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CGM so far...

pumppimp

Well-Known Member
Messages
246
Location
Aberdeen Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
For anyone who might be interested I thought I would share how I'm getting on with my new toy.
Day one christmas day;
So i spent most of the morning reading instructions and was completely disinterested in what everyone else got including me 3 year old niece who was trying to show me every present, my husband took it off me in the end! After present time it was off up stairs to get ready and get inserted. For anyone who knows me I loathe inserting devices and this was no different i ended up wasting the first sensor set so now I'm only down to 3 sets left errr! Once I'd figured it out and calmed down if was easy enough and comfortable enough. It is quite a bit bigger than the usual infusion sets I wear and will take a bit of getting used to. Also i stupidly put it right on my trouser top line, so any time I wear a skirt jeans tights etc it gets in the way, mistake I won't be repeating twice. I was hoping to have it all set up and ready to go to map christmas dinner but alas I mapped the evening aftermath instead. when it starts it asks you to give it 2 bg readings I thought this was strange 2 straight after each other but when i did that i got 2 readings about 1.5 apart so not a bad idea afterall.
Day two;
I went low once during the night just a small over bolus but my pumped beeped at 4.4 and then will keep beeping until you confirm, so it did wake me up about 3.9, very handy, also I've had a few more serious hypos into the 2's it gives off a loud piercing sound at 3.1 which makes me jump. I was very nervous having a shower with it on but all stuck fast and it even kept transmitting to my pump throughout my shower, which was about 6ft away, I was impressed. Also been very impressed about the accuracy infact my battery has worn down from pressing the screen every few minutes to see where my bg is. I also manged to get through a 50 pack of test strips within 4 days because i was always wanting to compare. I had never realised before the effect of detaching my pump had on my levels and as i was going through a bad cold it was even more drastic. It had an effect on me for about 2 hours afterwards and wouldn't budge until I had finished a long walk with the dogs at the beach. After my walk decided to treat myself to an orange hot choc I guessed about 35g and was about right although I should have bolused earlier for it. One of the major thingsI'm noticing is that when i don't have my bolus timming correct how high I can spike. The high warning that was set on the pump was 11.1 but I moved it down to 10 thinking surely I won't go over that much, well i do and it was really quite a shock.
Day 3;
Still loving everything about it also finding it really handy having the dropping or rising too fast alarm gives me a heads up of bad bolus timing or guessing carb amounts and lets me sort it before any major excursions to the red or blue zone.
Day 6;
Well my sticky has given up and it starting to peel away after a nice bath using nice christmassy presents. The set is fine and still very accurate I havn't had it out more than 1 apart from when i needed to wash my hands. i've stuck a giant plaster over the top to hold it in place skin tac has been ordered fingers crossed it hangs on in there until it arrives.
Day 7:
time for a set change or so my pump keeps beeping at me anyway, i don't need told repeatedly that the set needs changed shut up!! As you can guess I'm keeping it on as long as it's accurate which it is. Getting quite irritating with constant reminders and was the a finger stick reading would you like it calibrated etc etc, too many buttons to press confirming everything.
day 14 (today)
Still very accurate although the differences can sometimes be up to 1.2 although the differenece between 2 fingersticks can be up to 2 so I'm definitely not worried. My giant elastoplast is still holding on although I'll have to replace it soon, also the connectivity between the transmitter and pump is having a few more holes than I would like. That may be something to do with a plaster over the top of the transmitter will know more when I get the skin tac.

So overall I'm very pleased and happy with gizmo as i call him, hoping I can keep him in a month then report on the damage if any. some people were afraid of scaring but as it's not putting anything into the body apart from a tiny wire I don't think it'll be a problem. New years resolution, to keep my bg in the green zones at all times (4.4-10) it'll be hard but I can't wait to see my next HbA1c. Then hopefully i'll eventually get that even lower.
 
