Considering a continuous monitoring device.

[hankjam]

I am looking for advice / guidance as I am considering a continuous monitoring device as I am interested to understand how my blood glucose levels vary at night.

Looking through the various threads there does seem to be a lot of reported problems with sensors and connectivity.

I am inclined towards the Abbott device. How essential is a smart phone? Does anyone ever just use the reader.

Thank you.

 

[Anwers on a postcard]

Others will give a much fuller response and reasons why and why not to do that but I took the plunge and got a dexcom one plus (they sent me one as a free trial after completing the form on their website) and it has been an interesting journey, only on my second sensor and 14 days in now but now understand the impact of my food and activity so much better than I did.
I had the same query as you, sometimes my fasting level was higher than I expected and wondered how it was at night, it's actually given me great peace of mind that things are working as they should over night and sitting comfortably around 4.2-4.3 almost all night. On waking it's almost always (12 out of 14 days, around 4.8-5.2) but quickly rises in the morning and almost any breakfast will push it to around 8 unless I have a decent walk right after or before.
One of the biggest surprises to me was that I'd been testing with a meter fairly religiously 2 hours after a meal and very rarely had a worry over the result unless I'd eaten something daft. What the dexcom has shown me is that often it will spike quite rapidly somewhere in those two hours but then drop again to bring it back in the zone. I'm not talking huge spikes here but have seen 9's and even a couple of 10's. I don't think I'll continue with them forever but going to go for a few months to help me on this journey.
On your question about the reader, I can't comment, I just use my smartphone, I've always got it anyway so saves having another reader etc..

 

[KennyA]

I found that a CGM gave me additional information that I couldn't otherwise get. I certainly don't need one full time to monitor BG, fingerpricks are more than adequate.

But it's great for things like overnight levels, during strenuous activity when it's not practical to fingerprick test, that sort of thing. I don't think there's any other way to get that info.

 

[Melgar]

I was using the a Libra 2 continuously. The accuracy does fall off when your blood sugars fall outside the ‘normal ‘ blood sugar ranges. So if your sensor is reading 3 mmol/ls (sorry we use mmol/Ls and % in Canada) then you need to test with a meter to confirm, same if your readings are above 13 mmol/Ls. That’s what I have found.
They are great to see what your bs patterns are and how well your body deals with the food you eat. I got my blood sugars down to a very descent HbA1c of 5.8 % so I am just using my meter at the moment. My fasting blood sugars range from 5.4 - 6 mmol/Ls which I’m also pleased with. I did however, randomly test my blood sugars on Sunday between meals and it was 8.9 mmol/Ls . Not a lot to draw from a random test, but I might purchase another one just to make sure I’m still okay and not seeing an upward creep.

 

[becca59]

As a type one it is now a critical part of my management and I wouldn’t want to be without it. Though after last night and too many wretched alarms we fell out. Most are very accurate for me and truth be told no two blood glucose machines give the same reading. I’ve tested them. I can have one above a Libre reading and one below. Both good machines and both calibrated. So I do not get too hung up on where the Libre is putting me at. At the end of the day for me it’s the direction and speed of movement that is important.

 

[atomeye]

To be honest, I held out for as long as possible when it came to getting on a CGM. This was for personal reasons. Unfortunately, on a trip to the beach with the family, I had a really really bad low almost causing an accident. After that trip, my wife forced me to get on a CGM. At that time, it was the Dexcom G6. I would have to say the CGM has changed my life for the better. I have so much more data and am able to make better decisions when it comes to my treatment. I typically use my mobile phone as the display device. And yes, I do have issues with it every once in a while (you can't really trust the first 24 hours), but after that initial time period, it works great.

 

[Anwers on a postcard]

To be honest, I held out for as long as possible when it came to getting on a CGM. This was for personal reasons. Unfortunately, on a trip to the beach with the family, I had a really really bad low almost causing an accident. After that trip, my wife forced me to get on a CGM. At that time, it was the Dexcom G6. I would have to say the CGM has changed my life for the better. I have so much more data and am able to make better decisions when it comes to my treatment. I typically use my mobile phone as the display device. And yes, I do have issues with it every once in a while (you can't really trust the first 24 hours), but after that initial time period, it works great.

