I am looking to invest (personally) in a CGM system. I have a Paradigm Veo pump so the natural choice seems to be the Medtronic Enlite. I am looking for opinions and experience of anybody who has used CGM, what systems have you guys had the best experiences with, how does the the Enlite system compare with the rest of the market?
Paul, my only advice to you is to read everyhting you can about CGM on this site. I used the Paradygm system for two years & finally stopped becuase of recurring problems with calibration, accuracy, charging, etc… For some the Paradygm system works good, for others like myself it didn’t. What I did realize during this experience with CGM is that the knowledge base on this site is extensive & ultimatly helped me a lot. But in the end, I rejected Paradygms CGM system. Hope you have a far better experience with CGM.
Enlite is not yet out in the US, so all I know is second hand. What I’ve HEARD is that it’s more accurate than the old Sof-Sensor, and has a longer life (6 days instead of 3). Sof-Sensor users tend to stretch out their sensor life, but I don’t know if you can do that with the Enlite, which would mean 12 days instead of 6.
The Enlite has been approved in at least some European countries – it would be nice to get their input.
I suggest Dexcom. Its sensors last 7 days according to FDA. Some users you will find here get as much as 21 days per sensor. I had 5 of 5 Medtronic sensors fail on start up because the cannula filled with blood which clotted and made the sensor worthless. I have not had a Dexcom sensor fail on startup for 20 months.
Cheers.
Paul,
This is Tom I’m sending this for my wife.
My wife has been using the Dexcom ever since they were introduced. We attend a group of pump users the majority of which that use a CGM use the Paradigm system. Many have gone off the system due to same issues to which Gerhart has alluded.
By comparison we find the Dex has fewer issues and is significantly more accurate. During a hospital stay for surgery she was allowed to keep her pump and DEX on (during and after surgery). Every time the nurses came in to check her BG I was able to look at the DEX and tell them usually within +/- 15 what reading they would get. Watching the DEX we could easily tell if adjustments were need to her basal or bolus.
Because she has hypoglycemic unawareness I cannot tell you the peace of mind I have while at work knowing that the DEX will provide her sufficient warning before she crashes. In fact the major reason we decided to get a CGM was her Dr. put her on a Dex for a week to get some readings to make adjustments to her basal rates. For a week every single night the alarm went off for low BG. When she checked sure enough it was low. Since she hadn’t changed her night time routine we wondered how long this had been going on. At that point she was sold and at the end of the week was hesitant to return it. Needless to say we bought one (no insurance at that time) and she and I have been happy with the results since.
She is able to get two weeks by restarting it after it shuts down on day 7. A few times she stretched it to 21 but the issue is keeping it attached - the tape won’t stick. We have not seen a sensor fail for almost 2 years.
Good Luck
Hi Paul - I use the Gaurdian Sensor and transmitter with the Veo pump, and my experience is mixed. Using a CGM in general has been quite a pain for me as it really feels like you are constantly kept in line with this machine and it’s alarms and signals and calibration. For example when you’re going high and you know it but you’re busy so you’ll get to it - the alarm keeps on going off and alerting you so it’s quite frustrating.
This too at night - though it’s a good thing to wake you on lows and high’s - it’s still sometimes a real bother.
That said, I’m on my second Sensor in 3 weeks after really struggling to control my morning highs. Now I haven’t used Sensors for quite some time, but felt the need as I detest waking and testing when there are so many variables to get that typical night time reading.
My last Sensor (2 weeks ago) was ok - meaning it’s accuracy was often off and had some issues with calibration and stuff. But the one I’m currently using has been great - really accurate and showing me great trends I can really use.
Remember - the CGM is no substitute for testing, but it’s a great resource for trends and analysis.
Hope this helps? 
Cheers
I hope some other Enlite users come along for you. I have used the MM cgms (not enlite) and honestly it has a lot of room for improvement. We had a lot of lost sensors, weak signals, random restart, 2 hour warm ups, etc, in my opinion there is something wonky with the MM signal strength. Due to this, your cgms can stop working in the middle of the night for example, with no warning. It was a constant battle to keep it working.
We switched to Dex and love it. It is much more accurate and easy to use for us than MM. It just works. One downside of having the cgms integrated in your pump is that it’s difficult to hear alarms at night when your pump is under the covers. Dex sits on a nightstand instead.
I have seen the Enlite video. I am not a fan of the clamshell transmitter design, and Enlite still has this. The clamshell is attached to the sensor that goes under your skin and it can flop around if not taped down well. The problem is too much tape and you have all the signal issues I listed earlier. Dexcom sits in a fixed frame/carrier device. I don’t know about the new software for Enlite. Hopefully it is more user friendly and calibrations are a no brainer. Pain was an issue with the current MM cgms, but Enlite is smaller and hopefully more comfortable.
See if you can get a free trial from your MM rep. I can understand why Enlite would be your first choice, but I would want to test it out before commiting.
