The Practical Diabetic

I managed to link my Dexcom to Amazon Alexa today via xDrip+ so I thought I would step through how it works so others can do the same. As usual, a summary is at the end in the tl;dr section.

Why Would You Do This?

I can think of a few reasons why you might want to set this up:

• Anyone in my home can now ask Alexa what my blood glucose level (BGL) is, regardless of where I am.
• If I have a Spot or Dot by my bed I can ask Alexa my BGL without having to move anything more than my mouth
• If looking at screens is problematic, this provides an alternative way to know your levels

My Setup

As if often the case with diabetic hacks, there are a few links in the chain. Let us go through the applications and devices.

• The Dexcom G5 (although any CGM/Flash Monitor will work which is compatible with xDrip+). The Dexcom G5 has a Bluetooth connection to my Android phone running:
• xDrip+: An Android app which displays the Dexcom results and uploads them to the:
• Dexcom Share Server: An online repository of your BGLs. This is accessed by:
• SugarMate: An online report generation app, similar to Tidepool.org which has a Skill in:
• Amazon Alexa: Invoke the SugarMate app and you have your BGL and when it was last checked

Dexcom G5

Not much to do here. Attach it to your arm.

xDrip+

Install the app, go to the Settings and connect your Dexcom.

You will know if it is working because you will get a pretty graph of results when they come in.

Dexcom Share Server

To get the data from xDrip+ to the Dexcom Share Server we first need an account on the Dexcom site.

Once we have this we go to the xDrip+ Cloud Upload Settings, choose Dexcom Share Server Upload and give it the Dexcom account details.

As I am in Australia I am not using the US servers. If you are in the USA, your setting may be different. Also, as I am not using a Dexcom Receiver, I left the 10 Character Serial Number blank.

Amazon Alexa

I will work backwards from here (it just makes life a little easier). Firstly, enable the SugarMate skill through the Alexa app on your phone. This will give you the option of signing up for SugarMate and it will also give you an email address to add as a follower.

Once signed up and linked to Dexcom, go back to xDrip+ and add the email address as a Follower (the other name fields do not matter so make them something friendly for you).

That is it. With all that in place you can simply say “Alexa, ask Sugarmate for my latest reading” and it will tell you your reading and when it was last checked.

Using Routines

I was hoping I could use a Routine to modify the invocation command to something more ‘middle of the night’ friendly such as “Alexa, what is my BGL?” but at this stage it is not possible to invoke a Skill from a Routine.

tl;dr

Using xDrip+ with your preferred CGM/Flash Monitor, uploading to the Dexcon Share Servers, linking it to SugarMate and enabling the SugarMate Alexa skill, anyone in your household can ask Alexa what your blood glucose is.

This is useful in the middle of the night or if a loved one is at home and concerned. It is also useful if sight impairment is an issue.

Unfortunately I have found no way to simply the invocation phrase “Alexa, ask Sugarmate for my latest reading” but if I do I will add it to the article.