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The German exchange trip – Amy nails it

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On Tuesday Amy, now 14, started her exchange trip with her school to another school in Germany, somewhere. As a parent I should actually know where she is but I guess I’m a bit more relaxed about this trip than I realised.
This blog was meant to be just about the trip but it’s turned into a congratulatory one for Amy, who’s doing really well managing by herself. I’ll kind of apologise for this but at the same time I’m incredibly proud of how she’s managing.

The trip

Amy’s been studying German at school for a year or so and on the face of it she is very good, getting A and A* results in exams. She’s staying for a week with a lovely family whose daughter will be staying with us in a couple of weeks and luckily she is very good at English as I know no German.
The school have organised all this, along with the host school organising a week long set of activities and fun events.

Never a doubt

There was never a doubt whether Amy would go on this trip or not, diabetes was not given a passing thought from our side, nor Amy’s, nor the school’s. It’s so refreshing to look back and realise it was never a thing, especially after hearing horror stories of kids not being allowed to go on school trips, some only being told at the last minute.

The Type 1 worries

Whilst Type 1 never featured in the decision making process about going on the trip, Amy, Jane and I felt that we should ask the school to see if any of the German kids have Type 1 and would like to stay with a family who were used to living with Type 1. Amy is more than capable than managing her diabetes on a day to day basis and she thought she could help any of the German Type 1 students if they were worried about coming to England and going it alone themselves. It was a lovely touch from Amy but we’re glad the German school has no kids with Type 1.
We did wonder if Amy’s host family would be worried at all but they raised no concerns once they found out about Amy having Type 1. I think they’re happy that their daughter is coming here as she has daily injections to do and the family will know we’ll be okay with helping her.

Helping other Type 1 kids

Of the English kids going there’s a boy who Amy doesn’t really know, let’s call him Harry*, who’s also Type 1, much more recently diagnosed than Amy. Amy thought Harry would prefer to stay with a Type 1 German family so whilst setting out to find out if there was a German student with Type 1 she was always going offer that family to Harry first. Another nice touch.
At the one and only meeting about the trip we stayed behind to discuss a few Type 1 things with the organiser and heard Harry’s mum nervously asking questions about the trip, worried about how her son would cope if anything went wrong. We’d never met the mum before, Amy didn’t really know Harry either, but she jumped up and said, “It’s okay I’ll give my mobile number to Harry and he can call me if he needs help in Germany”. She then explained that she was confident with carb counting, adjustments and day to day management and that the mum needn’t worry. Proud Dad moment.

So how’s it all going, glucose wise?

Amy uses CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) on and off and is using it in Germany, on top of that we use xDrip and Nightscout for night time. We had decided to use it for Germany so that I could help Amy with her recent-ever-changing-basal-requirements but between lack of WiFi, phone 3G problems and being relaxed we’ve not actually worried about it. It was Amy who got it set up in the end and it was two days before I actually looked at the data so it was pleasing to see how well she is doing, without asking for advice or worrying or letting it stop her.

Germany NightscoutNightscout graph sample over 36 hours

From the 36 hour trace above, Amy’s averaging 6mmol/l, with maximum of 10.8 and a couple of hypos of 3.0 and 2.9. Not bad considering she was at a theme park and estimating carbs has been a challenge at times.

* some names have been changed to protect the innocent 😉

#PWDC15 – The People With Diabetes Conference – The Sessions

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Diabetes conference poster2015In the last post about PWDC15 I wrote about how I felt about the day and how it all started; in this post I’ll go into the sessions.

My main focus would be anything parent or carer related, diet related and teenager related and of course if I could match that up with some cycling talk that would be great. Within a couple of seconds of staring at the agenda I knew my first two sessions:
          Session 1 – Partners’ Moan, hosted by James.
          Session 2 – D in Teenagers, hosted by Marianne.

At some point I hoped to attend either the Food / Diet / Issues session or Low Carb.

pwdc15 agenda

Session one – Partners’ Moan

In fairness I was having too much fun chatting with people face to face so I totally missed the start of James’s Partners’ Moan session, rocking up late when there was no seats left, but luckily my wife let me share hers.
I’ve known James for a while and wasn’t surprised that he proved himself to be an excellent session host, with many things to ask and many (, many 🙂 ) things to say. The topics were varied and almost everyone in the room was engaged with the conversation touching all areas of living with someone who has diabetes.
It was sad to hear how some people – like me occasionally – have trouble sleeping because of worries about night time hypos for their partner/child and I offered a couple of ideas how to make things easier.
Some stories were funny, some were sad and others down right worrying and some very, very good points were raised by all. I found James’s thoughts particularly interesting, although in the interests of confidentiality we’ll keep these secret between the session attendees, James and his wife.
I realised part way through that there were two Type 1’s in the session but I’m really glad they came as it gave us carers/family a really good insight into how they see things; I’m pretty sure they also got a lot out of it.

Session two – D in Teenagers

In what turned out to be a theme for the day I was (fashionably?) late for this session.
I was pleased to see my wife Jane already in there along with friends Karen, Rachel and Marianne who I’d met for the first time earlier that day, after years of chatting on Twitter and Facebook. Another chap named Nick was there, he’d had Type 1 since an early age – it turned out I’d cycled with him last year in the inaugural TeamBG Cycle up Box Hill.
I’m so glad Rachel and Nick went to that session as without them we would have just been a few parents with still unanswered questions. Their stories whilst maybe a little worrying were evidence that things don’t need to always be spot on to turn out well in the end.

