With my project Glucosurfer.org I have collected nearly 2 years of blood glucose readings. I have one diagram that will show you the quality of my control.
To understand the diagram you will need some background information:
In this diagram 61-140 is green, 141-200 is red, > 200 is black, < 61 is blue.
This means that a day like this:
Will be rotated by 90 degrees:
And then it will be transformed to colors:
Finally, if you compare the last 365 days it will look like this:
That is a super cool graph! And very green!
i don’t know if how often i’ve stayed in the 70-100 range, but have a pretty good record of staying in my target range of 70-170. i hit that on three or four days a week on average. and … when i stray it’s very brief and i very rarely go above 200.
as for the ``raging debate’’ about cgms … i do not use one and seriously doubt i will.
i’ve also discovered this oddity – i’m convinced sometimes you can have too much information. when i test more than usual i’m always tinkering and i forget the old advice about letting the perfect get in the way of the good.
also … my workspace in the white house is very crowded and allows no privacy. so i have to go to the bathroom to test. that means i test less (5-6 times per work shift) but numbers are always fantastic. i eat less; i stay too busy to think about BG.
DC Reporter,
I have heard that some deaf people warn about the dangers of hearing. Maybe some blind people warn about the dangers of seeing. I enjoy my DexCom 7+ more than any gadget that I bought throughout my life. I was on the fence too. I did not want to be hooked up to an unreliable CGM that only causes trouble. I am glad that my wife gave me a little push. The DexCom 7+ has changed my life. For the first time ever I am convinced that I can escape complications and live as long as I would have without diabetes.
You don’t need to use any alarms. The DexCom 7+ can be silent all day long. Give it a try. My wife said to me “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to stick with it. What is the downside of trying?”. I am embarrassed to say that it took me a while to accept her reasoning. I came up with very sophisticated reasons why a CGM was a bad idea. At the same time my BG was above 200 a couple of times a week and my A1C was only 5.8. Now 140 is the new 200 and my A1C is 5.2. All with less effort than before. I love to be lazy.
no thanks.
Kelly, you ALWAYS make me laugh!!!
DC Reporter,
I apologize for being so aggressive and annoying. I like you. I had to give it a try. You will be safe from any future insults. I hope we can stay friends.
Danny (and/or others) what do you notice the most since your control has improved via CGM?
There are rare days when the control is pretty steady and I am always amazed at the increase in energy. So what things do you notice, big or small?
I notice that it is easy to stay below 140.
Before I had the DexCom 7+, if any T1 would have told me that he can do that my thought would have been “When pigs fly, keep on dreaming. Find another fool to tell your stories to.”.
I like to say that the cgms “takes the edge off” of my diabetes.
I feel so awful when high and appreciate that I can get insulin working ahead of time so that I can curb the lethargy, thirst, and rage that accompany so many of my hyperglycemic events. If I can stop an impending 200+ when it’s still only a 140, it makes a huge difference.
Same with a low. If I’m driving and see that I’ve fallen from 96 to 81 in the last ten minutes, I am still in complete control of my faculties to be able to pull over and snack on something and never deal with the low.
Very well said, Melissa!
That succinctly sums up why I love the CGM so much! 
helmut, i owe you an apology. this is what happens when you offer a snap answer while preoccupied with work (and yes, if i have to write another story with the words health and care and summit and (choose one) obama, mcconnell, reid, boehner i will put a stick in my eye.)
but … i wasn’t the least bit annoyed or bothered by your comment (though i can see how you might think that). i’m thrilled you’ve had such great success with your CGM and i can understand why you advocate for it. that’s great. don’t stop. we all have the same goal and the beauty of D is there are multiple ways to get there.
DC Reporter, I like your common sense approach of dealing with D. Many diabetics seem to put little constraint on their diet and then wonder why controlling their D is hard.
The thing I’ve noticed from having the Dexcom 7+ (I’ve only had it for the past month) is that I’m not as afraid to go to sleep. I suffered from many many many insulin shock comas and overnight lows. Now, when I look at the Dex before I go to bed and see that it’s at 100 and has been for the previous 3 hours, I feel safe and secure in knowing that I’m going to wake up in the morning. And even if I was trending down slightly, I trust the Dex to buzz and sound an alarm to wake me up (as it has a few times this past week).
The Dex makes me feel secure.
Since I got the Dexcom 7+ last month (yippee!) I have seen my numbers in the “normal” range for 6 or 7 hours at a time at MOST. I tend to fall and rise constantly throughout the day. From 40s to 160s. But the good thing is that I’ve so many less 30s and 300s in the past month. I can’t wait to get my A1c in at my next Endo visit!
Another great use of a CGM is to fine-tune your basals! I don’t think you can fine-tune your basals as accurately without a CGM.