I don’t know if we have a forum with this but i’m looking into getting a CGM. We have narrowed it down between the Navigator Vs. the Dexcom. My doctor wants me to go onto the navigator but I haven’t heard much about it. I was actually very interested in the dexcom. My doctor doesn’t like the way the dexcom works just due to how complicated it his to download. I know one person on the navigator and one on the dexcom and they both love them. I have talked to both companies and I don’t see too many differences between the two.
I just want to know how the CGMs work for you. Are they accurate for you now? I hear with time they start to be reliatively close. I’m looking into getting one due to my hypo unawareness. I had a few 40s and didn’t realize I was low…
I’m on the omnipod and HOPEFULLY fingers crossed my insurance company will cover the CGM I decide on.
I am biased because I chose the dex and I am now under the influence of the endowment effect. I also narrowed my choices down to these two. You have a good chance of being happy with either of them. I like the dex because it lasts 7 days versus 5, has a warm-up period of 2 hours instead of 10, has a smaller sensor with tape that causes less irritation. From reading posts on CWD I sense that many more people switched from Nav to Dex than the other way around. I don’t understand the concern “how complicated it his to download”. The download consists of connecting the dex to a computer with a USB cable and clicking the download button.
Another happy dex user here! Downloading is very easy, and so I am not sure what the dr is referring to. We usually get much longer than the 7 days, and the transmitter is very small and light. It sticks well and the accuracy is great.
Simply select start sensor. There is no need to touch anything on the transmitter/sensor, just when the 7 days are up, select start sensor on the receiver, wait 2 hours and calibrate. It cannot tell that it is not a new sensor . Also a great way to restart the 7 days, if it will end at an inconvenient time.
The DexCom has caught 99% of my lows in the time I have been using it. I find it scary accurate most of the time. It can get ticky at the end of the sensor life and be less accurate. What turned me off from the Nav was the wetting time. I wanted to be on the CGMS as much as possible and the wait time is so long with the Nav. And downloading the data from the dex is a breeze, just plug in the receiver and open the software, I have never had a problem dumping data. I also suffer from hypo unawareness so I needed something!
The big thing to remember is that no CGMS will be accurate all the time. It is for seeing trends and catching major plummets or rises in BGs. I haven’t had a BG over 200 in months because I can see something is going wrong quickly and I can act. And you can get a ton of life out of a sensor. I looked over my logs and I average 12 to 13 days on a sensor. Much easier on the pocket!
I think you sold me Suzanne. How can I find out the price for
everything needed for the DexCom. Can I look at a DVD on
how it works? How long is the waiting time for it to work ?
Does your insurance pay for any part ? Has this company
been around awhile ?
I downloaded the forms from dexcom.com, had my doc sign them and mailed them back to dexcom. dexcom dealt with the insurance. A week later I got my starter kit in the mail.
I love the Dexcom. I chose it, get this, because it’s insertion needle is so tiny. I got rid of my HU through its use; I also got my carb grams & insulin dosage where, after a meal, BG never went above 140. You can really learn so much. The inaccuracy comes when high carbs shoot the glucose rapidly up. There isn’t a CGM in the world that keeps up with that. It was, of course, lagging real time glucose, and you have to get used to that. All of them do that, too. I learned most by eating one food, seeing what happened and recording it. Plan on doing research on yourself. And have a GREAT TIME with it! Fantastic device!
On the DVD on how it works - download the manual from the site, go through it.
hi
for every one who has Dexcom
i want to buy one and i am from KSA , ther is no pruches for dexcom in my contry
i’m planing to ask one of my frinds in US to by me onefor my 3 years old son
what shall i do to get it ?
What? How “complicated Dexcom is to download”??? Ha, ha. You install and set up the Dexcom software on your computer. If problems doing this, Dexcom tech support can help you out. Once this is done, piece of cake. You plug the cable into a slot on your computer and then into the Dexcom. You open Dexcom on your computer and you hit “download” Attach Receiver, choose patient (this should already be done when setting up Dex software) and hit return. That’s it. Three minutes tops. Wonder if your endo is at all computer literate. So easy to do. P.S. He may be referring to the fact Dexcom is not web based like the Minimed cgms. But you can just print out the reports and hand it to him.
Hi. First you need to go to your Pediatric Endo and have him prescribe the Dexcom off label. Just because Dexcom is prescribed only for children 7 and older does not mean an endo cannot prescribe it for a younger child. if you have a pedi endo in another country, which you do, call Dexcom directly and ask how get a prescription in the country you are getting it from. You may have to have your Pedi endo contact a doctor in the United States to prescribe? Check this. You must impress on your doctor why your son needs the cgms. Hypoglycemic awareness is one of the main reasons for prescribing this device. Persistent and unexplained lows (which happen to most children, I imagine). The fact that your son is too young to communicate or identify his lows and ask for help. And that he will be going to school and away from your watchful eyes. Doctors are willing to prescribe cgms for this reason. If your endo won’t prescribe, just find another doctor. I think even a regular Pediatrician may be able to prescribe this. Particularly since you are paying out of pocket and not asking for insurance help. Since you will not be scrutinized by the insurance companies it should be easier for you to get this. But do call Dexcom so they can help you set this up.
I’m surprised that no one has posted yet about the Navigator who has used the system. I have been using it since November and chose it after a 7-day trial with the Dexcom. The Nav won me over handily.
I thought the Dex was fine, but I am much more impressed with the Navigator.
Upload of data is easy on the Nav as well. Pop the USB dongle into your computer and put it in pairing mode. Uploads everything to CoPilot using Bluetooth. If you use Omnipod or Cozmo, you probably already use CoPilot. If you don’t, it’s a good program.
The range is huge. I can be on a different floor of my house or four rooms away and hear it beeping to notify me of a high or low, etc. I can leave it in my classroom at school, go talk to a colleague and come back, without losing any data.
The 10 hour wait time is how they claim that the accuracy ratings are 97% accurate on the last day of wear. They claim that inflammation, temperature, and bloodflow at the insertion site need to “calm down” before you should calibrate a system or the accuracy will be reduced over the days of wear. I don’t know if I believe all of that, but I will say that my readings are often within 1-5 mg/dL from a fingerstick unless I’m moving much more rapidly. It wakes me up in the middle of the night if I’m rising or dropping. And the reading every 1 minute (instead of every 5) allows it to be a little more sure of which direction you’re headed and how quickly you’re moving.
I can see hours/days/months of graphs, statistics, readings, events, etc. on the handheld receiver without uploading data. And I went nearly 4 months before I uploaded data for the first time and it didn’t lose any of the readings or graphs - all stored for review on the receiver. I liked that. I’ve heard the Dex 7 Plus has some of those features, but the Dex 7 didn’t.
Integrated Freestyle meter - just like your PDM. Same strips. Same software. Not a bad deal…though Dex will be integrated with the PDM before the Nav will.
I like the Dex. If I hadn’t gone with the Nav or if I’d have gone on an Animas pump, I would have gone with the Dex. But don’t knock the Nav till you’ve tried it. I love the little guy and don’t even notice I have it on most of the time.
Honestly, see if you can give both a trial and see which direction you’re pulled in. They’re both great systems, but it’s ultimately your choice.
I had to pay out of pocket for the system plus 1 month of sensors before my insurance started covering it. I paid $1400 ($1000 for the receiver & transmitter, $400 for 4 sensors). Now that I have met the deductible, I pay nothing for the sensors. There are videos on the dexcom site that show you how it works. I am not sure how long they have been around but they have contracts with Animas and Ominpod for integration into those pumps so I think they will be around for awhile.
