
Dear people who make blood glucose monitors,
Testing your blood glucose levels sucks. Totally blows. Pricking your fingers and recording your numbers is a freaking chore. One of the few upsides of having diabetes is playing with all the gadgets and technologies that are made to make our lives easier.
My blood glucose meter is pretty lame sauce though. I use the One Touch Ultra 2, but I also use a One Touch Mini at times.
Here is a list of things that I wished my meter could do. Some of them are simple things that you guys could easily merge into the newest version, and other things are crazy dreams that might take some more effort.
LOG EVERYTHING – I know that “blood glucose meters” are really only responsible for logging my blood glucose levels…but I want a place to log how much I inject, how many carbohydrates I eat and the time I spend exercising. What a huge selling point it would be if my meter could keep track of everything diabetes instead of just my bgl. I want to be able to link my glucose levels to real events.
ADD AN ALARM – I’m not just talking about a ring-when-i-tell-it-to alarm. I want a smarter alarm than that. As stated above, I want my meter to keep track of my carbohydrates…and then two hours later beeps to remind me to do an after-meal test. And maybe this is going over board, but I want it to keep beeping until I’ve tested.
CONNECT VIA WI-FI – This might be asking too much. But I’d like to be able to sync the data on my monitor via wi-fi to an online spreadsheet. Any time I enter a hotspot I can choose to sync. No wires. Just a simple press of a button.
SMALLER – This is something that might take some time to perfect, but I’d like all the above features in a meter that was about the size of an iPod nano. Skinny and sleek, yet functional and useful.
COACH – If I were uploading my data regularly via wi-fi, all of my numbers would be easily accessed by a coach that could give me suggestions on how to perfect my levels. I know that there are bizarre laws about privacy and health care, and I can’t imagine any company that would dish out medical advice because they would fear getting sued…but this is MY dream.
CHEAPER STRIPS – Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the strips only cost a penny instead of a dollar?
DATA SORTING – I’m a graph nerd. I love seeing my numbers in a line graph. I really enjoy figuring out my average fasting BGL. And the dream meter of the future would do all that for me. Not just an average BGL…but more specific. For example: your average after-lunch glucose level is 109.
PRETTY PRINT OUTS – After I’ve uploaded everything, I want to hit a button and print a range of my glucose levels and activities for the doctor. Additionally, the print out should have a box of special events. For example: In the past three weeks Mike has had four readings below 40 mg/dl.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT – Diabetes is hard. I want my meter to recognize when I’m doing well and to tell me “wow…that’s three readings in a row that are right on target. Good job!”
I don’t care if you makers-of-meters use any of my ideas. Take them, please. But if you feel like you owe me something, you could send me a complimentary meter with a few strips.
And readers, what am I missing? Add in the comments any features you’d like to see on a glucose monitor.