I have not been approved through my insurance, as of yet, to obtain the Glucose Monitoring System. I hope to be approved very soon. Can anyone give me any feedback on this system? I currently have a Minimed Pump. I have heard a couple of bad things about the GMS, such as, the tapes do not stick and they come off in the middle of the night and the glucose readings are delayed by about 10 minutes.
I would appreciate any feedback or any information about this system.
True, true and true.
Sometimes and for some people the tape does not stick very well. There are work around, such as Tagederm, a substance the makes the skin a little stickier and extra tape and such. The units can come off at night if it’s not adhering well.
The 10 minute delay is actually closer to 15 minutes and it’s not a BAD thing, it’s just a thing to be aware of. The CGM (GMS) does not monitor blood sugar, it monitors the fluid in your skin and there is a lag of 15 minutes.
The hardest thing to learn when starting with CGM is that the numbers on the CGM and on a fingerstick don’t always match and it is a grave mistake to worry about it or to try to ‘chase’ the meter reading by trying to get them to match. The benefit of the CGM is NOT what number it is reading but to show you if your glucose level is on the way UP or on the way DOWN - and how fast. That’s it. It helps people catch lows before they arrive - and that is the primary justification for insurers to provide coverage. For some reason insurers don’t see it as ‘efficacious’ in avoiding high bgs. Go figure.
Terry
Thank you for your response, Terry. What do you mean that the number on your finger sticks and the number in the CGM do not always match. That can actually be very scarey. I thought it was basically a tracking system to show you a pattern. But, I thought the readings were accurate. My main reason for wanting it, is that I am a single mom and I have a great fear of crashing in the middle of the night and never waking up. This has happened to me, but fortunately, either my parents were living with me at the time, or my boyfriend was with me. I wanted something to alarm me if I was getting too low in the middle of the night. Is this something that could assist me with this?
Mignonne,
The numbers are not going to be the same because the two devices are measuring two different things just like Terry said. A finger stick measures blood and the sensor is measuring the glucose in the fluid around the cells. So it makes sense that they won’t be exactly the same number at the same time. They do correlate and they are both accurate. You are also correct that the sensor will warn you when you are getting too low or too high. It becomes a love/hate relationship when it is screaming at you all night…but you will be safer. Hope this helps.
Thanks, Donna. Yes. It helps. I am still a little confused, though. Is the measurement on the Monitor the one that is more accurate? Sorry. I am just starting to do research about this.
It is not a matter of one being more acurate than the other. They are both accurate. Blood glucose levels 3,4,or maybe even 10 times a day are still just a snap shot of what is going on because you don’t know what is happening in between those BG levels. The sensor is monitoring continously and sending a value to the pump every five minutes (288) times a day so it is more like a video of what is happening so it shows you the trends.
Donna you couldn’t have explained this any better! 
Oh I see. That makes sense to me now. Overall…do you like it. Are there things about it you do not like?
I love mine. I have hypoglycemia unawareness. I also work from home with no one available to rescue me if I were to pass out. The CGMS makes me aware of my glucose levels, and allows me to correct with my pump if needed for a high, or adjust my basal for a low.
I would recommend one if you have it available to you.
My CGM never comes off it is stuck like glue
After I insert it but before I tape the back down that is attached to the CGM I use a IV3000 skin prep all around. Then put a piece of IV3000 tape down the the tape that is on the CGM. Then I pull the needle and attach the transmitter then put 2 more tapes down. It does not move at all on me. I had ot due this because I am allergic to the tape that is attached to the CGM.
How I keep my readings almost perfect with my meter is after the first 12 hours the readings are close but if I notice 2 readings in a row way off then I take the difference and enter a BG into the CGM that takes into account how much higher so I enter less or how much lower so enter more. This seems to make it almost perfect for me. I have had my meter and CGM match perfect. However that is not what I use my CGM for. Like others have said I want to know if I am spiking to much after a meal or dropping to fast from a bolus. For that it is perfect and it is allowing me to fine tune things. The CGM for me is telling me what is going on and how things are being digested. It makes me feel safer adjusting my doses up to take care of things because I know even if the numbers do not match I am going to see a down arrow long before a low and I can watch with my meter.
Because of so many awful lows I have been scared to adjust for highs the CGM is giving me piece of mind to do so again.
Also from the CGM I have found that my sites only really last for about 30 hours so my doc is putting in a script for daily site changes this is helping tons. The trends spotted a constant change after 30 hours of a infusion site. Pretty Awesome.
Be well and be loved