I’ve been using a pump for five years and have had no major issues. My insurance got me a new MM723 with CGM two months ago. It is very easy for me to use and I understand the interpretation of both of the values I monitor for insulin therapy. My A1C is 6.0-6.4, been that way for many years. Here’s the problem, and perhaps some of you may feel this way. The CGM is pestering me all the time. All day. All night. The wife hates it. I turn if off now before I go to bed. I am doing well on the thing, and usually have a flat line on the CareLink printouts. It just seems that I’m using way too many strips and am paying way too much attention to it. If this is the latest and greatest, then why do I feel this way? My CDE just says get used to it. Your thoughts, ideas?
I completely understand what you are saying. I currently have my high and low range set at 81 and 135. While this has allowed me to achieve A1Cs in the 5s (something I never thought was possible 5 years ago) it does come with negatives.
The amount of time and energy I devout to my CGM can be too much. It can be frustrating to have my CGM alarming at me on bad days seemingly nonstop and then using countless numbers of test strips. It can lead to burnout and the need for a vacation at an alarming rate. Something I have considered (but yet to do) is that on tough days (when I am sick, my basals are off or my diet will make things difficult) that I should allow myself some slack and loosen my high and low ranges (maybe adjust 80-160). I am not sure if I will mentally be able to do this.
Another thing I have noticed that seams odd to me. The days my CGM seems to stress me out the most are sometimes my best days. Days where I appear to be a perfect diabetic and flatlining at 90 all day. As the day goes on I have increasing stress or anxiety to keep my flatline streak going and not go low or high. I just find it odd that a great BG day can cause that much stess. At least this is not a concern today!
I have really been working on my control. I take my blood sugar a lot. This has been the only way I have been able to catch things before it gets too out of whack. The alarms get on my nerves too. I don’t really care about an alarrm for high sugars bc I take it enough that I know when it is high. I do like the low one but I usually also feel it coming usually before the cgm picks it up. I really like the capability to check if I feel weird to determine if I need to do a finger stick bg and I also use it as a 2 hr post sugar guide after meals and don’t usually use my meter for that. I would just change the alarm settings you may not even need them.
Lori
I have to laugh when I think of the first night I had the dexcom cgm… I didn’t realize at first that you shouldn’t treat based on the cgm and I had alarms going off alllllll night long. My husband was ready to throw the thing across the room! His comment was “I thought that thing was supposed to help you!” Poor hubby, gotta love him.
I just started using a dexcom cgm about 2 weeks ago and feel like I’m just starting to get the hang of it. I’m type 1 for 25 years now and on MDI, planning to go on omnipod once I get used to the cgm. I’ve become more hypo unaware where I never had a problem with that until the last six months. My main problem right now is my body trying to transition into menopause and my hormone levels are all over the place, which has caused my bgs to be crazy. That’s the benefit of the cgm for me - trying to regain the control I’ve always felt that I had before the big meno symptoms and protection against lows I don’t feel at night.
My educator told me if it drives you crazy, just change the settings at night to whatever you can live with. When you work full time, you have to get some rest. For me, the most important alarms at night are the low alert and the double arrow down. I keep it next to my pillow and if I wake on my own during the night, I may glance at it but that’s because I’m paranoid about the lows at this point.
I worry about using so many strips these past few weeks too. My insurance won’t let me refill my prescription early without paying full cost which I can’t do on a regular basis. My endo thinks I over-test. I don’t know how else to get control back without over-testing.
Hi Mike, I have started using the MM CGM just recently myself and I totally get what you are saying about the alarms. When I first used the CGM it was like a new toy. I couldn’t stop looking at it like every 5 minutes!! Then I was testing so much more to make sure the thing was accurate. It has come in very handy though for those middle of the night lows that I wouldn’t have noticed before. Now I just have to remember not to shut the alarm off and go back to sleep!! It is taking some time to get used to it. Thankfully my insurance has let me order more strips since I explained that I was testing probably twice as much now.
I've done some goofy stuff so my numbers are a bit out of whack lately but I agree with the constant bleeping bleeping being annoying. I was just thinking "I should just take a break" on the way home from work today but probably won't because I'd rather have the data, however questionable it is.
I agree with alot that has been said above. I use the Navigator CGM, which as with both Dex has the alarm perameters - but when working (Office - trading) I have it set to low sensitivity - when I ride (bike) I drop my Omni basal by approx 50% and move my CGM to high sensitivity. This gives me a great warning and ability to take gluop over an 8 hr ride. However, my wife would love to throw it out of the window on those nights when its alarming..! Thats when the spareroom comes in handy !! I prefer it to wake me at say 5 mmol prior to the hypo, which takes so much more energy to get over.
Gos
There are nights when my Dex goes off all night alerting lows, and I sleep right through it, but it keeps my husband awake. He'll wake me and I'll say it's ok and go back to sleep and he'll stay awake. We don't have a spare room, so I sleep on the couch and we both get a good night's sleep.
I was on the MM CGM for 6 months and I was not a fan. The site was painful. I kept testing to see if it was accurate. The delay was annoying and I would over treat lows and then I would have to re-calibrate it constantly. If I was high, the high reading staring at me in the face for hours drove me nuts. A CGM cannot fix a low or a high, ha. If it was spot on accurate and not painful to wear it would mean the world to me as I struggle physically if my bloodsugars are not in normal range.
Karen - thats terrible - I must be lucky that the Nav and I work well together - its all about adjustment I suppose. They need to improve, I agree, but are wonderful at times
My doctor told me I didnt need another device in my life, alarming me and causing a distraction.
