{"id":13573,"date":"2018-11-14T11:30:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T16:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sourcelive.wordpress.com\/?p=13573"},"modified":"2019-06-13T10:09:38","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T14:09:38","slug":"msus-jeff-brodie-talks-about-his-experience-with-the-livongo-diabetes-management-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=13573","title":{"rendered":"MSU\u2019s Jeff Brodie Talks about his Experience with the Livongo Diabetes Management Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeff Brodie is a Management Analyst at MSU Human Resources who was diagnosed with diabetes in 2011. When the Livongo for Diabetes Management program<\/a><\/strong> first rolled out as a free benefit to MSU employees and their spouses\/dependents, Jeff was one of the first to sign up.<\/p>\n

Jeff admits his process for handling his diabetes needed to improve, \u201cPrior to signing up for Livongo, I managed my diabetes primarily by reviewing my A1C numbers (average blood glucose) every three to six months\u2026but unfortunately, the absence of a \u2018bad\u2019 number caused me to do very little to manage my condition.\u201d The Livongo program aims to reduce the burden on those living with diabetes by offering technology and support to help members easily manage their health.<\/p>\n

Members get a free Welcome Kit which contains the Livongo connected meter, a charger, unlimited<\/strong> free strips\/lancets, a convenient carrying case, and optional coaching with a health care professional.<\/p>\n

\"Livongo
The Livongo Welcome Kit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeff finds the Welcome Kit and support immensely helpful, \u201cI receive FREE test strips and lancets, and weekly summaries of my results\u2026the best thing is: it keeps a record of every test result that I can put into a spreadsheet and share with my doctor.\u201d Jeff\u2019s favorite part of the program is the unlimited free test strips and lancets \u2013 why pay for these supplies when they are available free?<\/p>\n

Signing up for the program<\/a> <\/strong>couldn\u2019t be simpler, \u201cI signed up by phone and it was easy\u2026the Welcome Kit arrived in the mail, I had a phone number or email address handy for questions. And once I got started, it became part of my daily routine to test.\u201d Creating a daily habit to test is a great first step to learn when you may need to make small changes in your diet and\/or exercise to improve your overall health.<\/p>\n

Jeff admits he could still do more to manage his diabetes, like improve his diet. However, he explains that Livongo, \u201creminds me that I\u2019m a diabetic, that I should test, and that I should use my test results to make SOME changes in my diet and exercise\u2026This has caused me to make changes in my lifestyle that I otherwise would not have made.\u201d And while Jeff has opted to not use the optional coaching services offered by Livongo, he does occasionally reach out to the coaches via email if he has a question about his numbers, diet or the program.<\/p>\n

Understanding how what you eat influences your diabetes is vital to improving your health. As Jeff explains, \u201cEven when I let my food monster win for a day, I\u2019m still aware of being diabetic and the lifestyle changes I must undergo to manage it.\u201d Keeping track of the trends in his numbers has encouraged Jeff to adjust his diet to eat more vegetables and protein and fewer carbs, especially if his results are high.<\/p>\n

\"\"If you\u2019re unsure if the Livongo program is right for you, consider Jeff\u2019s attitude: \u201cThere is nothing to lose at all, and everything to gain. Even if you sign up and do the minimal, you will be healthier than if you didn\u2019t sign up at all.\u201d Your level of participation in the program is entirely up to you, with the option to cancel anytime.<\/p>\n

If you have questions or are ready to sign up, visit the Livongo website<\/strong>.<\/a> Find more testimonials for Livongo here<\/a><\/strong>. Do you have your own experience with Livongo? We\u2019d love to hear in the comments below or email us at hrcommteam@hr.msu.edu<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeff Brodie is a Management Analyst at MSU Human Resources who was diagnosed with diabetes in 2011. When the Livongo for Diabetes Management program first rolled out as a free benefit to MSU employees and… Continue Reading… MSU\u2019s Jeff Brodie Talks about his Experience with the Livongo Diabetes Management Program<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb1fcA-3wV","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13573"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14539,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13573\/revisions\/14539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}