@atomeye I'm interested in your comment on the first 24 hours, as I said above I'm only on my second sensor but did notice both times the first days readings (and average readings) were higher than the subsequent days. My first thought was I'd been super-cautious and then screwed up but couldn't work out what I'd done but it settled down again and looking back at what I'd eaten and exercise levels etc they were pretty consistent with previous days. Is your experience that day 1 is higher or am I clutching onto straws again? (@hankjam apologies for highjacking your thread)

 

[atomeye]

@atomeye I'm interested in your comment on the first 24 hours, as I said above I'm only on my second sensor but did notice both times the first days readings (and average readings) were higher than the subsequent days. My first thought was I'd been super-cautious and then screwed up but couldn't work out what I'd done but it settled down again and looking back at what I'd eaten and exercise levels etc they were pretty consistent with previous days. Is your experience that day 1 is higher or am I clutching onto straws again? (@hankjam apologies for highjacking your thread)

For some reason, it takes around 24 hours for the new sensor to settle in. This has been pretty typical for all of my Dexcom sensors. I wouldn't say day 1 is often higher, the readings are just not consistent. And I wouldn't trust them. Once you hit day 2, the sensor readings should calm down a bit and if not you can always calibrate. Although I won't calibrate for the first 24 hours.

 

[Melgar]

@atomeye I'm interested in your comment on the first 24 hours, as I said above I'm only on my second sensor but did notice both times the first days readings (and average readings) were higher than the subsequent days. My first thought was I'd been super-cautious and then screwed up but couldn't work out what I'd done but it settled down again and looking back at what I'd eaten and exercise levels etc they were pretty consistent with previous days. Is your experience that day 1 is higher or am I clutching onto straws again? (@hankjam apologies for highjacking your thread)

Interesting @answers on a post card my first 24 hours are usually lower the they rise

 

[Anwers on a postcard]

For some reason, it takes around 24 hours for the new sensor to settle in. This has been pretty typical for all of my Dexcom sensors. I wouldn't say day 1 is often higher, the readings are just not consistent. And I wouldn't trust them. Once you hit day 2, the sensor readings should calm down a bit and if not you can always calibrate. Although I won't calibrate for the first 24 hours.

In fairness looking back that might be what I saw, I tend to focus on the higher readings as that's where I see my issue but looking at the trace I had some higher than expected readings but also probably some lower than expect as well. (including some very random very low readings that instantly jumped back up).

 

[Jaylee]

I am looking for advice / guidance as I am considering a continuous monitoring device as I am interested to understand how my blood glucose levels vary at night.

Looking through the various threads there does seem to be a lot of reported problems with sensors and connectivity.

I am inclined towards the Abbott device. How essential is a smart phone? Does anyone ever just use the reader.

Thank you.

Hi,

In the experience I’ve had with libres using the app on an Android phone.
Even if the Bluetooth goes down, you can still use NFC to scan the data over & backfill anything missed?

They are useful to fill in the gaps between testing for me.
Also an essential tool as an insulin user…
I normally find my sensors are on the ball from the start.
But I do fit mine at least a couple of hours prior & in readiness for when the previous sensor times out…

 

[Bcgirl]

I’ve used both a libre and Dexcom g7. Both were good for trends, but for me they just didn’t give great readings. I was always double checking with test strips making it very expensive.
first 24 hours were awful. With the dexcom that made it good for only nine days (but still unreliable). Very expensive! It’s worth it for peace of mind when you are really unsure, but I wouldn’t use one again unless I really needed to. It can also cause too much focus on blood sugar as you’re always looking at your numbers. Fun but not fun….
yes, give it a go to see your trends, why not? It can be very interesting (I did an ice cream experIment awesome to see the dramatic sugar rise). Just be aware that the accuracy is not great. Hmmm…maybe it’s just my body

 

[Digibeka]

I have been using the Libre 2 system for only two weeks now but found the system so handy. Bear in mind the sensor measures interstitial fluid not blood so the readings will be different to doing a finger prick however on checking there is only + or - 1 to 2 numbers difference. I have stop doing finger pricks now as confident the Libre 2 system is providing me with accurate enough readings. I am type 2 on insulin so now able to keep a close check on when to take my Nova Rapid and how much rather than using finger pricks which was rather a educated guessing game.