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Permalink Reply by Kim on June 29, 2012 at 6:40am

I started with Medtronic's CGM about 5 weeks ago. I was calling their help line with questions about accuracy and skin issues almost every day for the first 3 weeks. They are always very nice, but have told me that the learning curve is about 3 months. Sad, because the pump part was so easy to learn. The hardest thing for me was trying to figure out when my glucose levels would be stable enough to calibrate. I put my last two sensors in at night, silenced all alarms, and waited until I woke up to calibrate. Both of these sensors have been much closer to my actual readings and patterns. The downside of course is not being awakened in the middle of the night if low. If I had done this as a trial I would not keep it, but unfortunately, a trial was not offered and I have paid a lot of money, so I am sticking with it. Maybe that's their marketing ploy? It is getting better. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by JohnG on June 29, 2012 at 7:26am

You will need to try diffrent Alert Rates until you find one that works best for how your BG responds when going up or down your CGM is making a assumption based on this info and gives the predicted alert and then when your BG reaches the target range it again tells you it's now high or low. I think after the alert It's kind of redundant for the pump to just keep sending the high/low alarms...it can be a pest at times...

It's like when you enter a 300mg/dL (16.2 mmol) into your pump and it says your BG is high (above your upper limit)...I always say to my pump thank you I would have never known.

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Permalink Reply by kristinalscott on June 29, 2012 at 7:49am

I did end up turning it off last night because by 12:30 and no sleep i was so annoyed! I even had an alarm go off that said "I have diabetes call Emergency assistance"..like really? I didn't know I had diabetes =) It is good if I was really passed out low...but I was fully conscious! I guess its just something that I will have to get used to! I'm not giving up yet...its too expensive to...hope it gets better!!!

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Permalink Reply by JohnG on June 29, 2012 at 8:45am

I have been using a CGM for 4 years and now I would never give it up without a big fight, over time it will change the way you manage your BG. When I first started using the CGM it was far from what I expected it to be, but over the past 4 years it has become part of my life and I have learned how to get very good results.

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Permalink Reply by Kim on June 29, 2012 at 9:25am

John, I agree the constant repeating of the "predicted alerts" are crazy, especially when I am driving and can't get the pump out of my pocket to reset it. And really, do we really need our pump to tell us our meter reading is high or low? And don't get me started on the "Do you see drops? Yes/No". We push enough buttons as it is. Please give us some credit.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Collins on June 29, 2012 at 10:46am

When the cgm gets like that turn it off for a couple of hours. Sometimes it needs to reset itself. Or maybe your first sensor wasn't the greatest. I leave the predictive alerts off. That way the beeps are minimized.

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Permalink Reply by Donna on March 29, 2013 at 1:23pm

It takes a while to get used to how the CGM works. I found that getting the sensor inserted correctly was the key to having the monitor work correctly. I learned from a nurse, who also has diabetes, wears a GCM, and works for Medtronic) to show me exactly how to get the damned needle inserted correctly so that I got more accurate results. She explained that the "butt" of the needle had to be inserted so none of the rings showed. The needle will also stand straight up, rather than at a sideways angle. She also advised me to insert at a 60 degree angle because I am thin. After seeing and working with her, I have had success with the GCM. She was the third nurse I worked with (one other being from Medtronic), but she was the only one who had the magic formula (butt in with no rings showing). Hope this might help.

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