Entering Data

This section explains how to record your data in Diabetes Pilot. Diabetes Pilot can track your glucose, food, medication, exercise, and nearly any other type of information that you'd like to record.

Creating a new entry

Recording and Editing Data on the Details Screen

Food Records

Creating a new entry

To record a new data item, simply click on one of the buttons at the bottom of the main screen:

• Tap the "Gluc" button to record a new glucose (blood sugar) measurement
• Tap the "Food" button to record a new food or meal
• Tap the "Med" button to enter a medication or insulin dose.
• Tap the "Exer" button to enter a new exercise activity
• Tap the "BP" button to enter a new blood pressure and pulse reading
• Tap the "More..." button to record other types of data:
  • Note records. The text that you enter for a note entry will be displayed in the list on the main screen. You can use this type of entry to record nearly anything. You might use it to record HbA1C measurements, other test results, notes about how you're feeling, or anything else you'd like.
  • Blood Pressure readings. 
  • Weight

For more information on entering the details of these items see Recording and Editing Data below.

To edit an existing item, tap on the item in the list.

When you enter a new item change an existing one, it may or may not be immediately visible in the list on the main screen. The display on the main screen depends on the filter settings that you have set - see Displaying Your Data for more information.

Recording and Editing Data on the Details Screen

Diabetes Pilot allows you to record information in as much or as little detail as you would like - it provides for both quick data entry as well as the ability to record additional details when needed.

When you create a new record, a detail screen will appear.  Enter the value for the item:

• For glucose records, enter your blood sugar reading. You can choose to use either mg/dL units (typically used in the United States) or mmol/L units (typically used throughout the world) by setting the desired units in from the preferences menu - see Setting Preferences for more information.
• For medication records, enter the amount of insulin or medication. Select the type of medication by tapping on the box to the right of the value box. If the item you want isn't in the list, tap the "add" button to add a new item to the list.  Items that you don't use for an extended period of time will be removed from the list automatically.
• For food records, enter the foods in the meal.  See Food Records below for details.  Alternately, if you don't want to enter individual foods, you can manually enter the nutrient content of the meal (from your own carb counting, for example) by tapping the "quick" button at the bottom of the screen.
• For exercise records, enter the amount of exercise in whatever units are most useful to you (miles walked, minutes of activity, number of repetitions, etc).  Select the type of exercise by tapping on the box to the right of the value box. If the item you want isn't in the list, tap the "add" button to add a new item to the list.  Items that you don't use for an extended period of time will be removed from the list automatically.
• For blood pressure records, enter your blood pressure and pulse reading.
• For weight records, enter your weight.
• For note records, just enter the note that you'd like to make.

If you've set Diabetes Pilot to calculate insulin requirements (See Setting Preferences), the insulin calculation will be displayed when entering a glucose or food record. The calculation is updated when you change the value on the data entry screen.   Tap the "enter now" button to create a new entry to record the calculated value.

You can enter notes in the space provided. The notes will be displayed in the list on the main screen.

A category for each record can be also be selected. This category can be use to categorize records in any manner that is useful to you. You may want to use the category to identify records by time of day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc). The category list can be customized however you would like. To customize the category list, finish entering your record. Then, click on the the "Tasks..." button on the main screen and select "Edit Categories".

Tap "Save" when you are done making your entry. You will return to the main screen. Tapping on "Cancel" returns you to the previous screen without saving your changes.

Tapping on the "Delete" button will delete the displayed record.

Food Records

Use food records to record meals, snacks, and other foods that you'd like to keep track of.   When adding a food record, you can either:

1. Quickly enter totals that you already know (from your own carbohydrate estimate, for example) without entering a lot of detail.  To do this, tap on the "Quick" button at the bottom of the screen and enter the nutrition information you'd like to record.
2. Or, you can record the details of the meal and have Diabetes Pilot calculate the carbohydrate and other nutrition information for you.  The rest of this section explains how to do this.

To build a meal, add foods by using one of the buttons at the bottom of the screen:

Use the "Scan" button to scan a barcode on a packaged food.  Diabetes Pilot will look up the food in an online database.   If the food is found, it will be added to your meal record.   Otherwise, you can enter the food using one of the methods below.

