non invasive meters etc

[colinhann]

Hi..I POSTED SOME QUESTIONS IN SEPTEMBER AND GOT SOME VERY USEFUL REPLIES..MY SISTER HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE AND WE ARE EXPLORING NON INVASIVE METERS..THE BEST SEEMS TO BE THE DEXCOM7 BUT THIS SEEMS ONLY TO BE AVAILABLE IN THE US..WE CAN ARRANGE THIS ANDIT MAY HAVE BENEFITS AS IT IS CHEAPER THERE..ANY COMMENTS ON THIS? ALSO...DO YOU THINK THAT OTHER OPTIONS SUCH AS THE ABBOTT NAVIGATOR AND THE GUARDIAN REAL TIME ARE AS GOOD..I UNDERSTAND THEY ARE AVAILABLE HERE..WHAT IS THE BEST WAY OF GETTING THEM..I PRESUME VIA A PRIVATE REFERRAL ARETHERE ANY RECOMMONDATIONS HERE..GLASGOW OR LONDON IS BEST
AND SORRY ONE OTHER THING MY SISTER HAS HAD VERY VERY ERRATIC BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS VERY QUICKLY EVEN AFTER TESTING..AND SHE HAS HAD SOME INCIDENTS..ONE RECENTLY WAS AT STANSTEAD AIRPORT WHERE SHE FOUND HERSELF ON THE GROUND AND HANDCUFFED BY THE POLICE..THEY WERE IN DENIAL THAT SHE WAS DIABETIC DESPITE OTHER PASSENGERS POINTING THIS OUT. (AND MY SISTER HAD THE BRACLET ETC)....APPALLING AND i WILL NOT BORE YOU WITH THE DETAILS AND WE WILL BE GETTING A BIG APOLOGY ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PARAMEDICS ARRIVED ..HOWEVER THE ISSUE IS TO AVOID THIS HAPPENING AGAIN WITH THERE BEING AN IMPORTANT TRAINING ISSUE FOR STAFF AT STANSTEAD. ANY USEFUL CONTACTS ADVICE HERE WOULD BE APPRECIATED. MANY THANKS

 

[sugarless sue]

Please could you NOT post in capital letters.It is considered shouting on the forums!Thank you.
Sugarless Sue...........Moderator.

 

[Dennis]

Hi Colinhann,
I don't know about the Dexcom7, but the other two meters you mention are not non-invasive. They both have a sensor that has to be inserted under the skin and this provides constant monitoring of interstitial fluid, rather than blood. This type of measurement is designed to give an approximation of blood sugar and is nowhere near as accurate as a traditional blood test monitor.

The Abbot website actually recommends that their monitor should not be relied on alone and should be used in conjunction with a normal finger-prick monitor. There were tests run on the Guardian monitor earlier this year by a Czech research team and their conclusion was
"The observed, clinically unacceptable broad limits of agreement do not support the use of the Guardian Real-time system for tight glycemic control management".
The "limits of agreement" that the research team referred to were a variance of between +2.3 and -3.1 mmol/l against true BS levels, hence their concerns about accuracy.

I'm afraid that I don't know if any of these is available on prescription, but in view of the reluctance of PCTs to allow patients to test at all, I would be very surprised if these are available on the NHS.

 

[Stuboy]

m pretty sure that the continuous glucose monitors aren't available on the NHS on a permanent basis... there are times when they will hook you up with one for a week or so just to find patterns, but they're not available for personal self monitoring use here in the UK yet.

You could probably fund it yourself and just buy one from the US and all the supplies from Ebay, but that'll be very pricey.

I dont think it'll be long (a couple of years?) until CGM systems are available on the NHS... esp. sinse pumping is starting to become a bit more popular here in the UK... the two work very well together i've heard...