The PDF reports can be a lot to take in at first -- so many numbers and lines and colors! It can be overwhelming, for sure. We’d love to help you to understand your PDF reports better! Let’s dive in!
The First Page:
In the top of your report, there’s a page that gives you an overview of the entire period you’ve chosen for the report - either two weeks or 3 months.
First, you’ll see the dates for the report - super helpful for context!
There’s also an overview bar with some information. Here’s what that bar tells you:
- Estimated A1c for the time period of the report you have generated- since your glucose can change over time, showing an estimated A1c for the report can help to hone in on the weeks that feel a little “off.” If you’re making gradual changes to improve your control, you’ll also be able to see the progress you’re making too! *This is calculated from manually added or imported Blood Glucose values only
- Blood Glucose (BG) average for the week
- Standard Deviation for the week (how much your glucose has gone above or below your average glucose -- the “swing” factor)
- Activity time for the week
- The percentage of hypos - the number of glucose entries below your target range
- The percentage of hypers - the number of glucose entries above your target range
If you need help adjusting your target range in the app to match your doctor’s recommendations, please feel free to reach out to us at support@mysugr.com.
The Top Bar
In the top of your report, there’s a bar with lots of information for the entire week. (There’s one week of data per page) Here’s what that bar tells you:
- The week of the year, and dates during that week.
- Bolus / Basal ratio in units - this can help your doctor spot when your insulin doses need to be adjusted
- Blood Glucose (BG) average for the week
- Standard Deviation for the week (how much your glucose has gone above or below your average glucose -- the “swing” factor)
- Activity time for the week
- Percentage of hypos - the number of glucose entries below your target range
- Percentage of hypers - the number of glucose entries above your target range
Now - let’s move on to the graph!
Your report is broken down into one line per day, and the hours of the day are shown in a column by column format, similar to an Excel sheet.
On the left, you’ll see a key for what each line holds: Basal, Bolus, BG, Carbs, and Activity Time.
Basals: If basal rates for pump users have been entered into the app, they are broken down at the top of the day for each hour. If you’re on pen therapy, your basal (long-acting) dose is noted at the hour you took and logged the dose.
Boluses (insulin given for food or corrections) are shown second on the daily line.
BG (blood glucose) values entered are shown the third line.
Carbs entered are shown on the fourth line.
Activity time you’ve entered either from Apple Health or logged manually into the app is shown the fifth line.
On the right-hand side of the day graph, the sum of the entries for carbs and insulin are shown (as well as a percentage breakdown of the bolus vs basal insulin), the average glucose for the day, along with the total amount of activity time.
Lines in the graph:
The graph also contains some essential lines to help you connect visually what the data is telling you as well. They are gray, red, and purple.
Gray lines connect the glucose values to give a visual representation of how your glucose levels are flowing during the day. If you only have manually entered glucose readings, the line will only connect between each entry. If you have Dexcom data imported through Apple Health, the CGM data will show as a gray dotted line.
If your glucose rises above or falls below your target range for the day, you may see a red shaded area. This shading is to give a visual of the time spent above your target range for the day, and to help you spot trouble areas, primarily if it occurs at the same time each day.
If your BG number shows a small circle with a line diagonally through it, that means it’s the average of two or more blood glucose values that were entered during the same hour of the day. You’ll see these numbers broken down in the notes below the daily graph.
If your BG or Carb number has a smaller number to the upper right (called superscript), that means you’ve added a tag (like dairy, legumes, starch, etc.) or note (toast with peas, milk) to help give more context to that particular entry.
And that’s it!
Show off your new expert report reading skills to your doctor or diabetes educator at your next visit! And let us know if you have any further questions! Here's a video too!*
*Estimated HbA1c is no longer shown on every page