I understand now …I was looking at the MM brochure , which shows the next generation …looks like a pump , called Guardian Real -Time ; I thought , you had this one available to you
the only thing is if you let it communicate with the pump you are calibrating it each time and you dont want to do that every time I leave mine off and just do manual cal
that was the blood sugar tester I was talking about just now
mini med had a recall recently and that was part of the prob you had getting them but it should be back to normal now
HUH…
So far as of now my present pump does not communicate with any CGM. I was on a CGM that my Doctor hooked me up to for just four days to help me get my basils back inline. I could not see what the CGM’s numbers were only saw what the BG meter was reading.
That is because you did the Minimed I-Pro that is just for Doctor’s. the full MM CGMS will communicate with the pump.
I just started on the mmcgm, that said it does seem to get some getting use to just like going on the pump for the first time.
I have had it off and on for about a month. it seems to be w/i 20% most of the time and, sometimes dead on. I t seems like just more to keep up with though it will let u know if you r diving or climbing.
I just wish I could figure out how soon i should take my insulin before meals, some say as little as 15 min.
then hopefully you eat what you plan.
just a thought.
Hi Nel: I am envious! It is so true, what works for one might not work for another and vice versa. Melitta
I don’t know how widespread this is, but I got a bad transmitter from MM with my first delivery. It was wildly inaccurate, frequently showed sensor failures, etc., but I went back and forth with them several times getting new sensors, etc. before we figured this out.
Since they’ve replaced it, it is vastly more accurate, the sensors don’t fail, etc. In fact, it’s more accurate than my DexCom Seven System was, though I haven’t tried the new Seven Plus. (I was on the DexCom system for 3 years - from when it was very first released - until they released the “Plus” version and decided to offer crappy upgrade pricing to the people who used the system the longest and the most and had given them the most money.)
The only downside, IMHO, of the MM system is that the sensor wires are longer so I get more bleeders, more painful sites, etc. and I wonder if I may develop more scar tissue from this - the DexCom was definitely better in this regard, and from the pictures I’ve seen posted, it looks like the Navigator is even better. For me, I’ll live with the occasional pain for now as the MM systems are effectively fully covered by my insurance, eliminating a big billing/reimbursement headache, and I really don’t want to carry two devices around on top of my cell phone and everything else.
I’m on my second go-round with the Minimed system. I used it for about 6 months from 2008-2009. I abandoned it for about 6 months and tried to get a Navigator system with my new insurance. I was denied, one reason being that I already owned the Minimed system.
I decided to give it a second try and am doing much better than the first time. I used to have a lot of painful sites because I followed my CDE’s and Minimed’s adivce to insert the sensor at a very steep angle. I’m quite thin and often ended up with painful sites that did not get better. Now I insert at a much shallower angle than they suggest. My accuracy has not been affected; in fact it’s better than it was the first time. And most importantly, I have not had any sites that were so painful that I had to pull it out.
I don’t think that the Minimed system is as accurate as the new Dexcom and the Navigator. But as long as I keep my numbers in a good range and have good calibrations, it is close most of the time. Some days I think I am making good decisions about eating, etc. just so I won’t mess up my CGMS accuracy. The side effect of this is that my BG readings are better than without the CGMS because I feel so motivated to get this system to work.
At least when it dies, insurance can’t deny me another brand because I haven’t been using my Minimed system. They will probably deny it because my A1c is too good and I haven’t had any ambulance rides…
I love my MM CGM, but I am VERY disciplined and conscientious. I am very thin, too, but I solve this problem of needing infusion sites and sensor sites by manually inserting sensors in my upper buttocks (against MM’s advice.) It sounds to me as though you would be better off with the DexCom, if you could handle having two things around your waist. Better ask DexCom where you can insert, as a sensor needs some fat to live in! Also, DexCom is currently having some site failure issues, but supposedly they’re working to fix them. The Abbott Navigator is very accurate, but it looks huge. Most people wear it o their upper arm, but it takes up a lot of room,
I don’t know why, but I’ve had many many issues with MM pumps and insertion sites. I would ask for a trial (like others here have suggested) and see how it works for you. I’ve had the Dexcom 7+ for about a week and I’ve noticed trends in my BG that I didn’t realize were there by just “guessing” and checking my BG 10 times a day before.
From what I’ve read and experienced, all CGMs are going to be “off” at times. You just have to callibrate (meaning take the “bad” reading on the CGM and compare it to an actual reading on your meter and then tell the CGM which reading is correct) every few hours. The CGM’s purpose (atleast for me) is to see my trends- NOT to read my BG for me. I still test with a finger stick about 5 times per day. But I use the CGM to tell me if I’m plateauing at a certain BG, or if I’m rising, or falling or PLUMMETING. So, I use it as a tool, but not as the answer.