Hi Hale,
if you go for an animas, the dexcom with 4 sets is £500 which could last you up to 4 months, I'm a student bum at the mo after I quit my job so money is definitely tight, got mine as a combined birthday and christmas present from everyone who would of got me a present.
As for getting a pump in Aberdeen, i just got a letter the other day which pretty much amounted to we have more money and resources get in touch to sort your pump care out. I'm not going to bother though as I'm moving to teeside/newcastle in september when I graduate so not worth requesting my old notes from sumerset twice. Plus me and the guy in charge have had words and i think he's a plonker not worth a round 4! Good luck with it, the nurse who deals with pumps is lovely though and there's a support group of pumpers in aberdeen around 60 or so probably more now! if you want I can give you the mailing list, comes in handy if you run out of stuff or something breaks or you just want to meet up they go out for dinner on occasions and the pub as well.
 
Thank you - definitely interested, I am just about to start on CGM…I wanted to have it all tied into the pump, but the pump thing probably isn't going to happen until September, and with a little spate of revolting night time hypos (something I have suffered from pretty much since diagnosis many many years ago!) I have finally had enough of it, and from my research CGM could really help with this (as well as loads of other huge benefits) - I want the alarm to wake me up before I am in that hideous state - for the past year I have been doing the 1am blood test (accidentally broken a couple of meters I think by being a little clumsy when I am waking from that deep part of sleep! - but shockingly I have caught about 30 odd hypos over the past year - just general changes in dose requirement overnight)….so I am hoping that CGM will help me with this and wake me, as well as learning all that wonderful stuff about what is going on and see the effects of different foods and different types of exercise and just knowing without have to test all the time. I am looking at the dexcom g4 and then the animas vibe - mainly as the dexcom seems to be most accurate at the moment and I like the waterproof idea of the vibe and dexcom for when I want to get in and out the pool on holiday and don't want to detach, re-attach all the time. I did ask the hospital about funding but they said until I had tried pumping that it was a no go, with the best will in the world, pumping will help but I have always have had sudden drops in my overnight doses, and you can't predict them - it doesn't happen regularly but the frequency is probably about 2-3 times a year normally - the past year has been really bad so I am not expecting the pump to miraculously cure me of night time hypos! So reviews, extra information anything that you think I could do with knowing with, and you didn't expect is fantastic. I have seen people mention taping the sensors on and talk about some brands that are really good about holding it all in place - so your feedback is really interesting to me :)
 
Yes when I was on DAFNE they said there is a glut of funding at the moment and now was the time to ask. I'm at the clinic next week so I'm planning on discussing it again then.

I know someone else in Aberdeen who got the dexcom 4 for Xmas. Mummy and daddy and funding it for her though! We've got a wedding to pay for and want to move house in the next year so maybe IF they approve the pump I could afford the CGM after that. How much are the sets?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Thank
Thank you - definitely interested, I am just about to start on CGM…I wanted to have it all tied into the pump, but the pump thing probably isn't going to happen until September, and with a little spate of revolting night time hypos (something I have suffered from pretty much since diagnosis many many years ago!) I have finally had enough of it, and from my research CGM could really help with this (as well as loads of other huge benefits) - I want the alarm to wake me up before I am in that hideous state - for the past year I have been doing the 1am blood test (accidentally broken a couple of meters I think by being a little clumsy when I am waking from that deep part of sleep! - but shockingly I have caught about 30 odd hypos over the past year - just general changes in dose requirement overnight)….so I am hoping that CGM will help me with this and wake me, as well as learning all that wonderful stuff about what is going on and see the effects of different foods and different types of exercise and just knowing without have to test all the time. I am looking at the dexcom g4 and then the animas vibe - mainly as the dexcom seems to be most accurate at the moment and I like the waterproof idea of the vibe and dexcom for when I want to get in and out the pool on holiday and don't want to detach, re-attach all the time. I did ask the hospital about funding but they said until I had tried pumping that it was a no go, with the best will in the world, pumping will help but I have always have had sudden drops in my overnight doses, and you can't predict them - it doesn't happen regularly but the frequency is probably about 2-3 times a year normally - the past year has been really bad so I am not expecting the pump to miraculously cure me of night time hypos! So reviews, extra information anything that you think I could do with knowing with, and you didn't expect is fantastic. I have seen people mention taping the sensors on and talk about some brands that are really good about holding it all in place - so your feedback is really interesting to me :)

