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Some of the sensors are reasonably useful for "perhaps you should see a doctor" or at least "explaining what the sensor saw when this happened to a doctor". The
by ocdtrekkie 6y ago
Some of the sensors are reasonably useful for "perhaps you should see a doctor" or at least "explaining what the sensor saw when this happened to a doctor". The SpO2 sensor, which never worked on my Fitbit anyways, is particularly helpful to keep an eye on if you have COVID, as it so happens.
In my case, I found sometimes I'd start feeling really odd when I hadn't eaten much lately, and I discovered due to my Fitbit that my heart rate was spiking even while I was pretty much sedentary during those times. When my best description of the event prior was "feeling weird", having that info from my Fitbit is pretty nice if I want to explain to a doctor what's going on.
Is the sensor extremely precise on those figures? No. Is the general trend of being hooked up to them both during baseline living and during an unexpected medical event pretty useful? Absolutely.
- ch4s3 6y agoI don't disagree broadly, but there's a big difference between something that give's you the user a heads up and something that is backed by evidence and is medically useful. Chest strap heart rate monitors that cyclists use produce useful data, but obviously you aren't going to strap one on every day.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoI mean, the margin of error is definitely larger, but I wouldn't say you can't call Fitbit data "evidence". And again, I would definitely say it's medically useful to have a general daily baseline to compare against. If my Fitbit says I'm usually here and then all of a sudden, I am here, the sensor may not be super precise, but it's absolutely evidence that the measured value has changed.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- ch4s3 6y agoI mean "evidence" as in evidence based medicine. Which is to say, there isn't research showing that these devices are useful in a clinical setting which is my only claim. Plenty of people find them highly useful for their own individual reasons, and I wouldn't claim otherwise.
- tomcam 6y agoWait so what was the deal with your heart?
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoIt seems to be related to low blood sugar, here's some quick web search blurbs that probably explain it: "Scientists were already aware that low blood sugar might speed up heart rate by sympathoadrenal stimulation. In other words, low blood sugar may spark an epinephrine or adrenaline response in the body as part of our biological emergency alert system, that which induces “fight or flight” or in the case of diabetes, a strong urge to signal the body to “consume sugar now!” Coupled with low blood potassium, this response may lead to an irregular heart rate." "Blood sugar levels affect the heart when the levels are at extremes, either very high or very low. A higher level of blood sugar raises the blood pressure and heart rate. This leads to heart diseases. If you have low blood sugar levels you will experience a rapid heart rate and a drowsy, irritable weak feeling." That latter description far better explains how I was feeling. Anyways, I neither understood why I was feeling that way, nor it having any relation to my heart rate. Having my Fitbit on both gave me information that could help me identify what was going on, but also a way to know if it's happening again, so I can eat something quickly.
- tomcam 6y agoSounds like you’re handling it well. My best to you, and thanks for sharing.