I was wondering if anyone out there has any experience with the Dexcom CGM ? My doctor has one that we can try out, along with the FreeStyle Navigator CGM. However, the Dexcom she has (she has 3) all worked fine at first, but now are nothing but problems. So much so, that she has stopped ordering the sensors for us to try out because the have just had too much trouble with them.
I am looking into the Dexcom systen because they are working with Omnipod to create a system that will work together and I am really looking at the Omnipod as my choice for an insulin pump.
If anyone has any experience that they would like to share with the Dexcom, or any advice...I would greatly appreciate it.
I just spoke to an Omnipod sales rep this afternoon and he said that they were working with Dexcom and Navigator. However, he thinks that it will be the Navigator that actually will be the one that they distribute with the Omnipod. He cautioned that he could be wrong, but from the things he has heard from his side that is what he thinks. His guess is that it is will probably be out as a combo next year. Hopefully they will work out all of the bugs before it hits the market.
So many new and exciting things on the horizon for us. I have had Diabtetes for 20 years this May. I was diagnosed at 19yrs. Things have definately improved.
I have been using the Dexcom for over a year. The supplies are expensive but the insurance companies are coming around and mine now pays for most of the supply cost.
I did have to figure out what makes it mess up. When I first got it... I used the sticky pad to swap the site before I stuck the sensor on. Really bad idea. Clean with nothing but soap/water alcohol before placing the sensor.
Then I found that if you use tylenol... it will really mess up the readings. It is a very good device and most of the time (not all the time) but I would say 80% of the time it is dead on (within 5 points of what the meter says). I have gotten huge swings but most I would say less than 5% of the time it is off by more than 20 points and the rest of the time it is about 10 points off. It is really good for giving you trending info though and that is what you want to use it for. I have found it has been really helpful for me in stopping me from having overnight super lows because I didn't bother to straighten out my insulin pump. It has also been a big help after starting a new workout routine and diet. It would have been a lot harder to adjust my pump for all the activity and conditioning that I am trying to do.
With all the integration and talks of combining things I do wonder how the units will hold up. The one things that really messes up my CGMS is the closeness to the infusion site. My endo warned that the sensor should be at least an inch to two inches from where the insulin is pumping into the body as the closer to the infusion site the less glucose is in the area. So if they do make an integrated unit, how would that work and how would the numbers respond. A smaller omnipod would be awesome, beacuase that thing is huge in my mind.
I have been on the Omnipod for almost a month now and i would like to try the cgm with it. So far the Omnipod has been awesome it really isn't that big once you get used to it. you should definately try the omnipod Linda