Apple Watch Set to Include Third-Party Glucose Tracking App at Launch

[mikemj23]

Watch lovers - prepare yourselves to not be fat any more...

Ahhh was waiting for an ill informed comment like this.

Type 1 diabetes has NOTHING to do with weight. I was diagnosed out of the blue in awesome shape as a 19 yr old college freshman. It's an auto-immune disease for which the cause is unknown.

Please don't make generalizations like this when you are clearly uneducated on the facts of Juvenile Diabetes.

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So will this app negate the need for a receiver? My daughter was recently diagnosed with T1 DM, and we are currently researching pumps and CGM's. She has an iPhone 5 that she is allowed to use while in school to be in touch with us (our principal is also Type 1 and he is the one who suggested this). It would be nice to be able to use an iPhone app, once available with the next Dexcom CGM, instead of also carrying around a receiver.

Yes exactly. Eliminates the need for a receiver.

Also in the meantime check out Dexcom Share.

 

[iMeanIt]

Good One!

Where do you get the sensor implanted under your skin? At the Apple store?

Outstanding!

But in all seriousness, this type of glucose monitoring could be revolutionary, especially when they can get the sensor to talk directly to the Apple Watch. My mother has to test her blood sugar 2 to 4 times a day with a finger prick - my brother does it 7 to 8 times a day! This will make life easier for millions of people with diabetes (approximately 23 million in the USA alone).

 

[mikemj23]

Outstanding!

But in all seriousness, this type of glucose monitoring could be revolutionary, especially when they can get the sensor to talk directly to the Apple Watch. My mother has to test her blood sugar 2 to 4 times a day with a finger prick - my brother does it 7 to 8 times a day! This will make life easier for millions of people with diabetes (approximately 23 million in the USA alone).

The tech is already available (Dexcom, Medtronic etc all make CGM's) and CGM doesn't eliminate the need for finger pricks. Again - Apple isn't inventing revolutionary non-invasive glucose testing. This is simply an App that users can use to replace their Dexcom receivers if they choose.

 

[ghettochris]

No worries and I laugh about this stuff all the time. Type 1 (Juvenile Diabetes) is pain in the ass but there are a lot of other folks a lot worse off than me.

There is an insertion device that comes with each sensor. Basically the sensor is wrapped around a needle which is inserted under the skin and then the needle is removed just leaving the sensor embedded. Very cool stuff and useful BG trending information for us.

I hope apple gets their micro needles in gear and can offer this from the watch itself, no injection needed. micro needle arrays that feel like sandpaper can read blood chemestry through the interstitial fluid already, and apple hired someone who made a working prototype of one.

 

[the8thark]

It's basically just another app.

And this website advertises apps for iOS and OS X all the time. Advertising apps for Apple Watch OS is nothing different.

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Ahhh was waiting for an ill informed comment like this.

Type 1 diabetes has NOTHING to do with weight. I was diagnosed out of the blue in awesome shape as a 19 yr old college freshman. It's an auto-immune disease for which the cause is unknown.

Please don't make generalizations like this when you are clearly uneducated on the facts of Juvenile Diabetes.

This person is correct. Sure being a healthy weight can lower your chance to get the disease, it does not eliminate the chance entirely. Otherwise healthy people can get the disease as well,.

 

[mikemj23]

And this website advertises apps for iOS and OS X all the time. Advertising apps for Apple Watch OS is nothing different.

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This person is correct. Sure being a healthy weight can lower your chance to get the disease, it does not eliminate the chance entirely. Otherwise healthy people can get the disease as well,.

Most don't understand there are two types of diabetes and assume if you have diabetes you are overweight. Type 1 diabetes (which I have) is caused by genetics and unknown factors that trigger the onset of the disease; type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors. Being overweight does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

The topic of this thread really only applies to Type 1 diabetics as they are the one's who will use and get the most benefit of a CGM.

Sorry all, not trying to rant here. It's just very frustrating when people who are uneducated on diabetes make these statements. I know the majority of folks could care less.

 

[urbanslaughter1997]

Here's your quandary.
You're diabetic. You have a blood glucose test unit for £10.00

You can continue using it like you always have done or spend £400 on a watch(!) to do the same thing.

Or.

You're not diabetic. But have a sudden interest in monitoring your blood sugar or other people's - now the Apple Watch has come out.

Either way. Go for the former option. Honestly. It'll save you much money. £390 more money. Sorted! Next problem?

