mySugr logoClose side menu

Download and try it now!

  • Get it on Google Play
  • Download at the App Store
Language selection
English
Language selection inactive
  • Selected English

    English

  • Selected English (US)

    English (US)

  • Selected Deutsch

    Deutsch

Products and Services

After three meters connected to her pump, here’s what she loved – and now you can too

5/7/2018 by Sarah Knotts

After three meters connected to her pump, here’s what she loved – and now you can too

For the last almost 18 years, I’ve used various insulin pumps in my arsenal of diabetes management devices. I’ve tried nearly all of them...

But only three brands that I’ve used had options to import the number to the pump - the Animas Ping, the Omnipod (of course, because of the PDM) and the Medtronic series pumps (Revel, 530G, 630G and most currently, 670G). I loved the convenience, don’t get me wrong. It’s super nice and easy to just test your BG and the reading either be used right away on the handheld device of the PDM or the Animas Ping, or to have it beamed directly to the pump using the connected Bayer Contour LINK meter. It helped take the guesswork out of the number and cut down on manual entry errors. However, when the Accu-Chek® Guide became available in the US, two big things convinced me to use it rather than the connected meter for my pump. First, when the Accu-Chek Guide became available, of course, being the diabetes tech nerd that I am, I wanted to give it a try. Not only did it come with a no-spill strip pack and a lighted test strip port (VERY important for nighttime testing), but it also boasts the highest accuracy rating of all meters on the market. Of course, this had me intrigued. I’ve always loved testing which meter was accurate for me, not what the reports say.
So, I gave it a whirl and for me, using the meter for at least three months and checking my usual amount, my A1c was spot on with my 90-day average (I generally check 4-8 times per day), so that was enough to convince me. That, and a few days of testing my BG 3 times in a row for a single result, and seeing that with each test, the value didn’t vary much from one to another, sealed the deal for me. Second, when mySugr first launched the Accu-Chek Guide pairing ability in the US, I was so excited. I’ve always been a terrible person at manually logging my data, and having it automatically import to my logbook would be so very cool! “But you have a pump!”, you might say, and that’s true, I do. However, when I’m having a rough couple of days, I’m quite lazy and I don’t want to take the time to sit down and upload my pump to analyze a few days worth of data.
Woman smiling with a small boy and small girl
Sarah and her beautiful kids
With the connection of the Accu-Chek Guide meter to my phone, I can test, and right away my data is on my app. Either I can add more data to it (tags, carbs, insulin, etc.), or I can just leave it be. Tapping the app notification opens a new record screen automatically, so it’s super easy just to add a few data points, save, and go on about my day. And, when I need to take a peek into problem spots, I find that looking over my logbook, right there in my hand, can help me see the cause right away -- things like too many carbs for the last several days or over treating lows are usually my top two culprits. Other things like stress or sickness can affect it as well, so seeing those tags along with my BG helps me know what was going on instead of relying on my memory to fill in the blanks of a pump upload. The ease that comes along with just having the thought cross my mind and immediately looking through my logbook to see trends (especially on the PDF reports) is personally worth the tradeoff of using the Accu-Chek Guide that’s connected to my phone instead of the meter connected to my pump. Plus, watching my estimated A1c update and track with each blood sugar upload? That’s pretty darn cool.

The mySugr website does not provide medical or legal advice. mySugr blog articles are not scientific articles, but intended for informational purposes only.
Medical or nutritional information on the mySugr website is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a physician or health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Sarah Knotts

Sarah Knotts is a lover of all things technology, especially when it comes to devices that help people living with diabetes. She is better known in the diabetes online space as Sugabetic and occasionally writes in her blog when she has a free moment. She’s lived with Type 1 diabetes for almost 30 years and is the Head of Customer Support USA for mySugr.