Anyone use Visible (Illness/fatigue tracker) & other alternatives?

[UnderOpenSky]

My partner has a number of health conditions, including long covid. She struggles with energy and sometimes knowing when to stop and when to push on. We've talked about the idea of getting her garmin watch or similar, but she's put it off as even the smaller models are a bit bigger then she likes. She's recently been reading about a product called visible, which is an armband, rather than a watch. It measures HRV (Heart Rate Variability), which my Garmin does, but the app is aimed at people who need to pace their energy, rather be encouraged to do more.

It sounds great and the device is "only" £75 but the app subscription is £15 pm/£131 per year, which seems a little steep. If it's as good as it claims, that could be worth it, but I'm interested if anybody here uses it or a similar device?

Visible - Activity tracking for illness, not fitness.

Visible provides the tools you need to understand your energy-limiting condition. Use data to pace your activity, manage your symptoms, and help move science forward.

www.makevisible.com

Long Covid: the patient who’s made an app to track symptoms

The app Visible is also geared towards people living with conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome

www.theguardian.com

 

[wtfftw]

no but I dismissed visible as I'm anti subscription.

I've just bought myself a garmin with a view to HRV monitoring. I had also considered chest straps but didn't get far with the research before my garmin was reduced over black friday. I think there's subreddits with info (ofc).

 

[Silas Loom]

I tried the app only, without the device, and it was pretty useless.

HRV isn’t always a great proxy for energy use, it doesn’t account for cognitive exertion or sensory overload, and generally people with energy-limiting conditions learn better personal heuristics for pacing than Visible appears to deliver.

Also, Visible seems very keen on getting daily benchmarks at set times, which doesn’t work for people who have disturbed and unpredictable sleep patterns. I don’t have this problem but a lot of people with these conditions do, and they grumbled about this aspect of Visible a lot.

 

[kalidarkone]

Obviously if people love these gadgets and find them useful then fair play.

However I wonder if these gadgets will override the ability to tune in to one's energy levels. I mean isn't this like having a gadget that tells you that you are hungry, rather then knowing you are because you feel hungry?

As an experienced post surgical health care assistant I rely on looking at my patient, their pallor, breathing (how often, how deep) what does their skin feel like? Clammy? Hot? Cold? How does their pulse feel? Faint? Working hard? Regular? .....as well as state of the art monitoring.

Anyway these are thoughts I've had when Ive seen that advert for an aura ring- similar health monitoring gadget.

 

[Silas Loom]

Obviously if people love these gadgets and find them useful then fair play.

However I wonder if these gadgets will override the ability to tune in to one's energy levels. I mean isn't this like having a gadget that tells you that you are hungry, rather then knowing you are because you feel hungry?

As an experienced post surgical health care assistant I rely on looking at my patient, their pallor, breathing (how often, how deep) what does their skin feel like? Clammy? Hot? Cold? How does their pulse feel? Faint? Working hard? Regular? .....as well as state of the art monitoring.

Anyway these are thoughts I've had when Ive seen that advert for an aura ring- similar health monitoring gadget.

Oh Christ, you’re making me stick up for the Visible people now.

This is not worried well gadgetry. Energy-limiting conditions and the penalties for exceeding capacity are real. The signs of that excess are not, unfortunately, going to be apparent even to very experienced and savvy HCPs.

 

[Ted Striker]

it doesn’t account for cognitive exertion or sensory overload, and generally people with energy-limiting conditions learn better personal heuristics for pacing than Visible appears to deliver.

Pretty much this, tbh. I have similar on my garmin (fairly top of the range) watch and it's pretty useless tbh. It seems to just be a proxy for measuring how long I've been awake for.

I am a huge gadgeteer, but in my heart of hearts I know a decent personal diary process (logging what did I do and how did i feel) would be infinitely more useful.

 

[danny la rouge]

I tried the app only, without the device, and it was pretty useless.

Same. It wasn’t useless, but didn’t tell me anything I didn’t know. “You’re feeling a bit rubbish. Take it easy today”.

 

[TopCat]

My partner has a number of health conditions, including long covid. She struggles with energy and sometimes knowing when to stop and when to push on. We've talked about the idea of getting her garmin watch or similar, but she's put it off as even the smaller models are a bit bigger then she likes. She's recently been reading about a product called visible, which is an armband, rather than a watch. It measures HRV (Heart Rate Variability), which my Garmin does, but the app is aimed at people who need to pace their energy, rather be encouraged to do more.

It sounds great and the device is "only" £75 but the app subscription is £15 pm/£131 per year, which seems a little steep. If it's as good as it claims, that could be worth it, but I'm interested if anybody here uses it or a similar device?

Visible - Activity tracking for illness, not fitness.

Visible provides the tools you need to understand your energy-limiting condition. Use data to pace your activity, manage your symptoms, and help move science forward.

www.makevisible.com

Long Covid: the patient who’s made an app to track symptoms

The app Visible is also geared towards people living with conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome

www.theguardian.com

There has to be a version on alibaba that will suit

 

[danny la rouge]

Energy-limiting conditions and the penalties for exceeding capacity are real.

Yup. I’m still paying today for going to a coffee shop on Wednesday morning.

 

[Silas Loom]

There has to be a version on alibaba that will suit

It’s not really about the hardware.

 

[kalidarkone]

Oh Christ, you’re making me stick up for the Visible people now.

This is not worried well gadgetry. Energy-limiting conditions and the penalties for exceeding capacity are real. The signs of that excess are not, unfortunately, going to be apparent even to very experienced and savvy HCPs.

I was not disputing that. I absolutely understand regarding energy limiting conditions.

My reference to my job was really to demonstrate the importance of also reading non tech indicators of vital signs outside normal limitations. ie not totally relying on tech.

danny la rouge s post regarding that he was not told anything he didn't know when feeling fatigued was my point.

 

[wtfftw]

I'm thinking it could definitely help to have something saying "your stats say you're feeling shit so have an extended rest". It's very easy to ignore body signals until past the limit.


I don't have the luxury of aggressive rest right now (school runs are not negotiable) and generally feel like shit so I'm hoping for external help on pattern recognition and then I'll be able to apply tweaks.

+new toy and hobby.

 

[Ted Striker]

The problem i had with it )desperatetho i was to have tech/science enable some life improving analysis), in theory, was that I might (=likely will), use a negative reading to bring me down if I wasn't feeling like crap.

I.e. If the app tells me I should have no energy, but I was actually feeling ok, then I might think the app knows something I don't, and it might be a self fulfilling prophecy (or something) iyswim...

...Alternatively if it tells me I should be feeling good, but I actually feel like shit, then it's no help whatsoever and would further remove any confidence I had in the technology (with the regret of investing in it).