@Trying, if you or anyone else ever figure out how to make the watch give feedback for success or failure, I am back on board with using it! So please let me know!
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@Eric you mean instant feedback to confirm bolus, right? Checking IOB is insufficient? Loop will only update the IOB if the bolus succeeds. Of course, you have to know what the previous IOB was to compare! I am a few updates behind on my Loop (auto-bolus) but I don’t think there is any feedback for success/failure upon bolusing. I agree, it would be useful!
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@Trying ,
Yeah, pulling out my phone to check IOB is really not practical for me. That’s harder than just using the PDM! It kind of defeats the ease of using the watch, if I still need to use the phone.
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No, the IOB is displayed on the watch so you wouldn’t need to pull out the phone. You can actually SEE the IOB increase as you do the bolus.
Oh, also, just looking at the code now and it appears that there IS a message that will alert you if the bolus FAILS. The code that follows is in the branch that I’m using (autobolus), but autobolus has been merged with Dev a month or so ago. I guess I have never experienced a FAIL so have never seen this message!
Checkout /Users/kimberlieskandis/Downloads/BuildLoop/Loop-AB-2012310632/LoopWorkspace/Loop/WatchApp Extension/Controllers/BolusInterfaceController.swift
func deliver() {
} catch {
presentAlert(
withTitle: NSLocalizedString("Bolus Failed", comment: "The title of the alert controller displayed after a bolus attempt fails"),
message: NSLocalizedString("Make sure your iPhone is nearby and try again", comment: "The recovery message displayed after a bolus attempt fails"),
preferredStyle: .alert,
actions: [WKAlertAction.dismissAction()]
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Cool. Thanks!
I need to get my developer license renewed and rebuild it all sometime. I can give it another go.
Let me know if you update and if it works!
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@Eric
It’s in master:
Unfortunately, it is MISSING from dev. It seems they merged Tidepool branch into dev.
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Very interesting, I haven’t had much focus on carbs during exercise. My approach has been more along the lines of use carbs (ideally from a healthy source) as needed to keep the number up during hiking, biking, or crossfit. Haven’t put much focus on them at all although it would be a good idea. I do have a strong understanding of proteins and fats though. What is your approach to training/competing carbs?
Carb-question, so in general, my approach in the 5 hours leading up to bedtime is to target 1.6-1.8 IOB and to let it dwindle to about .6 at 9 PM and have the basal wind its way down from .8 down to .55 in 1 hour increments. Overall, this has worked very well and has allowed a small pre-bed snack or bolus to keep things smooth overnight.
However, after sailing on Sunday, things seemed similar until about 9 pm and the blood sugar took a dive. My response was to have a glass of mango juice and set a temp basal of .3 units/hr for 90 minutes thinking that that combination might account for the physical activities in the day…boy was I wrong. My number plummeted constantly and ended up needing 30 carbs every 45 minutes for the next 4.5 hours. Have you encountered this before? I’ve had a couple instances of milder versions of that but I was borderline convinced my pancreas was producing Fiasp.
Looking back, I could’ve gone with .1 units/hr and some slower carbs but have been burned by that strategy in the past. Another thought was to configure a Low Glucose Suspend but haven’t tested that feature out yet.
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Does that mean it is new? Or does that mean it was already in the version I used and it just didn’t work?
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Thank you for the explanation. Can you give a quick overview of the best way to set up the software? I have a recent Mac, a developer account, iphone 8, apple watch 5, and an ok amount of experience dealing with technology, but haven’t built any apps on Xcode yet although pretty familiar with Android Studio:
Should I work my way through this tutorial?
https://loopkit.github.io/loopdocs/build/overview/
Is Spike needed as well? There were at least 2 different ways that Spike could be installed.
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After exercise or physical activity like sailing, your insulin sensitivity increases. In addition to that, your body is going to try to replace all of the muscle glycogen that was used during exercise.
I always try to replenish carbs immediately after exercise.
4 things to use after exercise:
- protein for muscle repair
- water for re-hydration
- carbs for glycogen replacement
- and insulin so that the carbs can get into the cells
If you replenish right away, you will have less chance of dropping throughout the night.
