A Diabetes App to Help Patients to Adjust Diet and Lifestyle for Better Blood Sugar Control

LT was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 35, 4 years before she tried SugoSure. Although she was aware of the potential complications of diabetes, in the years following her diagnosis LT paid little attention to her blood glucose control and made few lifestyle changes.

Don't Deny Diabetes - Digital Health Tools Now Exist to Help Patients to Monitor and Manage Diabetes for Better Blood Glucose Control

LT was significantly overweight and had dyslipidaemia (abnormal blood lipid levels) as an additional risk factor.  At the start of the Beta Test LT’s Body Mass Index was 43 (vs a target of 23 for healthy weight in Asian populations) and her most recent HbA1c was 8.8%.  She did not own a glucometer and did not self-monitor her blood glucose at all before the Beta Test.

Weight reduction is often needed for patients with diabetes, which needs a clear plan and patient support

LT knew that her weight and diet were the main contributors to her poor blood glucose control. She used to have three fast food meals a week, loved drinking regular coke and enjoys going out for meals with friends.

LT explained that she had a general “c’est la vie” attitude to her diabetes, influenced by her perceptions of peer and social norms regarding the condition.  “You can know about it, but it doesn’t make you want to change.  Many people are like that, I am not alone.  Diabetes is very common these days, many people have it Diabetes - it is just part of my life."

Good blood sugar control is an investment which will have valuable long-term payoffs

LT was not however completely worry-free.  One concern was her fear of incurring high medical bills, which she didn’t want to be burdened with in the future.  She also wanted to lose weight to have more options with clothes and feel happier about her image.

The only reason LT started SugoSure was because her doctor recommended her to enrol in the Beta Test.  This was a decision which would have a major impact on the course of her diabetes.

Routine and structure are helpful in monitoring your diabetes

Although she was fearful of pricking her finger for blood glucose readings, LT got used to this and valued the reminders and guidance provided by SugoSure since this was her first time she had actively monitored her blood glucose.  LT was also initially unsure that she would be able to log her meals closely enough however found that in practice this wasn’t troublesome.

Soon, studying her blood glucose graph and food diary became significant motivating factors for LT and she had no problems entering enough data into SugoSure to gain useful feedback in return.

Tracking your diabetes diet and learning from feedback to make changes

The SugoSure Patient App enabled LT to track the immediate effect of specific foods on her blood glucose and to check medium-term measures such as her 2-week average.  LT experimented with different types of food and quickly learnt to avoid specific foods which caused blood glucose spikes.

"In fact, my whole family is benefiting from SugoSure, they are learning from my experiments with food and blood glucose. We are all eating healthier. I feel very good about my diabetes management. I feel like I am succeeding! It is was a nice surprise.”

LT also had a very positive experience with her health coach. "My health coach has helped motivate me to try things out in easy simple steps. I have someone by my side to keep me going."

She also finds it very helpful that her data is monitored by health coach and doctor since she needs to feel accountable to someone to give her motivation she needs.

It's not so hard to take control of diabetes after all! It is indeed possible to make steady, sustained progress in your blood sugar control with the right support

In her first 3 months of SugoSure use LT made steady and significant improvements to her blood glucose control.  In her first month of SugoSure, almost every blood glucose reading logged was above target range.  By the third month, the majority of her readings were within range – thanks to both lifestyle and medication adjustments. As a result LT showed the largest drop in HbA1c of any Beta Test patient: from 8.8% to 6.3% (well below her target of 7%) within just 3 months.  She also lost 5.3kg in weight over this time.

LT is now in her 8th month of SugoSure use. She continues  to monitor  regularly and has maintained her HbA1c at 6.3%.  She has not been able to lose further weight due to lifestyle  disruptions from Covid-19 but is now trying to refocus on continued weight loss.

LT has now realised that with some support it doesn’t have to be so hard to take charge of her diabetes.  If she can lose a bit more weight and maintain her currently excellent blood glucose control, LT will very significantly reduce her risk of diabetic complications in the medium-longer term.

"I would definitely recommend SugoSure as it has helped me and I believe it can help others to change and manage their diabetes."