Westin just had his first a1c since starting the MM Real Time at the first of June. For reference, his a1c last August was 8.4, December 8.0, March 7.9. Now it is 7.2 with NO LOWS! I can’t wait to see what it does when we have been on it the full 3 months!
Now, I understand that a1c isn’t everything, but how has your a1c changed?
We have not received our sensors yet, but WOW. This is very significant. Have heard a lot of negative feedback from others regarding using the continuous sensors in children, told that it is too painful, and we should not “impose” the sensor. Queried as to if my niece “wanted” to wear the sensor. We don’t even have it yet! However, as she is ten, her mother is the one who makes these decisions for her and I pray she will accept the sensors in the same spirit as she has the pump. I have read your posts on CWD forum, among others, and it struck me that she is certainly not one of the youngest to try the sensors. Waiting for our letter of authorization from the insurance company and then it’s full speed ahead! We have had our eye on the continuous monitors since her dx two years ago. This post is all the encouragement I need to keep my eye on the long-term goal, despite some drawbacks regarding comfort. And you haven’t even been on the sensors three months as of this posting!
I would like to add that I don’t believe there is any additional discomfort. The insertion is a little different, and my son complains, but probably because we use the Sure T pump set and it is a quick change. Sensor changes take about 10 mintues and I think that is his biggest complaint. We have consistantly gotten 6 days a sensor and our last one was 10 days. That means we don’t go through the sensor change very often. I think it is easy to forget it is there. Of course, me checking it all the time is a sure reminder! Good luck. I wish we could get insurance coverage. Soon, I hope. Either way, we will continue to use it and encourage others to embrace this terrific technology.
Mine went from 7.3—but i wasnt trying at all—i am lucky that way - March
then i started to try—and got to 6.6 - June
Got the Dex in June right after that 6.6
in September - my first A1C with Dex—6.0
I had alot of swings up and down—lots of room for improvement…but I stayed high for shorter periods of time. On the other hand, i ran low alot… my guess is that my next A1C will be between 6.3 and 6.8. Will let you know in December.
I have been using it for 6 months now. My two a1c were 6.8 and 6.7.
I’m determined to get a cgms for myself - I’m at stage 2 of appeals with my insurance (BCBS of Oregon) - tomorrow I have a 15 minute teleconference to deliver the speech that will convince them to pre-authorize the Paradigm minilink system to help me achieve better control. My question for you Jan, is what steps did you take to get the insurance company to give you authorization? What insurance company do you have? Any other steps to advise me?
Thanks and I’ll let everyone know when I get some feedback from them.
Davis
PS My last A1c was 7.8, which is an improvement for me - but I must bring it below 7 so my hubby and I can safely start a family of our own!
I had the same experience! I started in April 2007 and at the time I was around 7.6. In July it was 7.1 and in October 6.6. Granted I’ve been doing manual tests like crazy (is 8-10/day too much?) but hey, whatever works, right?
With regard to insurance coverage I have BCBS Illinois and my first and only appeal was denied. I’ve spent nearly $1000 out-of-pocket for the replacements but would love to get them to cover it. Letters are great and all but if I could just get someone’s ear for 5 minutes I could probably persuade them. Any advice as to how to get someone on the phone would be greatly appreciated!
my second after CGM was 6.1—
i have been running higher lately—been sick for a while with some sort of cold/virus…but at least i know where i am all the time and can correct quickly.
I am happy to reply that despite my frustration that the CGMS only seems to be accurate approximately 60% of the time, my A1C has dropped quite a bit in the 90 days that I have been using the system. I began the CGMS system with an A1C of 7.4%. This was pretty average for me; I fluctuate between 7.1 - 7.4% despite my constant finger sticks and tight carb-counting. I just can never seem to get to 7.0%. Of course, my goal is to get UNDER it, but I was just shooting to hit 7.0% once. Well, in just 90 days on CGMS I hit 6.7% !!! That was so huge for me, especially considering that my first 90 days on the CGMS has not been as satisfying as I had anticipated. I thought for sure I was able to correct some highs and some lows, but overall I honestly thought that it just wasn’t accurate enough most of the time. I may still be right about that assumption, but even with a low % of accuracy (IMHO), it sure yielded a very satisfactory A1C! I even posted it on my fridge…I am 32 so that must say something about how excited I was when I opened that envelop from my doctor’s office. I am super anxious to continue to watch it drop; I am very hopeful that this CGMS is the best thing to happen to me in a while (thank you, Minimed!).
outside of catching my lows at night…the CGM helps me stop the prolonged highs…my A1C’s have improved from 7.3 to 6.0 and 6.1---- i think prior to CGM, i must have been getting up to the 200 or 300 and staying there for quite some time…now when i see the trend heading that way, i can correct—and my bs peaks and comes back down…much better than peaking for 3-4 hours(or more) at 300.