Lunch and time for Amy to shine

Vicki's picture of the xDripLunch-time came far too quickly but gave another opportunity for networking, saying hello to more people I knew from Twitter and Facebook, like chatting with with Rhodri and talking to Paul S about my recent work on xDrip, seeing Amy & Emilia quite relaxed whilst chatting and playing games with people they’d never met.
That for me was a lovely thing of the day, where people felt at ease to go up to Amy, introduce themselves and chat about stuff. Like Vicki who chatted with Amy about xDrip, and others who asked her how she felt about being ‘stalked’ with xDrip – for the record she doesn’t mind too much. Hey and look at that on the picture, 5.1, nice!

Session three – Low carbing (and a bit of cycling)

LCHF-dekal
…if you want to

Guess what, I was late for the start of this one too.
This session was hosted by Sacha, another cyclist I met on the TeamBG Box Hill ride last summer. We’ve bumped into each other quite a few times online since, especially in the low carb arena where he’s gone from strength to strength. Also in the session was Rachel & Andrew whom I’d met before and amongst others was Jeff who I’ve known for a while but never met before. Some guys from the sports nutrition company Torq were also there.
Sacha started the rounds asking people to say how many carbs they consumed a day on average and numbers ranged from 150 to 20, with the guys Torq stating that it wasn’t worth asking them, on account of the number they consume. Interestingly most agreed that the carb count shouldn’t normally include any sport fuelling for long rides. Discussions were had on foods that work, foods that don’t, tips and tricks – such as Jeff who goes for snacks of Pecan Nuts as “they’re cheap in Lidl”, in contrast to Sacha’s (and my) Macadamia Nuts which certainly are not cheap in Lidl.
I asked if anyone drank Bulletproof Coffee and kind of wish I hadn’t when I described it and saw the look of horror on their faces. I initially came back with a ‘it’s not as bad as it sounds’ before agreeing with Sacha that it was an ‘acquired taste’.
I really loved this session as I have never felt at ease talking about LCHF on Twitter or Facebook due to the fact that I’ve faced abuse because of it. In this arena we all shared the same aim and belief and it was good.

#PWDC15 – The People With Diabetes Conference – The Day Starts

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Diabetes conference poster2015On Saturday I had a brilliant time attending the first ever conference for people with diabetes, run by people with diabetes.
Its concept was a gamble, running several simultaneous chats based on an agenda only compiled at the start of the conference, by the people attending the conference.
Did the concept work then?
Hell yeah!
In fact it’s hard to imagine how it could have gone much better (although of course I have a few suggestions, post to follow).

Thank you, thank you, thank you

To all in TeamBloodGlucose, especially Midge, Paul and Rebecca, thank you so much for creating, hosting and subsidising this event. I’ve always respected the work TeamBG do, even more so now.
You gave everyone who frequents any of the online tweetchats and multiple Facebook groups the opportunity to meet face to face after years of chatting online.
Whilst I’ve met lots of people the opportunity to meet people from the other side of the country, like Lavinia and Jeff, in a central(ish) location was great.

The event starts…prepare yourself for some name dropping.

Arriving in MediCity I bumped into Nick (@t1diabeticbiker) and Ingrid, then straight into Jules (@Jules1315) and her family. Inside the venue I didn’t know where to start, who to talk to first. The lovely Lavinia came up for a hug and a chat, followed by Alan (no hug 🙂 ) and then Phillipa, James and many, many more.
Taking our seats and bumping into Sam (@sam_dysch) whom I didn’t recognise I sat down next to someone I didn’t know, except I did – although I didn’t realise at the time – it was Allan (@Nyadach) who only a few days before had recommended some JDRF-coloured cycling shorts to me. Allan is quite an experienced cyclist, something he’ll need for his unaccompanied-Round-the-World-cycle-tour next year.
Within a few minutes I’d also met Rachel, Marianne, Steve, Suzi, Paul and many, many more. Then Sacha, Andrew, Jeff, Adrian, Lesley, Lis… you get the picture.

Drawing up the agenda

Midge took the stage and welcomed everyone to the event and explained how it would work: we all had pads/pens and we were to spend 5 minutes writing down topics we’d like to discuss that day.
Afterwards people were invited to address the conference and say what they wanted to talk about, at which point Paul wrote down their topic on the list.
Whilst we all had coffee Paul and Midge rewrote all the topics into an agenda for the day.

pwdc15 agendaThanks to Eva Palik for the use of her photo.

I wouldn’t say the day stuck to those times or even the agenda as some sessions merged to discuss other topics, others seems to focus on one part.

 

 
I’ll detail the sessions in the next post.

An unsuitable hypo treatment

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On Saturday night, after a fantastic day at the #GBDOC Conference we returned to the hotel with some snacks for the evening to accompany our hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity. Amy bolused for the carbs she was going to eat, putting on a combo bolus and all was set. Hours later we went to sleep in our cosy hotel room, with Amy sleeping two feet away from me in her bed.

Within 30 minutes I was woken to a beeping followed by a vibration noise, it was her Animas Vibe pump alarming us to a hypo. Everyone slept through. I checked DexDrip on my phone and could see she was stable, arrows going straight, unfortunately not upwards but fortunately not downwards.

I waited. Nothing changed, so I woke her up.
“Amy, you’re low, take 5 dextro tabs please and go back to sleep.”
I turned over and went back to sleep.

