I got my Garmin Vivosmart 4. I decided to buy the older model because I like its smaller profile and its lower price!
And I am really pleased with what it has done for me after about two months of usage. There are definitely areas that do not seem as accurate and/or as helpful as others, but overall I have found it very helpful and practical.
First the stuff that doesn't work too well for me:
It tracks oxygen saturation and I was initially horrified to see numbers in the low 80s overnight. But then I checked daytime numbers and compared them to a really reliable fingertip pulse oximeter and found that the Garmin was between four and twelve points lower than the pulse ox all the time. So I disabled the automatic feature because...it was too stressful.
Whenever I go on a walk that has any incline, it is a loop. In other words, I go down and up the same amount. I live near a river and have to walk down to it, and then of course, back up. The Vivosmart inevitably will tell me that I have gone down twice the flights I ascended. So I have ceased to pay attention to that, except to laugh from time to time.
On the other hand:
The HR seems very accurate and has been helpful to know and monitor. Particularly with POTS flares. It is the simplest of measurements, other than steps, on this device, but it has been a good guide and has helped me stop on a few occasions where that was clearly warranted.
Stress, or HRV, seems to reflect my reality and like
@keepswimming noted, it has helped me to see more clearly the activities that take me down fastest.
Most helpful of all, though, has been the body battery. It somehow combines heart rate, stress or HRV, and activity to estimate energy levels. Referring to it has made a huge difference for me. I know exactly where my 'crash point' is after using it for a while, and when I see myself approaching that point, no matter how I subjectively feel in that moment, I rest. I stop. Because I know that when I hit that magic number, it will be too late.
And the only times I have actually crashed in my classic fashion (I think we all have our own very special versions!) over the last couple of months have been when I ignored that metric.
I live in the moderate/mild realms where I actually can do some things from time to time. And it is really easy for me, on a good day, to psych myself into the fantasy that I can do what I might have pre-ME. Or even half of it, to be honest. This device keeps me honest with myself about my limits, and in so doing, spares me a lot of pain and dysfunction.
