We put Eric (who is now 6 1/2) on a CGM when he was three. I would say it was absolutely worth it even though it was far from perfect. He is no longer on it because he developed an immune response to the MiniLink sensor wire — probably an allergy to the gold used in it, that's the most common problem — but given the opportunity I would put him on a Dexcom in a heartbeat.
Here are the cons:
• Not always accurate, esp. when BG is rising or falling fast; there were a number of occasions where it alarmed that he was high/low and I found him considerably higher/lower than the CGM told me he was — but, of course, the flip side of this is, if not for the CGM, I wouldn't have found out about it until we had a true crisis on our hands, because Eric doesn't always get symptomatic, especially in regard to extreme highs.
• On days his BG was particularly unstable, the CGM alarms drove everyone crazy — it was especially an issue in school
• There is a tendency that one must fight tooth and nail to accept the CGM's data and not double-check it because you don't want to keep poking and poking your kid... but one learns pretty quickly that with CGM info, it's ALWAYS got to be "trust but verify".
• CGM alarms in middle of night can be... alarming, and your sleep is definitely interrupted frequently. On the other hand, just knowing the CGM is there actually reduced my nighttime anxiety enough that I slept better DESPITE the interruptions... and I could hear the alarm from Eric's room and would rouse even from deep sleep if it went off. Over time, I learned to wake up, go check him, take whatever action was needed (juice or insulin), and go back to sleep without too much trouble.
• Potential for infections increased. Even so, in two years of CGM-ing, we had only three really bad staph infections, and two of those were related to the allergic reaction he developed near the end of our stint with it. As I mentioned, Dexcom sensors have a better track record when it comes to that sort of thing.
• I started hearing CGM alarms when they weren't occurring. You know, like, when I was at work and Eric was 15 miles away in the daycare. However, on at least three occasions, I went and checked him when one of these faux alarms woke me from sleep and found that he was trending low — the CGM would've gone off within a half hour anyway. I like to think my brain waves had keyed into the CGM data stream and had made the decision to act before the alarm sounded.
Pros:
• Overnight BGs became much easier to manage once we knew what was going on in the wee hours. I know, you're supposed to do basal checks once a month, but at least for me, my exhaustion levels forbid me doing a proper basal check. The CGM took that necessity off my shoulders, and the CGM data helped us identify that Eric was shooting high in the early part of the night (between 9 and 12). And correcting that led to...
• LOWER A1C. Within 3 months of starting Eric on his CGM, his A1c went from around 8% to around 7.5%. It was entirely due to having better control as a result of the insights we got into his blood sugars at night.
• Increased confidence for his caregivers was another result — Eric's daycare provider had been leery of giving him bolus doses before he ate if he was in the lower part of his range for fear of producing a low, but with the CGM in place, we were able to SHOW her what happened with his BGs, and that gave her the reassurance she needed to transition from bolusing after he ate to bolusing before he ate. Which also helped his a1c.
• Better night's sleep. I mentioned this above, but I'm mentioning it again because it made such a HUGE difference having the CGM, simply in regard to my peace of mind. I never allowed myself to get into a deep slumber in the two years prior out of fear that Eric would have overnight blood sugar swings. Just knowing that the CGM was present changed my mindset enough to allow me to sleep. That first night wasn't so great, but about a week into it, I had the first real full night's sleep I'd had in over two years. It was heaven.
Now, keep in mind, Eric was two years younger than your daughter when he started on the CGM. If the additional device didn't bother him, it probably won't bother her. And while I see that it bothers her father, it's not her father who has to wear it, is it? If your daughter is okay with it, then her father should just accept it.
Not to mention: if you are doing most of the work (and living with most of the stress) of managing her BG levels, especially at night, then he REALLY needs to back off. Because it will not only help her (by helping you reduce her a1c), it will help you (by reducing your stress load and potentially improving your sleep). That being the case, he should not stand in the way out of whatever personal distaste he has for mechanical aids—because if your daughter has no issues, and it will help both you and her, then he's being obstructionist over something that could provide significant benefits to health & well being for you both. And that's just plain selfish.
Bottom line: if he TRULY agrees that it's in her best interest, then as her father, he needs to get over whatever it is that bothers him about it and let it happen. And if he can't, he should talk to a therapist about it because he has some deeper issue around control that he needs to work through.
I will add one more "pro" — even though we don't use the CGM anymore because of the problem Eric had with the sensors, just knowing his nighttime pattern of BG that rises starting at around 8 PM and stabilizing at around midnight is enough that I can manage his overnight BG and still sleep well. He has an a1c of 7.3% as of his last endo visit, lowest it's ever been, and it is almost entirely due to having awareness of when I can get away with jacking up his basal and when I can't. Even a year after ending his CGM therapy, that little device is still helping me.
