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Permalink Reply by Rick Phillips on January 8, 2009 at 8:29pm

i really had no issues what so ever gettign coverage. I can see others ar enot so fortunate so I am blessed. Now the system however does lack some features that are needed. In the next generation I am hopeful that the CGM can be more real time and less lag time. this Am, I was in a serious low and my CGM never alarmed. That is frustrating, especially with damn false alarms. Geese I could put up with more false alarams if it caught nasty lows.

Still I am happy for the system. I still have a drivers license because of it, os that alone is a good benefit.

Rick Phillips

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Permalink Reply by Rickst29 on January 8, 2009 at 9:46pm

Yeah Rick, sounds like you're sorta near the bottom of that group of "at least somewhat satisifed", frustrated but not quite into that TOTALLY angry 25% at the very bottom.

unfortunately, you seem most frustrated by the ONE THING where Dexcom absolutely crushed Minimed in every simultaneous, head-to-head testing of the two devices against each other, worn simultaneously by the same person for 1-4 weeks, and challenged by creating INTENTIONAL hypo and hyperglycemic events, which I have ever hear of: Dexcom nearly always "sings out" the Hypos first.

John Walsh documented his personal test very thoroughly. In his personal "shootout" comparison, he got "low" warnings from Dexcom (well in advance of the MM warning) 28 times; 8 pairs of alarms were roughly "ties" and Minimed (drum roll here....)

won once. Dexcom won the contest 28:1); if I had been John, I would have invoked a merciful "slaughter rule", and just given up on the Minimed way before the planned 30-day test ever completed....

Hmmm, now that I'm thinking about it.... that's exactly what I DID do. (I ran 'em side by side several months BEFORE John published his test.)

MM's accuracy in lows was significantly worse, and Dexcom also won the "first to warn" face-off when going high, too, by a ratio of 25 to 2.

If you want really want to see all the unpleasant details, his entire report is still on the web as a 19-slide powerpoint:

But if you're afraid of weeping about it, don't go there: MM looks really bad. This shootout is quite old, done back when MM still required an actual wire to the Sensor (before the Minilink was approved, and before the current "Approved-For-Children" version of the Guardian became available. The wired connection was nasty-- too short, with many Sensor site locations, you absolutely couldn't wear your pump in any of the traditional convenient locations. It needed to be taped down the whole way, and the cable was really thick. Sorta like a little rock in your shoe, I was always feeling this nagging little discomfort... but unfortunately, UNLIKE a pebble in the shoe, I could never take the shoe off to get rid of it.

Minimed has made some big advances since then (Minilink, new Guardian Receiver) but today's Sensors are pretty much identical to the ones we used years ago. I have a gut feeling that Dexcom's "Seven" Sensors are actually a bit less accurate than the old 3-day STS ones, but I think that Dexcom would still win this test over Minimed, very convincingly.

And I think that Navigator, in "professional" and nearly-professional bio-lab experienced hands like John's and mine, would absolutely KILL both of these old competitors in a similar test on accuracy, and it would probably win at catching oncoming highs first, too. The only test in which one of the older devices might stand a chance is "First to Notify on lows".

In *My* body, Dexcom is nearly simultaneous with fingersticks for tracking "downwards" bG movement. In fact, I swear, the Dexcom has even shown falling glucose 5 minutes AHEAD of a drop in fingerstick bG so many times, that I think it really is often faster--

If Dexcom shows a nasty drop starting up, but I don't quite "trust" what it's saying, out comes the fingerstick-- and I'll do it again every 5-10 minutes, until I *can* feel trust inone or both machines. Lots of strips, lots of valid test data-- for me, it seems that Dexcom even wins the "race to alarm first" against fingerstick bG !!!

(For really low readings, <60 bG, Dexcom's "accuracy" starts to fall apart very badly, much quicker than One-Touch does. Fortunately, wearing Dex 24x7, I almost never get that low anymore.)

