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what is CGM worth to you?

mojo_101

mojo_101

Well-Known Member
Messages
126
Location
Sussex
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I rang cgm distributors in the UK today as I am very interested in having one.
Unfortunately there is not a large user base in the UK, and NICE have not conducted any study to establish whether it improves managment (in the UK) (there must be studies in the US where they seem much more popular!).

So as a result, there is no funding (almost zero apart from very few problem cases - only 30 with one manufacturer) though you can buy it yourself....

So here is the question, is it worth the £900 purchase (receiver and transmitter) plus the 60 per sensor and a further 350 or so for another yearly sensor (and the receiver only lasts 3 years in total...!!!!!).

Although I test a lot, with exercise and different food it is impossible to be sure which way you are going and how fast you are rising or dropping, so for me, the trending info would be worth it, but it does seem very very expensive. I cant really afford this so wanted to get some thoughts from experienced users, anybody got any thoughts to share?

any help appreciated.
=====
T1D 36 years, Pump for 4 months now.
Carb counting for 36 years, weigh food whenever possible, test ~ 10 times per day especially around exercise.
Carbohydrate countdown (1970s), Carbs and cals, Pumping Insulin, Think like a pancreas, Diabetic Athlete's Handbook.
 
well I can only kind of comment on this as I havent yet got my pump or CGM.

What I can ask though is what pump do you have? I picked my pump on the fact it has an intergrated CGM so I only need to buy the disposable parts. Something to bare in mind in future maybe?
 
Hi I am an engineer as well, on control systems... !
I have an accu chek combo, no choice, it was from the NHS after years of requesting one. Integrated sounds great, I tend to think that although it is a big safety plus, the FDA slow down introduction of new technologies like closed loop control of pumps with CGM. Pumps have a high safety requirement, but engine fuel systems have used closed loop adaptive control for over 2 decades, with complex diagnostics as well. Good luck with yours!
 
Yes its been 10 years for me also, I went prepaired (always do) and stated my reasons for wanting the aminus and like magic I got it :D

Im a service engineer, Where are you based? there are a few of us on here :)
 
Hi mojo

I'm guessing i'm kind of lucky as i only asked at my last pump appointment on monday about a CGM and my hospital has one they will lone out to you for a week.
I only asked them to find out my overnight fasting (results differ from waking up every couple of hours to going through the whole night) and how exercise affects me and when to change the TBR on my pump.

It may be worth asking your DSN if they have one they loan out?
 
Id love one ive never used a pump or cgm but for me I would prefer a cgm over a pump. Ive tried loads to get one but its not funded so I pointed out surely if more diabetics have them the cheaper they would become. Ive been diabetic over 23 years had good control but its going rubbish again. Tried the Nova and levirmir but didn't like it so back on Humiln M3 twice a day. For me personally I know it would be so beneficial, its annoying when they have the technology out there that's inaccessible to the majority. they cant prove that's its so beneficial as too few people are on them. So unless people are rich or have a very well paid job which a lot arnt its going to be very hard to get an idea at how successful it is. They said I could lend one for a week but I told them its a waste of time I want one permantly ive done the research think on the Dexcom new one and the sensors seem to last more than the guidelines so money could be saved there. So the meter checks sugars constantly, has trends as to what your doing or eating etc, alarms to which you can set your own highs or lows to catch an hypo before it gets worse or through the night. For me even if I don't feel unwell I like to test just to see where its at. If I had one I would be less worried out hypos or highs, could see what foods or activitys do what to my sugars and feel more comfortable adjusting insulin doses without fear of going to high or low and using far less finger pricking methods, just here and there to make sure my cgm is accurate. So surely this would improve any diabetics quality of life. Just waiting to win the lottery :thumbup:
 
Maybe a diabetic charity or something similar could set something up to have a small selection of people up and down the country to be funded for a whole year and have a review on quality of life improvements, HBA1cs etc iam sure they will come back positive, then maybe we can have the argument. until then its just going to be the costs out weigh the benefits. I think diabetes will continue to rise and a cgm should be made available to any diabetics that want one I know they cost a lot but I think a lot of that is because of the minority of people using them, until we do a investigation to the benefits and get fully behind it , and is accesed by more people then it may come down considerably. I think you can say I really want one ha ha
 
Although I like the idea of them and would love to be offered one, I can't justify paying that kind of money. I understand many people have terrible problems with control for whatever reason but generally, for every low and high, there is a specific cause. If the cause can be found, by testing, logging food, recording exercise etc, a solution can usually be found. I appreciate this is not the case with everyone but certainly for the majority. So, in short, if I was offered one on the NHS, great. Could not/would not pay for one myself though Good luck !


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hi Danny,

CGMs are in far wider use in America, so the data is already available - as some insurance companies there already cover them. They must have already done a cost benefit analysis.
A colleague of mine had a pump in Canada in 1993, it is a shame that the UK is so far behind... (also behind european countries)
Some do seem to get them on the NHS, but when I requested a trial, my endocrinologist said that in my area there has only been one provided due to disabling hypos, I guess it is the postcode lottery again, as there do seem to be some in other regions.

Mo1905, I have an active life with random stress at work, and often have surprise results, exercise for one can affect me for a long period afterwards, and the standard diabetic "education" with trivial over-simplification of cause and effect can be frustrating. yes I do test many times to pick up trends and learn responses to activities, but as we all know, it is not simple.
 
My hospital in France has 2, funded by a local charity since they are not reimbursed in the French health system. I've been able to borrow it for 2 weeks at a time. I go back to the hospital after a week, the doctor, specialist nurse and myself study the printout and decide on changes. The second week I apply them and note the effects.
For me this works well. I quite like being able to see when glucose is rising or falling (and how fast) and I think they are excellent for sorting out basal insulin. However, I don't think my needs justify a full time cgm. I also don't like wearing the sensor in addition to my pump
In the UK, I know of a couple of cases where I think the CGM is really justified; one a child with no pancreas (so very unpredictable, no alpha cells, no glucagon etc) and an adult with gastroparesis which results in unpredictable post prandial glucose levels.
 
To me, CGM is invaluable. It gives a proper insight into what is going on especially when exercising. I need differing basal rates from week to week depend on how active I am. Think it costs around £100/month.


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