30 minutes passed and I’m awoken again, reach for the pump and set she’s low again, she went up a little after the hypo treatment but went back down again.*
I put on a temporary basal of 0% – effectively turning the pump off – and waited 30 minutes but nothing really changed as she still had some insulin on board.
I didn’t understand it though; those Dextro tabs should have brought her up to 7 or 8 mmol.

“Amy, wake up, you’re hypo again.”
“I don’t understand, I took some Dextro. Hold on, they tasted minty.”
“Minty?”
*confused faces*
I shined my phone’s light on the floor and there it was, along with the explanation why she was still hypo.

colgate

So there we have it, toothpaste is clearly not a suitable hypo treatment.
Who knew?!
🙂

* clearly something to do with waking up, becoming active then going to sleep again.

PWDC15, A Diabetes Conference for PWDs by PWDs

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Diabetes conference poster2015The dawn is rising on one of the most eagerly awaited days in the calendars of many people with diabetes (PWDs) in the UK, those that have been a part of the #GBDOC community for many years now, as well as people involved with Team Blood Glucose, who are sponsoring the event.

A little bit of history (as I see it)
#GBDOC was formed on Twitter by Paul Buchanan back in August 2012 and consists of tweetchats which have happened every week since then – Wednesday nights at 9pm until 10pm. The community goes far beyond the weekly chats and there’s now hundreds of PWDs who feel connected to a support group they’ve been missing beforehand and that’s a great thing.
Paul also created Team Blood Glucose with the mission statement of TeamBG inspires people with, and those at risk of diabetes to achieve their sports and exercise goals, to educate people with diabetes of the benefits of sports and exercise and to equip them with the tools to achieve their ambitions..

So why are we excited?
For me it’s simple, I don’t get invited to any of the ‘proper’ Diabetes conferences organised by Big Pharma or the big charities, so it’s exciting to actually get to go to one.
Actually though I’m far more excited about meeting many of the people I’ve spoken with online for a couple of years, some I’ve met before once or twice, some I’ve not yet met and some I’ll no doubt not recognise whatsoever today – people only ever pick their best photos for avatars don’t they?
The list of names is endless, Paul, Midge, Kaz/Max, Phillipa, Rachel, Steve, Paul S, Alex, Bob, Adrian and on and on but there’s one person everyone wants to see today, someone who through everything she’s gone through still makes us laugh everyday, someone who knows the benefit of this community, someone who’s willing to make a very big effort to get to this conference, yep, it’s Jules. It’s fair to say the highlight for many people today will be meeting Jules.

So what’s happening today?
I can easily answer that: I don’t know, no-one knows and that’s the beauty of it.
Today we will arrive, there’ll be an opening presentation or two and then the community will decided what happens for the rest of day.
I’ll not lie, this will be either mindblowingly brilliant, or erm, not. It’s probably the first time this has been done for any subject as part of an organised conference so we’ve got no history to learn from.
I have faith that this will work, the very loose format should mean that people get to do what they want, not what is dictated to them. At risk over over using a word today I think this is exciting.

A blooming big Tweetmeet
Many of you will know that wherever I go I will try and see any of my Twitter followers who are local as I feel it’s important. Mind you, I never get invited back, hmmmm, ha ha.
So if nothing else I am looking forward to a blooming big tweetmeet.

But I know it’s going to be so much more than that.

Diabetes UK Make a Difference Conference 2015

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DiabetesUK_final_brandThe Make A Difference conferences are run by Diabetes UK for people who volunteer for them and there’s one for each region. On Saturday I attended my local area’s one in Guildford, it was my first one, it won’t be my last.

I was pleased to see Angie from Southampton D:UK Branch and Helen & Stewart from Seahawks there, along with Raymond from Fareham, all people I’d met over the course of the last year. I was there because of my involvement with the national Peer Support service #TalkToSomeone that I’ve been doing since October 2013. After a few chats with D:UK staff the conference started headed up by Jill Steaton, South East REgional Manager.

Morning workshop: Make The Grade
MakeTheGradeTweetThe audience split up to attend workshops we had all signed up for beforehand, with Stewart, Helen and myself attending the ‘Make The Grade’. As part of it the ‘Hands Up for Good Care in School’ video was shown and brought a smile to my face as I watch Lewis, Andy and Zoe on the screen.

The science bit
There were a couple of scientists there, whose work is funded by Diabetes UK. First up was Lisa HeatherX who spoke about her work looking into how the heart works differently for people with Type 2 Diabetes, although it seems it’s just as valid for Type 1’s as well. I’m always amazed at how well these scientists convey their work to people like me who understand precious little about it; she did it well. Of interest was how muscles in general can be powered by fat yet within seconds of a heart attack in a non-D person the heart switches to use carbs as a fuel source, something it doesn’t do in people with diabetes and something that she’ll be investigating further.
Next up was Chloe Rackham about her research into how MSCs (Mesenchymal Stromal Cells) can help make islet transplants more effective and efficient, a topic I struggled to keep up with. Out of interest she lives with Type 1 Diabetes herself. Islet transplants is a great idea and I’m sure once it’s combined with stem cell growth it will really take off.

An unexpected tweetup
In the Q&A after the first talk a lady from the audience asked a question about ketogenic diets in relation to the news that the heart favours being fuelled by fat, not carbs. Given that I’ve been eating predominantly a Low Carb High Fat diet for at least 6 months now my ears pricked up and I went over to say ‘Hi’ and have a chat. A few minutes into the chat Julie (@julie_unruly) realised we knew each other online (Twitter, Facebook) and had ‘spoken’ many times. It’s so nice to put a name to a face and the chat was a highlight of an already good day.

