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<blockquote data-quote="Stephen Lewis" data-source="post: 2037024" data-attributes="member: 479176"><p>I agree that the CGM sensor units are expensive. About $200 per month here in Canada but certainly in my case the benefits have been significant. Earlier this year I was able to buy the sensors for a few 2 week periods. There was a big difference in my bg levels between the CGM and finger pricking. The latter was done 10 to 12 times a day and it was still impossible to tell when spikes were occurring. This information is essential because we each have a different reaction to the same foods and we need to find out what items should not be eaten, which should have reduced amounts and those that are OK. I have been lucky since my health benefit provider (through my pension plan) have just approved the Freestyle Libre paying 70% of up to $90 per sensor.</p><p>It was definitely a fully qualified (UK) MD, my family doctor, who said that finger pricking was a waste of time because unless this is done before and then every half hour after eating it is virtually impossible to know when spikes occur and how high they go. The test strips and/or the meters are not very accurate, with a variance of up to 15%. This is potentially a significant difference. In the range that we usually aim for 6.9 could really be 7.9 which is 0.9 or 11% above a maximum pre-meal target of 7.0. At the other end someone could have reading too high when they are actually becoming dangerously low. The Freestyle Libre, if I remember correctly, averages 97% accuracy in a range from about 4.0 to 13.0. If a reading is getting close to these, the meter advises that a blood test should be done.</p><p>A couple of month back I did comparative tests with finger pricking for my old meter and strips and the Freestyle Libre test strips and 10 minutes later a reading from the FL sensor. The old meter averaged about 0.5 higher than the FL using blood from the same finger prick. The Bayer test was higher by over 1.0 a few times during the week of comparisons 10 times a day. The sensor reading never varied by much more than + or - 0.2 from the FL blood test 10 minutes before. Using the sides of each finger at least once a day caused some bad soreness after a few days. Several months ago I tested the Bayer system with consecutive tests from the same site. The difference between the tests with a relatively new meter was 1.5.</p><p>Sorry to give so much detail but I think you can see what is behind my opinion. I have not been able to find any independent research into the various testing methods. The only thing that seems certain is that doctors rely only on the A1c and it is up to us to each find out what works best in helping us control our condition.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Stephen Lewis, post: 2037024, member: 479176"] I agree that the CGM sensor units are expensive. About $200 per month here in Canada but certainly in my case the benefits have been significant. Earlier this year I was able to buy the sensors for a few 2 week periods. There was a big difference in my bg levels between the CGM and finger pricking. The latter was done 10 to 12 times a day and it was still impossible to tell when spikes were occurring. This information is essential because we each have a different reaction to the same foods and we need to find out what items should not be eaten, which should have reduced amounts and those that are OK. I have been lucky since my health benefit provider (through my pension plan) have just approved the Freestyle Libre paying 70% of up to $90 per sensor. It was definitely a fully qualified (UK) MD, my family doctor, who said that finger pricking was a waste of time because unless this is done before and then every half hour after eating it is virtually impossible to know when spikes occur and how high they go. The test strips and/or the meters are not very accurate, with a variance of up to 15%. This is potentially a significant difference. In the range that we usually aim for 6.9 could really be 7.9 which is 0.9 or 11% above a maximum pre-meal target of 7.0. At the other end someone could have reading too high when they are actually becoming dangerously low. The Freestyle Libre, if I remember correctly, averages 97% accuracy in a range from about 4.0 to 13.0. If a reading is getting close to these, the meter advises that a blood test should be done. A couple of month back I did comparative tests with finger pricking for my old meter and strips and the Freestyle Libre test strips and 10 minutes later a reading from the FL sensor. The old meter averaged about 0.5 higher than the FL using blood from the same finger prick. The Bayer test was higher by over 1.0 a few times during the week of comparisons 10 times a day. The sensor reading never varied by much more than + or - 0.2 from the FL blood test 10 minutes before. Using the sides of each finger at least once a day caused some bad soreness after a few days. Several months ago I tested the Bayer system with consecutive tests from the same site. The difference between the tests with a relatively new meter was 1.5. Sorry to give so much detail but I think you can see what is behind my opinion. I have not been able to find any independent research into the various testing methods. The only thing that seems certain is that doctors rely only on the A1c and it is up to us to each find out what works best in helping us control our condition. [/QUOTE]
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