CGM to Flash

[sofs888]

Hello everyone,

I am type 1 and only just over a year into my diagnosis.

Since July last year I have been self funding a Dexcom and it's been fantastic! The alarms have saved me so many times as I'm hypo and hyper unaware!!

Unfortunately at £160 a month it's far too expensive to continue funding as I need to be saving money for a house ️

I feel that I would definitely fit the criteria for a freestyle libre and will be asking my dsns for this but wonder if anyone has changed between the two before/ has any opinions comparing the two.

I have heard about the miaomiao but not sure what that really does - does it provide alarms?

An alarm is my main requirement as realistically I don't think I would be able to manage without!!

Any replies would be very welcome!

 

[Deleted Account]

A few thoughts
- a miaomiao will turn a Libre and a phone into a CGM. Take a look at https://miaomiao.cool/ to understand how it works and what functionality it provides
- I am a little concerned you are relying on alarms. Any system (including the DexCom) could fail so I believe you need to be able to manage without the alarms. Have you analysed why what is causing the highs and lows which lead to the alarms? You may want to consider reviewing your insulin dose and timing if you are having a lot of alarms a year after diagnosis. Your diabetes team should be able to assist.

 

[sofs888]

It's very odd, when I was diagnosed I had no obvious (at the time) symptoms, only a uti, waking up in the night to go to the toilet and that was it - physically felt fine. Even when I was sent to hospital with ketones and high bgls I felt and was presenting as physically well. I'm not really sure why I am unaware really... there are times where I've been convinced my Dexcom telliing me I'm 3. Something and going down has been wrong (finger pricked and been spot on) and before I know it I'm 2. Something and almost passing out!

As I've mentioned in a previous post, my care since diagnosis has been pretty shocking and I feel I've been very neglected by my team. I have been playing a complete guessing game for this whole year and just hoping for the best with the very little help I've been offered!!

It's more highs than lows, my doctor has identifed it as a basal issue and basically told me to just play around and up my dosage as I see necessary..! She has said I will qualify for a pump but because I've not completed an education course (wasnt offered one until now) I have to wait to do that first, then be recommended for a pump course and then decide whether I can have one or not!

It's just a bloody mess (excuse the pun) and I'm just bored of it all already

 

[EllieM]

Just be aware that the libre doesn't work (or stay working) for everyone, so you'll need to do occasional blood tests to ensure it is giving you valid results. (I believe that that will also allow it to calibrate against your body, so should improve the accuracy if you're using miaomiao plus xdrip. But don't quote me on this, as I am an ex-libre user, because my body reacted badly to it after 8 months).

I wonder if dexcom will reduce their prices so as to compete with libre?

 

[tim2000s]

I wonder if dexcom will reduce their prices so as to compete with libre?

The current pricing arrived because of Libre. When Libre was launched in 2014, just to get started on the Dexcom (in its G4 guise) cost over £1,000 due to needing a receiver, there were no discounts and sensors were £51.25 each, while the transmitters were (IIRC) £260 each. The details are in this topic. If you used it according to manufacturer guidance, you essentially paid around £4,000 annually, while Libre had a start up cost of £150, and an annual cost of £1,200.

Dexcom pricing came down for the G5 then down again for the G6, so that if you're self funding G6 it now "only" costs 50% more than the Libre does when self funded. The difference is that Libre is now available on the NHS.

Don't underestimate how big an impact Libre has already had on the Dexcom pricing. Hopefully they can be encouraged to take it down further.... On the other hand, it doesn't seem to have had any effect on the Medtronic CGM pricing.