Afternoon workshop: Safeguarding
I decided that the Safeguarding workshop would suit my role for Diabetes UK, teaching me things to listening out for during the phone calls to help identify people who needed help. With twenty or so in the room we divided into teams and played a game I’ll call ‘is it okay if…’ – which made me smile as a fan of The Last Leg. It was good to see that most of us agreed on whether the topic highlighted a deeper issue or not and I was pleased to be educated by others on the one I thought was okay, but 50% of people did not.

seahawksAnd finally, The Awards
The Inspire Awards are Diabetes UK’s way of recognising some of the amazing volunteers it has and the amazing things they do for the diabetes community. Many people seem to spend all their days doing one thing or another for Diabetes UK or the diabetes community. Take one of the nominees, Angie Whitmarsh: she helps run the D:UK Southampton support branch, she attends many hospital and CCG meetings, she helps out with collections, she goes with D:UK to Parliament for things like the APPG (which took place a couple of days ago) and rushed back from that to attend the launch of a parents and families D:UK support group within Southampton. Yet, with all this and more Angie sadly did not win an Inspire Award; the bar for these awards is clearly very high.
I was really pleased when Seahawks, the South Hampshire families group, won an Inspire Award, as the support it gives to local families is fantastic, truly inspiring. The dedication given by Helen and Stewart (who collected the award) and other committee members knows no bounds and I’m glad that Diabetes UK recognised that.

Wire free charging for your xDrip

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

Qi

I’m slightly jealous at the moment…

Andrew Abramowicz wanted to take his xDrip to the next level, so he made another one with inductive charging using the Qi wireless receiver module from Adafruit. He increased his battery size to 2000mAh which is roughly the same size as the charging module, which is a little on the delicate side.

Watch this video of how to connect the module up:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KQeLmrH2B8

PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

xDrip Test Results (vs Dexcom’s 505 algorithm)

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

xDrip comparison - overviewA graph from a Nightscout website showing
results from Dexcom and xDrip data

Many people have asked questions about the accuracy of xDrip’s algorithm in comparison to the latest Dexcom G4 algorithm, codenamed 505.
To answer this question for himself Andrew Abramowicz decided to get xDrip and an original Nightscout rig to upload data to the same database at the same time, with both sets of data coming from the same Dexcom G4 sensor/transmitter. This then is a true test of how things worked for Andrew and his family. Thanks Andrew for allowing me to use this these images on this page.

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

a) before using xDrip for prime time use, run these tests for yourself.
b) if you don’t calibrate properly your results may vary, correct calibration is the key.
c) while these results mimic that of the 505, it is still an “experimental algorithm” and should be used with great caution.
d) as (c)…but to add…’especially in children’.
e) before using xDrip decide for yourself if it is good enough for you based on your own tests
f) we are not “endorsing” it for use by others, just publishing our findings.

NOTE:You can click on most of the images to view the full image in your browser.

A little background bit on the data, which you can probably skip
Andrew’s son wears a Dexcom G4 CGM sensor and transmitter and for a while has used a Nightscout uploader rig to send CGM data to the cloud to be viewed on a Nightscout web site.
Andrew recently built a xDrip device, which can also upload its data to the cloud to be viewed on a Nightscout web site.
The Dexcom G4 receiver (which is part of the uploader rig) and the xDrip both read the same data from the same Dexcom transmitter and sensor.
Both are loading their data up to the same cloud database which is then linked to the same Nightscout web site.
Data from both is overlayed together, allowing for an easy visual comparison and ultimately to see any discrepancies.
What’s all those strange low numbers?
If you’re used to seeing much higher numbers – perhaps you live in the USA? – then don’t panic, the glucose values show are in mmol/l because Andrew is in Canada. To work out a mg/dl value from a mmol/l value just (!) multiply any numbers by 18, so 5mmol/l is 90mg/dl, 10 = 180 etc.
An explanation of a Nightscout website graph

The image below is of Andrew’s Nightscout website. For those who have never seen one before here’s an explanation of what is shown.
Top left is the time ’10:50′ and showings that the last CGM data received happened 1 minute ago.
Top right is the last CGM reading of 7.2mmol/l (129.6mg/dl) and this has stayed the same from the previous reading.
On the right is the range axis, showing 22mmol/l at the top and 2 at the bottom.
The dots show show the glucose readings, with green dots being actual readings and blue dots being projected readings.
The rightmost green dot is the last reading of 7.2mmol/l from one minute ago.
The rightmost green dot is actually two dots, one for Dexcom, one for xDrip but they are both the same value.
The first reading shown on the left shows that there was a difference between Dexcom and xDrip of approximately 0.4mmol/l (7mg/dl).
The two red dots on the left are where a calibration has taken place, one for Dexcom, one for xDrip.
xDrip comparison - spot on
More explanations
Here’s a visual explanation

xDrip comparison - chart 1
Comparison overview
Here’s an image showing how close xDrip and Dexcom are for the majority of the time.

xDrip comparison - overview
An overnight test
The next image is of an overnight test showing a hypo in the middle. During the hypo the variance was the largest Andrew has ever seen, before the correction with glucose it looks to me to be about 0.4 mmol/l out, straight after the correction either Dexcom or xDrip appears to have gone wildly out for one reading.
However, no-one I know would rely on CGM data anytime near a hypo situation and never should any treatment been done with first taking a finger prick blood glucose test.

