Health Applications for those with chronic illnesses

[ClockworkBee]

Hi there. I have a fatigue based chronic illness called c.f.s/m.e. and there are two functions that seem likely to be within the capability of the current products that I'd find exceptionally helpful (even if they reduced the battery life of the fitbit) and would significantly aid my recovery.

1. A warning when my heart rate exceeds a certain amount (not sure if you can already set this but I couldn't find it in the features list) - the recommendation for C.F.S/M.E and many other health conditions (including some kinds of heart disease) are to keep your heart rate under a set amount when exercising. An alert when my heart rate hits the maximum recommended to me by my medical specialists would really facilitate my exercising safely and sustainably.

2. Context based alarms - for example the ability to set an alarm to go off if I've been active for x number of minutes, or sleeping for x number of minutes during the day, or inactive for x number of minutes. Being able to limit the length of a nap during the day, has broad use for people who have other sleep conditions besides c.f.s/m.e. This is different than setting an alarm before you attempt a nap because people with sleep disorders especially can take a highly unpredictable amount of time to fall asleep which makes just setting an alarm manually problematic and potentially very inaccurate. C.F.S/M.E, like many other conditions, impairs short term memory and concentration; this can mean that I lose track of how long I've been doing a particular activity or resting. Given that managing and recovering from my condition means carefully prescribed activity and rest periods, the ability to set a vibrating alarm to warn me if I've been moving around or resting for a set amount of time would be incredibly useful.

[SunsetRunner]

Fitbit devices are not medical devices, and not submitted to the same regulation.
Adding these functionnalities with increase the tests, and of course, the price.

I suggest you to look at Philips (or similar) medical devices.

http://www.actigraphy.com/devices/actiwatch/actiwatch2.html

[ClockworkBee]

Thank you for the link but this doesn't do what I'm looking for according to the website/brochure. I'm not advocating that the Fitbit be classed as a medical device, I assume context based alarms or the ability to set an alert for a heart rate ceiling wouldn't require that. I think the functionality I suggested would potentially be more generally useful to healthy people as well.

[LizFitbit]

Hi @ClockworkBee, that's an interesting idea. You have a couple of suggestions here, so in the interest of streamlining them:

• HR Zones although focused on exercise, will still apply to what you're discussing in your first point
• Tracking naps isn't currently planned - see this existing feature suggestion.

Thanks

[Aaroncollyer10]

Hi! I suffer from M.E/CFS and use my fitbit to help pace myself and makesure i am not exceeded my daily thresholds. It would be great to have an option where instead of encouraging you to move more or celebrating when you reach steps, that it actually warns you to slow down and rest up. Would be very encouraging and useful for people with chronic illnesses to baseline and control their symptoms. 🙂

[TFarg]

HI, I was wondering. Will you ever merge an app that helps those with chronic illness? for people with chronic illness sometimes they can't move and literally have to say in bed. My Fitbit reminds me of steps I have to take which I am working towards not getting 'triggered' by when already having a huge flare-up day. I mean even for those who may s

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @TFarg, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about adding a Health Application for those with chronic illnesses. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

You might be also interested in checking this suggestion: Community group for chronic pain/illness.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.