Continuos Glucose Monitoring

[russ621]

Hi Everyone.
Does anyone agree with me that 24/7 glucose monitoring would be beneficial to all us insulin dependent diabetics. A device, that you could check your sugar level whenever you wanted, without having to draw blood. That would warn you when you went below a set level or above, and also tell you if your sugar was dropping (or rising) quicker than usual and tell you which way it was going. Basically giving you control of your body. As opposed to hoping you've had enough carbs or enough insulin, even when your ill.
Good news, there is such a device, and in this country, the link to this device is ; http://www.medtronic-diabetes.co.uk/Gua ... -Time.html
Bad news, the cost
Has anyone tried one of these ? Or know anyone that has ?
All feedback would be appreciated, I'm trying to convince my Doctor to let me get one,
Thanks Russell

 

[martinbuchan]

This is the weak link for an artificial pancreas. My clinic has one- it runs for 2 days and takes BG readings every 3 minutes. I have been offered it and will use it . Not at the moment because i am not yet in a settled regime (reducing doses as my bone infection is better). Looking forward to experimenting with it. Especially currys - I rarely have them now and I rarely get it right .

Marty B

 

[russ621]

Hello Sarah,
Thank you for your reply. I found out about this device from the "About.com", diabetic forum. All the replies on there were, "their insurance co's wouldn't pay for the cgm). Your the first person I've spoken to, thats actually knows anything about it. The set up cost over here is £2600 (inc 10 sensors), I contacted Medtronic, their based in Watford, Herts over here. I have read that finger pricking is still needed.
I agree, I dislike the idea of living by my meter. I also dislike finding out that my sugars are below 4 and I'm heading for a hypo, I have yet to find a successful routine that keeps my sugars on an even keel.In warm temperatures my sugars plummet.
Id love to know how you deal with your hi's and lows or how you prevent them ? Your advice is far more valuable, as you live with it everyday.
Thanks again
Russell

 

[russ621]

Hi Marty
I'd be interested to know how you get on with it, when you do get it. Bone infections can be nasty, take care mate
Russell<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by martinbuchan</i>
<br />This is the weak link for an artificial pancreas. My clinic has one- it runs for 2 days and takes BG readings every 3 minutes. I have been offered it and will use it . Not at the moment because i am not yet in a settled regime (reducing doses not my bone infection is better). Looking forward to experimenting with it. Especially currys - I rarely have them now and I rarely get it right .

Marty B
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

 

[sugar]

Hi Russell,
Alas, I have not come across this, so no useful advice I'm afraid. I actually like teh sounds of this in principle...I hope that it takes off and gets improved..and the cost comes down! I guess a 34/7 meter that fed data into a pump (artificial pancreas??) would be fantastic. What Sarah says is great advice...but I find it difficult to achieve all the time. I dream of a 1mmol variation! Increased effort has improved things a great deal for me....but I could still do better.
Looking forward to what you find out Marty!
Jill

 

[emmelina]

Hi Russell,

I have been fortunate enough to use a CGMS for 72 hours on 2 occasions. My hospital has one machine, so there is always a queue, but it is available in theory for anyone having severe difficulties with their control (which I was).

It is quite hard work for the three days - not getting it wet, finding a way to sleep while it's attached, and entering regular blood glucose results to calibrate it, as well as entering events like food, insulin and exercise.

But it is well worth the bother. You don't get the results until they've been downloaded and printed, but the data is truly amazing. you get graphs, pie charts and figures. I knew I was having problems but was amazed at quite how bad! Though depressing, I was able to identify patterns and make adjustments to insulin, food etc.

It is really a diagnostic tool for people at the end of their tethers. Doing this twice has helped me identify that long-acting insulin is my main problem, and am applying for funding for a pump. Medtronic also make a sensor for use alongside the pump, which is cheaper (£700?) but again, I think it would be used to iron out particular problems rather than keep on all the time. The sensors themselves are expensive, as well as the actual machine.

Perhaps in the future there will be a device that can give real-time BG readings without discomfort, inconvenience etc, but it's not here yet!

