Comment

Comment by Richard157 on October 2, 2012 at 7:50pm

Natalie, I am glad the Dexcom works well for you! It does seem to work well for many peeps. You can see that if you read reports in the TuD Dexcom Users group. I know others who have stopped the Dexcom though. It does not work well for all of us.

Comment by Natalie ._c- on October 2, 2012 at 8:49am

Richard, seems like the CGMs may vary according to something in each person's interstitial fluid? I used the Medtronic for a year and a half and was VERY unhappy with it because it reported lows that weren't there, and missed lows that WERE there -- I caught a couple of them in the 50's just because I happened to test. And I'm not talking lag time -- it just missed them entirely. So I got a Dex and have been using it for about a month. I've been wearing it continuously, and there have only been 2 times when it was seriously off by more than 20 points, both in the high range. And it HAS caught my lows. I'm actually not so worried about it being off for highs -- you're supposed to test to confirm, anyway, but the lows are another issue, since if I don't feel them until I'm in the 50's, I could be in trouble if I'm dropping rapidly. So for me, so far, so good, but I agree that neither one seems to work for everyone, and it's sort of a caveat emptor situation, except that it's almost impossible to try for long enough before you buy! :-(

Comment by Richard157 on October 2, 2012 at 7:11am

Florian, I have been using a Dexcom CGM, on and off, for more than two years. It is NOT very accurate and frequently gives alarms indicating I am low or high when I am in my preferred range 70-120. The Dexcom will often give me numbers that are as much as 40 points different from my meter. The Dexcom users group here on TuD has more than 800 members so that is a great place to ask questions. I learned a lot there that is not in the Dexcom manual. My insurance does not cover a CGM, so I rarely use it now. A sensor costs me $81 and lasts an average of two weeks. That is too expensive for my budget, so I use a sensor only when I am taking a trip, or doing something out of the ordinary for a few days, or longer.

Comment by Florian Menninger Jr on October 2, 2012 at 4:14am

Hi Folks,
How many people here have seen the new Tandem tslim insulin pump? I went out to lunch after a meeting with members of our pump support group recently. Three of them were using the pump in a study going on at the Joslin. I have to say it is one nice looking pump. Its small its thin, has a large colored touch screen, displays a lot of info on the screen, and holds 3 ml of insulin. It makes my Animas PING look very old fashioned.
I was just notified by Animas that the warranty on my pump has expired and they wanted to know if I'm ready for a new PING. Its working well with no problems and I do like the remote and meter combined so I will take my time and do some research on new pumps.
Has anyone here gotten a new pump that they really like and is an improvement over what they were using. Tell me about it. There are many new pumps in development that will work with the Dexcom CGM and I would like to hold out for one of those. I know it would be a big help with my hypoglycemia unawareness to have a CGM. I hope when the CGM is integrated with the pump Medicare will cover the cost. I know Minimed has an integrated system but there is a lot of negative feedback about the glucose sensor that they use.
How about a pump with features for Seniors who have arthritic fingers, low vision problems, and all the other problems that come with advancing age?
Florian
Type 1, 45 years, Animas PING + Novolog, A1C 6.2

Comment by Susan on September 30, 2012 at 9:31pm

Welcome Carole. I agree with-pumping seniors was a great idea esp. with more type 1 diabetics living longer.

Comment by Marie B on September 28, 2012 at 11:56am

hope many of you can join us for the live video chat about to begin in an hour, this one looks like it's going to be really good

http://www.tudiabetes.org/events/live-videochat-with-ruth-roberts-a...

Comment by Carol on September 9, 2012 at 9:31am

Senior's group was a good idea! I am 70, been a Type 1 for 50 years, pumping with Medronics for 13 years and recently got a new 554. I live in London, Ontario, Canada.

Comment by Natalie ._c- on August 25, 2012 at 9:27am

Yeah, scar tissue can be a real problem for some people. I've been injecting and pumping for 18 1/2 years now, and don't seem to have a problem with it, but you just don't know in advance if you will or not, so I think caution is in order. Especially for young people who may well be injecting/pumping for many years to come. You DON'T want to run out of real estate!

Comment by Marie B on August 25, 2012 at 6:32am

+1 on Richard's comment. I have a 315 unit cartridge (resevoir) and I load it with about 220 units, and use a sof-set with a 42 inch tubing. after 2 days, I change the infusion set and have enough insulin left in the cartridge to last me 2 or occasionally 3 days with the second set. I keep a log book of my sites so I practice good rotation.

Comment by Richard157 on August 25, 2012 at 6:22am

I see that some of you are using an infusion set for more than 3 days. I cannot do that because it causes scar tissue. There is poor absorption of the insulin when scar tissue is present. That leads to high blood sugar. Scar tissue occurs beneath the skin's surface, and cannot be readily detected. I can use my sets for 3 days, but do not want to go longer, so I can avoid this problem. I had a build up of scar tissue during my first 62 years of diabetes while using injections. My doctors never told me I should use site rotation and scar tissue was never mentioned. i used my upper abdomen for such a long time that the scar tissue there is permanent and i can never use that part of my body again. I rotate from my lower abdomen to my upper legs. While I am using one body part for several weeks, the other body part is resting and healing.

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