I was wondering how many have foregone the CGM training and Jumped right into using their CGM…I have. I’ve watch the videos and read and read and read and read somemore…Of course being a nurse helps I believe…How many have just Jumped right in???
I use the Enlite and my MM723 Paradigm, was pretty simple to set up, insert and get the Pump set up. The lady at Medtronics was a little taken aback I think when she asked when I would like to set up the training and I told her I didn’t need it…lol.
When I started on my CGM, I read the entire user guide and watched a few youtube videos online. Sine I’ve been wearing a pump for 29 years, it’s been a long time since any one-on-one training. Good luck with your CGM!
Beyond spending 30 minutes with a Dexcom person before I did a trial run of the Dexcom, I didn’t receive any training.
I originally expected I was going to, but the whole reason I got the thing was in order to manage my BG during international travel and attendant time-zone shifts, and the CGM arrived like a day before departure. So I went online, read around, checked TuD and saw that other people had started on their own, watched a video, and went ahead.
I didn’t receive any training, I didn’t even meet a Dexcom person. No training was offered. I watched the setup videos & read the manual. Then tried it. I had a couple of phone calls with Dexcom support who were very helpful. I have a Medicare Advantage plan with Kaiser & they don’t currently support CGMs in this region.
I watched a couple of youtube videos on insertion & read through the user guide.
It was all on a continuum of pump training→CGM training. Which is a little silly when you’re 47.
The thinking: “It’s complicated.”
Me: “So is Type 1. I’ve been putting my own pants on for 45 years. I’ve never lost consciousness or gone into DKA in the four years I’ve been gifted with Type 1.”
Same for me and +1 on the great information on TuD discussions. For example, who’d have thought there were so many different considerations and options for adhesive!
Same. We just watched Youtube videos for to the CGM we had. To my knowledge, no training was offered for it.
Part of the many things that steered me toward Dexcom over Medtronic was that Medtronic wanted to do this extensive trial period where I wouldn’t even be able to see my own data etc, whereas I felt like Dexcom treated me like the capable, autonomous adult I am, offering support as needed. I watched the videos, read some things online, and then was good to go! There have been points where I’ve had questions, which is part what led to me this forum, but mostly I’ve been able to answer that myself. Only time I’ve used the support is when switching to the G5 system.
No formal training here. I did have a one week trial administered by medical personnel. But they just inserted the sensor and turned me loose. Just like,the others, I read and watched the tutorial.
You can learn what you need from a few YouTube videos.
That’s what I did Jim…Watched the Youtube Videos and read the manual for both the Enlite and the the pump manual on how to set the pump up and so far so good…I really think the lady at Medtronics was taken aback when I said I didn’t need the training…there was a long pause in the conversation when I said that…lol
What is this CGM training of which you speak?
I just called the number, paid the money, asked if I need a prescription or something (answer was not really what is your doctor’s name). Then the box arrived two days later and I followed every instruction in the quick set-up guide including having a glass of champange while you wait the two hours between pluggin in and calibrating. If you miss the champange step in the quick guide you must have the pediatric instructions.
I didn’t see anything about training. Must have missed it 
Ok - so it has only been three days and it is a game changer already. It lets me treat the lows before they happen and be more agressive treating a high. Treating the lows before they happen avoids the post-low spikes I seem to get.
When my doctor suggested I get a CGM, I did NOT want it – hate needles and didn’t want an “attachment”… Waited a while, then, when he suggested it again at the next appointment, I agreed to it, reluctantly. In any event (to make a short story long… 
), once the process started, I watched all the videos about it that I could - Dexcom’s videos and several that I found on YouTube. My insurance, however, insisted I do a trial first, so I went to my doc’s office to do it. The technician who set it up for me knew LESS about using it than I did – I ended up training the technician! (And even then, she made me look away when she inserted the sensor!)
When my Dexcom kit arrived, it was in my house exactly 11 minutes before the sensor was inserted and the receiver startup going.
THas, I think mine was in the less than 30 minutes, then inserted…lol I know I wish I had gotten one when I first went on the pump.The first nite on it caught 3 lows before they happened…I undercorrected I guess. I know that the CGM is almost Spot on with my meter too…I think I’m gonna like this little gadget…Everyone is calling me a BORG Drone now…lol. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!! lol
I got mine on Friday. Saturday morninfg around 3AM Screeching sound woke me up out of a sound sleep, and I am glad it did…I was LOW…meter stick confirmed it 68…corrected, went back to sleep 3:30 Alarm again, Still low, corrected AGAIN. 4:15 ANOTHER alarm…Still LOW!!! corrected AGAIN then up for the day…at 6:15 BG according to meter and CGM 92, SPOT ON!!! I think I’m going to love this little gadget.
The whole reason my doctor put me on it was because he surmised I was having Nocturnal Hypos as I was complaining about waking up in the middle of the nite drenched in Sweat and confused, but I would just go back to sleep and wake up later and check and be high, (I suffer from SEVERE Dawn Phenomenon).
I learned so much from just the first week trial with the CGM, that I was sold right away. After over three years using it, I know that there will be times when it’s just completely “off” - but those are far outnumbered by the times that it gives good, timely data usable for keeping BG in line. My last A1c (just received last night): 5.0.
You might want to look at two books: Gary Scheiner’s Practical CGM and Dr. Stephen Ponder’s book Sugar Surfing. The first has excellent advice on how to make the most of the CGM. The second talks about ideas to take it even further for tighter control.
The only training option I had was by video chat so like many others I read the manual, watched the Dexcom tutorial, reviewed the inserter inatructions, and did the insertion. The first time I was really hesitant to depress the plunger–it looked huge!! Now I think nothing of it…and even changed one out while chatting with my daughter!
With Medtronic I not only drove across town for the long training session, but had a rep come to my house to review the Proper Way To Do It. I used a protractor to get the precise angle of insertion and kept my eyes on the screen and the clock to catch the optimal moment of calibration. Most of the time when it did work, it said I was high when I was low and vice versa.
I read the instructions and watched the video for the Dexcom. When I got the box, I followed the instructions and it worked accurately. I remember thinking, that’s it? So easy. No protractor. No worries.