 

[martinbuchan]

I am glad you have fond it so useful. I plan to try out different food styles to see how my insulin dosing does.

Marty B

 

[russ621]

Thank you Emily, for your comments about cgm. I have been in contact with medtronic about their meter. This was their reply to my request for costs :-
The cost of the Guardian Real Time System Starter Kit Level 1 is £2400.00. This includes Monitor, MiniLink transmitter and charger, CareLink therapy management software, Com-Link, belt clip, leather case, senserter, 2 batteries, adhesive dressing and a box of 4 sensors. The Starter Kit Level 2 costs £2600.00 which includes all of the above but with a box of 10 sensors.
It does sound a lot of messing around to wear all the time, but helpful for a short period.

 

[Dumbfounded]

I'm in the USA and having been using a CGM for almost six months. The version that I use is from http://www.dexcom.com, which is located here in California. I thought I'd add in my experiences to the forum...hopefully one day these devices will be more readily available in the UK.

In a nutshell...
1. The meters all need to be calibrated against a "fingerstick" meter. Slight variations in the enzyme coating on the transdermal probe and in the body immediately surrounding the insertion point necessitate calibration against some standard. In addition, as the probe ages after insertion and the body reacts to it's presence, additional fingersticks are necessary to keep it calibrated.
2. The Dexcom meter's sensors last for week, while the Medtronic ones last for three days. (I think)
3. The CGM units, plus the sensors are EXPENSIVE! Dexcom charges $240US for four...roughly $8.50 per day. Medtronic sensors are even more. The start-up kit, including the receiver, transmitter and software, runs $800US. Of course, the strength of the Euro vs the Dollar mitigates that quite a bit.
4. The sensor connects wirelessly through a very-low power radio link to a receiver. The receiver displays your current BG (based upon your interstitial fluid reading) as well as graphs showing the last hour, 3-hours and 9-hours. Data can be downloaded to my computer for further analysis.
5. The receiver has an adjustable alarm that sounds if your BG exceeds your set levels. I keep mine at 80 and 220 mg/dl (not sure what that's equivalent to in UK units)
6. When it's working right, the CGM system is wonderful. There are times when the data is noisy and times when it's out of calibration...it's definitely not a replacement for fingersticks. At the moment, for example, the Dexcom reads 127, while my One-Touch meter reads 157. As a practical matter, though, I know that I'm probably somewhere between the two and that's good enough. Where the CGM excels, is it's ability to see how my body reacts to various foods and provide the data to allow me to modify my insulin intake based upon that reaction. It's also eliminated almost all my hypoglycemic episodes. By looking at my BG trend line, I can see if I'm going low well before I actually get there. A small cookie or something similar can interrupt the fall. At night, the CGM beeps if I get low while I'm sleeping. On a couple of occasions it's woken me up when I've hit 55 so I can take corrective action. Same thing when I'm off riding my bicycle in the hills. It'll beep at me if my BG get to low.

Long story short...I love it.

 

[Dulcinel]

Hello! I used Dexcom G4, my girl, 11 years...I buy senzor from Olanda...in Romania, Dexcom is imported the Romdiamed...some thieves...the price is double...in Romania get 12 needles pieces for insulin pen, in 3 months....I wish to live in UK, USA...or other European country ...


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Lazybones]

Several years ago there was a device marked as the 'Glucowatch' which as its name suggests was worn as a watch and which monitored B/G levels though the back of the 'watch' which was in direct contact with the skin. It functioned by measuring a electrical charge as the blood circulated below the skin. Problem was that the 24 hour disk that had to be inserted was prohibitively high in cost.
Google Medical have recently devised a glucose monitoring device built into the outer edges of a disposable contact lens that measures Glucose level in the fluid of the eye every few sesonds and which then transmits this data to a receiver, rather like a watch, that is worn on the wrist. The recorded Data can then be sent to a PC/Tablet or whatever. It's currently under development in the U.S. and is expected to be eventually released in about 2 years time after further refinement and clinical trials are completed.