You may still need to reduce your nighttime basal, but getting carbs back into your body will certainly help.
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I think the actual message has existed for 5 years! Code around it has changed though. You can click on the “Blame” link in the upper right corner on Github when viewing the file to see what changes have been made to the file.
Btw, when the bolus does fail, have you noticed the IOB? It should not be updated.
I did not look at IOB. On the several times it failed, I was running. So it’s just too difficult to unlock the phone and check out the IOB.
The only way I knew it failed was to examine the records after the run was over. By then it’s too late.
So I guess that means that it has not been fixed.
The fact that they had a message in there, but it did not get back to my watch, indicates the code was not working correctly. 
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You have everything you need, except you’ll need to get a RileyLink which does the communication between OmniPod and iPhone. You’ll find info on it at LoopDocs.
Yes, that’s the best link to read through, but I’d probably read through all of those pages under loopdocs to help with configure and understand settings.
No, you don’t need Spike! You’ll be using Dexcom on your iPhone to read the BG and Loop will be using BGs from Dex. Nothing else is needed.
Another good site to monitor Loop code changes is:
https://loopdashboard.azurewebsites.net/
The following link is also a good place to help with building:
https://www.loopandlearn.org/build-select/
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Sure, I understand! It is tough monitoring IOB while running! I usually stop running for a second or two while I bolus.
This image of my watch should be viewed right to left. The far right shows the bolus screen, 2nd from right shows the swipe left on watch to show details of current IOB under Active Insulin. Then slide back to the home Bolus screen, and select a 1U bolus. Watch will prompt you to Turn Digital Crown to Bolus. After you do so, watch will show a green checkmark and return to the Bolus home screen. To confirm the bolus, swipe left to get the Bolus details. It should show the increase in Active Insulin.
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Thanks @Trying!
For me, all of that looking at my watch would make me just wish for something simpler - like using my PDM! 
One of the nice things about the PDM is that once you see the bolus delivering screen, you know 100% for certain that the bolus is being delivered.
Doing it from the watch - if it just required the button pushes and nothing else - would be super easy and ideal. But doing all of the checking is where I would just have to give it a hard pass.
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I use the Sony Smartwatch 3, SWR50, that has been waterproofed, at least while swimming. It has been the perfect solution for BG levels while in the water. I wear the Dexcom G6 on my arm triceps so the watch and the G6 transmitter are on the same arm. Obviously no phone is required since the SWR50 is the prefect standalone data receiver. .
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Fantastic, did Sony discontinue those and not create a newer version? I noticed that there were only refurbished ones available.
For now I ended up buying an LG Sports Watch that I was able to get set up and an Apple Watch that I haven’t quite been able to get the Xcode signing certificates to work yet. I think the next goal is to optimize the batter usage as much as practical.
I think my plan will be to have the phone and OrangeLink waterproofed in the back of the boat and to use the watch to display the info. I also purchased a number of different gels and can fit the Hammer gel flask in the lifejacket and velcro a backup in the cockpit.
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MarkP: About 4 years ago Verizon offered the Sony Smartwatch 3, SWR50, for a big discount. A Verizon engineer explained that the Sony can be used with their cell system. Shortly after Verizon offered the watch Sony discontinued all smartwatches. Verizon tried to get them to change but that did not happen,. Of course it was about 4 years ago when the Sony watch was recognized as the perfect standalone data collector from the G5 transmitter. It was about 4 years ago when I started using the SWR50 as the standalone collector for my G5 and now my G6. The watch has never missed any 5 minute transmisson from the Dexcom transmitter. My smartphone is paired with the watch to store and display the historical data. Of course my smartphone is not waterproof and is too large to carry on a long distance run. For all of my situations the watch is the perfect fit.
One question, does the LG Sports Watch work as a standalone collector from the Dexcom transmitter?
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I don’t think so, at least looking at the Android APS docs it appears that Sony, Lemfo, and Kospet are the only ones that do. Not sure why not though as it seems to have plenty of horsepower.
Hopefully an engineering team somewhere can come up with some new models.
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Another unique feature of the SWR50 is the transflective display. I know that the Garmin watch also has the same display but is not compatible with xDrip. The display saves battery power and is very readable in sunlight.
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