Use the "DB" button to select foods from the food database. Tapping this button takes you to the food database. Find the food that you are looking for by doing any combination of the following:

1. Searching the food database by entering a short word or phrase in the search box at the top of the screen.  Tap the "Search" button on the on-screen keyboard to perform the search.
2. Browsing through the food groups.  Food groups are shown on the screen in bold letters.  Tap on the group to display its contents.  To back up, tap on the "back" button in the upper left corner of the screen.

When you find the food you're looking for, tap on it. You will be returned to the Meal Record screen and the food will added to the meal.

See Using the Food Database for more information about the food database and how to use and personalize it.

Use the "Quick" button to manually enter an individual food and it's nutrition information.

Use the "Fav" button to access the favorite foods list. Tap on a food in the list to add it to the meal.  To use this feature, you'll need to mark some of the foods in the database as favorites. See Using the Food Database for more information.

After adding a food to the meal, adjust the number of servings for the food as necessary by tapping on the food and selecting the number of servings in the selector that appears.

To remove a food from a meal, tap on the food's "i" button, then tap on the trashcan icon on that food's information screen.  Or, just swipe the food, then tap the "Delete" button that appears.

To add more foods to the meal, continue to use any combination of the "DB", "Quick", and "Fav" buttons to add foods as necessary.

The nutrition information for the meal is calculated as you go.  The following information is available:

• Carbs: Carbohydrates (grams)
• Calories: Calories
• Prot: Protein (grams)
• Fat: Total Fat (grams)
• Fiber: Total fiber (grams)
• Fat Cal: Calories from fat
• Sat Fat: Saturated fat (grams)
• Cholesterol: Cholesterol (mg)
• Sodium: Sodium (mg)
• Sugars: Sugars (g)

You can also save and recall entire meals.  This saves you from having to reenter the individual items for meals that you commonly eat.

To save a meal for future use:

1. Tap on the square-with-arrow icon near the lower right corner of the meal record screen.
2. Select "Save this meal" from the menu that appears.
3. Enter a name for the meal, then tap the "Save" button.

To recall a previously saved meal:

1. Tap on the square-with-arrow icon near the lower right corner of the meal record screen.
2. Select "Add items from saved meal" (to add the saved meal to the existing items) or "Replace with saved meal" (to replace the existing items with the meal items) from the menu.
3. Find the meal you want in the list, and tap on it.

To delete a previously saved meal:

1. Tap on the square-with-arrow icon near the lower right corner of the meal record screen.
2. Select "Load a saved meal" from the popup menu.
3. Select the meal you wish to delete, tap it's "edit" button, then tap the trashcan icon on the meal info screen that appears.

Displaying Your Data

This section explains how to control the display of your data in Diabetes Pilot. Diabetes Pilot provides several different filtering options for displaying your data. This allows you to focus on the information that is important to you at a particular moment, without being distracted by other data that you may have recorded.

Display Filters

To display all of your records on the main screen, tap on the "Show..." button at the top of the screen, then choose "Show all" on the filter selection screen that appears.

To display a filtered selection of your records on the main screen, tap on the "Show..." button at the top of the main screen. This will display a screen where you can choose which records are displayed:

To control which dates are displayed, select an item from the "dates" section of the screen.

To control which record categories are displayed, scroll down and check the boxes next to the categories you wish to display in the area labeled "Categories".

To control which record types are displayed, scroll down and check the boxes next to the record types you wish to display in the area labeled "Record types".

When you're done, tap the "Use Filter" button to return to the main screen.   The main screen will then display only the records you've selected.

A record must match all of the filter criteria to be displayed.

Tap the the "Show All" button to allow all of the records to be shown. If you're having trouble finding a record that you think should appear in the list, click this button so that all of the records are displayed - this may help you locate what you're looking for.

Setting Preferences

Diabetes Pilot allows you to set several different options in the program. These options can customize the behavior of Diabetes Pilot to your needs and help save you time while entering data.

