From the Community: Roy R

As part of our work to add support for Medtronic MiniMed 630G, 640G, and 670G to Tidepool, we worked closely with a great number of diabetes community members who helped beta test our software. Along the way, I asked a number of our beta testers how it felt to see their diabetes data in Tidepool.

This response from Roy was the first I received, and it perfectly represents the quintessential "Tidepool moment" we know so many experience when they try Tidepool for the first time.

I've been living with type 1 diabetes since I was 15, that's almost 25 years, and I've been a technology geek since I got my first computer at age 10. Since my first huge BGM and insulin pen to my current 640G/Libre combo, I've always been excited by the technology my disease afforded me access to, but at the same time, I always felt conflicted with the lifestyle I had to adapt to.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel powerless — through the years, even my more rambunctious late teens, my HbA1c was never more than 9.5. Even while serving in the Israeli army, I was averaging a 6.8. But that took a lot out of me — the hassle of digital scorekeeping, the incompatible hardware, the constant calculations, and the almost clairvoyant sense I had to develop for my blood sugar levels. Diabetes always seemed not to be a feature of mine, like the color of my eyes or the shape of my smile — no, diabetes was an external being fighting against me at all times.

The Libre changed a lot for me. With a CGM I didn't need to be clairvoyant or to constantly be hassled with the scorekeeping, and I really felt like I was turning a corner, but still — this was a tool to fight the monkey on my back, out of many other tools I had, and not something to manage myself.

Once I was introduced to Tidepool, I think something flipped in my brain — seeing all of my information displayed for me to scroll through, but more than that — adding to it from all my devices, and creating a one-stop-shop for anything I would ever need to see!

Every time I look at my data in Tidepool, I really feel like I'm seeing myself there, and not just the monkey I'm dragging around. It's hard to express, but it feels like a superpower I've never had before.

I started my professional career as an analyst for a research agency, then became a team lead, and now I'm in charge of data acquisition for my company. I LOVE data. Perhaps I'm just biased towards Tidepool because of that, or because of the fact you're nonprofit and free. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for a good UI and a responsive and effortless visualization tool. I don't know. But you've helped me feel better about diabetes, and that's no small feat by any stretch.

-Roy R.

Visit tidepool.org/signup to create your free Tidepool account and see your Medtronic 630G, 640G, or 670G data in Tidepool.