Hi all hope this won't be long and boring, but need to see if anyone knows what I should do. I got the g4 on Tuesday, silly me had my husband trying to get the g4 to work in the VMware, he ended up stoping the sensor which I did not know for over an hour, I restarted it waited the 2 hours then calibrated it with the two reading. at the same time my sugars were running very high 12.2-16.1mmol's with the letter in the mail about bad test strips and running high and nothing seeming to work right, i kept testing twice with the omnipod then this morning the g4 beeped saying I was 4.0 and my Pdm said i was 10.2 I have not idea what to trust right now the way I am feeling is in-between them both. LOL I know last night I was high, had a headache (did not take any meds for head). did not get to bed till 3am since my head hurt my neuropathy kicked in all in all terrible night. so why is the g4 acting weird? also the buttons are not very good are they? i click on it and sometimes I have to click a few times to either get back to the trend or to the menu. Just wondering what you experienced podders and cgm wearers do. I do know not to go by the cgm to administer insulin but when and how do I know they are both being as accurate as possible besides never leave it alone with my husband again. LOL
Dishers,
Abbott recalled test strips that have an expiration date before 8/2015 because they supposedly read low in older Freedom meters and Omni PDM. You should not bolus based on cgm readings. Get some test strip control solution and test your strips/PDM to make sure they read correctly. I find with my G4 it takes 1-2 days of each session to get the readings to settle in and be pretty accurate. I don't notice anything wrong with my buttons and when I do, it is always my fat fingers! Hank
Thanks Hank, I guess I get the solution from Omnipod? or from Abbot? I would never administer insulin based on CGM reading. no worries there.
Some local pharmacies carry it. You will probably have to shop around. Omni might carry it and Abbott should be able to get you some.
I have found some of the control solution at Walgreens, but YMMV. I know when I went to get some it was the last bottle they had in the store. If you can't find any there, Abbott will send you some. Also, I think I remember you saying in another thread that they were sending you a new Freedom meter? If that's the case, they include a bottle of control solution in the meter case they send you.
Generally, you can trust both the PDM and the CGM, but it will depend on each specific sensor to an extent. Some sensors are very very accurate for me right from the beginning, some take a while to get going, and some start off accurate and then get less and less accurate until I have to take it off. However, the majority of sensors that I use are quite accurate.
There is definitely a learning curve with the G4, not only in terms of knowing when and how to calibrate it, but mostly with how to interpret the data. (Almost) always, it is great for seeing the trends of where you're going and how quickly. Sometimes the exact numbers of those trends are off, but at least you can get an idea of how your sugars are acting.
Calibrating at the wrong times can cause errors though, where your CGM will end up getting "confused" and give you crazy numbers (at least for me). I try not to calibrate except for at these times:
1. Every time it shows a drop of blood on the screen and asks you to calibrate
2. If my PDM says one number and the CGM is reading +/- 20% of that number
3. If my PDM says one number and the CGM is reading +/- 1 mmol of that number - but only if your BG is 4.4 mmol or lower at this time (I am in America so trying to do these conversions on the internet :P)
For #3, I'm basically saying when my BG is low, I don't use the 20% rule, I use a "20 pts" (mg/dl) rule instead. Also, never calibrate when the CGM is showing an up or a down arrow, even if it is asking for blood, as this can cause confusion and errors since your BG level is changing quickly. Only calibrate when it's a straight line.
I realize this is a lot of info, and may not even be what you're asking, but I hope this helps!! :)
Thank you Markeezy, very informative. no pharmacy in town has the solution so if it does not come with the meter soon will call for some. thank you, also your information on the CGM very helpful not to much info that I could not understand and the 3# was very helpful. I so enjoy having so many wonderful and helpful ppl at my fingertips. feels weird being a newbie again. LOL new technology new hurdles
Haha no problem! It's what we're all here for.
Definitely keep posting if you have more questions, and read through some of the old posts about the G4 (I'm sure you already have, though). There's some great info on here! In fact, most of what I told you I learned at some point on TuDiabetes. Lol go figure.
yup it is a great community that is for sure
Well I got the new test strips but they did not send the meter, looking at the website they all seems to take the freestyle lite strips not the regular zipwiks. what meter's do you ppl have? I had the insulinx prior to having the pump loved it but my pharmacy does not seem to be able to handle two different kinds of freestyle test strips so can you tell me what meters take the standard strips please. thnks
Hmm. I had to request a meter when I called to get my 400 replacement strips, since I did not have a meter than would take the strips. The only backup meter I had previously was the FreeStyle Flash, which was recalled along with the test strips. I told them I had no backup meter, and they sent me a FreeStyle Freedom meter for free, which does work with the regular FreeStyle strips - NOT the FreeStyle Lite. Hope this helps.
Edit: Note that if you have no backup meter at all, there is a chance Abbott will send you one if you ask them. I'd try this if you don't already have one on the way.
I am in Canada, so when they said they were going to send me a meter, they did not realize even thought my address was right there,that the freedom meter is not available in Canada. I gave them a call, they said that there is no meter that takes the strips that the Omnipod does. Seriously? I have other meters but I would rather have a meter that uses the same strips as the PDM. geesh, guess not. LOL
I consider myself some sort of Dexcom "ideal patient".
My heart aches for all those here who have accuracy problems with the G4. Mine is never more than +/-20 mg/dl off, and that only happens in the first 24-36 hours while it's settling in.
After that, it's scary accurate. My last sensor was within +/-5, and most of the time within just a few.
Of course, I was just starting week 2 with that sensor (probably the most accurate I've had yet), and I ripped it off accidentally.