• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

A points calculator for diabetics?

S

Sallycook

Member
Messages
13
Location
Lutterworth, Leicestershire
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
People who talk down to me, cruelty of any kind.
My friends at work are on WeightWatchers diets and they have a Points calculator in order to follow their system. Is there anyone out there who might be able to make a points calculator for carbohydrates? This would be such an invaluable gadget for the likes of me. For every Carb Point (10gCOH) I take 1.5 units of Humalog at each meal with a background of Lantus. It's really difficult, especially when you're eating out, to make your calculations accurately and a little gizmo (soon my handbag will resemble a medical bag!! However...) would really help. What does anyone else think?
 
I believe that the Accucheck Expert blood testing machine gives you the ability to type in your carb ratio's and it works everything out for you-what your blood sugar is, the target it needs to reach, and the carbs you are going to eat have to be typed in, and the rest is done for you....almost identical to the accuchek pump remote control-except it doesn't pump...just tells what is to be dlivered manually by injection.

I know one hospital (not my own) which gives one free to every person that completes a carb counting course. I saw one recently which was given to a person going on to a pump-and it was identical to my pump remote control. The set up was also pretty much similar-so you can tell the machine what your carb ratio's are for each meal of the day etc.

Pretty nifty bit of equipment, but I believe that they are more expensive than normal blood testing machines.
 
It would be easy to do with MS Excel (Spreadsheet). Might be a good reason for Diabetics to get a Windows Phone?
 
The accuk-chek expert will set you back £80.. (the remote for the Combo is £120)

You can't buy it direct of Rouche as you need the clearance of your diabetic team as you need to be trained using it!

When I had my first pump the spirit the rouche rep gave me a ready recknor, you slide it over to what carbs you were eating, and it would show you the insulin required on several different ratio's..

Perhaps if you give rouche a phone they might still do these and may well send you one free..

If not you could make your own recknor, by just writing down your common amounts of carbs you eat and then the insulin you need for your usual ratio's.. Then perhaps laminate it!
 
Thanks for this guys. The Accucheck seems good. I wasn't so much the ratio I was getting at, it's that there doesn't seem to be a carbohydrate book/machine/calculator - e.g. You're round a friend's and they're doing fajitas with a shop-bought sauce and you know each fajita is 2 carb points (20gCOH) but the sauce... Well with something like Weightwatchers, you just look it up in a table and it tells you or you can use their points machine which carries that info. I just thought something like that purely for carbs would be a good idea. I like the idea of the computer based one but that doesn't fit in my handbag! A book would do but with modern technology I thought a machine would be better. Something that would tell you what half an Asda thin n crispy veggie pizza is exactly. Most things have it on the backs of packets and you have to calculate from there. Might check out that Accucheck. Cheers!
 
Iphone have an app I believe using the carbs and cal book pictures that are available (obviously) from last few words in book form as well. It basically gives you pictures of say pancakes on different size plates, and how much the carbs,cals, fat and protein are for the different sizes. THen it adds on chocolate sauce to the pancakes..or lemon and sugar and all different size plates, also does fajitas.

I bought the book, as when I have friends and family and they so happen to make pancakes with nutella, and then on the rest of plate they put bananas, strawberrys, kiwi etc, it just lets me have sneaky look to guestimate the carbs, rather than trying to add up the flour, milk etc used when other people have made them.

The book has fajita's and takeways in it as well, and it just helps me to eat with everybody else, but for eating outside of my normal foods. The book advertises the iphone app, but as I haven't got an iphone, I haven't used it.....
 
see:
http://www.carbsandcals.com/

iphone app also available, a copy of the book came with my accu-chek aviva expert!

 
I use the carbs/cal iphone app and found it really useful. As I understand it they are updating it and (I think) may be putting a ratio calculator in it. Having typed that I am now wondering whether I've just totally made that up, but they are definitely still working on the app so keep an eye out for new developments.
I actually was taught by one of the authors on my dafne course - so he's getting feedback all the time from the likes of us. I found that encouraging.
 
Wish I had an iphone now...could I then go an carb count all the 'sins' I would love to have before Iput them back on the shelf!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…