5-day CGMS: any advice?

[Sweetkidmom]

Hello All :)
I seem to be asking a lot of questions!
My daughter (12) is due to go for a 5-day CGMS so that we can better set her pump settings as her bg's are all over the place and her last HbA1c has worsened from 6.0 to 7.4.

Does anyone have any advice for what we can do to maximise the usefulness of this exercise? It is really expensive and as both the start and finish involve driving to the nearest city (1.5 hrs away), there are petrol costs as well (or gas, as you call it) so I really want to get the best use out of it.

Thanks for any advice you can give me... :cwds:

Kay

[faithe113001]

Well, I did the CGMS for three days about a year ago. I thought it was kind of a pain, you can't take it off for showers and it's very bulky. But the information we got from it was awesome. Are you going on it all the time, or just for a 5 day trial to see how the BGs are running 24/7?

[faithe113001]

Sorry, didn't read your post close enough. Since the CGMS tells you how your sugars are running 24/7, just go about life as normal. Then you'll get good results.

[Sweetkidmom]

just go about life as normal. Then you'll get good results.
Thanks faithe. I've also decided that we are going to write down EVERY little thing that happens during this period so that hopefully we can check responses to things.
Kay

[maverickmom (Kerri)]

When we used it we kept very careful records of everything that might influence the bgs. It is a pain but it will give you extremely helpful information in the long run. We used the CGMS twice, a couple of years apart. The first time, it quit working after about 12hrs or so, so we didn't get any useful information out of it. The 2nd time (which was after a very long waiting list), we got 5 days out of it, at which time my daughter decided that was enough data. :) It was very helpful. Even if you only get 3 days of data it will help you sort things out! Good luck!

[rickst29]

Just in case anyone reads this Thread-- it's very old, and discusses the kind of "Continuous Monitor" which you would take home for a few days, then take back to the Dr.s Office for analysis.

Continuous Glucose Monitors aren't a "one time" thing anymore-- they're now small, very convenient and comfortable, and you use them CONTINUOUSLY-- forever, not just for a few days. They have back-lit displays, showing you not just your current bG but also graphs for the last several hours. You click to see graphs for longer versus shorter periods.

The two vendors right now are Minimed (the "RT" system), and Dexcom (the "STS" system). Abbott labs has been showing and talking about a Product for many months, but it hasn't been approved by the FDA yet.

The Minimed comes in both a "by itself" version and a "combined with Pump" version for the pump model 722. Dexcom is exclusively "by itself". Minimed has two things pasted on your body, the Sensor and a separate Transmitter. Dexcom pastes on only the Sensnor, the tiny transmitter clips into the Sensor and doesn't get pasted down separately.

For many users, Dexcom has accuracy problems when they sweat heavily. Neither of these currently-available systems is waterproof, although the yet-to-be-approved Abbott is supposed to be waterproof.

NEARLY ALL USERS CAN RUN THEIR SENSORS FOR ***MUCH*** LONGER THAN THE FDA-APPROVED 72 HOURS. I personally replace Sensors after 17-20 days, instead of the official 3 days. Both MM and Dexcom Sensors can be used for multiple 3-day periods. Since Sensors cost about $35 each, that makes a huge difference in the cost of owning one of these modern CGM devices.

I don't know anyone who gets Sensors to consistently last longer than I do, my lucky results are probably due to the fact that I sweat very little and the humidity is very low where I live (Reno). But many people get 10-15 days, a few people get only 6-7 (making them unhappy). YMMV, but I don't know of ANYONE who settles for only 3 days per Sensor. For most people, this brings the cost is down in the $2000-$2500/year range, not the $4000-5000 cost which you would get by using the FDA 72-hour restricted Sensor life.

My advice is: If you think that you might benefit from one of these, GET ONE! For most users, living with a CGM is so much better than they thought it would be, that they're simply AMAZED. :D Dexcom is sold with a 30-day trial, there's no risk of being "out" the money if it doesn't work for you.