Thanks very much, as I said to Hale it costs £500 but this is only if you have the pump as the pump is the reciever part of it to buy the receiver and transmitter and 4 sets I think don't quote me on it was £1300 so a lot more expensive. I would really encorage you to try the pump as i think it could help with the night time hypos these are the hypos I struggle with the most I'm fine when I'm awake but asleep can make me worried. There is also a function on the pump called auto off that i used to use when at uni. If you don't touch any of the buttons within a set period I had mine at 12 hours but you could have it at 8 or 6 or whatever, it stops giving you insulin. it's not dangerous to stop the insulin as it alarms over and over again until you confirm the pump is stopped so plenty of chances to start it again within a few seconds but if you were hypo the constant beeping would make you slightly more alert and the lack of insulin may be enough for your liver to kick in to counteract the bad hypo well enough for you to get some help/glucose. That function has saved me on about 3 occasions, really handy. If you want help getting a pump check out the insulin pump bit of the forum, or just use the search bit ther's lots there that me and others have blathered on about. Good luck!
 
Yes when I was on DAFNE they said there is a glut of funding at the moment and now was the time to ask. I'm at the clinic next week so I'm planning on discussing it again then.

I know someone else in Aberdeen who got the dexcom 4 for Xmas. Mummy and daddy and funding it for her though! We've got a wedding to pay for and want to move house in the next year so maybe IF they approve the pump I could afford the CGM after that. How much are the sets?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
The sets are £186 for 4, pretty pricey if you stick to the reccomended per 1 week, but I'm on week 2 hoping to get to the end of the month, we shall see. I know how you feel with the money, bought out 1st house 3 years ago, married 18 months ago, and then I made the stupid decision to quit my job and study full time instead of part time. 0% credit cards become your best friend just hoping I wind up in that nice cushy job where I could pay it all off in a year.
So if anybody is looking to hire an environmental scinetist specialising in microbiology and ecotoxicology with 3.5 years experience and a masters degree, come september let me know i'm available.;)
 
Thank


Thanks very much, as I said to Hale it costs £500 but this is only if you have the pump as the pump is the reciever part of it to buy the receiver and transmitter and 4 sets I think don't quote me on it was £1300 so a lot more expensive. I would really encorage you to try the pump as i think it could help with the night time hypos these are the hypos I struggle with the most I'm fine when I'm awake but asleep can make me worried. There is also a function on the pump called auto off that i used to use when at uni. If you don't touch any of the buttons within a set period I had mine at 12 hours but you could have it at 8 or 6 or whatever, it stops giving you insulin. it's not dangerous to stop the insulin as it alarms over and over again until you confirm the pump is stopped so plenty of chances to start it again within a few seconds but if you were hypo the constant beeping would make you slightly more alert and the lack of insulin may be enough for your liver to kick in to counteract the bad hypo well enough for you to get some help/glucose. That function has saved me on about 3 occasions, really handy. If you want help getting a pump check out the insulin pump bit of the forum, or just use the search bit ther's lots there that me and others have blathered on about. Good luck!

I am definitely going on the pump as I hope it will stop some of them, but I know it will not completely do the job and that is why the CGM. The thought of waiting best part of year for the pump and then fund CGM feels a very long time to me (hence getting the CGM in place earlier as that is the only part of it that I can control the timescale on!), and I know that the meter will still be ok even when I am wired to the pump. I didn't realise that the vibe could stop the insulin flow too - that does sound good - I haven't really heard anyone speak negatively about CGM so I am really hoping that it will be good for me - I'll look at all the pump info in the forums, I am exploring whether I could possibly get one quicker, or whether that is just completely unrealistic and a dream!

