CGMs

Hi Hugh I am in the same position so it will be interesting to read ymthe reapknses

The responses man I hate predicted text

hughsey said:

Am interested in getting one, as some people I've talked too, it's helped a lot

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I agree same reason I think my life will improve loads. What ones have caught your eye?

I currently have the Freestyle Libre. It's not as accurate as bg tests and can vary as much as + or - 1mmols, but it gives me a good indication of where my levels are without stabbing my fingers to bits. I'm a new T1 so feel the need to keep checking until I become more confident in controlling my diabetes. It's fairly expensive at about £100 per month, but I wouldn't be without it now.

June_C said:

I currently have the Freestyle Libre. It's not as accurate as bg tests and can vary as much as + or - 1mmols, but it gives me a good indication of where my levels are without stabbing my fingers to bits. I'm a new T1 so feel the need to keep checking until I become more confident in controlling my diabetes. It's fairly expensive at about £100 per month, but I wouldn't be without it now.

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I am thinking of this one. Do you mind me asking as I think I am getting muddled. This one take instant bgs from when scanned but it does it every minute also so a graph can be viewed all sugars all the time is that right? Or am I getting bother machine muddled

Firstly, the Libre measures interstitial glucose levels not BG levels. You can do as many scans as you like (I find I do about 40 per day) ok so I'm addicted..................! The 'Log book' shows all the readings you've scanned, but first thing in the morning when I scan, a graph appears to show the night time activity. I can instantly see what has happened whilst I've been asleep. I think the readings are roughly every 15 mins.

Yes, there have been problems with the Libre. I have had one sensor that was totally inaccurate and another that came unstuck after just 5 days, but Abbott have always replaced them for free.

Medtronic, Dexcom, and the Navigator are the 3 CGM's available, so perhaps do a google search for info. Dexcom is the cheapest to run though as you can restart sensors which is a big saving on your pocket. No CGM is 100% accurate so do be warned in that dept.
I use the Dexcom and find it very good and would hate to be without it.

I'm fairly happy with the Vibe and G4. It's never more than 0.7mmol out and it appears to get more accurate from day 4 onwards and oten gives the same reading as the bg meter. My last sensor worked ok for about 3.5 weeks. It's a lovely feeling with peace of mind so I understand why people love CGM

I wish I could afford one to be honest they do sound like a great bit of kit but hey ho, I like reading these things for if or when they become a part of our diabetic routine

Gaz-M said:

I wish I could afford one to be honest they do sound like a great bit of kit but hey ho, I like reading these things for if or when they become a part of our diabetic routine

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I managed to fund mine for a year with economical use of sensors It was a struggle though so had a look round and found a charity/benevolent fund that was more than willing to fund sensors and a transmitter for me. The sensors are life changing.

If your blood glucose is steady, they're great at telling you small shifts (at no more than 4mmol/hr, I'd guess). They don't measure blood glucose, so if it's swinging rapidly the reading will seem "late" (about 20 mins late). Remember this. Any reading on a CGM is from 20 mins ago.
I used the Libre when it first came out. I realised how handy CGM is, because most of the time I really only want to know if my BG is rising or falling (& how fast). It's great for checking on overnight BG. But the Libre, it's a bit of a pain to keep waving the box over your arm. I tried putting the sensor under my arm - it didn't work. As these things are really expensive, it was a shame to see £50 burnt up.
I was fortunate to get a very well paid contract in Scotland, so one of my first luxuries was to buy into the Dexcom G4 (£1600 startup *SQUEAK*)
I can spin their sensor out from their recommended 7 days to just beyond 17 days (the "break-even" sensor-cost between Libre & Dexcom) so it costs me a fraction less to run than a Libre. BUT I find they do get a bit flaky beyond 2 weeks (the sensor stops giving reading for an hour or two). Beyond 3 weeks, they're losing the ability to see rapid changes (showing only a slow drift and never really getting to the "true reading" on your BG meter, oh and they're dropping out for 3-4hr chunks by then, but it seems to be related to orientation and movement - still researching this )
So, in conclusion, CGM - Great! Expensive. Dexcom better than Libre, but it's REALLY expensive.
All in all, I wouldn't go back to Libre, the alarms (on lows & highs) are really useful when you're busy at work. The other downside is that it's ANOTHER box to carry around.

HaroldC said:

can spin their sensor out from their recommended 7 days to just beyond 17 days (the "break-even" sensor-cost between Libre & Dexcom) so it costs me a fraction less to run than a Libre. BUT I find they do get a bit flaky beyond 2 weeks (the sensor stops giving reading for an hour or two). Beyond 3 weeks, they're losing the ability to see rapid changes (showing only a slow drift and never really getting to the "true reading" on your BG meter, oh and they're dropping out for 3-4hr chunks by then, but it seems to be related to orientation and movement - still researching this )

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The secret is to make sure the sensor is well and truly stuck down. As soon as movement starts then the sensor is less reliable.
I have found the easiest way to achieve this is to use some skin tac on the sticky side of the sensor tape wait a few secs until nice and tacky then place sensor. I then coat the top of the tape and surrounding area with skin tac and place some hydro film/tegarderm over the tape so it stays waterproof. Most I managed was 47 days with an accurate sensor

This might be of interest:
As might this page looking at CGM costs.

Sorry, forgot to say that I always skin-tak & tegaderm my Dexcom sensors Thanks Tim

I have a feeling the sensor life is something to do with the TOTAL amount of glucose it sees. The problem with rates might be to do with the diffusion rate of the wicked intracellular liquid into the bulk-body of the glucose sense gel inside the G4. If your BGs are fairly stable (and low), the sensor is warm, subject to ultrasonic vibrations (by rubbing against an appropriate clothing, say) then it might be possible to keep the gel low in sugar, and even constitution. Just a flimsy hypothesis that seems to fit facts at the mo, and I probably should've posted this on a different forum.

An amusing thought springs to mind, if your diabetes was really well controlled, you only saw it vary in the range 4-7, say, and you could tolerate 2mmol "inaccuracies", you could probably train a talking parrot to do CGM for you, by training it to say, "five-point-two". I'm not sure how you'd market this idea or get it through CE testing ;-)

HaroldC said:

I have a feeling the sensor life is something to do with the TOTAL amount of glucose it sees. The problem with rates might be to do with the diffusion rate of the wicked intracellular liquid into the bulk-body of the glucose sense gel inside the G4. If your BGs are fairly stable (and low), the sensor is warm, subject to ultrasonic vibrations (by rubbing against an appropriate clothing, say) then it might be possible to keep the gel low in sugar, and even constitution. Just a flimsy hypothesis that seems to fit facts at the mo, and I probably should've posted this on a different forum.

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I quite agree with the sensor life and BS stability. My basal rate has a tendency to suddenly change so have to up basal very quickly every now and then and do notice the sensor life isn't as good when this happens, same when needs decrease. Best results though are from sensor being placed on inner bicep as least movement there.