General Preferences

Insulin Calculation Settings

Editing Categories

General Preferences

To set general program preferences, tap the "Tasks..." button, then choose "Settings..." from the menu that appears. The general preferences screen allows you to set several options that determine how Diabetes Pilot works:

• Blood glucose ranges. Set your limits for high and low blood sugars and a target range. These values are used with various reports.
• Default Exercise: This allows you to specify the exercise that appears as a default when you are entering a new exercise entry.
• Default Medication: This allows you to specify the medication that appears as a default when you are entering a new medication entry.
• For Meals Show: This specifies which nutrient is displayed on the main record listing screen for meal entries.  You can choose from carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fat, calories, saturated fat, sugars, sodium, cholesterol, calories from fat, and net carbs (carbohydrates minus fiber).
• Glucose Units: This items allows you to select between either mg/dL units (typically used in the United States) or mmol/L units (typically used throughout the world) for glucose measurements. Please note that if you change this setting, your existing glucose data and target glucose ranges will be converted to the system of measurement that you select. Please note that converting back and forth between the two systems of measurement may result in small changes to your data that are caused by rounding during the conversion process. For this reason, we recommend that you select the system that you prefer and then leave this setting unchanged.
• Weight Units:  Specifies the units that you'd like to use for weight records.  Choose pounds (lb) or kilograms (kg)
• Smart Categories:  With this option selected, Diabetes Pilot will try to preelect a category for new records based on the patterns in your past entries.   This can save time in data entry, and you can always change the category to whatever you'd like.   If you turn this off, new records default to the "Unfiled" category.
• Share New Foods:  When selected, new foods that you enter into a database will be sent to Diabetes Pilot for possible sharing with other users in the future.   Only the nutrition data that you enter for the foods is shared - no personal information or records are transmitted.   You can turn this off if you'd prefer to not participate.
• Show Newer Records at Top:  Sorts the record list with newer records at the top and older records at the bottom of the record list.   

Insulin Calculation Settings

Diabetes Pilot can calculate an estimated insulin dose when you are entering a glucose reading or a meal. These calculations are based solely on parameters that you enter. To use the insulin calculation features, these parameters must be configured for your personal needs, and the feature must be turned on.

The insulin calculation feature is provided as an educational tool that some people may find useful. It is not appropriate for everyone or for all circumstances. THE INSULIN CACLULATION FUNCTION IS A SIMPLE CALCULATION, MUCH LIKE YOU MIGHT PERFORM YOURSELF USING A POCKET CALCULATOR - IT IS NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS SUCH. If you do not understand this feature, please do not use it. If you do not understand what values to use on the configuration screen, please consult your doctor. In any case, by using Diabetes Pilot, you agree to assume full responsibility for your health care and you agree that Diabetes Pilot and its authors are not liable for any direct or indirect consequences of any results (correct or incorrect) returned by the program.

ALWAYS VERIFY THE CALCULATIONS WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH PRACTITIONER.

Please note that the insulin calculations presented by the program when you are making glucose and meal entries consider only the current entry. The calculations do not consider any other factors, such as exercise, previous doses, previous food, or other circumstances that could significantly affect the amount of insulin that is required. You must use your own judgement to account for these various factors.

To configure the insulin calculation feature, tap the "Insulin Calcs..." button at the top of the preferences/settings screen. The configuration screen will be displayed:

• Use 1 U per __ g carbohydrate: If this switch is turned on, an insulin calculation will be displayed on the meal detail record screen when you are making a meal entry. Insulin is calculated by dividing the carbohydrate content of the meal by the value entered. So, for example, if you take 1 unit of insulin for every 15 grams of carbohydrate in a meal, you would enter "15" in the space provided.
• Subtract fiber from carbs: If this switch is turned on, the fiber content of the meal will be subtracted from the overall carbohydrate total when performing the calculation described above.
• Add 1U per __ g Protein: If this switch is turned on, an additional quantity of insulin will be calculated according to the protein content of the meal. Insulin is calculated by dividing the protein content of the meal by the value entered. So, for example, if you take an additional 1 unit of insulin for every 7 grams of protein in a meal, you would enter "7" in the space provided. Note that this is in addition to the carbohydrate calculation described above and is only available when the carbohydrate calculation is used.
• Calculate Insulin Required to Lower Glucose: If this switch is turned on, an insulin calculation will be displayed on the glucose record detail screen when you are making a glucose entry. The insulin estimate is calculated by taking the difference between your target and the glucose entry you are currently making and dividing it by the factor that you have entered. (If the glucose reading you are entering is below your target, no correction is shown).

