Getting Real About Diabetes Data: The Pros + Cons of Diabetes Technology

There are a lot of benefits to seeing and using your diabetes data on platforms, smart insulin pens and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), but looking at your data too much can be detrimental to your mental health.

By limiting how much you look at your data, you can create a more balanced life with diabetes.

This guide breaks down the cons of data overstimulation and how using data from your smart insulin pen, CGM or diabetes management platform can help you feel better about your management strategy.

Alarms: so helpful, but SO loud!

• When you think about diabetes data, you probably think about constant sounds from your tech. While staying informed is important, hearing alarms too often can lead to alarm fatigue.
• If your CGM alerts you about high or low levels, you might take longer to respond if you’ve heard the alarm too many times before. Over time, the urgency may fade, or the sound may blend into the background.
• CGM alerts are valuable for preventing severe highs and lows, but if the noise feels overwhelming, talk to your doctor about small adjustments. Reducing the number of alarms slightly each week could help.
• Turning off alarms is not recommended, but limiting when you hear them may ease the mental burden of managing diabetes.

Setting reminders: more configurations lead to less forgetting

• Relying on data from smart devices can make managing diabetes less hands-on. Some smart pens let you set reminders for when you last took insulin and when you need to take more, helping prevent over-correcting or missed doses.
• If you recently started insulin therapy, these reminders can be especially helpful.
• To make them work, you’ll need to input your insulin doses and collaborate with your doctor to configure your settings. If you’re not into organization or don’t consider yourself tech-savvy, using these features might feel like extra work rather than a time-saver.

Technology reliance: What happens if it fails?

• Technology can be a powerful tool for managing diabetes, but relying on it too much can make failures more stressful.
  • Human error is inevitable, and no system is perfect.
• If your device breaks or the platform you use goes down, you might suddenly lose access to the data you depend on.
  • While rare, these moments can feel overwhelming.
• Consider whether occasional tech failures outweigh the benefits you experience most of the time. I
  • f disruptions happen frequently, it may be time to revisit your management strategy with your doctor.
• Losing access to data is frustrating, but there’s often a quick fix—whether it’s refilling supplies at the pharmacy or reaching out to customer support for a backup.
• Don’t let the fear of technology failure keep you from taking advantage of the valuable insights diabetes data can offer.

Diabetes data connections: More pros than glitches

If you like things to go as smoothly as possible at your diabetes checkups with your doctor and don’t want to forget to mention a high or low blood sugar streak from a week ago, data connections offer many benefits. 

Diabetes management platforms also help you:

• See all of your diabetes data in one place.
• Recognize trends in your blood sugar levels than can help you make adjustments with your doctor to meet your target range.
• Enable you to have more virtual visits with your doctor, preventing a drive to see them and reducing anxiety about seeing them in person.
• Make more informed decisions with your doctor between and at diabetes checkups by enabling them to access your data remotely.
• Quicken diabetes checkups when your healthcare provider has access to your diabetes data in their portal through your connected app.
• Reduce the need to log your insulin doses or blood sugar levels manually.
• Reduce the emotional burden of thinking about diabetes more than you need to through automatic data logging.
• Connect your device to your mobile app, eliminating the need to carry around more diabetes supplies than you have to.

Though there could be glitches, the few times you may experience them shouldn’t be enough to sway you from automating your diabetes data processing. It can be a huge relief!

Smart insulin pens: is the data worth the hype?

If you are on multiple daily injections (MDI) and currently use “regular” insulin pens or syringes with insulin vials, you may consider upgrading to smart insulin pens for their enhanced data logging benefits. 

With many of today’s smart insulin pens, you can:

• Be notified when your insulin has expired or gone over its temperature range. 
• Quickly figure out your insulin doses at mealtimes using built-in calculations you configure with your doctor.
• Prevent missing or skipping insulin doses by setting alerts and reminders.
• Share your insulin dosing data easily with your doctor.
• Connect your smart insulin pen with your smartphone (usually iOS or Android) via its corresponding mobile app.
• Figure out your insulin dosing needs at mealtimes based on your food intake, insulin on board, and the settings you and your doctor have configured.
• Share your data with your healthcare provider more seamlessly at checkups.

While different insurance providers cover smart insulin pens at different levels, they’re worth looking into if these data benefits make your mind drool with possibility! 

How you feel about your data matters

• Access to diabetes data is helpful, but how you interpret it matters just as much as having it. If you see your smart pen data and focus only on the 27 missed injections instead of the many doses you successfully took, it can create a misleading narrative.
• Data should guide your diabetes management, not discourage you. For every missed dose, there are many you remembered. And even if your missed injections outnumber those taken, don’t be too hard on yourself—self-criticism won’t help.
• Use your data as a tool for open, empathetic discussions with your healthcare provider to determine what is and isn’t working for you.
• Diabetes data should never be used for shame or blame. Your self-worth is not tied to your numbers. If the data is making you feel discouraged instead of empowered, something needs to change.
• You are more than a set of numbers. Even if your data doesn’t fully reflect the effort you’re putting in, every small step forward is progress.

The bottom line: do what’s best for you

• This guide touches the surface of the pros and cons of diabetes data in current technology.
• How you feel about your data matters just as much as seeing it in front of you. For some people, more data equals more problems. For others, it equals more relief! 
• However you decide to approach your diabetes management, what matters most is that you do what is the least stressful and most helpful for you. Diabetes data should be another cheerleader on your team, not a hindrance.
• Everyone benefits from different things in their diabetes management strategy, and that’s okay!

This content was made possible by Lilly, a Founding Partner of Beyond Type 1. Beyond Type 1 maintains editorial control over its content.