Curious How do chart? or do you down load or what’s the method you use??? THis is interesting???
With the MM, my doctor can download all the statistics, so I don’t bother to chart. I do have a mental process whereby I know what is going on, but don’t log at all. Bad girl!!
SMOKE & MIRRORS… “wishful thinking 101”, for most folks… I fear!
(The CLINISTIX of this generation by in large)
Stuart
Huh?
I have had a Animas One Touch Ping pump since August and I love it, though I still seem to be adjusting, (probably more to 1.5 than to the pump…I seem to be always changing). I just finished a one week Dexcom-7 trial this morning. I still need to meet with my CDE re the results, but it was interesting. I felt it ran quite high compared with my finger stick BGs. Laurenc873 …the only time I noticed ??? was the first night I wore it and it was for several hours. Although it ran high, it did help me see trends where I needed to make changes in I:CRs and maybe after I get better at interpreting what I see, basal rates.
I have been terrifies to exercise b/c I drop with very little activity. I did take a long walk and was able to keep and eye on where I was. Later that night, I was woken to a low.
So, it will be interesting to see what the CDE says. It seems like it will take some time to get used to. If it helps me start exercising, it will be worth it.
I hope I will have coverage for it. I have great pump coverage.
I do have an itchy area on my skin where the sensor was. I hope I will be able to solve that problem if I go that way.
I second that, “Huh?”
Though I think it might be in reference to the insurance not covering a CGMS. Not totally sure. Clinistix suck though. Can I offer you some potassium orange drink with those?
If I had no complications, probably a good tool to use for maybe 3 to 6 months so you can get used to it and learn how everything affects your bg. I had been type 1 diabetic for about 25 years and I was having a lot of unexplained lows in teh middle of the night, and after 3 seizures in less than 2 months, I got my CGM (The Navigator. I know some people are mad at Abbott, but mine is still working and it is crazy accurate for me).
I take medications that I adjust as I need them. I learned from my CGMS that on the days when I took a lower morning dose, my bg would drop the following night, probably 18 to 20 hours later. Meaning on those nights I need less long term insulin. I don’t think I would have figured that out without the CGMS. For a type 1 with complications who self adjusts meds that raise blood sugar levels, important safety tool for day to day use. Well, more night to night use. = )
DexCom 7+ User. Love it.
Caveats:
- I am very lucky and insurance covers this fully, so I don't have to make any tradeoffs for cost, which might change my happy thoughts.
Biggest Pros:
- When I get an accurate one and am in range, I always know what my bg is.
- Can see what I did during the night.
- Can't imagine not having this when dealing with my crazy night time basal settings when I first got the pump.
- More important than my pump for control.
- Fits in pocket easily.
- Easy to check (people think I'm looking at a cell phone).
- Great for long drives. I have a long commute (1hour+), and i can just put it on the dashboard and check it along with my speed.
- I rely on this so much I get depressed when I get a bad or inaccurate sensor. It is very frustrating. I find I test way more often than I used to before I got it if it is inaccurate. (and I used to test 4-8 times a day.)
- Can be a little painful/annoying to sleep on at times (not always), but worth it! Wish they would make it as small as infusion sets.
- No integration with pump!
- Cost. I did accidentally throw a transmitter away, and insurance didn't cover that!
- Did I mention how bad it is when you distrust its readings?
DexCom comes with pretty good software (only runs on PCs) and a usb download cable. I went on a diet recently that helped me with my control, and could instantly validate that from the various charts/graphs from before and after the diet. It stores months and months of data for every 5 minute reading.
Can’t imagine not having the CGM now.
The MM pump comes with an RF/USB gizmo that then d/l the software that will pretty much read all the data from your pump and put it into reports for you and your doctor to read. My doc keeps saying “We need to get your password” but I used my top secret message board password so I have to come up with a new one I’ll remember before I’m giving it to her but I would be intrigued to see if the dialogue might change if she had access to more data? I think there’s ‘doctor version’ of the software that provides snazzier charts. They use it with the test CGM that they try out on you w/ the MM, 3 days of sensor but you don’t get the data.
You also can drop the data into glucosurfer.org, which offers an interesting tool to maintain records in. I like the way the data is displayed there, as it integrates food, bolusing and can also include exercise, which is something I don’t keep track of but do quite a bit of. Getting better logs has been very helpful for me although the last time i went to the doctor, she said “I can’t really tell you anything”.
