That single-serving website sure is sweet

May 13, 2009 11:20 AM

Need to settle a dispute with a friend, but don't want to flip a coin? Try Diabetting, a new way to settle decisions using the most-recently-updated blood sugar readings of a Type I diabetic web developer.
posted by Asparagirl (32 comments total)

Sweet!
posted by Joe Beese at 11:21 AM on May 13, 2009 [7 favorites]

This looks hilarious, I'm going to have to try it out some time.
posted by selenized at 11:25 AM on May 13, 2009

"Blood sugar levels are recorded at least three times a day."

And they call this Web 2.0. Pfff.
posted by DU at 11:33 AM on May 13, 2009

This is very different than flipping a coin (which is random), there can be a bit of skill involved in this system, especially since the first person's "bet" is visible to the second person....

Sorry, amusing, but not a good way to settle something...
posted by HuronBob at 11:35 AM on May 13, 2009

It can be amusing if the other person betting against you doesn't realize that there can be skill involved...
posted by Asparagirl at 11:37 AM on May 13, 2009

I love the 21st century.
posted by mark242 at 11:37 AM on May 13, 2009

Neat idea.

I'd have to question the wisdom of making a critical indicator of your health something on which people gamble. Here's hoping it doesn't take off too much.

"Here's your diet coke, sir."
posted by ODiV at 11:43 AM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

While waiting for our incredibly slow glucometer to work I usually play "The Blood Sugar is Right" with the patient and try to guess what it is without going over.
Of course they have an advantage over me considering it's their blood.
Unless it's like 12, then I usually win.
posted by brevator at 11:51 AM on May 13, 2009 [4 favorites]

I was curious about the scale he was using for his measurements, since it's different than I've seen before (I'm used to 70-120ish as the range). So I did some internet poking, and found that it looks like the US uses mg/dl (milligrams/deciliter), whereas this guy (and the world in general) uses mmol/l (millimoles/liter)

To convert mmol/l of glucose to mg/dl, multiply by 18.
To convert mg/dl of glucose to mmol/l, divide by 18 or multiply by 0.055.

See here
(there's a chart if you scroll down that correlates the different systems).
posted by inigo2 at 11:58 AM on May 13, 2009

My 20-year-old daughter has been a Type I diabetic since she was four years old. Back in the day when meters took forever to give a reading we'd play "Guess the blood sugar level" as a way to get her to learn how to interpret the signs her body was giving her in relation to how high or low her blood sugar levels were. I can't wait to show her the link.
posted by amyms at 12:16 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Didn't they do this on Scrubs once?
posted by ArgentCorvid at 12:16 PM on May 13, 2009

DON'T DO IT! This is really an elaborate policy racket. This guy has bookies in five burroughs. Once you place your bets, he takes a look at the numbers and calculates exactly how many Chips Ahoys he needs to eat to fix the numbers. It's a game as old as Dutch Schultz.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 12:16 PM on May 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

How DARE he take my illness and use if for meaningless fun. I'm so angry about this, I gonna go Psycho!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:16 PM on May 13, 2009

Are the mentally ill running the donut shop?
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 12:17 PM on May 13, 2009

I have trouble taking my blood sugar as often as I should. If I were a nerdy computer programmer I would totally do something like this to force myself to take it.

Unfortunately, I am a nerdy D&D guy, so I just roll a D20 to make a constitution check.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:21 PM on May 13, 2009

*FedExs box of Krispy Kremes*

"Come ooooon Big money!"
posted by leotrotsky at 12:26 PM on May 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

How DARE he take my illness and use if for meaningless fun. I'm so angry about this, I gonna go Psycho!