Maybe that's how it works in the UK, but in the US you would need a RX to get the sensors at a price less than several thousand dollars (to give you an idea, an insulin pump that is not covered by insurance costs about $5,000). This is not intended as a toy for non-diabetics. It would be way too much work for information that over 90% of people don't even need. This is a great tool for diabetics to monitor their blood glucose.

 

[urbanslaughter1997]

And this website advertises apps for iOS and OS X all the time. Advertising apps for Apple Watch OS is nothing different.

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This person is correct. Sure being a healthy weight can lower your chance to get the disease, it does not eliminate the chance entirely. Otherwise healthy people can get the disease as well,.

Mikemj23 already pointed this out, but your weight has no impact on your chances of developing type 1 diabetes. It is an auto-immune disease and is in no way connected to type 2 diabetes. They really shouldn't even share the name, "diabetes." They have very different causes and the only similarity is that your blood glucose is impacted. In type 1 (which affects a tiny percentage of people usually, but not always, at a young age), you simply don't produce insulin. In type 2 you can not efficiently use the insulin you produce. This is usually the result of being overweight or old. They are two entirely different conditions.

 

[hypernovasoft]

Yet, all Apple had to do was use proven reliable industry standards built into every iPhone, including the 1/2G, and all Android and MS handsets, namely Bluetooth and WiFi, and built a blood glucose meter into the actual rear of the Apple Watch, made the Watch sync with ALL mobile phones (not just iPhone 5 and onwards), and people could spend half as much money.

But they had to garden wall the Apple Watch to squeeze money out of people.

Ya just had to rain on Type I diabetics parade, didn't ya?

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You doctor gets a $10,000 fine if a patient's chart is face-up in the office where some could potentially see that name of the patient.

Companies get medical data hacked and sold and walk away.

How is any of this helping the patient?

This technology is nothing new. Its just getting people to maybe actual do what they are supposed to do, like keep a log of their glucose readings.

You are obviously not an insulin-dependent diabetic.
This is a LIFE-CHANGING development for myself.
Instead of having to use a few reading a day (I test at least 10 times daily), we will be able to see in near-real time what our glucose level is AND we get the most important piece of data that currently isn't possible to get: whether the glucose level is changing and which direction the trend is, up or down. Critical data to know.

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i don't need a device to tell me i eat to much junk food!

Unless you have diabetes, you don't need this technology.
For Type I diabetics, this is HUGE.

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This had me excited until I found out you actually need an additional medical sensor. I was told I have high blood sugar but not diabetes but my father has type 2 so I wanted to be able to track it... lame.

If you have high blood glucose, you probably do have diabetes.
That's one of the symptoms.
I would suggest in all kindness, please find a good endocrinologist.
Diabetes is a serious illness.

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Great...you've identified a feature/benefit that a vast majority of the population will never use. That's not going to be the way to sell me the watch.

But for those of us with diabetes, this is a game-changer.
Nobody is forcing you to use this feature.

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I fondly hope the company is looking for tech to monitor β-Hydroxybutyrate (ketone body) concentrations in the bloodstream. This is very similar to a glucose monitor, but simply monitoring the molarity of a different molecule. BoHB concentrations is the way to monitor ketogenic adaptation on a LCHF diet.

I have had Type I diabetes since 1978 (I developed it as an adult, go figure).
I have only tested for Ketones a few times and that was decades ago.
I would test for ketones if my glucose was high for more than a few hours but since I test 10-15 times a day, my glucose level never stays elevated for more than a few hours.

 

[mikemj23]

@Hyper - be careful here. Remember, you need the Dexcom CGM system in order for this App to work. The Apple Watch does not have CGM or Blood Glucose monitoring functionality built into it.

This thread just references the ability to use the iPhone/Apple Watch as the Dexcom receiver. Which to Dexcom users is very exciting.

As I'm reading comments more and more referencing this functionality elsewhere on the internet, many seem to have the misconception that the Apple Watch is going to measure everyone's blood sugar. This is simply not true.

 

[hypernovasoft]

Here's another quandary:

...
You are a T1 diabetic, and so you have to do all of those calculations in your head, or your insulin pump, but in the interest of saving money, you use shots and regular/NPH insulin, instead of a pump ($7000, plus $40/week in supplies and insulin) and a CGM ($1400, plus $50/week), supplied by Dexcom, since Apple isn't making a CGM, just a watch to see the results of that CGM on the watch. You wake up (or not) with blood sugar between 30 and 400, because your carb:insulin ratio didn't take into account the stress you had remembering the foxtrot on the dance floor, the dawn effect, the syringe you used didn't have the resolution needed to give yourself 4.8 units, or that the NPH kicked in after the sugar wore off of that cake, or some reason you didn't take into account, like over/underestimating the carb/fat/protein ratios and the glycemic index of that cake and your body.