True enough, I need to get the full value out of fingersticks and my new pump (just received a new model) and appreciate those tools.
2012 will be my 60th year with T1 diabetes. I received a Dexcom 7plus about two years ago. I'm on my 2nd CGM. The great thing about the CGM for me is I have not had a hypo. event during these two years.
Prior to getting a CGM my A1H was consistantly around 6.0. This good number doesn't tell the real story. I formally had good A1H numbers due to my frequent highs and very lows. The average of this roller coaster ride was an excellent A1H, but I had terrible lows frequently. Many times needing a Glucagon injection from my wife. I'd be dead without her.
I agree the damn alarm, at times, can drive you crazy. I am alerted, however, at 80mg/dl and as a result my glucose seldom goes below 70 mg/dl because I'll eat an apple, etc. when alerted. As a result I now have basically the same A1H but now it is due to good glucose numbers throughout each day. I am a much healthier diabetic.
It has been terrific for my overall sugar control and my wife is extremely happy I have it. It took her a long time, even after getting my CGM, but I'm very pleased to report my wife no longer worries about my having a hypoglycemic event.
To me, bedtime is the most important time to have it on due to your unawareness of low sugar while asleep. Sleep time was when I had my real bad lows before CGM.
Get your glucose level up to 140mg/dl, or maybe more, before going to bed. This usually keeps my CGM quiet throughout the night along with a good morning blood test. Consult your doc. with this idea, but keep in mind their knowledge comes entirely from reading studies. The diabetic often knows best what works for him/her, in my opinion.
Humans, as you know, are extremely adaptable creatures. Trust me, You'll get used to it and be able to outsmart the alerts.
Yeah, the alarms drove me crazy too. They used to wake me up all the time, but for some reason that has improved. I have turned off the high alarm and the low is set pretty low....I usually sense them before the alarm goes off. Also, my alarm is set to vibrate. I have been using it now for almost 4 years and it has gotten much better. At first it really annoyed me and I didn't calibrate it right so I got inaccurate readings . Now my biggest complaint is insertion...it hurts and I hate that!
Where r u inserting. I had that problem but have been using the upper tops of my thighs no pain what so ever.
Lori
I have always done my abdomen, but I think I will try thighs. It just seems like it would hurt more there. Thanks for the advice!
Yup, my wife also complains. I lower the low alert at night but some nights I give up and turn my Dex off. Dexcom needs to acknowledge that interstitial fluid gets stale when inactive and sleeping and thus they should do what Minimed does and allow different hi/low alert settings for nighttime.
CGM is unlike anything else in my life in terms of how my satisfaction varies up and down. If my car breaks, I get it fixed and I am happy again but CGM is inherently inconsistent.
I also used to do my stomach but since I use that for infusion sites they wanted me to use another area. I have had little to no pain compared to sides of my legs. Plus I am a side sleeper and now I don't have to worry about lying on it and it hurting. Let me know how it goes.
Lori
I totally agree with you. I have been using a CGM for the past year and after 2 months of use I turned off all the auidble alarms except the rapid rise or the rapid drop. Right now I absolutly love the thing as it is much less intrusive in my day. I do check the reading frequently during the day.
It's like a tamagotchi keychain pet that's linked into your own body readings.
I feel the same.
I feel it has a long way to go for multiple reasons.
The main one is that it isn't automated in any way.
I can understand it as it has it's moments where it will just spaz out. I'm sure you've seen it, just before a sensor is about to bite the bullet and readings start peppering up and down every 5 minutes, but I'm left with that nasty feeling that it's really mainly for legal reasons, and so all this monitor can do is bug the hell out of you and ask you for things.
That said, when I don't use it, I miss it. I like being able to see what's going on all of the time. It almost gives me the gift of being able to see into the future as it points out trends and directions you're going in.
I'm so immune to the bleeping at night now that I may as well just not wear it. I automatically turn it off in a half-sleep daze almost no matter what.
All in all it's a strange product, huh? A very mixed bag you might say. It helps in some ways, and is certainly annoying, but somehow fills in some grey areas enough that I feel odd without it now and so can't diss it too much.
I feel it's a necessary step. Look how many of us have the thing, even though it isn't fully covered by insurance yet. The next generation will be hopefully better, and will pull in other manufacturers who will hopefully link it to their pumps so minimed can be pushed off of it's self-entitled throne and start helping out customers more.
I suppose with any product, The first generation tests the waters.
I'm hoping the second and third from all arenas of production become more automated, less nagging and have faster and more accurate testing percentages, and will have full coverage across the board from all insurance companies.
We're getting there and will no doubt look back and laugh at these antiquated massive sensors that we used to strap to ourselves in the same way we do with blood glucose testing strips and the machines from the 80's.
All very true Breaddrink, but as a T1 who almost always closely watched his glucose levels it follows, at least in my case, that lows are are a normal consequence. Therefore, turning your CGM off at sleep time, when you won't notice symptoms, doesn't make good sense. A higher mg/dl before going to bed can help, bigtime.
There sure is room for improvement, but due to the mostly aggrevating alerts, I have not had a bad hypo. event in two years which is when I first started with my CGM. A big change!
I think, even with its flaws, the Dexcom 7Plus is the best improvement since synthetic insulin (which isn't saying much).
Time for a major breakthrough.
It also seems unfair that many times more Federal money is spent on AIDS research than on Diabetes; this way, however, does get more votes.
What ya think?