Getting my Dexcom today! I am very excited!
Any advice for a newbie??
Sarah :-)
Resist the urge to chunk it out the window, I mean nbe patient it takes time and patience:)
Remember the following:
- It estimates blood glucose from interstatial fluid and is about 20 minutes old.
- Always confirm with a finger stick before correcting, especially a high.
- Trends are more important (an accurate) than the actual values displayed
- Expect the unexpected on day one. Most of my sensors are flakey on the first day, and provide readings all over the place.
- Enjoy it, and the knowledge it will bring (that's what happens when I eat pizza!)
Brad
Yes be patient. I had fits at first trying to get the sensors on and not accidently ripping it off when I'd finally get them on. Love it now 8 months later!
We're all a bit different, so be aware of that.
I don't agree with Brad (sorry) -- I rarely finger stick anymore unless Dex asks for it (twice a day, for calibration only). I rarely have trouble syncing my numbers -- they are usually pretty much on, and fairly consistent (a few outliers, of course -- but even two finger sticks in a row from different fingers often turns up very different numbers, so even our meters are not always in sync with reality!). Every once in a while the Dex feels like it does something funky, and I might check in on it to be sure it is tracking well, but that's life -- my Mac does the same thing!! Adjust and move on.
The trending is absolutely the best thing about it (I can feel my lows still after 30+ years, so unawareness is not a problem for me). Knowing if I am going up or down when I am out on the bike has been a real help, for sure. Good luck! Hope you like it.
/\/\
+1 (sorry Brad). I'm couldn't agree more with Michael here.
Until you really know how Dexcom works for you, and how it matches up with your meter, be sure to test before dosing. The closer my number are to 100, be it Dexcom or finger sticks, the better the chance that they will be similar to each other. But when higher or lower, or with a new sensor, the numbers can be completely out-of-whack.
Suzan
Always test before dosing, either for food or correction. Never bolus off of a Dex reading. It can bite you in the a@@. Be patient. There is a big learning curve.
I stand by my advice not to correct based on CGM readings. They can be too far off from a fingerstick, especially when high or low when a correction is needed. If I can't get to my glucometer easily, I will treat a low but never a high. Hypoglycemic unawareness and several trips to the ER make me petrified of hypoglycemia. My opinion is hyperglycemia can hurt you in the long term; hypoglycemia can kill you in the short term. (Sorry Michael and True Theory)