xDrip comparison - hypo - big difference (0.5 mmol!)
At the end of an overnight test
Although there hasn’t been a calibration for 10 hours values are almost exactly the same, maximum out is 0.4mmol/l (7 mg/dl).

xDrip comparison - overnight without calibration
A 48 hour trace
The CGM trace below shows a trace over 48 hours – you can scroll left/right.
At times you can see there’s a difference, potentially 1 mmol/l out at maximum point.
Upper line is at 8mmol/l (144mg/dl), lower line is at 4mmol/l (72mg/dl). Red dot indicates a calibration.
Click here if you want to view the full image

xDrip comparison - 48 hours
Distance test
Here’s a test placing the xDrip at different distances away from the transmitter, showing that at 25 feet it ability to receive data is impaired, yet at 10 feet it is perfect.

xDrip comparison - distance
Interested in further posts about this subject? Why not like this blog’s Facebook page and get notified of updates, or click ‘Follow’ using the button at the bottom-right of this page.

PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

Dear Valentine, I love you…but… #SpareARose

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sparearose160x600tagDear Valentine,

I love you.
I love you because you care about people.
I love you because you want to help people.
I love you because you recognise the fortunate position we are in.
I love you because you know we don’t go without the things we need, like insulin for our youngest daughter.
I love you because you have compassion for people who need the things we get easily or for free, like insulin for our youngest daughter.
I love you because seeing or hearing about a family who can’t afford the insulin their child needs would bring a tear to your eye.
I love you because I know you’ll understand that I’m donating any money I would have spent on some roses for you to the Spare A Rose campaign.
But mostly I love you because this act has made you happier than receiving any flowers.

But don’t worry I’ll still get you some chocolate.

Your loving Valentine,
Kev.

The #SpareARose Campaign
Lack of access to insulin is the most common cause of death for children with diabetes in many countries around the world. In fact, in some parts of the world, the estimated life expectancy of a child who has just developed diabetes could be less than a year.
This Valentine’s Day our community can continue to help change that.
Through the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign, we raise awareness and donations for Life for a Child, an International Diabetes Federation program which provides life-saving diabetes supplies, medication, and education that children in developing countries need to stay alive.
Spare a Rose, Save a Child is simple: buy one less rose this Valentine’s Day and donate the value of that flower to children with diabetes. Your loved one at home still gets flowers and you both show some love to children around the world who need it.
One rose, one month of life. A dozen roses, a year of life for a child with diabetes.

You can donate here: https://lfacinternational.org/sparearose/.
sparearosefull

xDrip Software Installation Video – Android App, by Dietrich Lehr

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

xDrip logoOnce the software has been loaded on the Wixel (see video on previous post) you will need to install the software on your Android phone/tablet which will read the data from the xDrip device.

UPDATE:
Since writing this page everything has been simplified and you no longer have to follow the steps in the video. Now you can just download the application here.

In this excellent video Dietrich Lehr takes us through each part of the installation, from the downloading of software, the installation of software, the creation of keys and finally loading that software onto your phone. Below the video are the links used in the video as well as the link to Android Studio’s download page as you will also need that app.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv0PuM7dnYo

Links
Android Studio download home page (Android Studio installation video)
GitHub repository for xdrip Android app
xDrip Android app ZIP file

Thanks to Dieter Lehr for making and sharing this video.

xDrip Software Installation Video – Wixel, by Andrew Abramowicz

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

xDrip logoOne of the key components of the xDrip device is the Wixel chip by Polollu, it’s the part which reads the data from the Dexcom transmitter. To get it up and running you need to load Stephen Black’s free software on it, a process which can seem daunting at first but really is simple.

In this excellent video Andrew Abramowicz takes us through each part of the installation, from the downloading of software, the installation of software, the configuration for your Dexcom transmitter and finally loading that software onto your Wixel. Below the video are the links used in the video.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVGqzYRQXkk

Links
GitHub repository for wixel-xdrip
wixel-xDrip ZIP file
Wixel drivers and software from Pollolu
Wixel Development Bundle

Thanks to Andew Abramowicz for letting me put this video up on my blog.

Interested in further posts about this subject? Why not like this blog’s Facebook page and get notified of updates, or click ‘Follow’ using the button at the bottom-right of this page.

PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

Dexcom, Nightscout and xDrip – how does it all work together?

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

xDrip Nightscout diagram v5My last three xDrip posts (introduction, components and building) have generated a few questions of which device, phone, cable or application goes where, so I thought I’d create a graphic of how I see it all working (well) together.

Scroll down for the large version of the graphic…don’t try and read that one on the right 🙂

Here’s a key to the graphic to help you see what comes from where:
Dexcom G4 CGM system
The Dexcom G4 continuous glucose monitoring system which Nightscout and xDrip are currently based on.
Nightscout
A full system of interfaces, cables, phones and applications to pull Dexcom glucose values from the Dexcom receiver, upload the data to the Internet and allow remote CGM monitoring via websites, phones, smartwatches. Designed and developed by people within the collective of Diabetes Parents who now front the Nightscout Foundation
xDrip
A do-it-yourself device and applications to retrieve data from the Dexcom CGM, using an independent algorithm to calculate the glucose reading, upload values to the same Internet database as used by Nightscout, to allow remote CGM monitoring. There is also a separate app (Nightwatch) which retrieves information from the Nightscout web site and relays info on to a smart watch. Designed and developed by Stephen Black.
Mongolabs.com
A cloud-based database solution, used to store the CGM readings uploaded by either the Nightscout Uploader application or the xDrip application.
xDrip Nightscout diagram v2
 
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PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

A Dummy’s Guide to Building an #xDrip – #WeAreNotWaiting

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

If you don’t know what a xDrip device is take a look at this page.

