The difference is, you actually have a good reason to be using a CGM. It can give you information that will guide treatment for an actual medical condition.
but- some people will realize they have a good reason to use a CGM after they start using it. just like i didnāt know i really needed a meter til i started using one.
That type of thinking is foreign to me. āIāve got a solution, now all I need is a PROBLEM!ā
That kind of thinking is what allowed me to catch my bg abnormality at the prediabetic stage instead of the diabetic one. My sister waited until she was 51 to get an A1c done and was at 6.2. We both always had normal fasting bg. Now we have non diabetic bg with diet and exercise alone.
Actually, I think he is on the diabetic spectrum, so to speak He got interested in metabolic medicine and low-insulin diets because (if I remember correctly) he was testing as pre-diabetic with high cholesterol (i.e., classic āSyndrome Xā or āMetabolic Syndromeā). Since, as far as we know, Metabolic Syndrome is almost always a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. He has since lost weight and his BG is in normal range, but Iām pretty sure heās āone of usā in remission, more or less.
I may be misremembering that, but I donāt think so. Itās been a while since I read his blog, but when I was first diagnosed as Type 2 (and since Iām an active, amateur athlete) I read his stuff religiously because it seemed like he was in the same boat, more or less.
Yeah, thatās exactly the argument my wife and doctor make against me having a CGM haha. Iām already obsessive about micromanaging my BG, and they are rightly concerned that with the right (or wrong) tools Iāll want to make 20-40 corrections a day
Some, like Sugar Surfingās Stephen Ponder, wouldnāt see anything wrong interrupting your day briefly to analyze whether you might need a micro-carb or micro-insulin nudge or even a deliberate decision to stand pat. Itās tempting for people who donāt live 24/7 with diabetes to mischaracterize aggressive and sane diabetes management with obsession or compulsion. Without my personal experience, I might make the same mistaken conclusion.
My limited understanding of OCD is that itās marked by overly repetitive behaviors like hand washing or checking that the door you locked is really locked. These are behaviors with little to no personal benefit beyond scratching the OCD itch.
Close diabetes management is not a fair comparison. Driving a system in manual, one meant to work automatically with exquisitely subtle and well-timed signals, requires more attention than 3x/day or even once/hour to have any hope of driving it well.
I donāt mean to be unkind to your spouse or doctor but they do not have diabetes and therefore physically understand the huge drag out-of-range blood sugar has on emotional disposition and overall quality of life. People with medical credentials may know all the textbook and even clinical information but until they live a day without a working pancreas, theyāre missing a crucial piece of knowledge.
Twenty to forty episodes, maybe averaging a minute each does not seem obsessive or compulsive if what youāre getting in return is near-normal blood glucose with a high percentage of time in your target range. I call this metabolic sanity, a nice return.
If you are happy with your current diabetes protocol, however, then thatās all that matters.
I was really just making a joke, although my wife (not really understanding the disease) does worry about how close attention I pay to it. I figure itās my health and life, and Iām not overly concerned with how much effort I put into managing my BG. So far, itās working well.
Sorry, sometimes Iām slow! No offense intended.
I know Iām more willing than the average person to give diabetes what it asks for. Iāve heard the obsessive criticism before but it often comes from people who donāt know any better. Itās nice to know Iām not alone in that perspective.
Exactly so. Iām sure my doctor can describe the chemical pathways with precision and a degree of knowledge that I could never approach . . . but I know more about day-in, day-out management than he ever will.
Actually, I have read of this frequently enough, of people with hypoglycemia (not diabetes related, at the time it was acquired). The cgm is a life saver for these people as well.