It seems that a lot of you use CGMs. What do you think? Are they useful? Too much information? How do you feel about having two insertion sites on your body (if you use a pump as well)? Any other advice?
I have been toying with the idea of a CGM for a while. My blood sugars vary....sometimes they seem to be right in target, but then I also have days when they are all over the place. I asked a CDE about it once, and she basically told me that CGMs give you a lot of information and some people become overwhelmed with this information. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that... I'm also not sure about having another machine attached to me. I love my pump because of the flexibility it affords me that injections do not. But I *hate* having a little machine attached to me 24/7.... a constant reminder. I mentioned in a another post that my relationship with my pump is very love/hate. ha.
Anyway. Any insights you have are greatly appreciated!
You could always see if the D clinic in your city as an iPro. It's like a CGM only it doesn't give you real-time results (so no beeping/alarms) and you wear it for 3 days at a time, then they download the information at the clinic and try to find a "pattern".
I want a CGM to help find a pattern since we've never been able to pinpoint WHY even doing the same thing everyday causes HUGE differences in numbers..but we only have Medtronic available in Canada and trying to get CGM information took three weeks and even when, they sent me a PUMP brochure in the mail. sigh. but they make the iPro which is used by clinics, rather than by individuals.
I've been waiting since August or September to try it, the clinic in my town was suppose to have it by end of September but still doesn't..but maybe the one near you does!
I believe that process is also cheaper than buying a CGM and the supplies with it.
I like my dexcom, and find it helpful. It's not 100% accurate, but worth it. I don;t wear a pump, so I don't have 2 things attached. But, in the next year, they're saying the dexcom will be integrated w/ the ping. What pump are you on?
I got my CGM last February. I have a Medronic Minimed with the Paradigm CGM. At first I liked it, but I was overwhelmed by all of the alarms, especially when they would wake me up at night. I wore it sometimes, but not consistently. A couple months ago, I figured out that I can turn the alerts off anytime without turning the whole thing off. This completely changed my attitude towards it. i've been wearing it faithfully for the past couple months. It helps SO MUCH with knowing when you're low or going to go low (or high) and it lets your doctor see trends and patterns so basal rates/bolus ratios can be adjusted. Now that I know how to use it, I absolutely love it! It doesn't bother me to have two sites because the benefits outweigh the cons in my opinion. Hope this helps!
i absolutely love having my dexcom CGM, but it can be overwhelming at times. i have it set to alarm below 70 and above 160. because that's such a tight range, it forces me to keep on top of my BGs to prevent the alarms going off. i have a tendency to get most frustrated at night - i hate waking up to the alarm. but the CGM has also helped me get rid of the crazy post-meal highs i would have. it also helps me see how exercise affects my BGs and allows me to make changes before they become a problem. when i get annoyed with it, i just take it off for a few days and put i back on when i'm ready.
The biggest CGM plus for me was the change in stress, that voice that constantly asks, tells, calculates, argues, screams, and/or sounds like you endo, is gone,
One thing to understand before starting with a CGM, is that all three are capable of being accurate and reliable given our commitment to where it regularly, learn all you can and know that w/o that commitment, the odds of succeeding will be minimal.
Second to BG testing, the CGM is the most valuable and impactful tool I have used in 40+ years w/T1D.
Try it out and as many have said it is a bit overwhelming, but worth it in every way if you make the commitment.
I hated my CGM. It's funny because it was the reason I wanted a pump in the first place! I didn't find the information 'overwhelming', but I did find that I overreacted to it. For me, it added stress rather than alleviated it. I don't miss it. And for me it wasn't as comfortable as the pump and tended to get irritated easily. But you'll never know what works for you until you try it - perhaps your clinic can let you try one out?
I have had my Dexcom for a couple of weeks, and already I don't know how I lived without it! It is amazing to me to be able to look down and see if I am going up, down, or staying steady. I can confirm that that bolus and basal rates are correct or not. I can see how differently my BG acts at different times of the month being female.
I used to be very afraid of going low without knowing it because of hypoglycemia unawareness, so I kept my BG's pretty high all of the time. I tried to keep it under 250. Now I do not have that fear and I have been able to consistantly stay in the 100's with confidence. I imagine my A1c will be much better.
I do not mind the extra sensor, or thing to carry around, but I have had to add an extra pocket to most of my pants or stick the reciever in my bra.
After reading all of these posts, I think that the best thing for me to do will be to see if I can try one out before committing. I think that it could be of great use, but I can also see myself potentially getting frustrated or getting depressed about the fact that I have to wear another machine with another sensor. Thanks for all of your help!
JDRF's new statement about CGM's said they only lower your a1c's if you use them consistently. I'm assuming this was based on some sort of research. So, it DOES make sense to try it before committing. With the dexcom, you have something like 30 days to return it after getting it, but make sure you can do the training right away so you don't miss the returns window.
Also, it took me a few weeks to like it. (In fact, I used the old dexcom system in 2007 and stopped). I found it took me a few weeks to learn not to overreact about every alarm, so that I wasn't going up and down constantly. After about a month, I felt totally comfortable. Hopefully you can work out a couple weeks to try a cgm out to help make the decision!
Unlike C, I set my alarms for a bigger range (80 and 200) so I'm not as irritated, esp at night. You can set them whereever you want, based on tighter control vs. your patience levels with alarms...
[quote user="cc_racer"]I have had my Dexcom for a couple of weeks, and already I don't know how I lived without it![/quote]
cc_racer, I'm with you! I've only had mine since Tuesday, and I already love it!!! I have the Medtronic one as well. It's already helped me a lot. For the past 3 weeks, I've been having lows about 11am every day, and nothing seemed to help. On top of being very annoying, it was interfering with my ability to do my job well.
WIth the CGM, I was able to see that my bs is steady through most of the morning, and then, oh look, I drop like a frickin rock starting about 10am. Down and double down arrows for almost an hour. I'm still messing with my basals, but I'm thrilled to say that my bs yesterday at 11am was 98! Hallelujah!
All the info is kind of overwhelming, but my trainer told me to focus on whether or not I have arrows or am holding steady, rather than the actual number.
So, overall, I'm thrilled! And Briana, I'd say a trial run would definitely be worth your time. Best of luck!
Brianna, a compromise would be to use a pump that has a CGM receiver in it. The Minimed pump communicates with the sensor, so you would have two needles in you at all times (one for the pump and the other with the sensor), but you would be wearing only one device. There are some people who complain a lot about the Minimed CGM though. The Dexcom has been much more highly praised. In 2011 Dexcom is supposed to combine with both the Animas and Omnipod pumps. Then you could use the most highly rated CGM with a very good pump, and wear only one device.
Since Dexcom's 3rd quarter investors report, it seems that the combos won't be out for quite a while. The FDA is rewriting their regs, and then there will have to be new trials run.
I`ve got a minimed pump. It has the CGM technology but i haven`t bothered much with it. As you said it is one machine for two purposes/sites on your body. Because my CGM isn't covered by any kind of medical i haven't bothered with it yet. This lead me to find that i can get extremely excellent BG levels with only the pump. Just gotta know what you're doing. I've only had the pump for a year but i don't see much reason to go back to the pen or to bother with CGM, unless i am in certain circumstances.