AdaFruit charger magnifiedI was tickled by someone on Reddit who linked to yesterday’s blog about the components required for a xDrip which was entitled “An “Amateur” builds a module for DexDrip”. So here it is, this amateur’s guide to building an xDrip/DexDrip. (The article actually referred to DexDrip as that what xDrip was called at the time.)

Interested in further posts about this subject? Why not like this blog’s Facebook page and get notified of updates, or click ‘Follow’ using the button at the bottom-right of this page.

PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

A baptism of fire heat
Although I received lots of offers of help to solder the components together the guys at work told me I’d have no trouble doing it myself, so I decided to try.
First I ordered the soldering kit (iron, solder, stand, helping hands, solder sucker) from eBay and a practice board to train myself with. The ‘helping hands‘ turned out to be worth their weight in gold.
I soldered my first pin, inspected it and then soldered three more, choosing to solder them right next to each other as it seems that a common problem for amateurs is putting too much solder on. With four pins soldered I tested everything for continuity issues, to make sure no excess solder had spilled on to the adjacent contacts and shorted anything out.

practice board face uppractice board face down
So far, so good.
AdaFruit LiPo charger and batteryAttach LiPo-charger connector to battery
My AdaFruit LiPo-charger came with a connector, my battery came with a connector; they weren’t the same.
First job then was to cut the wires from each and solder the battery wires to the LiPo-charger connector.
NOTE: some people remove the connector terminal on the LiPo-charger and solder directly onto the charger board, I didn’t fancy this as I like to be able to disconnect batteries and swap them easily.
DO NOT connect battery to LiPo-charger.
AdaFruit charger magnifiedSolder wires to AdaFruit charger
The AdaFruit Li-Po battery charger then needed a power (red) and ground (black) wiring up.
For my first try I soldered a four-piece-header-pin to the board and used jumper wires to connect to it, but within a week I removed the header pins & soldered the wires directly onto the PCB.
1. Red wire, solder on to 3.3v (marked as BAT on mine), first on the left as we look at that board. Make sure you don’t solder on to the 5v connector.
2. Black wire, solder on to one of the GND connectors, for ease I chose the 3rd from the left.
WIXEL bluetooth wiresConnect wires for bluetooth module to WIXELWIXEL face down
Prepare four wires (red, black, green, blue) with one female header pin at one end and bare wire for soldering at the other.
1. Black, solder to GND
2. Red, solder to 3V3
3. Blue, solder to P1_6
4. Green, solder to P1_7

Other possible options: The header pin option is the simplest way to connect from WIXEL to HM-10.
The hardest (but not too bad) option is to desolder the HM-10’s header pins, then solder wires with two bare ends onto the WIXEL and to the HM-10.
The middle option is to solder wires with two bare ends, one end onto the WIXEL and one bare end onto the relevant header pin on the HM-10. Whilst this might seem easy I think it’s simpler to desolder the HM-10s header pins as above.

WIXEL and BLEConnecting the HM-10 Bluetooth moduleBLE face down
What you do next depends on what you chose to do on the ‘Connect wires for bluetooth module to WIXEL’ step:
If you soldered wires with female header connector at one end when you did the step above then all you need to do next is to slide the correct colour wire’s connector onto the correct HM-10 pin as per the diagram here.
If you soldered wires with two bare ends and left the header pins on the HM-10 then you need to solder the bare wire ends to the correct HM-10 header pin as per the diagram here. This is tricky to do (for me) but not impossible as I found when I made a second xDrip. I choose to wrap electrical tape around each soldered pin/wire afterwards.
If you soldered wires with two bare ends and removed the HM-10 header pins then just solder the bare ends onto the HM-10 as per the diagram here.
WIXEL power wiresSolder LiPo-charger wires to WIXELWIXEL face down
With the LiPo-charger disconnected from the battery (and micro-USB power) you now need to solder its wires to the WIXEL.
Red, solder to VIN
Black, solder to GND
 
The finished product
Hopefully by the end of it you’ll have something that looks like this:
20150109_205710
Note: the picture shows header pin connections for the AdaFruit Li-Po charger but I’ve now soldered the wires directly to the board, it now has a much smaller footprint.
 
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#WeAreNotWaiting thanks to #xDrip – Components Required

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NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

If you don’t know what a xDrip device is take a look at this page.

partially made up xDripSince the release of my first comment about xDrip on Sunday morning my Facebook and Twitter notifications have gone crazy: ‘like’s everywhere, comments everywhere, questions everywhere. At stages I’ve been overwhelmed with my phone buzzing with notifications ten to the dozen and me not getting the time to answer the questions. This just goes to prove the level of interest in a set up like this.

By far the biggest questions I have been asked are:
    1. can I really build this myself as I’ve never soldered before?
    2. what components do I need?
    3. where can I buy these components?

The answer to 1 is easy: Yes, you probably can, I had never soldered anything electrical before starting this project, in fact I had to buy a soldering iron/kit just for this.

The rest of this blog should answer questions 2 and 3.

Interested in further posts about this subject? Why not like this blog’s Facebook page and get notified of updates, or click ‘Follow’ using the button at the bottom-right of this page.

PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

Components you’ll need to buy, borrow or steal
(Okay, don’t steal, that’s not good.)
Thank you to Johan Lorant from the USA for information about the components he bought.

HM10 v CC41UPDATE WARNING
It seems there’s two types of chip being passed of as HM10, the second actually being a CC41 and it appears these will not work, although some do.
Be careful which one you get, check with the supplier before you order one but bear in mind that that supplier will only know what their supplier told them. Best thing is to get a proper photo of them beforehand and make sure it’s a HM10 as per the picture on the right.
BLE face upBluetooth Low Energy 4.0 BLE Tranceiver HM-10 Module
From eBay seller AudioSpectrumAnalyzers I’ve got a working HM10 (see warning above), in fact he even has ‘xdrip’ in the items listing title. Cost: under £12.
The first one I bought was off eBay for £15.29 from Aura Communications.
WIXEL face downThe heart of the xDrip device is the WIXEL chip.
I got mine – along with lots of stuff – from Hobby Electronics.
Cost: £13.80
In the USA, one place to get it from is from Jaycon Systems:
JS-3237 Wixel Programmable USB Wireless Module

AdaFruit LiPo charger and batteryAdaFruit LiPo (Lithium-ion Polymer battery and MicroUSB charger.
I got the charger from eBay for £7.70 each, I bought two. An alternative is Pimoroni at £7.
I got the battery from eBay too, 1200mAh ones, although note that Stephen (the designer of xDrip) only uses a 500mAh battery.
In the USA one place to get from is Jaycon Systems
JS-1965 Micro-USB Lipo Charger (MCP73831)
JS-3418 3.7 Volt Rechargeable Lithium Battery (850 mAh)
jumper-wires-ff-6in-500x500You’ll need some wires to link it all together. I bought these and cut them in half as I’m going to build another xDrip.
Cost: £2
In the USA one place to get these from is Jaycon Systems
JS-3958 Flat Ribbon Cable – 16 Wire (15 Ft) 1
SolderingkitHaving never soldered before I was in need of a few things, all of which I found in this kit. Note that everything works well apart from the solder, buy some good stuff elsewhere.
The ‘magic hands’ and magnifying glass were a Godsend, I couldn’t have done without them.
digital-multimeter-basic-500x500I wouldn’t be without my multimeter when dealing with electrical stuff but you don’t actually need one. I used one for the first xDrip I built but not for the 2nd or 3rd which I use as spares in demos.
Cost: £10 or so, from any DIY or electronic hobbyist store, such as HobbyTronics.
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#WeAreNotWaiting thanks to #xDrip – Introduction

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xDrip logo on left, Nightscout logo on right
As you can see xDrip loves Nightscout
NOTE: xDrip used to be called DexDrip so you might find some references to the old name in this article.

 

Okay, I’ll own up, I know I shouldn’t be so excited about this but I am.
This is a game changer, for us and many, many more.
It proved its worth within 24 hours when I saw Amy was hypo whilst sleeping (see below). Amy wouldn’t have woken up and tested her blood glucose for another 4 or 5 hours but by having xDrip working I saw that she needed some glucose tablets to raise her blood glucose levels. 5 minutes later she was back asleep…for four more hours. #Teenagers!

Interested in further posts about this subject? Why not like this blog’s Facebook page and get notified of updates, or click ‘Follow’ using the button at the bottom-right of this page.

PLEASE READ THIS ADVISORY

a) Never make a medical decision based on a reading from any CGM device, whether certified (eg Dexcom) or not (eg xDrip). Always perform a fingerstick blood glucose check first.
b) xDrip is a DIY product, decide for yourself if you wish to use it. Build it, test it, test it again and use (if you want to) in conjunction with a certified receiver.
c) The fact that it is working for us does not mean it’s right for you.
d) Never build a xDrip for anyone else and never sell one.
e) The blogs are provided for information only. We are not endorsing it for use by others, nor promoting it, just merely publishing our information as well as answering questions from previous blog articles.

partially made up xDripSo what is xDrip?
xDrip is a combination of a device and a software application which receives data sent out by a Dexcom G4 CGM transmitter/sensor and displays the glucose readings on an Android phone. The app can also upload it’s data for use by Nightscout, which in turn means glucose readings are available on the internet via a PC/Mac, phone or even a smart watch (Pebble etc.).
xDrip is made up of two things:
1. The first is a do-it-yourself device, made up of four components which you can buy off the Internet and solder together. Total price is about £40 including battery. (That’s a partially made device on the right).
2. The second is the xDrip application which runs on Android phones (4.3+above with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support). The app uses the xDrip device to read the output from a Dexcom CGM (continuous glucose monitor) sensor/transmitter. xDrip links up to existing Nightscout databases. The xDrip app can feed the data to a Nightscout database, which in turn means the data can be accessed via the Internet practically anywhere, using a PC/Mac, laptop, smartphone (Android/IOS/Windows) or better still a SmartWatch.

