Fitbit. - Which Model Do You Use?

[yogini]

I think I saw some prior posts about Fitbit. For those of you that have one, I was wondering which model you use? Has it been helpful in improving sleep, monitoring fitness and/or keeping track of symptoms? Or do you think it is more of a fun toy than useful?

A store near me has them on clearance, so was thinking of picking one up. But don't want to waste money either. Thanks!!

[kayjay]

Mine is really uncomfortable to sleep in and the information is more "fun" than useful. I don't really monitor my heart rate any longer but it is much more comfortable than a strap around your torso. I think it's most useful for counting steps and I'm pretty depressed when I see how few I take most days.

I'd say more fun toy and not so useful but I'm not exercising much these days. Mine isn't water proof but it might be fun for tracking exercise.

[toomanyproblems]

I have a fitbit charge HR. I only use it to monitor my HR. I can show my physicians my HR charts on my phone. They go back for months. This is very useful for me. Like tomorrow I'm going to a vascular surgeon and I can show him what drugs helped my huge spikes and which didn't. It is not comfortable. I don't really like it but it's providing an invaluable service for me to document my HR patterns for me and my docs.

[abizzle229]

I also use Fitbit Charge HR. I use to monitor my HR, and I like that it graphs the trends for months. It shows me how I am doing overall. It also calculates my resting HR. It is pretty accurate when I checked it by checking my pulse manually and off of a monitor. I think it is worth the price.

[yogini]

Thank you. I think the Charge is the only one that has the HR? It is more expensive and bulky. I like the skinny one that looks more like a bracelet. That one is also cheaper, but maybe the Charge makes the most sense for POTS? I have a few Polar watches, but they don't have the analytics of Fitbit. And your right that the chest strap is really uncomfortable. Guess I will splurge...

[Bigskyfam]

HR

I do like the activity sleep and such

Hr isn't terribly accurate but has caught two rounds of svt

[lewis]

I have the charge HR and the heart rate it shows in the graph on the app in my phone is an average over 4 minutes (I think) unless your in excersize mode (by holding down the button) then the average is every 1 minute. Also the real time monitoring on the bracelet is slow as it will show high numbers from when I have been standing although I am now sitting and my pulse has gone down. It has helped me realize when I need to be more hydrated and have noticed trends that have allowed me to start running again. (Not far but at least it's some and feels really good). I also like the sleep part cause I thought I was getting more sleep than I actually was and have budgeted my time for more sleep and in turn feel a bit better. I recently had to switch wrists due to it giving me tendonitis for some reason. In all it has improved my quality of life.

[yogini]

Tendonitis! Omg!

[aaron.parks]

I like the Charge HR, it's very good for monitoring resting heart rate like others have said but I also haven't found it to be very accurate or quick to update when your heart rate is changing quickly... sometimes takes it quite a while to realize that my heart rate has just gone up by 40BPM. So if you're picturing quickly glancing at your Fitbit to check your pulse while you are trying to do normal daily activities (like I was) it probably wont be satisfying.

It's great for keeping track of how well I've been doing based on my activity level, though: I judge my activity level by the number of "steps" per day that it reports. You can set your own goals so you're not held to the same 10,000-step standards as someone without a chronic illness

I switch wrists each day or so, but for me it has less impact than a wristwatch. I usually forget that it's on, and I sleep with it on which I've never been able to do with a watch.