I don't know if they have an illness-appropriate donut for you yet, though it would be fitting.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:28 PM on May 13, 2009

Now the Wilford Brimley Amadeus/Diabeetus mashup is stuck in my head. Great.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:04 PM on May 13, 2009

Now the Wilford Brimley Amadeus/Diabeetus mashup, which I've never heard but quickly generated in my head, is stuck in my head. Great.
posted by ALongDecember at 1:27 PM on May 13, 2009 [5 favorites]

Wouldn't this be better if it was Price is Right rules? If so, his blood sugar is $1 Bob.
posted by ALongDecember at 1:28 PM on May 13, 2009

The more-amenable ophthalmic techs at my retinal doc and I play this game with my intraocular pressure-- "see if Fairytale's fingers are as accurate as the little blue light with the tonometer attached."

My docs are generally cagey on whether or not patients can accurately judge their own pressures, but I fare pretty well. Normal intraocular pressure ranges from 10 to 20mm Hg; I run 14-18 unless something's really wrong, and am usually within one point of the machine's readings.

The human body: a source of endless black-humored medical amusements!
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 2:47 PM on May 13, 2009

betsugarwebmagik
posted by the aloha at 3:17 PM on May 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

this site is great for diabetes understanding promotion. demonstrating a little fun shows that you too, can have fun with type 1.

i would not want to gamble on it, however. i do not have the inside track on nial. plus, this game is not random enough.
posted by the aloha at 3:23 PM on May 13, 2009

This is great, it is an excellent way to motivate him to be sure to take his readings, and will really improve his health while possibly settling the odd bet. Win-win!
posted by Maias at 5:05 PM on May 13, 2009

Oh sure. Fine. Leave the Type 2s in the back of the bus like always. Business as usual. Type 1s get all the attention and Type 2s can just suck hind tit. Bastards.

Just kidding, it's a cute app.
posted by deborah at 5:59 PM on May 13, 2009

PS: Here's an online converter.
posted by deborah at 6:00 PM on May 13, 2009

PS: Here's an online converter.

Or, you could just type n*18 or n/18 into Google.
posted by oaf at 7:56 PM on May 13, 2009

Type 1s get all the attention and Type 2s can just suck hind tit.

My farm-boy husband was tickled when I told him there was someone on MetaFilter who used "suck hind tit" correctly in a sentence. :)

Seriously, though, at the risk of derailing into a Type I vs. Type II battle, I'm always happy when I see Type I getting some attention. Now that Type II has become so prevalent in the general public, most people have no idea that Type I is a completely different disease, and my daughter is sick and tired of hearing ignorant comments like "But you're not obese!" or "Did you eat too much sugar as a child?" from people when they hear that she's diabetic.
posted by amyms at 8:41 PM on May 13, 2009

Hah, can't wait to show this to my wife. As an incentive to having good blood sugar control, I used to offer to give her $100 if her blood sugar was exactly 100 (on the American scale, as inigo2 describes). It stopped after she cleaned me out for $300 in one week. I did get a hundred of that back after I bet her that Jonathan Livingston Seagull was actually about a seagull. She still can't believe it.

Amyms, I know what you mean, but sadly, it's just as ignorant when people think Type II only affects obese people, or arises purely because of diet. Diet can play a role, but definitely not always. And a very good friend of mine who is one of the slimmest people I know is a Type II.
posted by DavidNYC at 10:13 PM on May 13, 2009

That's true, DavidNYC, and I'm sorry my comment implied otherwise.

I just wish there was an easier way of distinguishing between the two diseases rather than saying "Type I" and "Type II."
posted by amyms at 11:01 PM on May 13, 2009

No apology necessary - I knew what you meant. Just wanted to clarify for the general audience.

And I think, as with most chronic conditions, there's not much you can do except explain the whole shebang every time it comes up. I haven't found any shortcuts (yet).
posted by DavidNYC at 12:42 AM on May 14, 2009

I have paid more money for my diabetes medicine than any other thing in my life. Test strips. Meters. Medication. Eye doctors. Foot doctors. Insulin pens. It is indeed a curse.
I used to be a gym nut and ride my bike to work everyday. It just runs in the family.
posted by doctorschlock at 8:43 AM on May 14, 2009