Permalink Reply by Jennifer on June 3, 2009 at 10:07am

I recently was commenting about discrimination, and this one is obviously just that, though financially motivated. Folks who need to control their blood sugar being denied by insurance companies for a device that warns them when it's too high or too low? ... It sickens me.

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Permalink Reply by wayne on January 18, 2009 at 5:17pm

That's a lot of good information. However, having used the Navigator and Seven each for several months, all I can say is the Navigator has it all over the Seven. 1. It's much more accurate 2. The display of information is much better. 3. The one minute readings allow it to respond to inputs faster. 4. Users can turn off the alarm if needed. 5. Although it's only rated for 5 days, I can continue to use a sensor for up to 15 days, simply by restarting it.
But the accuracy is the biggest thing. I only had accurate reading with the Seven about half the time. With the Navigator, it's more like 95%. I'll never go back. In fact I can't because I've given away my Seven. Yes the size of the Navigator transmitter is way too large and can fall out easily, but I hope the next generation will fix that. Also I was out in 15 degree weather and had no problems with temperature.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Marie Rowe-Guenther on February 13, 2009 at 10:48am

I don't use the CGM yet but would love to. This may be the wrong question to ask but here goes. I'm a T2 and on the pump (minimed 722) I would really like to add the sensor to my pump but insurance does not cover the sensor. Any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by ODESSA BROWN on February 25, 2009 at 3:37pm

I AM UP WITH THE CGMS ,IT IS WONDERFUL .I HAVE DIABETES FOR A LONG TIME AND NOW I HAVE GOTTEN TO A POINT WHERE I DON'T FEEL WHEN LOWS AND HIGH ARE COMING ON.THE CGMS SAVED MY LIFE,IT'S A BLESSING TO BE ABLE TO USES.....ODESSA

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Permalink Reply by Angela Marie Rowe-Guenther on February 25, 2009 at 7:08pm

Are u a type 1?

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Permalink Reply by Elouise Davila is Preggo!! on February 26, 2009 at 10:25am

What is CGM?

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Permalink Reply by J. Davis Harte on February 26, 2009 at 12:35pm

It stands for continuous glucose monitor. Sometimes it's 'cgms', which is continuous glucose monitor system. Basically it's a new technology that reads your glucose level (not blood, but interstitial fluid) every 5 minutes - depending on which cgm you get. Mine is a sensor inserted in, with a quarter sized thick transmitter, that sends the info to my pump so I just look at a screen on my pump and can see if I'm going up, or down, or steady and approximately where my level is. (Approximately, because there is a lag time of about 15 minutes). It's NOT a replacement for finger sticks - it's just an AWESOME tool for getting better control.

:DH

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Permalink Reply by Captain Diabetes on February 26, 2009 at 3:23pm

I just started using the Medtronic CGM sensor a month ago, and I have mixed feelings about it. Maybe it is because it is a relatively new thing to me, but i find myself checking my pump for a reading at least every half hour, but usually more so. The CGM has inspired a new, more neurotic diabetic me and I am having trouble getting used to it... Hopefully, as time goes by and I get used to having it, I won't check it as often and be so nutty about it.

Is there anyone out there who can recommend a favorite site for the sensor? I like my arms and my back, but am looking to expand. Does anyone know if the thighs and butt are acceptable?

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Permalink Reply by Rickst29 on February 27, 2009 at 11:52am

Upper butt cheeks might work great (it's a very popular Site with slim women and young children). Thighs, probably not-- too much muscular movement. For accuracy and Sensor lifespan, it's very important to keep the wire MOTIONLESS in your subcutaneous tissue. Maybe inner thigh would work, but probably not the top.

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on February 27, 2009 at 1:41pm

I use outer to top thigh , right now , so far so good ...make sure it is well attached ...I lost mine, while doing the half marathon in Disney W , last year with 100 percent humidity : I was perspiring a lot ...not used to that type of weather in January, learning all the time .I have manipulated the sensor into it's third 3 day use :@ 1.40 pm finger poke 7.1 , sensor 6.2 ...reasonably simelar number

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