The Dexcom is not painful to insert at all. And when I’m low, it is RIGHT on the money.
I use my abdomen, right underneath my rib (where it naturally indents) and it was not painful at all. I’m also thin.
You really shouldn’t be there anyway, but the Dex doesn’t read UNDER 40 or OVER 400. Hey, I had a few messy days this week.
The Dex has helped me a lot in seeing what my body does without me “tracking it”. It is from EXACT to 100 points off (when it’s time for me to callibrate it) And the vibration alarm is handy for while I’m sleeping and go low. I told it to notify me when I’m over 160 and under 60 so that I know when I need to pay attention.
Dear Tanya.
How much do you pay per Month for the MM CGM service?
If you can stay somewhat even with your numbers, it will probably work for you. My sugar can drop so quickly and with no reason that I have finally decided it just can’t keep up with me. I started having a reaction with one in me and all I was doing was sitting at home doing nothing before going to work. When it worked well, I loved it but I got way too frustrated with it and have just given up on it. When my sugar can drop 150 points in 90 minutes I just don’t think it will be able to follow that. I wish you luck if you decide to get it.
Got my MM CGM a couple of weeks ago and I’ve seen some pretty inaccurate numbers, but mostly they’ve been alright. I still test on my finger 5-9 times a day.
The one area the MM CGM really shines for me is overnight, I’ve managed to catch a pretty good case of hypo unawareness and am finding that my basals have been driving me below 60 overnight and I never wake up. I’ve been able to fine tune my basals with the CGM.
As far as painful insertions, I use my stomach (skinny, not many areas I can use) and I hold an ice cube wrapped in celophane on the site for 30 -45 seconds, numbing the area. I never feel it and have had little to no bleeding.
If you are seeing BG drop like that without a specific cause (i.e. took insulin for 100 grams carb but only ate 30) then you are overloading your body with insulin and using food to try to fill in. As you know this will create a yo-yo effect.
IME, the MM system WILL keep up with this yo-yo action fast enough to let you catch it much sooner and more importantly, it will show you in the form of detailed graphs just how bad the yo-yo effect is and should quickly lead you (or your Dr) to find a solution to the overdosing of insulin.
Hey Gordon,
I recommend a CGM, regardless of what kind. The info you can get from it is very cool, despite time lags and the inaccuracies which are bound to happen for a bit.
I really like my MM CGM (not love it), and have no problems with pain. My worst sentiment is the lag in readings, and I still test 10 times a day to keep up to date. Lows can be tough, it is usually far behind on them.
Hope you figure out something, a trial sounds super, but don’t get frustrated immediately, it takes some getting used to! Best of luck.
I got an opportunity to try the MM CGM since yesterday. I am T2 and it really is opening my eye to my BS. It’s pretty incredible to see the rise and fall in close to real time. It does require calibration with a glucose meter for the initial setting and a minimal calibration every 12 hours. The first 5 hours I had it on the numbers were way off. It read 160 when by BS were over 200 with my meter. After adding the BS value it corrected itself and since then it has been pretty close but still about 10-30 points off . I have noticed that there is a lag time between the CGM and my meter but this is expected as I understand that the sensor is reading interstitial fluid and not capillary blood. I’m not too sure if the CGM can be used as reliably and accurately to treat exact numbers like a glucose meter but it can definitely show accurate trends and I suppose you can make decisions based on the trend info. If you are interested, I am videoing my experiences with the MM CGM and MM Paradigm pump this week and will post on my videoblog next week at www.mysugartv.com.
I’ll be starting on the Dexcom CGM next week. Don’t have a pump but I have been considering the Omni Pod and I think Dexcom will soon be intergrating them both. I have hypo unawareness so I thought getting a CGM may help. Like someone else said, I don’t know if I’ll use it all the time or just occasionally. I really want to try and see trends. I’ve also heard don’t expect it to replace finger sticks, it’s mainly for seeing trends and warnings of lows and highs.
I was told by my company (Dexcom) that the only FDA approved site for the CGM implant is the stomach area (above the belt line). I find when I inject the implant it there, it works pretty accurately. It works best in areas of fat. I am not fat, but my leg and lower abdomen (below the belt line) would not work as there is not enough fat there. I put the sensor on the top of my butt below the belt line sometimes, but that too is not as accurate as the stomach.
I find that the CGM is an amazing devise and have been using it for the last 4 months or so. My A1c’s dropped 1.0 points (from 6.5 to 5.5) since I began using it. I hope that you can figure out your machine. Sorry, no specific comments on the MM CGM as I have never used it. Good luck!