still checking alot

[sweetpea]

My dd started on the Navigator about 6 weeks ago. She hasn't had any lows since but has quite a few highs. She is 11. Her TTD is really increasing recently so I am wondering if puberty is around the corner. She went from a 0.4 basal 9p to 12a to 0.65 in the 3 weeks. The TDD went from 16 to 22 and still a few readings over 200 every day. I am still adjusting the insulin. I guess I am discouraged that we are still checking about 10 times a day down from 13. We check before each meal and snack and still need to check often at other times because she is high and needs a correction. Are we the only ones that still have to check alot?

[Nana]

My endo told me not to check for highs, to just trust the sensor. And it works for me. My A1c is 6,1. :D

[Diana]

We still check ALOT (more than before actually...) but it's more targeted. We now go for long stretches without checking which we never did before. Right now we check for meals, snacks, alarms and calibrations. We're averaging about 11 times a day (up from 8). I guess we get lots of alarms!

But we're working on it!

I think there is a certain range that the sensor is really accurate and we probably don't need to double check with a finger poke. I'm just trying to figure out what that range is for us. Right now I'm thinking 100-140 or 150.
Depending on how he is crossing the low threshold, I might give up some of those checks (especially if it is a slow drift down). I will not give up the checks for the high alarms because there can be a pretty big discrepancy between the Navigator and BG over 180 for us (sometimes it's pretty close and sometimes he's really much, much higher). Since I'm giving him insulin at those times, I want to be pretty accurate.

[Darryl]

We never test for lows, and usually not for highs. We've been trusting the sensor now for nearly 600 days and have only been "misled" a couple of times.

We do test whenever:

1) The sensor is on day 6 or 7 of its life, and the high or low is more than 20 points from target.
2) If the sensor ISIG is less than 8 for a BG of 100 (this indicates a fading sensor).
3) If we're suspicious of the reading for any reason.
4) If the particular sensor has had a history of discrepancies when we cal it (rarely).

For the most part, though, we do trust it and steer the BG accordingly. Especially when the cals and BG readings consistently match within 20 points.

I would say - develop your own track record and sense of trust in your CGM, and use your judgement as to when you can rely on it.

[ecs1516]

We were told by our trainer and endo to check at all meals and if we are giving insulin. I may not check for a low unless it is very low. Just give juice.
I would never give a correction based on the CGM only. The numbers can be off in the higher ranges.
In the 90-160 they are pretty close
Our A1C's before the CGM was 6.2 AND 6.3(pre CGM). We get checked again in December.

[Mama Belle]

We don't check for lows anymore either, we just trust the sensor unless she feels dramatically different than the reading, in which case we do test. We test before certain meals (if she has been steady for hours with no change we may skip a test) and never for snacks. We test before giving a correction. We see more variability between BG and the sensor at hight numbers, so I like to have an accurate number when giving insulin. Being off by 30-40 points can really screw with the insulin dose. I would say we test about 6 times per day. Honestly, the time when we've seen the most dramatic drop in testing is at night. I would say that a good 40-50% of our testing before the CGM was done after 8 pm and before 6 am.

[ecs1516]

Yes, I agree with Heidi, the biggest change is that we don't have to check at night anymore.

[Twinklet]

My daughter is 11 and had her first menstrual cycle recently. This accounted for some DRAMATIC changes we've seen over the past several months, including times of severe insulin resistance and huge increases in TDD.

Is the Navigator accurate for you? We've found it to be extremely accurate and we no longer test at night unless it appears she is having a hard time coming up. Ditto for daytime. We DO test for highs, though, in case the reading is off (we have found it to be as much as 40 points off sometimes if she's in transition). Our testing has decreased from 10-12 times a day to about 5 times a day now.

Are you testing out of necessity (sensor is wrong)? If not, try to back off some, especially at night. Just set the alarms to a comfortable range.

[ecs1516]

Maybe after you get her insulin adjusted and she is not having all those highs then you will not have to check her as much. I don't in between meals until they are high and need a correction.