Hey my Diabetic family, does anyone have any pointers on how to make the Guardian REAL- Time Sensor more accurate. Any ones input would help me out a lot. Any tricks… maybe set the calibration (enter BG) time to go off more often???
Yes, make sure you BG is very stable and ideally in a normal range. Don’t calibrate more than needed (every 12 hours after start-up) unless the readings are off.
A little trick , I play …as I very much agree with Mark and dep remarks …I have 2 glucometers, one which is the Bayer Contour Link ( I live in Canada ) , which I have skinned GREEN , the other is a Bayer Contour as well…and NOT linked …skinned RED …only use the GREEN Link when to calibrate and I do this before a meal …2-3 times in the 24 hours .
I also insert the sensor at night , cover it with some tape for security/safety and attach the Transmitter the following morning …I hardly ever receive " bad " warnings . My sensor lasts about 8-9 days and I reboot after the first 3 days, by telling pump to start new sensor , the third 3 days I disconnect the transmitter and put it back on the charger until green light stops flashing , re-attach , start up sensor process.
I am a pumper and only difference is the pump , while you use a " receiver " , which looks like a pump, correct ??
Hope this is helpful .
Here are some of my suggestions:
As Mark noted, do not put a meter reading in unless the BGs are fairly stable. The problem with calibrating with a high BG is that the software cannot redo the original sync with that was setup during the initial calibration. If you are having issues with getting the BG to be close to the CGM and getting bad sensor messages, pull off the transmitter and charge it for +2 hours, then start the process over again with the calibration process.
Be patient and do not expect the BGs you enter in the meter to re-calibrate the meter readings that are off. The BGs will never be the same if there are ups or down moving at a good rate.
Don’t calibrate if you are going to put prolonged pressure on the sensor area. Pressure on the sensor will lower the reading and confuse the calibration.
If you are dehydrated the meter and CGMs readings will not align.
As everyone noted, do not over calibrate, the software will kind of argue with it’s self, and the calibration may never get the glucose readings to align.
If the sensor moves in and out of your skin, the calibrations will never fix the readings to match a meter.
The suggestion from nel to wait overnight before attaching he transmitter is a good one. If you are getting Sensor Errors remove the transmitter, charge it and keep the sensor in for several hours.
The best and most honest advice - stop using the Guardian CGM. The technology being peddled by MM is not ready for prime-time and you’ll waste your life worrying about your readings being accurate and whether you calibrated at the right time and if the phase of the moon was right or stuff like that. Seriously, stop wasting your time and money over this POS CGM. Just search the forums here and see how many other people have cursed this CGM from MM. It doesn’t work.
Then, get yourself a trial of the Dexcom 7+ CGM. You’ll love it. Calibrate anytime. Painless insertion and removal and no bullet holes. If you want more information, just google Dexcom 7+ or search the forums here for Dexcom7+.
Sorry you are not able to make it work for yourself but I think it does a disservice to the community to spread FUD. Share your personal experiences with the MM (or others) including your challenges - that is great. But leave it at that.
Lets build a body of knowledge based on facts, experiences, and opinions but not FUD.
Calibrating with stable blood sugars is very important, as most of the posters emphasized. Another trick that I tried was checking my blood sugar and then waiting 10 minutes to calibrate, knowing that the sensor is at least 10 minutes behind the finger stick.
It seems that the Minimed CGMS works well for some and not for others. I definitely recommend doing a trial of ANY CGMS before buying it.
Does that seem to get you better results? I was wondering about that but I was also wondering if the MM took the delay into account. I noticed that it does not start to use a new BG reading for 15-20 min after it is entered.
This is a very irresponsible line of tirate against MM. I understand that you had some trouble with MM, but the fact is all three CGM manufactures are not at all finished and ready for depending on for sole management of BGs. The technology in the sensors is almost identical as well as the performance of the readings. Calibration is the biggest challenge with all three, I have worn the Navigator and the MM side by side for days at a time and each has it’s strong points and weak points. Most weak points are with calibration and ability of the software to predict lows coming. Many people who have worn the Nav in addition to the other CGMs, say the Nav has the best software.
Sound like you really battled with the MM. The only difference I saw with the MM/Nav comparison was the Nav software. The real challenge with the MM is calibration. Once you figure out how it work and what can mess it up it is very reliable and accurate.
Please stop making blanket statements about a product, not one of the CGMs is really ready for “prime time” but it is so much better than anything before and can really help with BG management, no matter which on you use. BTW…the MM sensor technology was used in many of the artificial pancreas studies. The new software coming out with the MM Revel, may put the Dex and the Nav to shame. All three CGMs have new technology coming out through out this year.
You are right, many people have great experience with the Dex, but some, like my only Nav or MM as an option. Without learning to calibrate the MM CGM, it never works well at all and can be extremely frustrating.
Good advice if it is an option. However, it sound like Jim has only one option.
The delay can be good or bad. The calibration algorithm in he MM works best it the BG is close to the CGM reading and not raising or lowering somewhat rapidly.
Even though the pump says “Meter Now” you can wait and make sure he BG you are in-putting the BG at a more stable time like Kristin sated.
I only used the CGMS for a week. So I don’t know if this is really better. I thought that other users could experiment and see.
It is a constant experiment, but well worth the effort Kristin.