Type I Diabetes: There’s An App For That, Too!

The Birth Of T1D1

A diagnosis of Type I diabetes can be life-changing for anyone. However, one Maryland teenager was able to respond to his diagnosis by making a positive impact on the lives of others in his situation.

Drew Mendelow – a 13-year-old boy from the city of Gaithersburg, MD – was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in the summer of 2020. At that time, he was presented with a mind-boggling amount of information about the disease.

“I was very overwhelmed. There was a lot of stuff to take in, like, all these numbers and all this math I had to learn,” Drew said in an interview with NPR last December.

Drew Mendelow, teen developer of the T1D1 app.

However, it didn’t take long for Drew to figure out how he should keep track of his diabetes data – he already had knowledge of video game coding. Before he left the hospital, he had decided to create an app capable of logging his food intake and blood sugar levels, as well as helping him with calculations. He started working on the app as soon as he could go back home, and T1D1 was born.

Our T1D1 Guide

T1D1 – which Drew says stands for “Type I diabetes from Day 1” – is an app created with the needs of Type I diabetes patients in mind. The app was designed to provide both ease of use and functionality for people living with a Type I diabetes diagnosis.

When you begin using T1D1, you’ll need to enter a few important statistics on the settings page, including your target blood sugar level. You’ll also find advanced settings here, such as negative correction factors and advanced carb ratios. Once your settings are in place, just tap “save” and you’ll be ready to start using the app.

A variety of functions are available in T1D1:

Insulin Calculator

Calculating insulin amounts isn’t hard with T1D1 – type in your glucose level and the number of carbs you plan to consume, and you’ll be presented with the insulin amount that’s right for you. Additionally, you can record insulin amounts by tapping the “Log It” button.

Insulin Log

Along with reviewing your numbers, you can easily email logs from this section of the app. To do so, choose your desired start and end dates and hit the “Send” button. (If you need to delete or edit an entry, you can do that here, as well.)

My Food Library

Tired of looking up nutritional values for foods that are part of your everyday diet? My Food Library functions as a log of your favorite foods, their carbohydrate amounts, and more. Click the “Add” button, and you can type in the name of a food item and related information.

Though it was created by a teenager, T1D1 has been tested by the professionals. Brynn Marks, of the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., was so impressed by the app that she now recommends it to her own patients.

“Having a tool to help people as they are learning all the ins and outs of Type I diabetes is something that, I think, really, can empower people and help them to take control of their own diabetes management so that they can live full and happy lives,” she said.

T1D1 is available on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. You won’t have to pay to download the app, either.

“I want to make sure everyone can really use it,” Drew said.

Other Diabetes Apps

While T1D1 is a highly functional, well-designed app for Type I diabetes management, it’s not the only app available for people living with diabetes. In fact, your smart device has access to all sorts of apps that can help you manage this disease!

Here are a few of our favorite diabetes-related apps:

• UnderMyFork (Free, iPhone/Android) allows you to avoid typing in your food intake. Instead, you’ll use your phone to take a picture of your meals. With info from photo tags and your continuous glucose monitor, the app can help you understand how different meals will affect your blood glucose levels/time in range.
• Medical ID (Free, iPhone/Android) does exactly what its name says – it provides important medical details to first responders in emergency situations. This app is actually part of the iPhone’s Health app, but it can also be downloaded to Android phones.
• Fooducate (Free, iPhone/Android) is a unique app that gives your diet a letter grade based on its nutritional value. Though it’s not meant specifically for diabetes management, this app’s ability to tell you what’s hiding in the ingredients lists of various food items is invaluable for people with diabetes.

Want to learn more about the best diabetes apps available today? Check out our blog article on the topic for all the information you’ll need.

Manage Diabetes With Home Delivery

If you’re taking steps to make living with diabetes easier, downloading T1D1 and other apps is a good place to start. These apps can help you keep track of your blood glucose levels and nutritional information with ease, making them an important part of modern diabetes management strategies.

Another great way to cut down on diabetes-related inconveniences: choosing US MED as your diabetes supply provider. Our company can contact your healthcare provider and insurance company to ensure you won’t run out of the supplies you need. We’ve been in the diabetes supply business for more than 20 years, and we can deliver high-quality supplies straight to your door.

If you’re interested in US MED’s services, you can get started by reading more about what we do or exploring our online store.