, in article , "Pat P"
wrote:

It`s easy enough to set up your own chart with MS Works or something
similar - Works will even work out the averages for you! Don`t go to the
expense of buying a dedicated programme for it. Even a table in Word will
do the job, although you`d have to work out the averages with a calculator
if you wanted them.

We do ours fairly infrequently, but do it four times a day for a week or two
before our diabetic checkups - or if we just don`t feel right. Same with our
blood pressure gadget - we do a week of tests at the same time of day before
a checkup. In fact it all goes on the same chart.

Don`t forget that there`s such a thing as "Too much information".

Pat P

I somewhat agree with Pat. I've been a type II diabetic for about 6
years, now. Nothing "pre" about my condition. It was serious when
diagnosed.

I did test 4 to 5 times a day the first few months - until everything
got in control. Yes, I had very sore fingers. Now they have machines
that are almost pain free and you can test in many spots on your body.
I still use my old meter - which means finger pokes.

Once you get everything in control, with the proper medication at the
proper dose, you really needn't test so continually - providing you play
by the rules and keep your diet in check. Like Pat, I only check when
things go awry. It is difficult to keep in control if you are ill, for
instance. Or, I spot-check, especially mornings, to make sure all is
going smoothly.

If you get regular quarterly HgA1c tests - a blood test that tells the
doctor whether or not you are in control over a period of 3 months -
once you are in control, and stick with the program, there's no need for
continual monitoring. You need to stay below 7.0 (a U.S. standard).

This, of course, will depend upon the type of diabetes you have and how
difficult it might be to STAY in control. If you aren't responding well
to meds, don't stick to a good, nutritional diet, and don't get
quarterly blood tests, then daily monitoring is a must if you want a
relatively normal life span. :-)

Dianne

Pat P wrote:

It`s easy enough to set up your own chart with MS Works or something
similar - Works will even work out the averages for you! Don`t go to the
expense of buying a dedicated programme for it. Even a table in Word will
do the job, although you`d have to work out the averages with a calculator
if you wanted them.

We do ours fairly infrequently, but do it four times a day for a week or two
before our diabetic checkups - or if we just don`t feel right. Same with our
blood pressure gadget - we do a week of tests at the same time of day before
a checkup. In fact it all goes on the same chart.

Don`t forget that there`s such a thing as "Too much information".

Pat P

--
"The Journal of Needlework" - The E-zine for All Needleworkers
http://journal.heritageshoppe.com

After I posted this morning (on this topic), I realized the original
poster wanted information, not a scolding on what she should do for her
husband. I really didn't understand the situation and shouldn't have
been so quick to pooh-pooh keeping track of daily multi-monitoring.

There are new meters on the market that keep track of the testing
results over a period of time. Several others mentioned programs you
could use. You might visit the Diabet Association on the web to see if
they have a recommended program.

I don't know your husband's particular situation. If daily monitoring
is necessary because of other situations, I hope you find the answer.
I apologize if my first post sounded condescending.
Dianne

--
"The Journal of Needlework" - The E-zine for All Needleworkers
http://journal.heritageshoppe.com

--
East Anglian Xstitch
http://homepages.tesco.net/~porter
"Dianne Lewandowski" wrote in message
...
After I posted this morning (on this topic), I realized the original
poster wanted information, not a scolding on what she should do for her
husband. I really didn't understand the situation and shouldn't have been
so quick to pooh-pooh keeping track of daily multi-monitoring.

There are new meters on the market that keep track of the testing results
over a period of time. Several others mentioned programs you could use.
You might visit the Diabet Association on the web to see if they have a
recommended program.

I don't know your husband's particular situation. If daily monitoring is
necessary because of other situations, I hope you find the answer.
I apologize if my first post sounded condescending.
Dianne

WERE we scolding her Dianne? Personally I was giving her the benefit of 30
years experience of being a well controlled class 2 diabetic! That`s how I
read your post too, (not 30 years, admittedly!)

I regard any dedicated diabetic record keeping programme as rather like one
of those car exenses programmes that came out a few years ago. Pointless
when you can do it with Works or (as Cheryl recommended) Excel. Unless
you`re unwell or vary wildly in your blood sugars, there`s really no need to
be a slave to record keeping, apart from a week or so prior to a heck-up.

Pat P
--
"The Journal of Needlework" - The E-zine for All Needleworkers
http://journal.heritageshoppe.com

Keeping just the blood sugar readings wouldn't be of much benefit. If
you (that's the generic you, not Pat specifically) really are trying to
make lifestyle changes to stop diabetes, then frequently tracking blood
sugar is important along with recording information about everything you
eat/drink, medicines/herbals, exercise, sleep, stress, illness, etc. Of
course once you have all the data and start on a regimen that will work
for you, you should be able to reduce testing.