Oh yeah, that 10 quid was for the meter. The test strips are still $1/ea for the OneTouch Brand. The meter companies don't lose money, and the meter is a loss leader. Ever try to get the Bayer meter to read a OneTouch Strip?

Come over to my house. I'll let you walk a mile in my shoes.


ObamaCare pays for test strips. I get 150 at a time. Co-pay is low. Certainly more like 15 cents a strip.
Also, you should look into the recently introduced Aviva Expert meter. It has a nice bit of programming that will take into account the carbs you consume, the amount of active insulin still working and suggest the bolus you should use. I just got this meter about a month ago and am still learning it's ins and outs. But it's quite an advancement over the older meters. If you can get it (it's by RX only), you won't regret it.

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So will this app negate the need for a receiver? My daughter was recently diagnosed with T1 DM, and we are currently researching pumps and CGM's. She has an iPhone 5 that she is allowed to use while in school to be in touch with us (our principal is also Type 1 and he is the one who suggested this). It would be nice to be able to use an iPhone app, once available with the next Dexcom CGM, instead of also carrying around a receiver.

The app (via the Apple Watch) is the receiver.

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@Hyper - be careful here. Remember, you need the Dexcom CGM system in order for this App to work. The Apple Watch does not have CGM or Blood Glucose monitoring functionality built into it.

This thread just references the ability to use the iPhone/Apple Watch as the Dexcom receiver. Which to Dexcom users is very exciting.

As I'm reading comments more and more referencing this functionality elsewhere on the internet, many seem to have the misconception that the Apple Watch is going to measure everyone's blood sugar. This is simply not true.

I know that and will be getting a Dexcom CGM system along with the Apple Watch. This is some of the best news I've heard since becoming diabetic in 1978 (27 years old and gets Type I diabetes-go figure!).

 

[mikemj23]

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[/COLOR]

I know that and will be getting a Dexcom CGM system along with the Apple Watch. This is some of the best news I've heard since becoming diabetic in 1978 (27 years old and gets Type I diabetes-go figure!).[/QUOTE]


That's awesome and I feel the same way. 20 years T1 diagnosed at 19 out of the blue!!!

You will love the Dexcom. It's like a road map for me. Any questions on it when you get yours let me know. Be happy to help and share my experiences.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

[/COLOR]

They still cost $1/strip. It's just a matter of who pays for it. the meter companies don't just say, "Gosh, it's Plaid Cross! We'll charge them 15 cents a strip!" Insurance companies do negotiate lower prices, due to quantity discounts. (You buy 10,200,000 strips a month, the meter companies compete for your business.)

For some crazy reason, I like to save my insurance company. It's a win-win situation. I win by getting my health supplies, and they win by having me shop for them.

 

[macgabe]

I believe this is this the first ever FDA-approved app.

They fast-tracked it and set out a new schedule for approving this type of app in order to encourage a new market in health apps and not hinder progress in data-processing apps.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Watch lovers - prepare yourselves to not be fat any more...

Oh, the irony... I was a skinny 3 year old when I got T1 diabetes.

It wasn't until I got a pump that I started gaining weight, because my body could metabolize sugar like most people do.

Why don't you read my rant earlier in the thread, and then get back to me.

 

[mikemj23]

I believe this is this the first ever FDA-approved app.

They fast-tracked it and set out a new schedule for approving this type of app in order to encourage a new market in health apps and not hinder progress in data-processing apps.

Correct. This is considered Class 2 under FDA regs. Dexcom is still Class 3 (as it's connected to our body) and thus requires the highest regulatory standards. However, devices that simply display the data (Apple Watch) now fall into Class 2. Class 2 devices don't need regulatory approval, however they still must follow certain guidelines and be registered.

 

[hypernovasoft]

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[/COLOR]

I know that and will be getting a Dexcom CGM system along with the Apple Watch. This is some of the best news I've heard since becoming diabetic in 1978 (27 years old and gets Type I diabetes-go figure!).

That's awesome and I feel the same way. 20 years T1 diagnosed at 19 out of the blue!!!

You will love the Dexcom. It's like a road map for me. Any questions on it when you get yours let me know. Be happy to help and share my experiences.[/QUOTE]

I appreciate that. Bookmarking this.

 

[billnye97]

I used the Dexcom with my Minimed Paradigm pump. Carried the pump in one pocket, and the CGM in the other.

Once you go Dexcom, you never look back.

