Navigator

I am getting ready for the insurance fight.  The navigator will eventually work with my cozmo insulin pump just woundering about the accuracy of this device "tool"  before i go through the process.

JT

I dont have the navigator, I have the Minimed but, the numbers arent always exact. Remember it is only showing you trends it doesnt replace your finger sticks.

JT,

 

I'm only 17 days or so into my Navigator use but so far it is as accurate as the calibration fingersticks allow.  When I put in my first sensor, my first calibration was due about the same time I was having a pump failure and my sugar was heading for the heavens at an alarming (no pun intended) rate.  The Nav miss guessed the acceleration and put me about 20 points under actual.  I corrected during a flat period following lunch the next day and it was spot on after that.  It is generally within 3-5 points when my sugar is stable and it is generally tracking well, though lagging when my sugar is really moving.  That said every day I have with it, I am more excited and happier with it than I was the day before.  The inserter is an odd little piece of engineering but it gets the job done and it hides the sensor so you don’t see the “pokey part.”  This is an issue for me only because I am scared of needles.  Yeah, yeah, I know – no poking fun! <cringe> </cringe>

 

I’ve had three tests in the last 12 hours that were within a point but that is not as common.  The 15 minute lag can create some real differences if I bounce. 

 

There are probably some other folks out here with more experience than I’ve got who can afford more insight.  I will say that you should be prepared to do a little adhesive research before you get it.  The Navigator may have been well designed for many things but staying attached was clearly not one of them.

 

Cheers!

 

A-D

I found some awsome stuff to make my infusion sites stick its like 45.00.  Its called Mastisol.  Its awsome havnt lost a site since i started using it.."should say pulled a site out" and thanks for the info on the navigator i am new to this as it is .  I cant feel my lows,  So i am hoping this will help a bit.

Thanks

JT

JT,

I am hypo-unaware too and the Navigator has been a big help for me. 

I should have thought of this earlier but there will be two places you'll need to avoid having anything under the "sled" for the Nav.  The first is at the actual insertion site (top of the sled).  I have read from a number of folks that inserting through skin tac or mastisol reduces the accuracy of the unit.  The second spot to watch out for is the middle of the sled where the temperature sensor on the transmitter will make contact.  I think I remember reading that some people were using a Nav sled they'd pulled off to make a template...  I still need to buy the adhesive... ;)

Cheers!

A-D

I've had the navigator for about four months now. And definitely agree that calibrating can be a little tricky depending on what your BS is doing. However things usually start to settle out with subsequent calibrations. I've found the best time to apply the CGM is at night when my sugar isn't moving around too much and by morning I'm almost ready for my first calibration. That said, the adhesive is horrible! I try to workout everyday but with this forget it. After just one workout the adhesive is really negatively affected and by day five, if I've worked out everyday, the CGM is almost falling off forcing me to find some sort of extra adhesive to hold the thing on. I haven't found anything that works very well yet. 

JT,

I had the opportunity to wear the Navigator a couple of weeks ago and if I can do things all over again I would have chosen the Navigator instead of the Minimed CGM I found it to be less annoying and so much more accurate to my blood meter almost every time. I was wearing both Minimed and Navigator cgm at the same time so i compared it. The Minimed too almost 15-20 minutes to catch up to the navigator and my blood meter. 

So I would definitely choose the navigator hands down. Its worth the fight.

I, too, am dealing with the insurance issues and when I put my request in LAST DECember, Abbott is only NOW getting around to getting into the details with my insurance company.  What I can tell you?  I have a Minimed Paradigm Pump and I borrowed a friend's Navigator as she was going on a jungle white water rafting trip and offered to lend it to me to "test drive it".  I can tell you that I LOVE it.  I have worn it for only one week but the things I love are:

1.  Immediate and accurate feed-back on BGs in almost "real-time".  I can adjust insulin based on readings. 2.  It makes me want to stay in control and fit in the "gray zone" which is the bar where the normal blood sugars are on the line graph.  3.  It tells me when my BGs are tanking and this is FANTASTIC.  I have not had one significant low blood sugar since wearing it, and I have my lower number set at 65.  4.  It decreases finger sticks.  I went from 8-10 per day, to....well NONE unless I am calibrating the CGM.  Here are the negatives: 1.  The sensor is big and despite using mastisol, tegederm and cleaning the site before use, it already seems to be falling off.  I am not sure why they cannot figure out how to make the damn thing smaller when computer chips are tiny these days.  I suspect that whichever company figures this out will get the bulk of the business as long as the accuracy is as good as the Navigator. 2.  The receiver is also big but this is an advantage for me so it doesn't get too lost in my purse!  It is pretty durable, I think too...from what my friend says.  3.  You cannot get individual BG readings, or at least not many of them.  I would love to be able to go back and look at every raw number based on when I touched the button for an update.  It does have cool graphs and statistics though which will let you know what percentage of time you are within your BG targets and what percentage you were either too high or too low.

The very best thing about this is the confidence it gives you as you know which direction your BGs are headed!  It makes me want to go out and exercise....almost!  I can see that this will be a major aspect of Type 1 management and is the early "pump" phase now.....I cannot imagine life without my pump and I am sure soon enough.....it will be the same thing for this CGM.

Hope this helps!   MB