Freestyle Navigator Vs. Dexcom Seven Plus?

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Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on September 10, 2009 at 3:48pm

http://www.freestylenavigator.com/ab_nav/url/content/en_US/10.50:50...

Photos, size comparisons, etc.

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Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on September 15, 2009 at 10:43am

For those of you curious, I posted a video on the insertion process for the Navigator sensors.

http://tudiabetes.com/video/freestyle-navigator-cgms

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Permalink Reply by Paula Kreps on September 15, 2009 at 12:44pm

I chose the Freestyle Navigator in part because my endo thought it was the most accurate machine on the market and also due to it's size. The belt clip and receiver are easily wearable with any pants and can be in a bag if necessary. I have found it to be exceptionally accurate, to the point that I do the calibration sticks and they are the same or 1 point off and I treat based on it. I have never gotten into a problem from this but I do watch carefully and certainly do not advocate everyone do the same. I work at night and it is very important to know what my sugar is, and I feel it is giving me a "now" reading, not the reading the is 20 minutes old. I realize the overwhelming majority of CGM users are Dex users but I felt someone should say what a good experience they are having with the Navigator. I have had excellent customer service, any issue they replace the sensor and have dropped my receiver in water twice and they have replaced it for free, no questions asked. I will stick with it simply due to the accuracy and ease of use. Calibration at 10 and 12 hours and at 36 hours and done. Do not mind waiting for the first 10 hours since it is so easily callibrated at that point.

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Permalink Reply by etta v on September 16, 2009 at 4:47pm

Day 1 for me with the DexCom Seven. My insurance paid for it because I made sure to create a good record of the increasing incidents of my husband having to call 911 cause I was out of it and mumbling in the middle of the night. Dexcom is good about working with you and your providers to get the documentation together necessary to get coverage. It took awhile to get the approval but I'm very happy so far. In terms of accuracy, it's been within 5-10 percent all day!

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Permalink Reply by Avanti on September 20, 2009 at 9:12pm

Found out about this great site 2 hrs ago, became a member 3 minutes ago!

Our son is on a Paradigm pump. We tried the Guardian (integrated) a few months ago. It was just no good. Returned everything. Minimed is great in taking care of its customers. No problems in getting my money back.

Now, we are looking at OmniPod (went to info session this afternoon). He is wearing a demo pump right now, seems to like it. OmniPod people are friendly in person and on the Toll free line. Learned about FreeStyle Navigator. Did a lot of research (like reading posts on this site).

Insurance does cover OminPod. Not sure of the CGM device. Will find out tomorrow.

Between Dex and Nav, I am leaning toward Nav for 1. accurate readings, 2. range, and 3. fewer calibrations. We really disliked the frequent calibration required by Minimed (which have to be done when sugar level is stable). Waiting for 10 hrs once in 5 days for Nav startup may be painful (you've to prick fingers during that period), but if we do that at night, may not be so bad.

Did a lot of reading on Humalog vs Apidra on this site. Looks like we need to switch to Apidra from Humalog to see if Apidra indeed makes a difference.

Next few weeks will bring a lot of changes for him. Let us hope everything works out. He is very cooperative in general, so don't expect any psychological problems in switching.

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Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on September 20, 2009 at 9:24pm

If you're interested, I posted a video last week on the insertion of the Navigator sensor. I'm an Apidra using, pod wearing, navigator wearing type 1. Check my member page for the video link.

With any of the three systems, you will not be able to calibrate when the blood sugar isn't stable. Nor would you want to. The calibration readings need to be based on a non-moving target. The Nav will not accept your calibration if you are moving too rapidly or are below 60 or above 300. It asks you to try again in 2 hours.

I do my ten hour warm-up at night while I sleep. That's actually when my blood sugars are the most stable during any given 24 hours, so I feel pretty confident about it most nights.

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Permalink Reply by Avanti on September 25, 2009 at 6:32pm

OmniPod is on the way. Navigator? Waiting for insurance approval!

Just curious - what do you do with the old pump, like MM Paradigm? I was thinking of keeping it with a few infusion sets as a backup pump.

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Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on September 25, 2009 at 7:00pm

I kept my Cozmo as a back-up, along with about 3 months worth of sets.

There are places that will take donated pumps and supplies, but due to the recent MM lot 8 recalls, some companies (like ipump.org) are no longer taking Minimed supplies, so you'd have to check if you wanted to donate it somewhere.

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Permalink Reply by June English on November 1, 2009 at 7:08pm

I'd hold on to your MM Paradigm. Here's why... I wore the OmniPod for one year. I liked it for maybe the first 6 months. Then I began have MAJOR skin reactions to the Pod adhesive. I also discovered that I was running out of infusion sites. Unlike any other pump, the cannula on the Pod is a "one size fits all." If it doesn't work well for you, you're out of luck. I hope you'll be one of the OmniPod success stories. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Hughes on September 28, 2009 at 9:38am

I use the CGM from Medtronic and it is better than Dexcom. I used Dexcom and was not impressed with it. Medtronic is easy to use and the replace CGM if it is a defect. Plus, with CGM from Medtronic you can go 6 days.

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Permalink Reply by June English on November 1, 2009 at 7:05pm

I'm on the MiniMed Paradigm 522 with CGM, and I am happy with it. However, I want you to know that I did wear the DexCom 7 for one month (the trial period) and found that it frequently lost reception during the night. I also participate on a Yahoo! CGM-ers group. The Navigator users rave that they check their BG's with fingerstick as little as 1 - 3 times per day, because the Navigator is that accurate. As for the person above who claims he wears the OmniPod and is leaning toward the DexCom, you should know that rumor has had it, for a long time, that Insulet and Abbott have plans to merge the two units. I'd vote for the DexCom if I weren't already happy with my integrated CGM/pump (MiniMed)

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Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on November 1, 2009 at 8:20pm

Omnipod plans to integrate with the Navigator as well; it's just taking longer to get through FDA approval. Right now, both the Opod and Nav upload to the same software program so you can interlace the data easily.

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