I am hoping to be able to go to sleep and not be scared!
 
I'm in 2nd year of a grad scheme. Nice engineering job with BP so it is affordable one day I hope! Bought the flat 18 months ago but want to get moved out to westhill where can have the luxury of a driveway haha

£186 isn't toooo bad, not if you could stretch it out to say 3 weeks minimum. Beeping to tell you it needs changed after 1 week couldn't get irritating though! How often does it beep?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Thank


Thanks very much, as I said to Hale it costs £500 but this is only if you have the pump as the pump is the reciever part of it to buy the receiver and transmitter and 4 sets I think don't quote me on it was £1300 so a lot more expensive. I would really encorage you to try the pump as i think it could help with the night time hypos these are the hypos I struggle with the most I'm fine when I'm awake but asleep can make me worried. There is also a function on the pump called auto off that i used to use when at uni. If you don't touch any of the buttons within a set period I had mine at 12 hours but you could have it at 8 or 6 or whatever, it stops giving you insulin. it's not dangerous to stop the insulin as it alarms over and over again until you confirm the pump is stopped so plenty of chances to start it again within a few seconds but if you were hypo the constant beeping would make you slightly more alert and the lack of insulin may be enough for your liver to kick in to counteract the bad hypo well enough for you to get some help/glucose. That function has saved me on about 3 occasions, really handy. If you want help getting a pump check out the insulin pump bit of the forum, or just use the search bit ther's lots there that me and others have blathered on about. Good luck!

Which pump/CGM are you using?
 
I'm in 2nd year of a grad scheme. Nice engineering job with BP so it is affordable one day I hope! Bought the flat 18 months ago but want to get moved out to westhill where can have the luxury of a driveway haha

£186 isn't toooo bad, not if you could stretch it out to say 3 weeks minimum. Beeping to tell you it needs changed after 1 week couldn't get irritating though! How often does it beep?


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it was just on the 7th day to say set expires in 3 hours 2 hours 30 mins 10 mins 5 mins 2 mins 1 min but i maybe should have stopped the session and started a new one to give over on all the beeping.
I applied for shell, BP, and others just waiting to hear about slection days etc passed the online tests. I would prefer to move to teeside so have applied for amec, ch2mhill and smaller consultancy firms as well, i may end up doing more reserach we will see. I'll sure be glad to have a salary though instead of asking for pocket money off hubby!
 
BP has stuff down in Teesside. They've changed the BP assessment centre otherwise I could have given you a hand with that. Fingers crossed you get something!


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CGM is the best thing ever! It's been now 5 months I'm using it and I find impossible to think not to have one. It has given me back self confidence and freedom.....!


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what about CATS - I'm there next week? Or does that not count as Teeside? Too far south?

Are you looking at consultancy PumpPimp, or engineering? I work for a subsidiary of ERM, they are recruiting for certain skills, possibly in Aberdeen, as well, but we also have other UK offices. I'm based from home but work pretty much anywhere
 
sorry I misread your post as "we've got rid of our stuff in Teeside", but I know what you mean
 
The figures don't look that bad TBH.

You would like to think that those would come down a lot in the next 5 years and we could all be on them ;)

Good luck anyway muka
 
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what about CATS - I'm there next week? Or does that not count as Teeside? Too far south?

Are you looking at consultancy PumpPimp, or engineering? I work for a subsidiary of ERM, they are recruiting for certain skills, possibly in Aberdeen, as well, but we also have other UK offices. I'm based from home but work pretty much anywhere
Hi Ely Dave,
Thanks for the heads up, Consultancy is what I would like, contaminated land or toxicity of different chemicals to the environment, etc.
Stefano,
Yes I'm really pleased I decided to get one, glad your enjoying yours as well, what type have you got?
 
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