This is an accurate statement. I had an Animas pump and a Dexcom CGM. I got sick of carrying two devices around and switched to the MiniMed 530G. Worst decision. It isn't nearly as accurate as the Dexcom nor do the sensors last as long. I'm currently trying to switch back. This makes me even more excited to get an Apple Watch.
This Easter I get to celebrate 30 years as a Type 1 diabetic. Worst Easter ever as a 5 year old. Since I've had a CGM my A1C is 5.6. This has literally been the best thing to managing my diabetes. Now to have it display on the Apple Watch is just convenient.

 

[mikemj23]

This is an accurate statement. I had an Animas pump and a Dexcom CGM. I got sick of carrying two devices around and switched to the MiniMed 530G. Worst decision. It isn't nearly as accurate as the Dexcom nor do the sensors last as long. I'm currently trying to switch back. This makes me even more excited to get an Apple Watch.

I've heard this from multiple users about the Minimed.

On day 17 of my Dexcom sensor. As mentioned before I can normally get 21+ until I need to take out and put a new one in. Only reason I need to take out is because the numbers really start to get wonky.

 

[billnye97]

I've heard this from multiple users about the Minimed.

On day 17 of my Dexcom sensor. As mentioned before I can normally get 21+ until I need to take out and put a new one in. Only reason I need to take out is because the numbers really start to get wonky.

The only thing that is better with the Minimed is that the infusion sets last a tad longer than the Animas ones but I'd rather have the longer use of the CGM sensor.

 

[the8thark]

Mikemj23 already pointed this out, but your weight has no impact on your chances of developing type 1 diabetes. It is an auto-immune disease and is in no way connected to type 2 diabetes. They really shouldn't even share the name, "diabetes." They have very different causes and the only similarity is that your blood glucose is impacted. In type 1 (which affects a tiny percentage of people usually, but not always, at a young age), you simply don't produce insulin. In type 2 you can not efficiently use the insulin you produce. This is usually the result of being overweight or old. They are two entirely different conditions.

Correct. I didn't specific which type of diabetes like you did. We are both correct in what we said. You just went into more depth than I did.

Most don't understand there are two types of diabetes and assume if you have diabetes you are overweight. Type 1 diabetes (which I have) is caused by genetics and unknown factors that trigger the onset of the disease; type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors. Being overweight does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

The topic of this thread really only applies to Type 1 diabetics as they are the one's who will use and get the most benefit of a CGM.

Sorry all, not trying to rant here. It's just very frustrating when people who are uneducated on diabetes make these statements. I know the majority of folks could care less.

I understand all of that. If you are referring to my statement then you got me wrong. I didn't specific which type of diabetes. And knowing your glucose levels is useful information for both types of the disease. It does not only apply to type 1 as you claim. This topic can apply to all diabetics. T2 diabetics still test their blood one or more times a day for their glucose levels.

 

[mikemj23]

Correct. I didn't specific which type of diabetes like you did. We are both correct in what we said. You just went into more depth than I did.


I understand all of that. If you are referring to my statement then you got me wrong. I didn't specific which type of diabetes. And knowing your glucose levels is useful information for both types of the disease. It does not only apply to type 1 as you claim. This topic can apply to all diabetics. T2 diabetics still test their blood one or more times a day for their glucose levels.

I never said T2's don't test their BS. What I was trying to say was that CGM is primarily used by T1's and therefore this thread primarily apples to T1's. Certainly if someone is T2 and wears a CGM then they would obviously get the benefit of this App as well.

 

[the8thark]

I never said T2's don't test their BS. What I was trying to say was that CGM is primarily used by T1's and therefore this thread primarily apples to T1's. Certainly if someone is T2 and wears a CGM then they would obviously get the benefit of this App as well.

Well you explained yourself much better here and I agree with what you said in this post 100%.

 

[randian]

Certainly if someone is T2 and wears a CGM then they would obviously get the benefit of this App as well.

A T2 with the right meter could have their glucose data saved automatically as well. I hope the app could allow manually entering data as well. What the app computes (daily or rolling averages, A1C?) is as yet unknown though.

 

[Oletros]

Here's your quandary.
You're diabetic. You have a blood glucose test unit for £10.00

You can continue using it like you always have done or spend £400 on a watch(!) to do the same thing.

Or.

You're not diabetic. But have a sudden interest in monitoring your blood sugar or other people's - now the Apple Watch has come out.

Either way. Go for the former option. Honestly. It'll save you much money. £390 more money. Sorted! Next problem?

Apple Watch doesn't mesure glucose levels