I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes earlier in the year as a result of having to address an urgent medical condition. This news wasn’t what I was expecting, but I knew I now had to manage it.
I started to do some research into monitoring and managing my type 2 diabetes, and saw all the usual recommendations like a pin prick monitor, to avoid sugar, etc. This was not enough for me. I wanted to have a better understanding of what triggers my diabetes and see if there was a way to take control.
I started doing the pin prick every day and monitoring my diet, this gave me some idea on the foods that caused my morning reading to be high or lower. However, I was getting sick of pricking my fingers every day and wanted more information throughout the day but did not like the idea of pricking my finger so often.
There had to be a simpler way, so again back to the research. I discovered the wearable devices like Dexcom and Libre, however they were way too expensive for me (circa £600.00 - £1200.00 per year) and I did not qualify for free devices.
So back to the research, this is when I discovered mymonX, they claimed to offer non-intrusive glucose monitoring and was a lot cheaper per year (circa £150) plus the initial price of the watch. I decided to try one, after all I also got a stylish smart watch.
Once the watch arrived, I started to monitor my glucose with the watch throughout the day as well as continue with the prick test in the morning to get a reference point. I was able to more accurately monitor how my diet impacted my diabetes by looking at my glucose level on the watch before and after food. Using this process allowed me to get a more detailed picture of the foods that impacted my glucose.
I have now been following this method for 6 months and have complete control of my diabetes. It has allowed me to change my primary diet, such that I can still have some treats such as chocolate without causing my glucose to spike badly like it did before.
I can truly say this watch has really helped change my life and allowed me to better manage my health conditions, I am now looking at other aspects of my health that I can use the watch to monitor, manage and improve.
I am now working for mymonX, looking at how we can use technology and data science to help prevent health condition and better manage ones we have.
Trevor Belstead