CGMs

[NWIA1974]

Just wanted to ask if cgm's are worth it? I'm type 2 diabetic and take Metformin night and the morning. I check my blood sugar numbers every day but unsure if a cgm would be the right route. Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[EllieM]

Just wanted to ask if cgm's are worth it? I'm type 2 diabetic and take Metformin night and the morning. I check my blood sugar numbers every day but unsure if a cgm would be the right route. Any input would be greatly appreciated

It depends what you are using those figures for? A cgm will tell you trends and give your fingers a rest if you're intensively testing to work out what foods your body can tolerate, so I'm guessing that it might be very informative for a couple of weeks. But for a T2 who is attempting to adopt a diet which keeps things under control, I suspect a full time cgm might be overkill. Hopefully you can reach a state where you know what carbs your body can tolerate and just need to check occasionally to make sure your tolerances haven't changed.

As a T1 I use one to give me trends to adjust my doses, avoid hypos and adjust my insulin. It makes a massive difference to my blood sugar control and saves me from potentially life threatening hypos (specially at night). But I am injecting insulin and I'd be testing 8 times a day just to control my levels without a cgm.

As to whether it's worth it for you you need to ask yourself what you'll learn if you pay out for one (you are likely to be self funding, at least in the UK). Will its results change what you eat or how you exercise?

 

[JohnEGreen]

My libre is self funded and yes it is expensive but it is good for showing trends seeing what your bg is doing overnight and its convenient and painless but you would have to decide on if it's worth the expense to you for your situation and what advantage you may gain apart from fingers that are no longer sore from constant finger pricking not that you never have to finger prick again because you do.

 

[border collie]

Hi, I’m toying with the idea of this after seeing the massive improvement in my US-based cousin’s type 2 diabetes after she got a Dexcom, not least to help my sore fingers! She went from insulin twice a day to one med only (I think metformin) in nine months and says it’s because she could see in real time how food affected her glucose. It motivated her to stick to a low carb diet. However she is a bit obsessed with the numbers and gets upset if she has a bad day.

I looked into the cost and it’s £159/month. It’s a lot of money...