I've been diabetic for over 35 years and I suddenly started having really low lows with no symptoms so I asked my endo. about getting a cgm (or whatever the right acronym would be). He said "don't do it, they aren't very good yet" and he sent me to a diabetes educator who, he said, would get me on a 24 hr monitor, kind of the equivalent of a Holter monitor for your heart. Instead, she sold me on buying my own system and said I'd love it. Well, I didn't love it. It's accurate about maybe 40% of the time (but the good thing is that I haven't had any serious lows since probably because I'm testing 10 or more times a day.) Then I got on the pump. The cgm system I was on didn't interface with my pump and the maker of the pump also has their own cgm which, of course, does. So I bought that system and on the advice of my new endo (my old endo retired unfortunately) I'm wearing both systems. Bottom line is this. Neither system is very accurate. I'm testing on my "One Touch" finger stick system about 3 times more often now and neither system very often comes close to what my 'actual' blood sugar is. (Ok, I know the acronym for that is bs but I think using it in this blog would be confusing.) Neither company has kept up communication with me -- they dropped me like a hot potato once I got their systems. Neither system works very well consistently. I love having the pump, I'd just be thrilled if someone could come up with a cgm that was as great as the pump.
Hey Unice. I've been using the Dexcom CGM on and off for a while, now, and the experience I've had is that at first the thing was useless, and then it (or I) slowly started to work better. Your endo was right that it's relatively new technology and still needs work, but it can be helpful if you've got a lot of patience for tinkering with it. One of the things that made a big difference for me is to wear the sensor on the back of my arm instead of my stomach (as recommended by the manufacturer). It's also REALLY important not to take acetaminophen (Tylonol) when you're on it, because it will shoot the CGM readings through the roof.
It can be a terribly frustrating gadget, but also quite useful.... if you can get it working properly.
I would have to second Emily- CGM's require patience. For me Medtronics sensor took a whole lot of patience to get to the point it was helpful. Dexcom, for me, wasn't near so difficult but did require patience. One other thing- Don't expect the CGM to be right on even 50% of the time. You should expect it to be in the ballpark but NOT right on. The meter you are using to evaluate how "on" the CGM is, could itself be off by 20% so I suggest you consider the CGM "on" if it is within that 20% which as we all know can be quite significant.....
There are a number of companies working on perfecting these devices, they are not the "end all" for sure. Sometimes when used for a short time, they can pinpoint problem areas. There are also dogs trained to detect hypo's that are pretty amazing. For my sons we always carry snacks of course and have found a new product called Glucose Quick Sticks that are powder and don't have to be chewed, which I like. Good luck!
