I used this website a few years back, and now that I am back on I want to take full advantage of it!
The hubby and I are hoping to try this spring for a baby. In December, I stopped taking my birth control- per my OB, and my endo wants my A1C to be in the 6 range. Last one was 7.1 in December, and my next endo appointment is in March and I am hoping for better A1c so I can 'start the process'...lol, sounds so odd...
Anyways, I have had the minimed pump for 7ish, almost 8 years. Ive had the sensor for a while...and every time I use it, I have problems...I wear it and then it alerts me in the middle of the night that I am low, or high, and I check with my meter and its not the case. I have seen the 'educators' who have made suggestions on placement and what not...but every time I try to use it, i end up angry in the middle of the night that it is waking me up (I work 24hr shifts, and sleep is precious!)...any suggestions? I know it would be helpful to use while pregnant, and it would be a great tool if it actually worked.
Also, being 'high risk', how many worked during their pregnancies? I am a paramedic, and we do moderate lifting, and if i have great male partner, I escape any lifting :) yay!!! and I am fearful that they (the docs) will make me stop working during the pregnancy. My biggest scare is that I have been denied disability through Aflack because of the pre-existing disease (which I think is INSANE that type 1 diabetics are denied!!) so going on disability during the pregnancy is not an option, and if they have me stop, that would be a huge financial blow to my husband and I....any suggestions?!
I ll keep anyone interested informed of my latest news, next endo appointment is 3/8 :)!
I am on the minimed with sensor as well. This is my 2nd pregnancy but first with the sensor. The sensor is super helpful in achieving the tight control needed for a healthy pregnancy but is is definitely annoying! My pump alarms all night long.... high predicted, low predicted, weak signal, lost sensor, etc.
I often sleep through the alarms and just clear them when i get up to go to the bathroom and check my sugar. Even my husband sleeps through them these days!
As frustrating as the alarms are, especially like you mentioned, that many are false, i think the benefits out-weigh the inconvenience. if you find your sugars are stable, you can set your sensor to be less sensitive at night- for example, a low could be 100 and a high 250 as opposed to what i have it set as- low 70, high 140!
Best of luck to you! Lowering an A1-C is hard work! I hope it easy and successful!
Thanks for your reply!!! Right now my sugars range from 70-130, which is pretty awesome considering where I came from originally, a1c of 14 or higher :(....I guess your right with the sensor, I am glad I am not the only seeing one with problems with the sensor. I unfortunately can't sleep through anything....I sleep lightly because of working as a paramedic and working 24 hr shifts, if I nap or sleep its not the greatest....I wake up them allll the time on my nights off...and eventually get annoyed by the morning so i take it out. My husband on the other hand....sleeps through them all...hahaha....
I'd give up the sensor too. If it's not helping you it's not worth it. When I was pregnant I used a CGM for 1 day to hours to confirm my pump basal was correct, then just tested often to verify blood sugar was okay and had a great A1c through the pregnancy.
You have a physical job, so I'm not sure how late into your pregnancy you'll be able to work. I have an office job and worked with no problem until the day before labor was induced. Less than a month before my son was born I was the event planner for a 400 guest fundraiser and had no problems doing everything needed to pull the party off.
I went to my doctor the other day (while in the midst of 'trying' to get pregnant and not succeeding), she told me that all of her patients are complaining about CGM, so she suggested that I try Dexcom...does anyone have any history/use with dexcom and their results? she said her patients are doing alot better with it! its in the process of getting approved by my insurance, hope it finalizes soon
I am currently 12 weeks pregnant and just got my Dexcom Seven Plus a week ago. I am totally in love with it and I can tell that it will really help with my blood sugars. My A1C before the Dex was 6.3 but I know that with the Dex that I can get it under 6!
I don't know anything about your situation with trying to get pregnant, however I can tell you what worked for me. My husband and I tried Natural Family Planning (charting, taking temperatures, and other signs) and I got pregnant the FIRST time we tried! Good Luck!
I was on the Minimed CGM and while I have not had problems with the numbers being way off, I did have problems with gushers, bruising and it just not sticking to my body. It was more trouble than it was worth. I was taking a beating. My CDE suggested that I get the Dexcom and I love it so far! It is always at least 5-10 points from my meter and has alerted me of Highs and Lows through the night which have really helped me tremendously.
Maybe you can ask your doctor for a trial run of dexcom or even call up dexcom directly to see if they will let you wear it. I think they allow people to do that. At least it will let you know if you like it or not.
The sensor sucked and was not very accurate with me during the first 1/3 of my pregnancy. But, since i am testing more and battling insuling resistance, my Dexcom has been very accurate. The more readings you put in the Dexcom, the more accurrate it gets. I am very thankful for my CGM right now....if I didn't have it I would constantly worry! I understand the lack of accuracy and waking up at night, though. It can get old but, seriously, I am so thankful that I have it at this point in time. I wouldn't dream of getting rid of it.
Hey guys! I start the dexcom on friday, I go for the training session with my CDE...I am suppppper excited, my last A1C was a 6.9, and of course she wants it lower before getting pregnant, but this is the second month of trying to get pregnant, and we are doing everything in the book to get this process moving (charting ovulation, ovulation tests, temp, sugars, carb counting to the max, positions of sex, propping afterwards, yadda yadda yadda)....its almost exhausting, but I know the trick of 'it will happen when it does, and dont stress'...kinda hard not too when its something you want so bad!
I was watching youtube videos and blogs about dexcom, and the manafacturer recommends to wear it on the abdomen, but many of the acutal users suggest the arm, I would rather use it on my arm because I feel that I am running out of viable space on the stomach (scar tissue and what not from using the pump), any suggestions ahead of time would be great! They are having me on monthly bloodwork, a fructosamine, my next one is in two weeks, and hoping for some better results.