So yesterday I decided to break out the CGM and get it set up. LOL so don't have the time at the moment to see the CDE, I figure um Im a nurse, lol I can read it can't be too hard hahaha. Anyway it WASN'T to hard and actually am getting pretty good results with it. Yes it definately is NOT a replacement for fingersticking, but overall it is a nice feature.
So far about the only thing I don't like about it is this. What is the best way of keeping the CGM in place. The first one I found out the hard way was NOT going to stay in place without taping it down REALLY good. Right now Im using the IV3000 dressings Medtronic sent with my CGM and I dont really like it. I ordered some Opsite from Amazon as I've used that in the past when working in the hospital. Hoping it will work a little better but tends to in my opinion be a little tricky to use, sometimes you almost need 4 hands. What I was wondering, what about like one of the bigger sized band-aides? Is there any reason other than personal preference this wouldn't work? Any suggestions or ideas would be very appreciative. Thanks.
You are correct that Flexfix Opsite Tape is the best stuff. In the summer, when it's hot out, the sensor area will get full of sweat to the extend that I'll poke it with a lancet to drain it. But it still works!
I think the Opsite would be way cheaper than Bandaids as a roll will usually last me about a year.
I use the DexCom and use the Opsite around the edges of the Dex tape. I agree about it being difficult to use, I wish I could get the hang of how to separate it from the paper, aargh! It shouldn't be so difficult to use. I wonder how nurses manage to use it without throwing up their hands in desperation? If anyone has any suggestions, it would be welcome.
Hahaha I agree Opsite is so hard to use, especially on yourself I think. I have had a hard enough time using it on other people, lol. But I think it probably will be a better solution versus the IV3000 stuff.
Haha everytime I go to seperate it, I always get the edges sticking to each other.
+1 for flexifix! The easiest way, for me, is to take off the short end of paper covering the adhesive, put the strip in place, then peel off the long end while putting it in place. Hope that makes sense!
When I was using the MM CGMS, I also had the best luck with the opsite. I just ordered the rolls of the stuff, cheaper, and would cut a piece big enough to go over the entire sensor. I would actually tape two pieces over the sensor - side to side and another up and down like a "+". It held so much better for me that way. I did figure out to make it easier to peel the opsite off the sensor when I had to remove the sensor for a recharge I would take a piece of paper or cloth tape (roll, from the local drug store), put a little piece on the top of the sensor and just trim the edges of the tape so as not to hang when hooking it up. Then when I had to peel the opsite because I sweated to much (yes, like acidrock23 I too would poke drain holes in it), or needed to recharge it was so much easier to get the tape off the sensor without ripping the entire thing out.
W/ MM, you are changing it every 3-6 days anyway. I prefer knowing the sucker is stuck on to taking my chances. I had the CG for a week when I ran my first 1/2 marathon last year and the IV 3000 stuff lasted about 3-4 miles. And that was in April in Illinois. The long runs I did last summer were really sweaty, clothes soaked, me soaked, shoes soaked, you name it. We'd start @ 6:30 but it still got up to 85-90 by the time we finished several times and I didn't lose a sensor. I lost some infusion sets but that was b/c I didn't use the opsite tape on them until after it happened. Breathing is nice but having the thing stuck on is more important for me!
THANKS, ACID, for sharing about the opsite.I find that the IV 3000 does not hold well when I am active, either. Not just from sweat, but just from exercise movements: cycling, power walking, getting " jiggy"in a line dance class (lol)..I need more closure; I will check it out.
While Im not a huge exerciser, (have wrecked my knee) it gets VERY hot in VA and the humidity is awful here, so definately when it starts warming up I too want to make sure it is going to STICK and stick good. Glad to hear that Opsite is working so well. I think next time I order it, Im going to get the roll too, and just cut what I need off. Definately makes more sense.
AR, off subject a bit but notice you are from IL...upper NE part of the state? Im from IL too but more central IL closer to Indiana. Is Rockford near you by any chance? I hear they have some really good Swedish food up there, thinking about going back to visit one of these days soon to Chicago...and am looking for some AWESOME Swedish Meatballs.
Another quick CGM question. I thought I had read in all the info that you had to turn off the function where you meter sends your BG reading to your pump automatically. Is this correct? I have mine turned off, but I really miss that feature.
They have Swedish meatballs @ IKEA, I355 & Boughton Rd. There's also a neighborhood, Andersenville, pretty far north in Chicago, that was originally the Swedish 'hood and I think there's some places still dishing out lutefisk, etc.? I grew up up here but lived in Champaign for 15 or 20 years, until 2009. I've only been through Rockford once, just passing through on our way to Galena and/ or Superior, WI.
You are correct about turning off the "send" feature. At first I thought that was annoying but I sort of like the steering metaphors that come to mind when I'm using the arrow buttons as a "tiller"...
OMG that's a trip I have family that lived in Champaign/Urbana area. I lived more south of that...small little town called Olney. If I get up to Chicago I might have to check out the "Swedish" hood. LOL.
We moved from the area over 20 years ago when I was just 12 so lol my perception of where stuff is in IL sucks pretty bad.
Thanks for the clarification on the send feature. I guess I'll get used to it too.
I investigate car accidents at work so I know the geography, including Olney, Red Bud, Marshall, Elizabethtown, you name it, fairly decently. I think the farthest south I went out east was a paintball place out south of Newton somewhere in the boondocks. I've been down to Belleville a couple of times for work and to Carbondale and Marion as well.
