New PDMs and A1Cs?

Wondering if anyone has noticed their A1Cs going up after switching to the new PDM? My daughter's A1Cs were in the low 6s for the past two years (18 months of that on the OmniPod), and it seems since we've switched to the new PDM, we can't get below 7, and actually she's closer to 8. We keep adjusted basals, etc. And, of course, she is a teenager, so there's growing and girl stuff to deal with, but even when her readings have seemed good, it's not reflected in the A1C. We've had the power problems with the newer PDM, but am wondering if anyone else has noticed an increase in A1C that doesn't seem to make sense?

I've also noticed a greater variability in BG readings. I checked her BG while she was sleeping the other night, and it was 320, for no apparent reason. I was about to give her the correction bolus, but for some reason, decided to recheck her. This time, I got 140! Wow. So, had to check one more time to get some idea of where she really was, and the next reading was 180. Correction roulette, anyone? I know all meters vary somewhat but 140 to 320?! Anyone else having these big swings?

Were her hands clean? That’s my first thought on the 320… 90% of the time I’ve gotten a really weird high reading, if I washed my hands and re-tested, it was suddenly right back where it should be.

But as far as A1cs, nope, I haven’t noticed anything odd. But I started on the new PDM, so can’t comment on changing from one to another.

I would pay attention to where she is in her “cycle” and record that with your blood sugar level printouts that you give to the doctor. My sugars are high first few days of period…yet another variable to deal with , as if being a teen isn’t hard enough! I don’t have any other ideas, probably a time to visit the diabetes educator.

There has been no difference in Caleb’s A1C. We did have a couple of meter issues with the old PDM - getting many meter errors, not inaccurate readings. I wasn’t sure if it was a strip issue (which we have also had) or a PDM issue, so I tested it by using both the PDM and a separate meter. It was cumbersome, but I needed to isolate the issue. Luckily we haven’t had any meter issues with the new PDM since getting it last July (knocking wood).

Oh, her cycles definitely make a difference. We usually have to up her basals by 20 percent or more for a couple of days before. But, of course, like everything else with diabetes, it’s not consistent every month. =(

I think it must’ve been something on her hands, or maybe a bad test strip that gave the 320. Thank God I didn’t bolus for it though! Still not happy with the 40 pt difference though – that’s enough of a difference that I could’ve sent her low if I corrected for the higher number. It’s really amazing how often diabetes management comes down to intuition…

Glad to hear you’re not having problems! When you tested to double-check for meter or strip error, did you use a freestyle meter or another brand altogether?

A Freestyle meter.

No, my daughter has had good numbers on the pump too. Just thought I’d see if anyone else had noticed a problem – always suspicious of technology!