Editing Categories

Diabetes Pilot allows you to categorize your records however you would like.  Many people like to use these categories to group their records by time of day. However, you can change the category names to anything that you'd like.

To edit the category list:

On the main screen, tap the "Tasks..." button, then select "Edit Categories...".  Then,

• Use the "+" button to add a new category.
• Use the "-" button next to a category to delete it.
• Drag the categories into the order that you prefer by dragging the bars on the right side of each category listing.

Using the Food Database

This section explains how to use the Diabetes Pilot food database. The food database provides reference information on thousands of foods. You can add your own foods to the database and customize it to meet your needs.

Accessing the Food Database

Finding Foods

Adding New Foods and Groups

Marking Foods as Favorites

Organizing the Database

Accessing the Food Database

The food database is available when you're entering a food record.  From the main screen, tap the "Food" buton to start a new food record.   Then, tap the "DB" button at the bottom of the food record screen to display the database.   Or, tap the "Fav" button to access the favorites list.

About the Food Database

The food database contains two types of foods:

• Built-in foods.  Diabetes Pilot contains a food database that starts with thousands of basic food items.   You can edit, delete, and add to these foods however you'd like.   These foods are available at any time, even when you don't have an internet connection.
• Online Foods.  In addition to the built-in foods, Diabetes Pilot is linked to online food reference databases.   This provides a vast assortment of additional foods, restuaurant items, and packaged items that you can also use as you're recording your meals.   These items are available when you have an internet connection.   Because they are provided by an external source, you can not edit these items.

Finding Foods

You can locate foods in the food database in several different ways:

Browse through your foods by category.

To browse through the foods by category, tap on the items to navigate through the database.  Food groups are indicated by bold text and an ">" arrow indicator at the side of the item.  Foods are indicated by regular text.

To open a group and see its contents, tap on the group's name.  To edit the name of the group, tap the "edit" button.

To back up and go out of the group, tap the "Back" button near the top of the screen.

To select a food, click on the food's name.  This adds the food to the meal record that you're working on.   To edit the foods name or nutrition data, or to just view the nutrition data, tap on the "edit" button next to the food.

Search for foods by name.

To search for foods by name, type in the "Search" box near the top of the screen. Enter a few letters of the food you are looking for in the "Search" box, then tap the "Search" button in the on-screen keyboard. The food database will be searched for what you enter. Any food or group containing your search letters will be displayed in the search box. You will usually have better results with the search feature if you enter just a few letters of a food name - this way, the food will appear in the results even if it is named a bit differently than you'd expect. This is a good way to find a food if you can't find it by browsing.

To select a food, click on it in the search result list.

Scan a Barcode

Tap the "Scan" button and scan the barcode on a packaged food item using the camera in your device.   If the food is found, it will be added to your meal record.

Adding New Foods and Groups

To add a new food or group to the food database, browse through the database to locate the place where you'd like to put the new item.  Start by browsing to the location where you would like the new item added (see Finding Foods above). Select the group in which you would like to add the new item.

To add a new item, tap the "+" button near the top of the screen. Then,

To add a new group, choose "New Group" from the menu that appears, enter a name for the new group, and tap the save button.

To add a new food, choose "New Food" from the menu that appears, fill out the food information screen that appears, and tap the save button.

Marking Foods as Favorites

When a food is marked as a favorite, it will appear in the Favorites List.  This allows you to create a short list of foods that you use frequently so that they can be found quickly.   The favorites list can be displayed while entering a food record - from the main screen, start a food record by tapping on the "Food" button, then tap the "fav" button near the bottom of the screen.

To mark a food as a favorite:

1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
2. Edit the food (by tapping on its "i" button)
3. Switch on the  "show in favorites list" switch, then tap the "save" button.

To remove a food from the favorites list, do the steps above, but turn off the "show in favorites list" switch.

Note: You can add built-in foods to your favorites list.   Online foods cannot be added to the favorites list because they are subject to change from time to time.  The favorites switch will not appear for these foods.

Organizing and Customizing the Food Database

Several functions are available to help you organize and customize the food database.

To delete a food from the database:

1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
2. Edit the food (by tapping on its "i" button)
3. Tap on the trashcan button near the bottom of the screen.

To edit the name or data associated with a food or group:

1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
2. Edit the food (by tapping on its "i" button)
3. Make the changes that you desire to the food or group data.
4. Tap the OK button.

