Best continuous glucose monitor

[Deefshka]

Hi all,
I’m a type 1 diabetic and have been for 33 years.
I am after some advice.
What is the best continuous glucose monitor? I’m currently using freestyle libre but it’s not very accurate.
I am looking for one that is accurate and can alarm if my blood glucose is going low or high.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[MeiChanski]

Hi all,
I’m a type 1 diabetic and have been for 33 years.
I am after some advice.
What is the best continuous glucose monitor? I’m currently using freestyle libre but it’s not very accurate.
I am looking for one that is accurate and can alarm if my blood glucose is going low or high.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

Hello, welcome!
I think some have said it has been a hit or miss.
Libre isn't a CGM and you can look up the Dexcom G6, which @Juicyj is self funding (I think).
With the libre I don't know if you give it 24 hours to settle before activating it.
In my case, it has been accurate between 4-8mmol/l, anything above and below I have to confirm with my fingers. But so far and since the update for it, it's been mildly more accurate. However in other cases, if the accuracy is really off, Abbot can replace it for you if you can confirm with them it is very inaccurate. Moreover, libre 2 is coming out soon, apparently that will make a noise if you're going high or low.
Some T1s have been buying a third party gadget to calibrate the libre, such as a miaomiao transmitter.

 

[porl69]

Hi all,
I’m a type 1 diabetic and have been for 33 years.
I am after some advice.
What is the best continuous glucose monitor? I’m currently using freestyle libre but it’s not very accurate.
I am looking for one that is accurate and can alarm if my blood glucose is going low or high.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

There is an option to purchase the Miaomiao which you attach to the Libre turning your FGM into a CGM and enabling to set hi/lo alarms

 

[Deefshka]

Thanks for the feedback, the last update I saw about the libre 2 was that it was going for fda approval but not seen or heard anything since.
I’ve read about the Dexcom G6 so it’s be great if I could get some feedback on that

 

[Juicyj]

Hello and welcome @Deefshka

As Mel has pointed out, i'm self funding the G6, and have great praise for it after using the libre and wanting an alert to warn me about potential lows, particularly during the night, it was quite a step to jump from the libre to G6 in regards to cost (£159 a month) but it's been a great system in regards to accuracy once past the initial 24 hours and bedded in, however the real game changer for me is the alerts to high/low glucose, as this is where i wanted better control and more stability, it's all done through your smart phone and it's got a great app attached called Clarity which produces detailed reports, customer service is excellent and if i've had an issue they have replaced the sensor, the adhesive can wear thin close to the expiry on 10 days but it's a minor niggle, I wouldn't do without now.

 

[Deefshka]

There is an option to purchase the Miaomiao which you attach to the Libre turning your FGM into a CGM and enabling to set hi/lo alarms

Thanks for this, I’ll take a look but am after something that’s more accurate than libre sensor

 

[porl69]

Thanks for this, I’ll take a look but am after something that’s more accurate than libre sensor

I use the Libre along with the MM and also Xdrip+ on my phone. Using Xdrip alows me to calibrate using BG test and I have found the I am nearly always with .1 - 1 mmol in range of my BG tests

 

[Deefshka]

Hello and welcome @Deefshka

As Mel has pointed out, i'm self funding the G6, and have great praise for it after using the libre and wanting an alert to warn me about potential lows, particularly during the night, it was quite a step to jump from the libre to G6 in regards to cost (£159 a month) but it's been a great system in regards to accuracy once past the initial 24 hours and bedded in, however the real game changer for me is the alerts to high/low glucose, as this is where i wanted better control and more stability, it's all done through your smart phone and it's got a great app attached called Clarity which produces detailed reports, customer service is excellent and if i've had an issue they have replaced the sensor, the adhesive can wear thin close to the expiry on 10 days but it's a minor niggle, I wouldn't do without now.

 

[Deefshka]

Hi
Thanks for your response. Do you use an insulin pump and does it interact with it?
Thanks

 

[MeiChanski]

Hi
Thanks for your response. Do you use an insulin pump and does it interact with it?
Thanks

I don't but @Mel dCP has a looping system going on and I think she uses a libre with a miaomiao and other tech. I know the Dexcom G6 talks to pumps like the medtronic 670G?

 

[Deefshka]

And, if you do so, you will use a phone app which allows you to calibrate the Libre sensor against finger pricks.
This calibration has made a huge difference to me with regards to Libre accuracy.

I tried the DexCom G4 and found it was a bit more than the Libre using the official app but not as accurate as the other apps. For me the problem seems to be a quickly changing BG (so the 15 minute delay makes a huge difference) and possibly my interstitial fluid not being "standard". At least I do better with something I can calibrate rather than factory calibrated.

Thanks for the response, do you use an insulin pump as well?

 

[porl69]

I am on a pump and although the Libre/MM does not communicate with each other I am more than happy to bolus off my Xdrip readings

 

[Deefshka]

I don't but @Mel dCP has a looping system going on and I think she uses a libre with a miaomiao and other tech. I know the Dexcom G6 talks to pumps like the medtronic 670G?

 

[Deefshka]

Ah ok, thanks for this. Will do a bit more research and see what suits me best

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @Deefshka I use the medtronic 640g and no it doesn't interact with the G6, medtronic pumps such as the 640g and 670g won't connect as they are designed to operate with the enlite CGM system which is manufactured by Medtronic.

The Omnipod will however

 

[Deefshka]

Yes, I use an insulin pump and have been doing so for 4 years.
I do not have a miaomiao (yet) but using Glimp on Android (there is an equivalent on Apple), I have found the Libre pretty good.
My pump does not talk to the Libre.

So how does it work? Do you need to still ginger prick to calibrate the result?

 

[Deefshka]

Hello @Deefshka I use the medtronic 640g and no it doesn't interact with the G6, medtronic pumps such as the 640g and 670g won't connect as they are designed to operate with the enlite CGM system which is manufactured by Medtronic.

The Omnipod will however

That’s brill
I use an omnipod so I should be able to use the g6 with it

 

[Juicyj]

You can also do closed looping with the G6 and Omnipod, there are facebook groups which support those who wish to set up their own closed looping system, I would of liked to of developed my own but am stuck with the 640g for the time being.

 

[ert]

Hi all,
I’m a type 1 diabetic and have been for 33 years.
I am after some advice.
What is the best continuous glucose monitor? I’m currently using freestyle libre but it’s not very accurate.
I am looking for one that is accurate and can alarm if my blood glucose is going low or high.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

Unfortunately, the only way to get accurate blood glucose is to finger prick. The CGM's measure interstitial fluid, and not from your blood, like fingersticks. Interstitial fluid is the fluid that surrounds the cells of your tissue below your skin, and usually, glucose moves from your blood vessels and capillaries first and then into your interstitial fluid. So it's not that the CGM's aren't accurate, they're actually measuring something different.

However, that said, we can still get invaluable trends from the CGM's data, particularly when blood sugars are increasing and decreasing and the rate this is occurring.

 

[Deefshka]

That’s great. Thank you so much for your help