Just curious what other cgm wearers thoughts are on this. I have a dex and love it! One thing I’ve really been able to help myself with is catching lows before they happen which is great. It’s also helped me get my A1C from the low 7s to low 6s. However, I do notice that I haven’t had to rely on my body giving me as signals as much. I can catch stuff at 85 and watch to see what’s happening versus waiting until I feel hypo to do a finger stick.
One thing I’m curious about is I definitely have noticed that I’m not as good at catching lows on my own anymore. I’m not sure if it’s true hypoglycemic unawareness because I do catch them, but on my own it will be higher 50s versus high 60s. Do you feel like with your cgm, you’ve noticed the same or is this more likely because I’ve lowered my A1C and now being around 75-90 is no longer uncomfortable?
Personally I don’t think I’m less sensitive to feeling lows although I am more sensitive to feeling the numbers dropping - I can even be on the high end of normal (not to mention in the low 100s) and sense what feel like lows when those are on the screen.
I also feel it more when my numbers are dropping quickly. Currently I am using the medtronics guardian sensors, and most times when it gives me a really low reading it is a sensor issue rather than an actual low. as often or not when it shows up as below 50 the blood glucose is closer to 100. If I get a low sensor reading I stop and put it into context. Physical activity level last meal, etc. I also try to assess my mental state, If at all unsure I stop and do a blood test
I’m spoiled. I only recently went on a Dex CGM and being a T1D for 58 years. Saying that, the EMS good fairies have not visited me from my wife finding me in a puddle of sweat, and unresponsive in bed for quite a while. It alerts well before I go into a state of not cooperating and can drink my chocolate milk and go back to sleep. My lows happened during sleep mostly, but I and you are the same in I don’t feel lows as drastically as I did prior to the Dex Com. I think it is because the monitor alerts before you get to the point of serious symptoms because I used to be wandering around still talking but not making sense with finger sticks showing 38. I have my alerts set for higher levels so I have time to pay attention to treat lows, so I always start looking at the readings during the late afternoon now since that is the time my BGL’s drop before dinner. Thank you for CGM’s.
It is very easy to become dependent on the Dexcom, but wonder how I ever lived without it now. I used finger sticks for 40 years and somehow survived some really bad lows. I still have some distrust at times on totally trusting the Dex. When I have a low, my blood meter is always lower than my Dex says I am.
I agree! I keep mine at 85 so I’ve stopped them from really coming and I need a lot loss to treat if I stop them before they happen which is a huge plus
Agree! My meter is always lower when I’m going low or when I’m coming down. Im guessing due to the lag time when dropping quickly. That’s why I set mine at 85 because usually if im 85 on my dex im high 60s low 70s via finger stick.
Bingo. It makes a big difference when you are able to catch yourself going low and able to treat the situation before bottoming out and then treating it needing more to get back to normal. We’re not so much alone after all.
I definitely start feeling it about 70-75, start getting a bit anxious/nervous about there, next comes getting a bit fuzzy, at 65 perhaps a little shaky, and lastly a little panicky. Fortunately, it’s relatively rare for me and hope it stays that way. I feel wrung out afterwards if it lasts for more than a couple of minutes. Dexcom is definitely a little behind the power curve, i.e. interstitial definitely is behind blood. It would be interesting to test the GWave device readings against the G6; here’s hoping the RF system is real and miniaturized to fit in a watch as inferred; perhaps we’ll see it in the couple of years.
I have used a cgm for about 6 yrs now. I do believe that I am not as on top of feeling my lows as I was before but I dropped my a1c from mid 7s to around 6. My endo says my body is much more comfortable at 75 than when I had a higher normal . I also find I must drop to around 60-65 to feel my symptoms . I also still feel extreme drops even if they are not true lows. I do worry about future issues but I can only deal with what life gives me today and I am finally learning that worrying about tomorrow doesn’t change anything except my ability to enjoy today.
That’s almost the exact same for me. My A1C used to be low-mid 7s and ever since I got my cgm, I’ve been in the low mid 6s. I do feel extreme drops too and have noticed I will feel low, I just used to feel miserable at 70, sometimes even in the 80s and now it takes a true hypo (65 or below) before I register it. Now I’m curious if it’s just like you said a result of tighter control hence being comfortable at lower levels or just the fact that I don’t let myself have true lows (well as often as I can stop them which with a cgm it’s a lot easier to stop it from happening). Totally agree with living in the moment, was just curious more than anything!
Unfortunately do to a crazy job I cannot stop as many lows as I would like to, I have seen some pretty low numbers due to work stuff. I do not have any ability to predict the physical requirements for my job more than about 15min out so many times I have bolused for my meal only to be called out to a very physically demanding situation minutes later and have seen some pretty low numbers due to insulin on board. My biggest issue is sweating is my first sign of low sugar but when I am working hard I sweat anyway. It is not until I lose some of my coordination that I usually notice. This used to happen for me at 80 or so and now it takes almost 60 for me to experience it now.
Hi @jdiesel . Some people like to keep their numbers around 80 or so for tight control, while others prefer to keep them a little higher for various reasons. You didn’t say where you prefer to keep yours but given the unpredictability of your work aiming a little higher on the lower end of the scale might help - 80 doesn’t work for me as I may have to run errands “on the fly” and am not comfortable driving there, so I like to be between 100 and 120. if you use a pump you could try lowering your basal rate just a bit to give you some “wiggle room” and if you find your numbers rising maybe there are some exercises you could do discretely at your desk that would help.
Most of us probably bolus as we’re about to start eating, or even a little in advance. I was going to suggest waiting until you’re finished but again the nature of your work that may or may not help - I’m still pondering that. So another thought was doing an extended bolus so the insulin doesn’t hit all at once. It might not be ideal and would probably be tricky to figure out but it could help. Just some thoughts to ponder and discuss with your doctor.
I’m assuming you use a pump and that may not be the case. If not, apologies.
Dorie, yes I use the t slim x2 pump. I have multiple different basal setups and use the exercise mode at work very often . I like the fact that my endo can get t connect data as I am going. Iconsult with my endo on a regular basis but I just cannot seem to eliminate my lows without constantly stuffing carbs into my mouth. I have managed to learn how to avoid them when I have the ability to plan my physical requirements but the total unpredictability of work just throws a wrench in the works.
