I have had the great fortune of trying out a new continuous glucose
monitor recently. I currently am using the one my insurance says they
prefer, but, a friend of mine happens to work for another company out
there producing the CGMS’s. So, I thought I would give it a try. Being
a scientist by training, I decided to run both sensors at the same time
to see first hand which is more accurate and which I like more. As I
did, I was began to get the distinct impression that wearing two sensors
at the same time is a lot like dating two guys at the same time (not
that I speak from experience, I have rarely been lucky enough to find
one guy to date, let alone two at once). I realized that Johnny, my
first CGMS, had developed a sort of relationship over the last year and a
half. The first couple of numbers he spits out with any new site, I
tended not to trust fully until I had confirmed them with my regular
blood sugar meter. Once a day or two has gone by and he was
consistently telling the truth, I began to trust what he was telling
me. I slept a little easier knowing he was on guard to wake me up if my
blood sugars got a little too low or way too high at night. I could
have a conversation with him (really a series of pushed buttons) to
decide on a range of acceptable numbers where he wouldn’t have to alert
me. And the more I worked with him the more time I spent in that range,
that range that would extend my life by at least a few months if I
could stay there permanently.
Working with Johnny changed my diabetic world. I could finally
sleep at night without great fear, I always had an extra set of eyes to
search out wayward sugars. He was my first CGMS and I will never forget
what he taught me and how he changed my life. But then Michelle, my
friend with an inside track to new technology, introduced me to Nick.
And Nick was different. Instead of just dumping Johnny, I decided to
try having a relationship with both at the same time. And that’s where
the trouble began.
I set up both sensors to start at the same time so neither one would have the advantage.
Just like a first date where both people are a little bit
nervous and not quite themselves, sometimes with a CGMS the first few
numbers can be a bit off. Then, when everyone is relaxed and
comfortable in their new surroundings, we can really get into the groove
of things. So, I let both boys chill out for a day and then the testing
began. With every new gadget comes new enthusiasm and the race between
Nick and Johnny was no different. I tested on my regular meter almost
hourly. I wanted to see who was more accurate, who would follow my
trends up and down quicker. In effect, who was the better partner. The
problem was that I couldn’t develop any sort of trust with either one.
I would be 148 on my hand-held meter. Nick would say I was 120, Johnny
180. They were both off and Johhny was high. An hour later I would be
250. Nick says 276, Johnny 221. They’re both off again but Johnny’s low
now. I did find that Nick was clearly better on one thing, catching my
lows. I felt a little low and tested to find out I was 56. I pulled
out both guys and set them in front of my face waiting to see who would
figure it out first and how long it would take. Nick was up just 2
minutes later with a 56. Spot on. I downed some sugar to get back into
the normal range and waited. Five minutes later Johnny came back with a
85. Still not low enough to set off the alarm. Five more minutes and a
78, low enough to set off an alarm but not accurate enough to convince
me on a normal day to go running for the sugar. Johnny was a full 12
minutes late and 22 points off. Since one of the most important reasons
I got a CGMS and that I continue to deal with all the hassles and pain
that come along with the technology is to catch lows I was no longer
feeling, Nick clearly wins in this category. Huge points in his favor.
I decided that to give Nick a real chance I really needed to start
that relationship with just him and so got rid of Johnny for a time.
One of the things I realized in this time is that Nick listened more.
When you use CGMS, two to three times a day you test on a regular meter
and feed that data to the CGMS. With Johnny reading 158, if I tell him I
am really 120, he just says, “That’s great. I accept that you say you
are 128. But I still say 158.” There would be no change in his data.
Nick would listen immediately. I tell him I am 128 and he replies
sweetly, “I had 158, but if you tell me 128 let’s meet in the middle.
How about we go with 143?”
Shortly after I started my relationship with Nick, I was moving and
after bumping into a lot of furniture realized that we had separated. I
mourned the loss, but busied myself with all that moving demands. It
wasn’t until about a week later when my life slowed down and I had time
to go back to Johnny (my supply of Nick’s sensors had run out) that I
realized what had happened. I had charged Johnny’s transmitter, stuck a
new sensor in the gun that I use to inject the sensor under my skin to
give it access to my blood stream, swiped my hip with alcohol and got
ready for the pain to come. I sat for a moment while I tried to
convince myself to pull the trigger, a process that sometimes can take
minutes, my self-preservation struggling with having to purposely
hurting myself, and I thought back to when I started with Nick. It was
surprisingly painless. I kept waiting for the pain to set in and it
never did. The sensor is by far way thinner and round, a seemingly
petty detail but when you are injecting a long, metal thread into your
tissue, the shape can make a huge difference in the way it rips through
your flesh. The sensor Johnny uses is rectangular. As far as piercing
skin goes, rectangular tends to tear much more and cause considerably
more pain. And it wasn’t just the pain. I realized I missed Nick’s
accuracy and how he could yell loud enough for me to hear him while I
slept. And how he doesn’t have to hurt me as often. The sensor he uses
goes for 12-14 days (off label of course). Johnny hurts me every 5-6
days. And because of that I tend to take more time between when I
remove one sensor and start the next,. Time I need to have data and
reminders. Time that, with sugars swinging more wildly, could add up to
more complications and complications that strike when I am younger,
really taking days or months or years off my life. I don’t have that
kind of time to waste. I need all of my days. I have stuff to do.
And so I have gone back to my friend Michelle like a now addicted
druggie, begging for any way that I can get my next hit. I have started
the paperwork to once again fight with my insurance so that they wil
cover a better product even though they usually like to play with their
own pre-picked companies that put out an inferior product. Lucky for me,
the people who make Nick are exceptional people. Not good customer
service, although it is, but good people. Everyone I have met who works
for Nick’s company are genuinely interested in helping Diabetics get
good technology. They have seen how it can change a person’s life and
will work above and beyond to help you get what you need. And it is
never a call to some company somewhere in the world who is working just
to get a paycheck. They are real people with real email addresses and
real cell phone numbers who will come over to your house to let you
borrow a system and show you how to use it and actually care how you are
doing with it. So battle I will. My last insurance battle took 6
months and countless letters and research and follow-up, but at least
this time I know I will fight alongside some great people to get an
amazing technology. Nick, baby, I am coming to get you and I won’t stop
until you are back in my life.
Ok but I don’t!!! Which company did you choose? Great blog but now I gotta know!
I am considering letting the cat out of the bag. Let me think about it and I will get back to you. I can say, with a little research, it shouldn’t be hard to find out who is who. Most people I have read about are saying the same things.
Some of us are completely clueless…lol.
I’m in the middle of trying to figure out which pump to up grade to next.
Ok. I will tell you that Nick is the wonderful and amazing DexCom 7+. Fantastic!!!