2019-02-01_Diabetic_Living

56 DI A BETIC LI V ING / SPR ING 2019

D

octors handed Claire Bickel a diabetes diagnosis the day before her 5th birthday. Her mom, Francesca, learned to stick Claire’s fi nger to check her blood glucose, and began monitoring her levels 8 to 10 times a day. As a newly diag- nosed kindergartener, Claire headed to school each day with a juice box tucked into her backpack, just in case her blood sugar dropped at school. Th at was more

that could tell [me] she was

Connecticut.

the bett er-equipped you are to

blood glucose from afar. Today,

possible. “Th e devices we use to manage our personal lives are penetrating into diabetes care and

M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric endocrinologist and associate professor in pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. And all that information means two things: the ability to more eff ectively manage blood sugar and the freedom to worry less over highs and lows.

UPGRADED METERS Most meters work the same way: the

user inserts a test strip into the meter, they prick their fi ngertip using a lanc- ing device to get a tiny drop of blood, and the strip is touched to the blood to produce a meter result. Many meters let you save readings and add comments to that data. But seeing long-term trends or relaying your data to a loved one or provider? Historically, that has required good old-fashioned pen and paper.

Diabetes Goes Digital

CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE

MONITORS (CGMS)

CGMs allow users to monitor their glucose levels every few minutes, 24 hours a day. Th is can help you track trends and see how your body reacts during exercise and at mealtimes. “If you go to a football game and someone takes a snapshot four times during the game, you’ll have a diff erent perception of what happened than if you have a com-

Sherr. “Th e CGMs are like that video.

or websites. With a CGM, the user inserts the

Unlike traditional blood glucose

ute lag time. And they can take several

GUARDIAN

CONNECT CGM

MEDTRONIC

CONTOUR

NEXT ONE

METER

ASCENCIA

DIABETES CARE

PRODUCT IMAGES COURTESY OF MANUFACTURERS

blood glucose results wirelessly via cellu- lar signal (like the Livongo meter). Using the meter’s companion app, you can eas- ily access and review your results; record food, activity, and medication events; and visually see patt erns between the two. Many even allow you to set out-of-range alerts or reminders to check. Plus, you can print and send reports to members of your support system.