Pat P wrote:
I regard any dedicated diabetic record keeping programme as rather like one
of those car exenses programmes that came out a few years ago. Pointless
when you can do it with Works or (as Cheryl recommended) Excel. Unless
you`re unwell or vary wildly in your blood sugars, there`s really no need to
be a slave to record keeping, apart from a week or so prior to a heck-up.

--
Brenda

--
East Anglian Xstitch
http://homepages.tesco.net/~porter
"Brenda" wrote in message
news
Keeping just the blood sugar readings wouldn't be of much benefit. If you
(that's the generic you, not Pat specifically) really are trying to make
lifestyle changes to stop diabetes, then frequently tracking blood sugar
is important along with recording information about everything you
eat/drink, medicines/herbals, exercise, sleep, stress, illness, etc. Of
course once you have all the data and start on a regimen that will work
for you, you should be able to reduce testing.

Pat P wrote:
I regard any dedicated diabetic record keeping programme as rather like
one of those car exenses programmes that came out a few years ago.
Pointless when you can do it with Works or (as Cheryl recommended) Excel.
Unless you`re unwell or vary wildly in your blood sugars, there`s really
no need to be a slave to record keeping, apart from a week or so prior to
a heck-up.

--
Brenda

Oh, agreed, Brenda, but I think we were dealing with someone who is quite a
long established diabetic, who seems to be generally well controlled. You
soon get used to what you can and can`t do, and what the results can be, and
judging by how you feel. If I wake up in the morning with blurred vision,
and shakiness, for instance, a quick blood test always confirms that my
blood sugar has got too low, and a glass of orange-juice swiftly gets me
more stable.Most blood test machines these days record many, many, test
results with bith date and time.

It`s important, indeed, to establish a routine with diet and exercise. I
found that out, to my cost, by playing fast and loose with my diet at one
stage - which raised my blood pressure and caused a stroke (thirteen years
ago).

I DON`T eat special diabetic foods and diabetic chocolate - I was told by
the specialists at the Diabetic clinic that it`s far better to have a little
of the "Real" thing - as long as you compensate for it the next day.
Diabetic chocolate, for instance, contains far more fat - which adds to your
weight - which helps raise your blood pressure - etc., etc. I just use
common sense and don`t overload on bread, pastry, etc. Very rarely eat
dessert, but I do have a couple of chocolates a day, preferably after a
meal. The whole idea is to live and eat as normally and healthily as
possible - but a little sinning now and then doesn`t hurt. I can`t be doing
much wrong as the consultant congratulated me on my good control.

It must be much harder to maintain the correct balance when you have to
inject insulin, though - but I don`t think we were discussing anything other
than tablet controlled diabetes, were we?

When you are establishing a regimen of course you need to check more
regularly - all I was saying is that it seems a bit of a waste of money to
buy a programme just to do that when most people with a computer have a
suitable programme to do just that already at their fingertips. If you
don`t have a computer a notebook is quite adequate - and, in fact, is
provided by our diabetic clinic in any case. Of course if you`re just one
of those people who likes specific ready-made programmes for all sorts of
records, there`s always someone willing to take your money for it! ;-))

My mother had late onset diabetes, too, and boy, did she make herself a
martyr to it! When I think back, it was positively ridiculous, only not
being diabetic myself at the time, I thought that that was really the way it
had to be - so I was quite frightened when they told me that I was diabetic
too!

Pat P.

After I posted this morning (on this topic), I realized the original
poster wanted information, not a scolding on what she should do for her
husband. I really didn't understand the situation and shouldn't have
been so quick to pooh-pooh keeping track of daily multi-monitoring.

There are new meters on the market that keep track of the testing
results over a period of time. Several others mentioned programs you
could use. You might visit the Diabet Association on the web to see if
they have a recommended program.

I don't know your husband's particular situation. If daily monitoring
is necessary because of other situations, I hope you find the answer.
I apologize if my first post sounded condescending.
Dianne

Don't worry, I've taken all of the posts in the helpful spirit in which
they were intended. DH probably is at the point where he doesn't need to
test every day. A couple of times a week or maybe even once a week would
probably be fine, as long as he is feeling OK. He's NOT interested in
entering numbers himself, but has been interested since the beginning in the
ability to download the information directly from the monitor to our
computer. At this point, if a program sparks his interest enough to test
once a week, it would be worth it to me. :-))) At least I married the
brother who seems to take it seriously! His twin still doesn't seem to
understand the concept of "moderation" and his younger brother insists that
he "can't afford" to monitor his diabetes. Never mind. . . . :-))))) My
blood sugar seems to be good & steady. I think I'll settle down & go have
some peanut butter & chocolate chips.
Liz from Humbug

Thanks for everyone's input.