When I started on the O’pod one of the things I was most excited about was the CGM… then my endo told me that they were not very reliable and super expensive and my insurance wouldn’t cover very much of the cost… so I didn’t go forward with getting them…
Now I am rethinking that decision and want to get some feed back from people using them…
Also did anyone set up the software that came with the O’pod? I tried and it won’t read my meter and I have to enter all the data manually and I just gave up but I think it would be a good tool to use… any suggestions on that?
Don’t let your endo discourage you. I love my CGM, the Dexcom 7 Plus. I use it 24/7 and get about two weeks or more out of the sensor. They are pricey but I fought insurance and two rejections and finally they changed their mind. My doc fought for me and wrote some compelling letters to convince them of my need for the CGM. I find it fairly accurate, oftentimes it’s right on with the fingerstick. Only time it’s not as reliable when I have really high blood sugars but then, I’m using my meter anyway as I attempt to bring it back into range. I use the CGM readings about 50% or more of the time to give myself a correction bolus with the Omni. I haven’t had a problem yet. Of course, I occasionally compare it to my meter for calibration purposes. I really like the feature that alerts you when blood sugar is going high. When it fires off during the night, I just reach over, see what the reading is, then pick up my Omni, plug in the reading and let the correction bolus go, all without getting up or even turning on a light. 9X out of 10, I wake up in the morning in the ideal range.
Far as your software, just call Omni and they will guide you thru it. Good luck!
Having the CGM is good. It doesn’t work accurately 100% of the time, tends to be a bit tempermental, and can be expensive depending upon your insurance. Still, if you’re willing to work with it’s idiosyncracies, it can be the source of very valuable information that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. That being said, if you test enough, you can get a pretty good idea of what your BG profile is without having to use a CGM, but a CGM makes it a lot easier.
As far as the software for the Opod goes, my trainer set it all up on my lap top for me.
I waited on CGMS for a long time. In the beginning the systems were unreliable and very expensive. Depending on your insurance they are still often very expensive but the reliability has increase greatly. I strongly encourage you to contact the area reps for the CGMS companies and try different systems. For some reason Medtronic’s system did not work for me at all (we think it was a body chemistry issue) but my Dexcom is usually within 10 points of my meter (and if you do 2 checks back to back on the meter they’re often that far apart too!). Figure out which system works well for you, push to get it approved through your insurance, and then check with your DME supplier to see what the cost would be. You’ve got nothing to lose while doing these steps and it will give you time to make a decision about what you want. If I had to give up one or the other I’d give up my Omnipod before my Dexcom. Our treatment is only as good as the information we have to treat ourselves with. As for the OPod software, I’ve never had a problem with it. Have you called customer support and talked with them about it?
My son is 10 and has the Omnipod and the Dexcom. I LOVE the Dexcom. I can’t imagine managing his diabetes without it anymore. No, it’s not 100% perfect, but we use it to see where things are going. For sports its invaluable. Starting a soccer game at 130 going up is a very different thing than starting at 130 going down. We also use it to see trends. When I download it and superimpose all the days, I can see that every day he’s going up at 11 PM for example so I know much more accurately when he needs a basal increase. We can also see the effects of different sports, different food etc.
And it is much more accurate than I was expecting, I just wouldn’t use it to make an actual treatment decision.
thanks for all the responses… it seems I have some serious thinking and possible fighting with my insurance to do…
I love my CGM. I have the Dexcom 7 Plus. I have used it for a little less than two months now and have not regretted it yet. It tells you to change it after 7 days but I have worn mine for as long as two weeks. I let it go until it tells me I need to change it. It’s not 100% accurate all the time but I must say that it’s pretty damn close most of the time. With my busy work schedule, it was very difficult for me to stop and check my BG when I needed to which was one of the reasons why I considered getting the CGM. It’s been so close to my finger stick reading that I rely on my CGM all the time. I use it for my corrections and have never had a problem of being too high or too low. I can tell when my BG is on it’s way down so I can grab something quick to eat so it wont go any lower and I also know when it’s on it’s way up so I can correct before it gets too high!
One day in the middle of the night the alarm on it went off and I was in the 30’s. I was in such a daze and didn’t know what was going on because of my low but thanks to the CGM, it woke me up and I was able to treat my low. I can only imagine what would have happened if it hadn’t woken me up. This has been the best thing I have gotten for my diabetes.
My doctor and diabetes nutritionist both told me that the CGM would be a waste and that they are not accurate but I went ahead anyways and got it on my own. My insurance paid for it all and I had no problem getting it without a letter from my doctor. Although it’s rarely exact with the finger stick reading, it’s close enough that you can use the CGM readings to correct.
If I were you I would give it a try! It is definitely worth it!!
One of the nice things about the software is that it allows our endo and CDE easily access the data. This is so much better than the weekly fax we used to do. The software does not work on newer 64 bit computers or on Apples to the best of my knowledge.
I am probably the odd one out, but I am not a fan of the CGM. I’ve got good control, and while I love the data and it is a great tool, wearing a CGM 24/7 is stressful for me. I get very overwhelmed and stressed about my blood glucose being out of range even though I know I have bolused…I find myself not sleeping as well to “double check” that I am still in range…I love having it for travel and other “out of the ordinary” times…but not for every day…
Just my two sense!