Wait! What? Nightscout? BLE? CGM? Dexcom? Animas?
Okay, it’s probably a good time to go over some of the common words I’ve used in the article. I’ll presume you’re already aware of insulin, insulin pumps, glucose levels and the world of Smartphones.
Animas – Animas is a company that makes insulin pumps. My daughter Amy has been using one of their pumps – called the Vibe (yeah, yeah, I know!) – since since June 2013. We chose the Animas Vibe specifically because of it’s use of Dexcom’s CGM system, although it turned out to be a whole year before we got the chance to use CGM.
BLE – is a version of the Bluetooth communication protocol which uses a low amount of energy, which means devices can work for longer without charging. Android has built-in support for BLE from version 4.3 onwards.
CGM – Continuous glucose monitor. A device which regularly samples the glucose level of its wearer, sampling the glucose in the interstitial fluid, not the blood. If you’re new to CGM perhaps take a look at this blog of mine: CGM: we’re live with Animas/Dexcom.
CGM-in-the-Cloud – is a term for any CGM which can be connected to a web site to allow for remote monitoring of someone’s glucose levels. It’s pretty big in USA, not so much over in Europe. A big player in this is Nightscout (see below).
Dexcom – Dexcom is one of many manufacturers of CGM systems. We use Dexcom because it’s linked with Amy’s Animas Vibe pump, if we’d got a Medtronic pump we’d use their Enlite CGM system. One benefit of Dexcom’s CGM appears to be that the sensors last longer – which is a big thing for us (who pay for CGM ourselves) as it lowers the total cost of using CGM. For the record I don’t believe Dexcom is any better than the new Medtronic Enlites.
Nightscout – Nightscout is “an open source, DIY project that allows real time access to a Dexcom G4 CGM from web browsers via smartphones, computers, tablets, and the Pebble smartwatch. The goal of the project is to allow remote monitoring of the T1D’s glucose level using existing monitoring devices.” In short Nightscout and the people behind it are awesome.

Who should we thank for xDrip?
Not me that’s for sure.
xDrip is the brainchild of Stephen Black, who was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. With the help from others in the CGM-in-the-Cloud community Stephen has designed the xDrip device and written the software.
I think he deserves a big round of applause.

So how does it work?
SmartWatch

  • Dexcom sensor reads glucose level
  • Dexcom transmitter sends out data from sensor, like a split second radio broadcast
  • The xDrip app (on Android phone/tablet) controls the xdrip device to listen for and receive the Dexcom data.
  • The app displays information about the person’s glucose levels now and over the last day or so, indicating whether it rising or falling or staying level
  • If required the app can upload the data to a Nightscout database. We didn’t do this initially but set it up within the first week.
  • If using Nightscout parents (etc.) can view Nightscout info on a PC/website/smartwatch, like on the right. I’ve seen some great pictures of parents looking at their kid’s glucose level being displayed on the parent’s Pebble watch whilst the kid does some activity with their friends.
  • A further step is the use of another Android/smartphone application named Nightwatch, also written by Stephen. It relays information from the Nightscout data onto a secondary phone and potentially on to a smartwatch.

That’s Stephen’s SmartWatch above/right, showing the glucose levels on mg/dl (so don’t panic UK people).

Stuff you’ll need before using xDrip

  • Dexcom G4 CGM system, including transmitter and sensors.
  • An Android phone or tablet running version 4.3 or above and the ability to use BLE.
  • Components for the xDrip device (Wixel (£14), LiPo battery (£6) and charger (£6), BLE module (£15) and some wires to link it all together.
  • A case to put all the components in. (Yes I really must buy a case soon.)
  • A soldering iron or a friend/relative with one. I bought one off eBay for £12 including the iron, solder, iron stand/sponge and magic hands with magnifying glass.
  • A bit of patience. I didn’t have any but on reflection it would probably be a good thing.

In this next blog I detail the components I bought, which are pretty much the same components Stephen Black (the creator of xDrip) used.

Is this really a do-it-yourself project?
Yes. Definitely.
Before starting on this project I had never soldered any electrical components, I even had to buy a soldering kit specifically for this. Fair enough I program computers for a living but in this case my knowledge actually hindered my progress as I looked for a complicated solution to a problem I didn’t actually have. Luckily Stephen was on hand (via Twitter) to help me through it.
Soldering wise I’d say I spent a couple of hours in elapsed time making up the device, but that’s only because I was taking it very slowly to make sure I got nothing wrong. I’d imagine anyone with soldering experience would have this done in a few minutes.
If you don’t feel you can solder the components together why not ask a friend, relative or colleague?

xDrip's first 'catch'A real life example
With the xDrip device in Amy’s room, we checked that our tablet’s xDrip app could communicate with it when in our bedroom and also when downstairs in the kitchen; it could.
Off to bed we all went, everyone drifting off quick quickly, except me as I was busy staring at a tablet mesmerised by the information in front of me. (I really hope that’s a first night thing!)
At 7am I woke up and went downstairs, taking the tablet with me but not looking at it, placing it on charge in the kitchen, underneath Amy’s bedroom. I heard a noise and presumed it to be a mobile getting a Facebook notification or something. Then it happened again.
I realised it was Amy’s Animas Vibe pump vibrating to tell her that something wasn’t great, it was right she was low. Amy was fast asleep with the pump lying on the mattress beside her, she couldn’t feel it, it didn’t wake her. On the other hand I was in the room underneath and heard it, the vibration going through the mattress, down the bed itself, onto the floorboards, through the joists and onto the ceiling below!
So I checked the tablet and saw the image on the right. I waited 10 minutes to see if her level improved – it didn’t – and went up to wake her to give her a few glucose tablets. Amy went straight back to sleep, I went downstairs happy that she was no longer in danger.
Twenty minutes later I was pleased by the 5.5mmol showing on the xDrip app.

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Interested in what components you’ll need to build xDrip? Then read this: #WeAreNotWaiting thanks to #xDrip – Components Required