TAGS
I keep running across the idea of “Smart Charting” as of late. Multiple times this week, some complex graph/table for recording blood glucose has presented itself before my eyes.
So, for the next little while, I’ve decided to say, “Move over old school logbook, I’m trading you in for a Smart Chart!” (Truth be told, I have never and will never actually say this. In all my years of record keeping, I have never once talked to my logbook. And, if I had, it definitely wouldn’t be with such boisterous enthusiasm).
The main challenge of this Smart Charting endeavour will be staying motivated to fill out all the required data on a daily basis. In theory, Smart Charting is great. A single page with a visual representation of blood glucose over time, overlayed with food intake, insulin dosages and activity levels. That’s a lot of important information crammed onto a teeny tiny logbook page…and definitely more informative than my current logbook…
…with boxes and boxes of numbers (not all of them my favourites), scribbled notes in .03 size font and symbols and arrows to explain my highs and lows. It proves confusing to me at times, let alone to my endocrinologist!
Of course I know most meters can be plugged into a computer, yielding handy-dandy graphs of blood sugar trends. However, I rarely, if ever, actually get around to doing this. By the time I download information from my meter and start noticing patterns, three months have passed – it’s a completely different season and my schedule/routine/exercise levels have changed. Also, and this may just be me but, inputting data into my UltraSmart takes me ages! What with the buttons and the menus and the scrolling through values until I find the one I want – I could write it down faster!
Enter, Smart Charting.
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