I’m sure you’ve probably made a decision by now, but I just wanted to throw in another vote for the DexCom Seven Plus. This device has been by far the best development ever in my diabetes treatment (and I’ve been diabetic for 17 years!). My A1c before Dex: 7.2; A1c after Dex: 6.4.
I’ve been using it for almost two years and have had only 1 sensor error and I usually get at least two weeks out of every sensor.
The Dexcom has been very accurate and helpful to me. I call it " my over-large beauty mark" and would hate to be without it. It’s helpful to me to see the trending (up/down) info before eating or exercising. It gives me tighter control. My hubbie is comforted by the knowledge that an alarm will sound should my bg be too low or too high when I’m sleeping, which is reason enough to do it.
I use the enlite sensor and use each sensor at least for 2 weeks my longest was 21 days without errors.
if you already have the veo pump the decision is fairly easy go for enlite sensor .
About precision of sensor they are quite precise with me most of time bg rendings and sensor readings match . by the way the enlite insertion is lite a quickset no pain at all .
Unfortunately, the Veo and Enlite are not available in the US, and it's anybody's guess if they ever will be.
Natalie this is just to make you a litle jelouse ,the enlite sensor doesn´t need extra tape to stay atached yothe body like the softsensor and by the way the veo cgm is more accurate and responsive then the revel cgm
Big vote for the DEXCOM!
I tried the Dexcom in 2009 for about 5 months, but I quickly abandoned it after I had lipodystropy on both sides of my abdomen. The doctors (and Wikipedia) said it was because of the insulin, but I've been using Novolog forever and had the pump for four years at that point, so I'm not sure why it would magically start happening in the span of one week. I stopped using Dexcom, but I continued using Novolog and the pump, and I haven't had problems since then.
My guess is that doubling the amount of needles in my abdomen caused this, and the Dexcom needle was fairly long (and very difficult to insert). Only one side of my abdomen has gone back to normal.
But now, I'm trying the Revel pump and CGM. I'm not happy with the needle length, and it has caused bruising and bleeding, but I am happy that 1) it covers much less real estate than the Dexcom, 2) the monitor is built into the pump, and 3) the sensor has an inserter. However, I'm mystified that the transmitter is allowed to naturally flop around, and you have to use a massive IV3000 bandage to secure it. Incredibly clumsy design. Luckily, I've managed to use a simple piece of medical tape to secure the transmitter to my body.
Another thing: If you don't angle the insertion properly (close to 60 degrees), then the insertion point is exposed! Plus, I've had a lot of bleeding around the insertion point, and the blood dries up underneath the base. Not aesthetically pleasing.
Overall, lots of pro's and con's with both Dexcom and Minimed. Not sure why they take so long to improve their designs, especially in this day and age of advanced technology.
Well, Medtronic has a new sensor, the Enlite, which has been in use in Europe for a couple of years now, which has a tape built in to secure the transmitter. And it lasts for 6 days instead of 3.
But, of course, it is lost in FDA wasteland hell, so no one knows if or when it will ever become available in the US.
Neither one of the CGMs is as good as I would like them to be, and yes, I would really like to see both companies working on improvements. I'd like to see more accurate meters for that matter! But with the FDA the way it is, and the healthcare industry the way it is, I advise you not to hold your breath.
Actually, I have exactly the same question. So far I've been on the OmniPod for >5 years, but my A1C is getting worse and worse (recently 8.4) so my endo has suggested a CGM. But he seems to think I should abandon OmniPod and go with Medtronic pump because with the Elite you can get them to talk and it'll shut off insulin pumping if you get too low. Well, that's all very nice but it doesn't seem like a good enough reason for me to abandon my OmniPod. So I'm checking into what experience others have had combining OmniPod and CGMs.
Update: I switched from the Medtronic to the Dexcom for a couple of reasons: first, it's WAY more accurate for me -- I had a lot of missed lows in the 50's on the Medtronic. I can't speak for the Enlite, but that leads to reason number two: The Dex sensors last longer. If you reuse the Enlite, you get 12 days; if you reuse the Dex, you get 14. Plus a lot of people use the Dex for even longer than that while continuing to get good results.
The fact that they don't speak to each other is not such a big deal -- it really doesn't take much time to enter a BG reading from the Dex (or even better, a finger stick) into your pump, and then your carb count -- a very minor inconvenience in the whole scheme of things. Both my Dex and my t:slim are in my pocket, and don't bother me in the least. So I'm sold.
How's this working for you now - about 2 years after you wrote what I'm seeing here ??
Thanks !
I just the got the Enlite sensor and G30 pump - Loving it so far!
It is leaps and bounds ahead of the older medtronic CGMs in my opinion. The Shut-off is quite useful, but I find the best thing to do is to configure all the alerts. They can drive you insane if you don't have them set to a reasonable interval.
Having all the data in the pump is also quite easy for you or your doctor to review. Its a nice package.