I’ve had the Minimed system for 2-1/2 years. I’ve had spells where I liked it for the most part. I do think that it is a safety net to help prevent dangerous lows. However, even at the best of times it is painful for me, a pain-in-the-neck to calibrate, and almost always unreliable. So why do I use it at all? When I tried to get the Navigator a few months before its widescale problems, one reason insurance denied me was that I had the Minimed system and wasn’t using it. So I keep using it. My problem is that I don’t qualify for a CGMS under my current insurance although they will pay for sensors because I already have the system. So I keep using it so that when Medtronic comes out with its new sensors which are rumored to be smaller and more accurate that I’ll be able to get them. My transmitter is 2-1/2 years old so I don’t know what will happen when it dies.
I’m coming off a 2-month vacation from using the sensors. The first sensor gave erratic results and after the 3rd restart I pulled it out when the isig was over 80 and my BG was 110. I inserted a second sensor and hit blood. Not just normal blood, but an incredibly painful spot that a week later I still have a painful lump under the skin. The third sensor also hurt and gave poor results. After a few days break I’m going to try again. If nothing alse, I’ll force myself to start using it again for a few weeks before my next endo appointment. She really does use the info to give me pointers on improving my care. (Yes, Acidrock. You should give them your log-in information. The doctor gets better reports than we do and if he/she knows what’s she doing, the interpretation of them gives some good value to the endo appt.)
One thing about the Minimed system is that the integration with the pump is fabulous. I think that the Revel pump is the best pump out there right now and the communication with the CGMS, the predictive alerts, the ability to silence alerts, etc. make it a great system.
I’m not Medicare age yet, but it’s in sight. I find it incredibly fustrating as I see new technologies and improvements in diabetes care to know that I may not be able to share in them. Of course the scariest part is the Medicare (followed by regular insurance) trend in limiting test strips. I am currently in a high-risk pool program in Minnesota which has good coverage but not excellent coverage like my old corporate-based insurance program. It used to be “Ask and ye shall receive”. Now it’s not so easy, but my only real denial has been a new CGMS. Currently no problem with test strips.
I have a Dexcom 7 Plus and I love it! It has allowed me to even out my bloodsugars like never before and get a real picture of what goes on in between the BG checks. Now, I think twice before I eat that slice of pizza and I am more careful about exactly when I take my insulin bolus depending on what I am eating. I am much more confident about my activities with it. Since I have a MM722 pump, I am looking forward to switching over to the MM723 when my warranty runs out on my current pump. That will allow me to get rid of at least one electrical device! Thank God! I am feeling like a walking electrical device kiosk. At any given point of the day, I will have my pump, phone, CGM, glucometer, Nook and maybe my ipod!
When you talk about getting rid of one device, are you indicating that you’re going to switch to the Minimed CGMS? If so, think twice. No think ten times before you give up the Dexcom 7 Plus.
My 13-year-old daughter is the T1, and she got the DexPlus when it first came out (2 years ago, I think?) She loves it, it’s usually accurate, and best of all, I was finally able to sleep through the night w/o having to get up to check her bg at midnight and 3:00 A.M. So far, only 2 failed sensors, and Dex Fed-Exed replacements that arrived the next day.
I have a mini med CGM and I don’t think I could survive without it. I am very sensitive to insulin, and a small amount too much can really make me crash. I have had lows of 10, and still been conscious and talking. I am also, after 47 years of D, often unaware of lows. It has really been a life saver–literally. Haven’t seen a paramedic since I got one.
Mine is very accurate most of the time–5 to 10 points difference. The only time it is really off is when my BG is high. Sometimes it can’t really follow that, and can be off 50 points or so. But since my BG is hardly ever too high, it is not a concern for me.
You do have to learn the idiosyncrasies, but once I figured them all out, I find it a great tool. Last A1C was 5.6, so it seems to be working.
Why are CGM’s giving false BG #'s?
CGM is usually behind the actual BG becuase the readings are (I am going to spell this wrong) subcutacious, meaning under the skin and not reading by blood. It takes about 30 minutes for the blood level to be in the skin or someting like that. So they are often off a bit.
There are also a lot of factors about using the CGM: BG levels when entering readings, if the BG was going up or down rapidly, etc. that can confuse the machine. It does take some trial and error to learn all the tricks, but it is still a great tool.
Addendum to the above: CGMs also have a margin of error, just like meters. So they can be a certain percentage off, although I’m not sure what the percentage is. Then, they can be affected by pressure, like being slept on, and if they are not calibrated properly, can go way out.
They are like the early glucose meters, which were big, and inconvenient to use, and took forever to give a result. It took time for better glucose meters to come out, and it will take time for better CGMs to come out, too.
I absolutely support the use of CGMs. I think that insurance companies/medicare should give them to any PWD who wants one. They are the only tool we have that gives us the real picture of what’s going on. I think they are more vital than pumps even.
LOL!!! Not at you but Yeah!!! We are like a droid!!! 