Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Zoe on July 6, 2012 at 2:28pm

I don't think anyone can answer that question for you, Kelsey. Many people love their CGM's and say they help them enormously, others, like me, don't want one. Perhaps it would help if you talked with your parents and the endo about why they think you should get one and then shared your reservations with them and why you don't really want one. Maybe out of that dialogue will come an answer.

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Permalink Reply by Jim on July 6, 2012 at 2:53pm

For me I like to know what way my BS is trending. I don't like sitting in meetings having no clue what my BS is doing. It provides me a level of comfort at work that I never had and removes a lot of anxiety I was having. That anxiety would caused me to run higher to avoid the potential low. I don't feel lows until I am around 60, so I would rather have a head start treating before I am at 60.

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on July 6, 2012 at 3:26pm

I was always opposed to pump until I got one and was like "woah". Once I learned what I CGM was, I wanted one of those too, maybe after getting string of like 5 of the same A1C in row w/ the pump, I wanted to see if more data would help me do better and it did.

I suspect that both your parents and endo would like a CGM to "fill in the blanks" in your logs/ data, however imperfectly, so that you would do better or run things more smoothly? That was my experience but, unfortunately, isn't guaranteed...

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Permalink Reply by Clare on July 6, 2012 at 3:34pm

I did read recently that the Omnipod company (Insulet) is developing with the Dexcom company a fully integrated pump/cgm when that happens I would definitely think about it. I agree with Zoe though a chat with the parental units and endo would make sense.

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Permalink Reply by christy on July 6, 2012 at 4:30pm

I got the CGM when I got my pump, and yes its nice seeing trends, I found the darn thing annoyed me more than anything, I don't know it's handy, but for me if I had to have a CGM or my pump, I'd take my pump.

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Permalink Reply by Kelsey on July 6, 2012 at 4:30pm

Just don't think another thing attached to my body, while I do cheer and softball... Just doesn't seem like what I want.

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Permalink Reply by Laddie on July 6, 2012 at 5:08pm

I think it's a tough time to buy new devices because so much is on the horizon, but most of it isn't available yet.

Medtronic has the only pump/CGMS system currently available in the USA. I personally hate the current Medtronic CGMS which I used for 2-1/2 years, but love my Medtronic Revel pump. I like my Dexcom CGMS, but when my pump warranty expires in October, I probably need to purchase an Animas pump or an Omnipod based on the future integration with Dexcom. I don't think I'll like an Animas pump as much as the Revel and I have no interest in an Omnipod. I actually like tubes! But Medtronic has an updated CGMS system in Europe, so maybe I should stay with Medtronic.

My understanding is that Animas will have the first integrated system with Dexcom and that the Omnipod Dex integration will be after that. I assume the T-Slim integration will be even later.

To the original poster, I think the Dexcom CGMS is much more accurate and less painful than the Medtronic system. So if you do decide to get a system, be sure to check your options. But IMO if you don't want one, don't let anyone make you get one. Even at their best, CGMS are a lot of work. So if you don't want one, you probably won't do the work to make it successful.

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Permalink Reply by Helmut on July 6, 2012 at 5:10pm

+1

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Permalink Reply by Helmut on July 6, 2012 at 4:57pm

The first CGM studies determined that CGMs were ineffective. How can this be? Later studies found the reason: patient selection is critical. CGMs work wonders for diabetics with good A1C. CGMs don't seem to work for people with bad A1C. The reason is that diabetics with good A1C put a lot of effort into their diabetes care. These diabetics are motivated to put up with the demands that CGMs place on them. You will love your CGM if you deal well with frustrations and suffer from OCD. I don't see a need for every young diabetic to have a CGM. I lived without one for 36 years. That being said, I love my Dexcom. Now I can live my life without being afraid of lows.

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Permalink Reply by Jim on July 6, 2012 at 5:20pm

As someone who has used the Minimed CGM I can definitely say there are some benefits. The trouble with the current system, though, is that many times I have found them to not be reliable of late, my CGM transmitter is over 2 years old though. I have found that, with the Minimed system at least, that the inserter seems almost midevil in it's insertion with the plunger style injector and can be painful at times. I have heard much better things, though, regarding the future (at least future in the US, the FDA seems to be dragging their feet) product from both Dexcom and Minimed.

Best thing I can tell you is to give it a try, I found the data, when mine was working well, to be extremely beneficial, as it showed me things that finger sticks often missed and help me to gain much better control. I am jumping to Omnipod soon, once they integrate with the new Dexcom sensors I will likely go with their CGM too.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on July 7, 2012 at 12:07am

Well... there's no harm in trying it. It's not like you're signing a contract to use it every day for the rest of your life. Especially if you have insurance-- if you don't like it, just stop using it. Thats what I did. I got the dexcom about two months ago. It was beneficial to help with the learning proccess-- And I'm pretty sure I'll use it intermittently in the future-- and maybe continuously at some point if my situation gets trickier, but in the meantime I decided that the inconvenience wasn't worth the benfit most of the time. Definitely wouldn't have been able to make an informed decision on that point without trying it. It definitely did add to the learning curve though, and with just about 4 weeks of use I dialed in a number of things that have helped me control things better ever since-- like how far in advance to inject before different types of meals-- not things I could really explain in useful terms, but I did notice a lot of trends I was unaware of with dex, almost immediately. Definitely will use it in future to reevaluate. Still debating if it would be worth it to wear it at work just to make sure nothing goes wrong there where I have a lot of responsibility...

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Permalink Reply by jrtpup on July 7, 2012 at 3:56am

Agree with all that's been said. I love the data my Dexcom gives me, and I love sleeping through the night without worrying about going low. What's their reason for wanting you to get a CGM?

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