Just want to share quickly another study I just started. And it’s not so much about the drug but the information I got out of my first overnight.
The study has me come in at 5 pm, they do all the vital checks check blood sugar with the lab system, I take my bolus with my pump, wait 15 minutes and than eat. Pump comes off, IV is going with insulin and another with sugar, and than I get to watch the medical team try and keep my blood sugar in the range the study wants. Oh, I must say I get great joys out of watching the medical professionals getting so frustrated that the numbers don’t make sense.
But over night when the blood sugar went too low, they gave me the choice of OJ or IV dextrose, I went with dextrose (had already brushed my teeth), I knew it was going to be too much, but not my call, they have protocols. So of course blood sugars went to 210. I could just see the frustration on the faces of the 2 nurses, knowing the blood sugars had to be in a certain range before the test could start the next morning.
But I must say, I am using the new G6 with my new Tandem IQ. And I know some are not very high on the G6, but even the medical team was very impressed. Every test was 10 points lower than what my phone was saying. And that was due to blood verses body fluids. I was very, very impressed. Every test, it was no more than 10 points off! And for someone who was an 8-12 times a day tester for many, many years, I have gone days, many days without testing. It is liberating!
I am heading into work, but I promise I will finish the story and post my charts since my new pump and what the drug has done for me because I think I am getting the drug not the placebo.
And to everyone Have a very Merry Christmas!
I think this kind of experience would be beneficial to diabetes clinic doctors and nurses. They know diabetes is hard in a textbook kind of way. We know it’s hard on an emotional gut level. I think this professional appreciation of the real nature of living with diabetes would improve the perspective of many practitioners.
Good luck with your study. Comments like yours about the G6 convinces me to sign up for the G6 as soon as Medicare makes it eligible next year. In the meantime, I am comfortable using my trusty G4.
There used to be an nice online simulator that modeled meal absorption and insulin absorption curves and gave bg response. All graphically, really neat.
But I don’t think it had the randomization or other nonlinear factors (non-constant basal needs, or nonlinear insulin sensitivity) thrown in.
In general the medical practitioners hate curves and area-under-curves (I know - I was a math and physics major and every time a doc asked me what I was studying they all told me how much they had hated calculus) but given the younger generations constant exposure to trending and graphs in video games (if nothing else) maybe this can be corrected.
I started using the G6 about eleven days ago, and I’m loving it as well! I did a sensor restart yesterday, and it was easy peasy. The G5 was pretty accurate for me most of the time, but there seems to be less of a lag with the G6. I’m absolutely loving it, and I’m thoroughly impressed.
I can’t tecommend it enough.
Edit/update:
My first sensor worked for 20 days. When I replaced it with a new one, the new one bled a bit. I never had that happen with a G5 sensor. I decided to give the sensor a try still. It was off by quite a bit the first few days, despite calibrations. The patterns were overall accurate though (just not in the right range), so I decided to wait it out.
Around day 4-5, the readings were consistently lining up in the same manner as the first sensor (unlike the first few days). On day 10, I replaced that sensor with a new one (my 3rd sensor) and did not experience any bleeding. I just barely replaced it, so we’ll see how this new sensor goes.
I’m not sure why I bled so much with the second sensor, but that appeared to affect the accuracy. If I get these bleeders frequently, then that will change my opinion of the G6. If they only occur every 1/8 sensors, then I’d probably be okay with it.
I’ve had no problems with the adhesive (so far)- though I do apply SkinTac to my skin beforehand. The lower profile of the G6 has been wonderful. I’m really hoping I don’t get more bleeders.
Your experience is one reason I say an artificial pancreas system will never work unless insulin works super fast, and you can account for all the random issues that lead to wacky results.