CGM what do you think?

Type 2
21

Yet my Dexcom G5 nearly always warms me just as I’m getting low. And yes I know about the lag time of interstitial fluid readings but for some reason as I’m going down it tends to catch my Lows and either warns me a tiny bit ahead of time or it shows a low just as I start feeling it. It Works far better than I ever expected

If I look at the graph, a downward trend will clue me in that I’m going to get low even without an alarm or an absolute low reading at the time.

22

I am pre-type 2 with reactive hypoglycemia. I work nights, try to function during the day, and as a result have absolutely no hypo awareness. I am excited as can be that next month I have an appointment with my endo to discuss getting a Libra, at the educators recommendation.

I don’t need an alarm, although I did get down to 38 on the OGTT, but I really want to see what my glucose does at work. If I eat off plan it is at work. I get stressed and the next thing I know I am eating any and every thing. Then I go home and pass out or sleep, depending on your view. It is probably a reaction to preventing a hypo after a hyper, but I don’t really know. I really want to know what my glucose is doing when under stress. The thing is that I can’t just whip out my glucometer while at work. By the time I can check my glucose it is too late. Heck, just going to the bathroom often gets delayed a few hours or more. A sit down meal? Almost unheard of. A 15 minute delay will seem instant to me.

I also know that this fall, when my glucose was in the 80’s during a fast, I got down the last hurricane shutter, trimmed some trees, about 1 hr of exercise, came inside and my glucose was in the 200’s. I had read that exercise would lower my glucose. Well, not for me.

I don’t need a true CGM. I’m working with diet, not managing insulin. I need to see trends in an easy and non-invasive manner so I can adapt intelligently to them and maybe actually gain some awareness. That is what the Libra seems designed for. Considering that it is much less expensive than a true CGM also helps.

So, yes, I agree that it seems more geared toward type 2’s

23

I’m a type 1 with poor hypo awareness. My awareness level varies depending upon how many recent hypos I’ve had, but there have been times in the past that I was down in the 40s and even low 30s before I became suspicious enough to test. Yet I chose a Freestyle Libre and am now on my fourth sensor. I expect my hypo awareness will improve with the better control.

I’ve been testing an average of about 30 times a day. After the first week, I haven’t had any hypos under 60, simply because I catch them in time. I never have serious night time hypos. For one thing, at my age the bladder wakes me every couple of hours anyway, so I just check BG then. My BG rarely changes quickly, as my Humalog has five to six hours duration after meals. And I simply manage my BG to avoid serious hypos at night.

Although my Libre indicates I’ve had 14 lows in the past 30 days, I’d guess that at least half of those are not actual hypos, but false readings caused by lying on the sensor. After a couple of times of waking with a Libre reading in the sixties, then testing and finding my blood test in the 80s or even 90, I discovered that all I need to do is wait five minutes. That’s all the time it takes for the sensor to show a more accurate reading if it was due to lying on the sensor. So I rarely do a blood test for lows any more.

I had an A1c pretty consistently in the 5.5 to 5.9 range even before the Libre. But I did have more serious daytime lows than I liked. The Libre has helped me to eliminate anything lower than 60. And I’ve been able to cut down excursions over 180, too. Time in range (70-180) shows as 96% for the past 30 days, with 1% above and 3% below. And the “below” includes all those false lows.

I’m pleased as can be with my Libre, and really feel no need for the alarms in my case.

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24

I’ll generally experience an increase in my blood sugar if I do muscle workouts or anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise tends to send me low. I’ve read posts from others on here that report similar experiences.
Maybe you were getting a muscle workout in the yard that day?

25

[]

Dave44

March 14

Yet my Dexcom G5 nearly always warms me just as I’m getting low. And
yes I know about the lag time of interstitial fluid readings but for some
reason as I’m going down it tends to catch my Lows and either warns me
a tiny bit ahead of time or it shows a low just as I start feeling it. It
Works far better than I ever expected

If I look at the graph, a downward trend will clue me in that I’m going
to get low even without an alarm or an absolute low reading at the
time.


Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.

The warnng is because the DEXCOM projects the trend of the
reading.

26

and you are telling me this, because??

27

Currently with the Dexcom G4/G5 cgm systems, there is no projection of future BG data, values or alerts.

This is however a feature that is reported to be part of the G6 system which has been submitted for FDA approval and is expected to be released this year.

