rmccully2000
03-08-2007, 06:40 PM
Well, I was going to write a letter to Dexcom but I thought I would post my comments here first. Dexcom was an invaluable tool for us this last week.
Mason (well, all of us actually) came down with a severe stomach bug that lasted for 5 days. The first day was non-stop vomitting accompanied by constant lows. Dexcom was there every step of the way, helping us judge when and how hard to push carbs. The endo sent us to the ER the first day since he also had large ketones. Fortunately he wasn't in DKA so they gave him some fluids and sent us home.
We lowered Lantus from 6 units to 3 units the first night. Still, we had lows and again Dexcom kept up and alerted us many times, all day and night. We finally had to do a mini glucagon dose because he couldn't eat anything else after an hour long fight with a stubborn low.
We finally lowered Lantus to 1 unit and since then, Dex has shown a nice steady line with no lows and nothing above 150, even after 8 oz of sprite! This really surprised me. No sharp inclines like I'm used to seeing. So Novolog is out of the question at this point. Sick days are so different!
He is just now beginning to eat more carbs but I have Dex to show me when I need to up the Lantus again and when we can reintroduce the Novolog. It was very stressful, but having CONTINUOUS DATA was a lifesaver in decision making during a potentially dangerous time. I don't even want to imagine being forced to make blind insulin decisions during illness. We had the full picture of what his blood sugar was doing, instead of periodic finger pokes with guessing in between.
I just read an article where a doctor was unsure of prescribing CGM because they don't know what people would do with all that data. This is the answer. We will use the data to make better decisions and prevent dangerous insulin dosing mistakes. Any doctor who is unconvinced that daily use of a CGM on a child is beneficial, please give me a call! I have an earful for you! :)
Becky, Mom to Mason, 7 Dexcom I-port
Mason (well, all of us actually) came down with a severe stomach bug that lasted for 5 days. The first day was non-stop vomitting accompanied by constant lows. Dexcom was there every step of the way, helping us judge when and how hard to push carbs. The endo sent us to the ER the first day since he also had large ketones. Fortunately he wasn't in DKA so they gave him some fluids and sent us home.
We lowered Lantus from 6 units to 3 units the first night. Still, we had lows and again Dexcom kept up and alerted us many times, all day and night. We finally had to do a mini glucagon dose because he couldn't eat anything else after an hour long fight with a stubborn low.
We finally lowered Lantus to 1 unit and since then, Dex has shown a nice steady line with no lows and nothing above 150, even after 8 oz of sprite! This really surprised me. No sharp inclines like I'm used to seeing. So Novolog is out of the question at this point. Sick days are so different!
He is just now beginning to eat more carbs but I have Dex to show me when I need to up the Lantus again and when we can reintroduce the Novolog. It was very stressful, but having CONTINUOUS DATA was a lifesaver in decision making during a potentially dangerous time. I don't even want to imagine being forced to make blind insulin decisions during illness. We had the full picture of what his blood sugar was doing, instead of periodic finger pokes with guessing in between.
I just read an article where a doctor was unsure of prescribing CGM because they don't know what people would do with all that data. This is the answer. We will use the data to make better decisions and prevent dangerous insulin dosing mistakes. Any doctor who is unconvinced that daily use of a CGM on a child is beneficial, please give me a call! I have an earful for you! :)
Becky, Mom to Mason, 7 Dexcom I-port