CGM usage with insulin pens

Jayden2407 said:

Are you sure? I had a quick look too and there’s an option for “add data” which you can manually enter?

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The 'Add data' though is not blood test results, its for carbs eaten, bolus taken and other things that need to be taken into consideration like exercise, stress, illness etc as far as I can tell

Jayden2407 said:

So basically, g6 does reading then we manually add the carbs about to be eaten to the expert to get the I:c ratio - is that right?

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I would assume so, but to be honest I've never used the bolus calculator, and also note it wouldn't know the actual blood sugar so wouldn't work out any corrections for you, in fact I don't know what it would assume for the blood sugar level.

Rokaab said:

I would assume so, but to be honest I've never used the bolus calculator, and also note it wouldn't know the actual blood sugar so wouldn't work out any corrections for you, in fact I don't know what it would assume for the blood sugar level.

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It doesn't assume anything - without a current reading it will just calculate how many units for the carb value entered based on the current time block to either the nearest 1u or 0.5u depending on how it's configured in the settings.

I think we'll have to wait to hear from someone using the G6 as to whether it includes a bolus calculator and is approved for treatment decisions in the UK. I know this is marketed as being the case in the US but I haven't seen anything on Dexcom's UK site about it.

I know nothing about a Aviva Expert, but I do use a Dexcom G6 with a Omnipod. They do not communicate although there are rumors by next year they might.

The G6 just reads your numbers all day. It doesn't have anything to do with deciding doses of insulin etc. It keeps track of trends, whether your sugars are going up or down or stable. It also lets you know by graph how your sugars are doing each day.

Is that what you wanted to know? I am in the US, so it's possible something is different from the UK?

@Jayden2407 I have been using the G6 for about a month and it is great. I tested with my finger for the first week as I wanted to make sure the CGM was accurate and it has also been within 0.2mmol which is pretty perfect. I haven't done any fingers pricks for the last 3 weeks and based on the last 30 days of use my hA1bc is 5.9% which I am pretty chuffed about! One of the ideas of the G6 is you don't need to calibrate. Personally, I don't see the point in using a meter regularly with a G6, it certainly has other benefits like alarms and such but it is £159pm and cheaper alternatives exist that require calibration regularly which may be better for your wallet if you still plan to finger prick. - The G6 does not provide you with any ratios what it does is provide you with trends to help you make a treatment decision how much you correct, bolus etc is up to you to work out. The good thing is that you can see what is happening quickly and adjust accordingly. It also stores your insulin intake and carbs alongside exercise etc if you add it manually. I have attached a photo with shows you a current trend arrow which I just took from my GCM now. ( I had a hypo earlier and overcorrected hence my graft going up and down!) - I am also on pens, actually, I don't take long-acting only NovoRapid at meal times currently. I'm happy to show you more details of the GCM and the reports it produces if you private message me.

My wife has been using the G6 for several months now with pens. No bolus calculator with the official dexcom app as somebody else has said. There is a feature to log carbs everytime he has some though, If he's using a phone as the receiver I'm pretty sure there will be an app out there somewhere to act as a bolus calculator.

I hope you get on well with the G6. My wife still pricks fingers a few times a day but can honestly say the Dexcom is very accurate (I'd say over 95% of the time).