The Dexcom CEO described this as:

There’s another alarm in the G6 system coming out that is a predictive low glucose event that will, patients will be able to use. And that will basically give them 20 minutes warning, I think 20 minutes or 30 minutes, before they hit the low 55 threshold – rather than waiting until they get down below a specific number, which we’ve got feedback in our studies has been very useful and very well-accepted with patients.

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28

But as we know, there is a rate of change alert; either 2mg/dl/min or 3mg/dl/min. To me, that is a helpful alert type.

29

Absolutely.

But that is not projection rather it is very specifically based on data gathered over the last 10 or 15 minutes and where that data is already lagging perhaps 15 minutes behind due to the sensor reading the interstitial fluid.

30

I’d love there to not be any delays (due to interstitial fluid always having some lag), but I do get warnings from my G5 as I’m going low. In a perfect world there will be another technology that noninvasively gives real-time glucose readings identical to accurate finger-stick readings from glucose meters.

31

Totally agreed. No doubt in my mind there will be.

Until then - we will stick with the Dexcom.
:smile:

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32

[]

Tim35 Parent of
a Type 1
The G5 displays the trend with the circle/arrow icon, per
the documentation.

33

@HeavyDrop
Absolutely correct. The recent historical trend of the last 10 or 15 minutes of Dexcom cgm data is displayed with a circle/arrow icon.

The Dexcom G4/G5 cgm system has absolutely no predictive capability.

34

Don’t recall reading about that differentiation before. As much as I hate aerobics, I will have to try and see. Thanks. :slight_smile:

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35

OK the Dexcom may be the a good CGM as it continuously monitors the Blood, the Freestyle Libre, i find cheaper as it has a kinder insertion to your skin!! :slight_smile:

36

That, and that alone, is the reason I’m getting Dexcom. I greatly dislike having another device attached to a different body part (Omni Pod user) BUT having the ability of going to bed at night w/o worrying about waking up in morning makes it worth it. So for me the alarm won me over. Have had too many dangerous and scary bouts of losing consciousness while sleeping to negate the reasons of why I didn’t chose this important device sooner. Surprised I still have functioning brain cells left. Made calls this week and expect to get my Dexcom hook up fairly soon.

37

I think you’ve made a good choice. While there are no guarantees that any diabetes tactic or device will work for everyone, I have been a happy user of Dexcom CGMs for almost nine years now. I hope your experience is similar to mine. Good luck!

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38

Been using my Libre since March, only negative I have for it was the time I put a new sensor on right before I went out to play golf. When I finished I went home and took a shower and the sensor popped right off my arm. I have since started changing sensors in the mornings, to give it all day to adequately adhere to my arm in case I do something to get extremely hot and sweaty.

I too, at least at this point, would not call it a cgm. What I really like about it, though is that it gives me the 8 hours worth of readings to look at and see how certain foods, exercise, etc affect my blood sugar over time not just the snapshot that finger pricking gave me.

I have just received a waterproof NightRider from Ambrosia. Sensor change due Wednesday, so I will put it on the new sensor and see how well it works sending data to my phone/watch.

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39

So I had a Dexcom G4 that I had a horrible experience with the sensors staying on and also getting false lows during the night. If it was only 1 night a week that would have been fine but after 4 days in a row and confirming I was fine, the last time I took it off and parked it in the closet.

Now about 6 months ago after I got complacent that I was doing fine my sugars skyrocketed and the suggestion to get the Libre came up and I thought OK lets give this a go. I ran into the same problems as I did with the G4 with the sensors falling off. At my 3 month follow up I was told that I could get the sensors replaced by calling. So I started back down the path for another run but with better results I was able to get the first one replaced then as suggested by my doctor though I know it is not approved I moved it to my butt cheek and have not lost a sensor since.

Moving on to yesterday I received the final bill for my last appointment and there was an additional charge for the data interpretation for $50.00 above my copay. Now I remember the day’s of paper logs before the meters has USB’s. I had a Dr give me my first USB meter so he did not have to read my scrawl as well as produce a chart and now just because I have 288 readings a day vs the 10 I had I have to pay an up charge. I hurts since I am lucky due to the insurance company gives me the strips and lancets free from mail order so I have the additional $40 for the sensors but then to get hit by the Dr as well just hurts especially because reviewing our readings has always been part of their Job all along. So I m going back to finger sticks.

Thanks sorry for the rant.

40

Forget about being sorry - I never heard of such of charge for something that takes about 30 seconds

My wife could send data to her doctor and get changes back for free anytime

FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR

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