Reports and Graphs

Diabetes Pilot provides several methods for you to review your data and assess your blood sugar control over time. These reports can be selected by tapping the "Tasks..." button on the main screen, then choosing "Reports" or "Graphs".

Any of the reports can be emailed by tapping on the "Email report" button near the bottom of the report screen.

Averages Report

This report shows your average blood sugar for the past 7, 30, 60, and 90 days. This report should not take the place of tests recommended by your doctor such as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

The report will also display a rough "best guess" estimate of your HbA1C. Because this estimate is based only on the data that you've entered, it may be inaccurate in certain circumstances depending on your data entry patterns. It's intended for informational purposes only - you shouldn't rely on it for medical decision-making purposes or as a subsitute for actual HbA1C testing.

Category Report

The category report analyzes your readings based on their category. If you have been using the category feature to categorize your records as you enter them, this report may help you find patterns in your readings. See Recording and Editing Data for more information on using categories.

For each category, the report shows:

• Average Glucose
• Minimum Glucose
• Number of Glucose Readings
• Glucose Readings in Target Range
• High Glucose Readings
• Low Glucose Readings

You can specify the records to analyze by tapping on the "Settings" button near the top of the screen.

Medication Report

The Medication Report shows the totals of each of your medications over a selected date range.

You can specify the records to analyze by tapping on the "Settings" button near the top of the screen.

Food Report

You can create a report that shows the nutritional content of the meals you've entered. To do this, choose "Food Report".

You can specify the records to analyze by tapping on the "Settings" button near the top of the screen.

Glucose Graph

The Glucose Graph shows your glucose readings over the course of a day, week or month.   

Select the desired time period using the control at the bottom of the screen.

Swipe the graph left and right to move forward and backward in time.

The blue triangle marks indicate times where medication records were entered. 

The green triangle marks indicate times where food records were entered. 

Transfer and Backup Your Data

Diabetes Pilot offers several options for transferring your data out of the program.   This lets you work with your data on your handheld, in Diabetes Pilot Desktop on your computer, and in other programs.

Transferring your data to another location also provides a backup for your data.  Because your handheld may be damaged, lost, or experience problems such as the battery running down, we recommend that you back up your data periodically using any of the options below.

Option 1: Use the Diabetes Pilot Desktop or iPad App

With the iPhone version of Diabetes Pilot you can send the records from your phone to the Diabetes Pilot Desktop software (sold separately). From there, you can print reports, backup your data, and do other functions.

There are two ways to send your data:

1. Use the two-way WiFi sync feature in our Diabetes Pilot Desktop and iPad app.  With this, your records and food database are merged with your other data.   This allows you to work with your data on both your handheld and your desktop and send the data wherever it needs to go.

   For more information on this, see the instructions for the desktop software at: http://www.diabetespilot.com/desktop/docs/iphone (PC) or  http://www.diabetespilot.com/mac/docs/iphone (Mac) or http://www.diabetespilot.com/ipad/docs/sync (iPad)  

2. Send your data one-way via email. With this, your data is transferred via email. This is handy because it lets you send the data between systems whenever it's convenient and regardless of whether they're in the same location. For example, a patient might send the data directly to their doctor this way. Or, a child might send the data to their parent. There's no need for a wired connection and it can be done at any time (that you have a connection to the internet).  When you use this option, your iPhone data overwrites the data in the desktop software.  

   For this, launch Diabetes Pilot on your handheld. Tap the "Tasks..." button, then choose "Send Data to Desktop". Follow the instructions on the screen to send the data via email. You'll get an email with your data attached. Then, follow the instructions in the email to load the data into the desktop software.

Option 2: Use the "Send Displayed Records" Command

From the main screen, tap "Tasks..." then choose "Send Displayed Records".   This creates an email with your record data.   The email is formatted as a standard tab-separated list, which can be read by most spreadsheet programs.   You can use this function to export your data to a spreadsheet to do your own custom analysis.

Option 3: Sync with iTunes

When you sync with iTunes, the contents of your handheld are backed up.  This provides a measure of backup.  However, because this is an automatic process and unexpected events may occur, we encourage you to use one of the other methods described above rather than relying only on the iTunes backup.