Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jessica05 on January 10, 2012 at 2:23pm

I agree with Lathump's review on every point, as we also were Medtronic Revel users for my 6 year old daughter. I loved many of the points about how the Medtronic handled the information, and the ability to program the alarms for High/lows, but it just wasn't accurate enough for us. So often we lost the connection even when the pump was by the sensor, and it irritated my daughter badly. We also had to tape it down with big tagaderm, which is no longer needed with the Dex, saving a lot of money there. My stress is less with the Dex as I only have to change the sensor once a week and the needle is much less paintful for my daughter. And, for a 6 year old, she loves that she can read the Dex receiver herself and push the buttons easier than on the Revel.
I was so eager for the MySentry to come out, I think it's something parents with D-kids really need, but if the information isn't accurate, then it's not going to do us any good anyways, so we'll just hope the Dex develops something similar.

Permalink Reply by Dee on October 27, 2011 at 3:02pm

I tried the Dexcom...it hurt me too much. This week, I tried the Medtronic. I had to take it out before I left the Dr's office. That hurt too much as well...
I guess I am just not a candidate for either.

Permalink Reply by tjproko on December 8, 2011 at 12:31am

Once you use a CGM your , or at least my, anxiety drops quite a bit. I know at a glance what my sugar is approximately and if it has been steady, I am very comfortable that it is what I see on the monitor.

I remember saying to someone that the CGM has made me lazy in terms of tracking blood sugars, because I give myself a bolus and if a high or low alarm goes off, then I have to adjust and grab something to eat or add a small amount of insulin because my guess was off.

Then I thought to myself, that is not lazy, that is just getting me closer to the normal world where your sugars and swings are not the primary thought or rumination in your life. It is like an administrative assisstant keeping track of the minute to minute minutia, and letting you go, to focus on bigger things and life things.

I have the Medtronic CGM and pump combo. I have tried and like the OmniPod system. I have no idea why but that lack of tubing is soooo refreshing. Medtronic does have some great and fancy software. However, with a pump and a CGM, the trends become apparent very quickly and you adjust a basil pattern or your bolus calculation rations and things smooth out.

I am still using the Medtronic CGM but not the pump, because I am uning the OmniPod. I understand my trends and I am comfortable with the information, so the Medtronic reports have less importance to me. What is important to me is size and ease of the equipment. And that is more of a priority to me than an integrated system. Which Medtronic does, and does well. And I would recommend it to others in a second.

I am looking for a deal on the Dex right now. Size and weight does matter. And I also wish the OmniPod controller also get a lot smaller too.

The Dex is also approved for a much longer usage. It is not infusing insulin, so a CGM will not tick off the skin tissue as much as a cannula. great! Trying to switch an insulin cartridge while you are charging up another sensor transmitter and keeping everything straight in you mind, well is tricky if you are busy with work, family, God forgive.... just ordinary life. So I never was able to follow the Medtronic guidelines to change both devices at the same time.

I hope, that if I can get the Dex CGM, that they will have a good small holster for it. All of this junk must be with you at all time and it would be great if that fact was made easier by the manufacturers. I am currently custom fitting a quick release swivel clip to my OmniPod controller. The controller is a little large and the holster does not swivel. Oh well.

Kind of a long reply but I think I covered some of what you needed.

One last point! and it is a big one! If my Blood sugars are on a serious dive, the Medtronic sensor system gets really far off in the short term. And they do not have an alarm for repeated drops, which would warn you that the values you are seeing are getting out of wack, from 30 to 50 points below what your blood sugar really is and what you are seeing on the screen. I know this and I adjust for this if I see continual drops, even for a short time frame.

I have yet to see the Dex results but I hope this deficiency will be less problematic with them.

Good luck!

Tom P

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