Leading on from an earlier discussion; we’ve been talking about the best ways of logging blood glucose, etc., using spreadsheets or whatever. Here’s my effort http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/uploads/Bloodglucose.xls – but I still don’t think it’s ideal. What do you use?
@Tim – I said it was a thing of geeky beauty mostly because at least you tried! I have been wanting something along those lines but am too lazy/inept to make it myself…
Having got a day off work for a hospital appointment I think I might have a crack at my own version now…
So far I have just sporadically downloaded meter readings and glanced through the onetouch ‘prefab’ graphs etc…
I don’t really log much as a general rule; but I do once in a while if all my levels are going completely out of goose. I’m logging at the moment as I want to compare MDI vs. pump levels and carb ratios – and you cannae do that without logging!
Whatever the format, though, thorough logging is very tedious.
Bah, I think I need to be better at excel (i.e. have SOME training in it). My brain wont let me do a half arsed job of it, and I’m getting stuck trying to make conditionally linked data cells I should probably give up now, or find someone to teach me excel! Would probably do it a completely different way if I knew what I was doing…
Logging IS tedious, but at the moment I need all the logs I can get to get a handle on my control :S Especially after accidentally running out of test strips last week and only just getting more yesterday! Forgotten how weird it is to run completely blind – I’ve almost always at least checked once a day.
I wrote my own like yours, @Tim – only a bit more complex (actually, I’ll admit, my DSN gave me one another diabetic had created, I looked at it, went ‘I can do better’ and changed it out of all recognition, including lots of trend graphs and fasting trackers etc.) It’s a bugger to remember to fill it in, but it really does help me to see what’s happening trend wise. I LIKE excel. And my DSN doesnt understand how I’ve done it, she just likes what I’ve done…
So far all the spreadsheets and web sites I’ve found on the web seem to be MDI centric (by which I mean calculations and what not,) what do pumpers do?
Your basal rate changes are they due to your hormonal requirements? God I wish mine were like that some months its up 130% for two days mid cycle and other months its more like 80%.
I’m afraid I do monitor but can’t be bothered to record unless it goes haywire. I get the Pump recording books from Roche (no charge) very similar to Annette’s spreadsheets but with less room to write in. I like the graphs can you do pie charts to?
@mustard – yes, the basal changes are hormonal. Mine are a very specific level each month, but not always (or indeed ever) at the same time each month (which are ;
Thankfully the needs of us T2s are a lot less complex as fine adjustments to dosage are irrelevant, to me anyway. For that reason alone the bog standard diabetic software from my meter manufacturer is more than adequate for my logging requirements, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the artistry of finely ;
Hi @Annette
I hope I am doing this correctly and not being a rude idiot in some way because I dont have a clue about much at all these days …..including the proper way to use forums (or if that is the correct plural even). Anyway, always keen to run well before I can walk, I had a go with your super dooper spreadsheet today to see if I could understand my readings and carb logs better in visual form. Hooray!Thank you! Its now much easier to see a trend on the resultant graphs which I am going to discuss with my DSN on my 2nd visit due this Thursday.
Anyway , a couple of idiotic questions for an Excel newbie- how do I set the basal level if that comprises of one lantus dose injected once a day. And how do I change over to the next month from october to November? Poss disturbed your formulas there….. which I think you wrote in Greek?!
Any help appreciated – sorry to be so thick. [Are you a Maths/Science academic by any chance?! ]
Hi @Fiona , glad its useful to you!
Basal Levels – on the first sheet in the workbook (called fixed inputs) – change the level (on BR1, as you wont change it regularly, so you wont need BR2 etc) to whatever you use, so for a once a day lantus, put 0 in the Amount column in all rows except those where you give your lantus (eg, put 10 in the row 8.00 for a dose of 10 units at 8am, etc.), and leave the Basal Rate figure on the Results sheet at 1 for each day. This should then transfer the list of 0s (and 10 etc) to the row ‘Basal’ on each day.
To change months, from a fresh file (so always keep a blank version, or you have to clear your figures each month), change the first date on the Results sheet (in cell A3) to 1/11/10 (or whatever month) – this will authomatically change all the other dates (they’re fixed together).
Nope, not an academic at all (just work for them [ish]) – I’m one of the clericals that keep the Maths department running…In my case by being good at computers [and Greek-looking formulae]