Over the past few weeks a great deal has been going on and we a lot of thanks to give to our BETA testers. We’ve gotten such great feedback and have focused primarily on the most wanted features to make the application better.

The main interface changes

We’ve consolidated the 4 different modules on the day view (when you’re looking at entries for a specific day) into one singe and easy to read table. This has cut down on vertical page scrolling considerably and at the same time boosting readability on the screen. Each entry type is made apparent by a colored identifier column so you can easily see what you’re looking at.

New Features

We’re also rolling out some new features that will make it much easier to input your readings, especially on the go. Unfortunately this is a bit of a teaser for now . But keep an eye as we’ll be writing a post in the next few days with details.

To give a small list of major changes:

• Sugar Reading Meter Uploads – For OneTouch devices with data exports via OneTouch Diabetes Management Software 2.3 or above in .CSV format.
• Sugar Reading Input via Email – For better and easier input, even on the go.
• Complete UI Redesign – Streamlined the interface and consolidated statistics information for easier viewing.
• Sidebar Sugar Input – Easily add sugar readings from outside the day view.
• Sidebar Quick Averages – Quickly see your 7 and 30 day sugar averages from any page within SugarStats.
• Streamlined Food Management – We’ve redesigned how you track food and have decided after much deliberation to only track carbs. This also makes it easier to select and manage your food list.
• Re-designed Trends – Easier to read and presented everywhere you need them.
• Sugar Trends Multi-day View – View timeframe stats and see the trend statistics per day.
• *Sugar Reading Only View * – View timeframe info and see only your sugar readings, great for print-outs for the doctor.
• Greatly Enhanced Printing – Via print stylesheets, you get clean and clear printable pages.

Other changes

We’ve also re-evaluated exactly what needs to be tracking and have done a lot of “trimming” on things to only record the things you really need to know. At the same time this also provides for much faster data input.

One of our main and priority goals with SugarStats is to keep the interface as clean, easy-to-use and intuitive as possible. One of the biggest changes we’re releasing shortly is a complete redesign in the core of the system which displays your stats and how you input them.

We’re pushing these changes out to all the current BETA users now. Within the next few days we’ll be sending invites to all those who have signed up to the mailing list since the last BETA invites were went 2 months ago.

Before Screenshot:

After Screenshot:

We’ve uploaded some new screenshots to coincide with new software revision that includes a complete redesign and many new features. Check it out:

For now it is just a little visual teaser. We’ll be rolling this out to all the current BETA testers in the next few days along with a more detailed blog post. We’ll also be sending out BETA invites to those of you who have signed up on the mailing list to get notified since our last BETA invite. So keep an eye out

For those interesting in getting an invite, be sure to sign up to get notified on the Homepage.

It’s no surprise to anyone who has diabetes how much the medication costs. Though some are covered by insurance, many are not. It’s easy to brush off the hundreds of dollars it would cost for a month or two supply of test strips when the insurance pays for it, it is quite different when you have to yourself.

But the truth is there more to pay for and more at stake than just paying for the medicine and supplies. There are the cost of surgeries and hospital visits that are the results of diabetic complications.

From a Yahoo! Article: The Surprisingly High Cost of Diabetes

“Nearly 3 out of 5 of the 18 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes suffer from at least one serious health complication such as heart attack or chronic kidney disease, according to a new study. Taken together, complications from the disease accounted for an estimated $22.9 billion in medical spending in 2006; annual health care costs per person were nearly $10,000, almost three times higher than for non diabetics.”

Some of the notables:

• 3 out of 5 Type-2 Diabetics in the U.S. suffer complications costing an estimated $22.9 Billion in 2006.
• It accounts to nearly $10,000 per person in health care costs.
• That cost is nearly 3x higher than for non-diabetics.
• On average, people with complications paid $1,566 out-of-pocket annually.

Definitely something to think about. The cost of diabetes is rising in more ways than one. This just underlines the need for better management, better education and overall better awareness of diabetes from diabetics themselves as well as the general public.

I found an interesting post on the healthwealth blog regarding sugars and the various types of sugars you find in the food you eat everyday.

This is an important topic as there is MUCH more to consider when eating food than simply what the sugar count is. You have to take into consideration the carbohydrate count, what type of carbs they are, the mix of different ingredients/chemicals and much more.

“Sources of sugar that you should check in the food labels include the words that end in “ose” or “ol” . These are all forms of sugar. Very important to note is that syrups such as corn sweetener, sorghum syrup and high fructose syrups are sweeteners that are often added to drinks and therefore high in calories. Remember also that brown sugar, molasses and honey are said to be better than regular sugar because they are ”natural” but they all give you the same calories as regular table sugar! So BE AWARE!”

An interesting side note,especially in the U.S., is that almost every major soda manufacturer now uses high fructose corn syrup instead of regular cane sugar simply because it is cheaper for them. Not that cane sugar is a good solution for a diabetic (You should stay away at all cost or moderate heavily), there are some studies that show high fructose corn syrup could be much worse for you.

You can find the rest of the post here, take a look. How much sugar is in my food?

There has been plenty of discussion about this on the net, but it serves as a good example of how always being prepared is in your best interest.

Doug Burns is the 43 year old Mr. Natural Universe. It seems as he was off his regular insulin pump and was trying some new medication.

While at the movies he encountered a bad low and staggered towards the stands to get some juice. They thought he was intoxicated and called the police. The police then said he attacked them while in a fighting stance and it took 4 of them to wrestle him to the ground.

”“The fact is Mr. Burns assaulted our officer,” Cesena said. “If he had just stood there and let us help him maybe they would have called the medics if he didn’t seem to fit the description of being under the influence. All that changes when the subject wants to attack an officer.””

For Burns, though, the fact is he doesn’t recall much between feeling his blood sugar dropping in the Cinemark theater and regaining coherence in the San Mateo Medical Center with mace on his shirt and glucose paste down the side of his face. The time in between are snapshots, he said, of being on the sidewalk in front of the theater unable to speak, hearing officers theorize he was on PCP and hoping somebody noticed either the Medic Alert bracelet on his wrist or a card in his wallet identifying him as the director of diabetes and obesity education for a medical research institute.”

While the officers didn’t know of his condition, I can’t help feels a bit sorry for Mr. Burns, I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone. There are a few things that could have helped prevent situations like this:

1. Regular Testing and bringing your tester with you – See point 3, this is especially needed when testing new medications.
2. ALWAYS having fast-acting glucose tablets with you – They are so cheap, it is easy to carry a pack in every bag and popular jacket you have.
3. Have common sense when testing out new medications – He was on a new medication, he should have have both of the above on him.

There are plenty of opinion about how it would have turned out if the circumstances were different (If it was a small guy, a cute girl etc). But point here is for diabetics to learn from this situation to decrease the likelihood of it happening.

Full story: Police wrestle, mace and arrest Mr. Universe