Guardian unit as extra monitor?

I read on the CGMS Yahoo group that someone has the MM pump plus CGMS, and then she has an extra Guardian unit that she uses as an extra monitor.

Does anyone here do that? How close does the unit have to be to the transmitter in order for you to get good readings? Any idea how much the Guardian unit itself costs?

Thanks in advance...

 

Interesting.........

Wow I have not heard of that. I believe the Guardian is at least a $1000 out of pocket. We are going to be one of the test families to try out the Century Monitor for the MM CGM. I am being told that the test got pushed back to April. Curious what the others say.

 

When we trialed cgms we used the guardian with the pump at the same time. I would like to use the guardian at night as it is easier to keep out from under the blankets and I don't care for the radio shack set up. The cost is what has stopped me so far as well as the hopes that the mysterious parent monitor will hit the market. For now I just try to lay the pump so it is falling off the bed, out from the covers, and hope he doesn't roll around too much.

 

That will work because the transmitter is not "smart". All the transmitter does is apply electrical current to the sensor and then transmits a signal. All the user has to do is enter the serial number in to each monitor. It is that easy.

This would apply to all cgms devices. Watch this video, and you will see that this can be easily done. http://youtube.com/watch?v=gGgfhcxD5FE

The guy in the video is demonstrating the importance of calibration with cgms using two meters-one accurate and one less acurrate, and he emphasizes that an accurate meter is vital for accurate cgms numbers.

 

So how does one know which meter is the most accurate? Is the Keynote that much more accurate than the One Touch? Who tests them, and how would we know?

 

Is the Century Monitor the same as the parent monitor? They're not testing it until April?!

 

Century

Yes the Century is the parent monitor. My understanding is that the testing is purely to see if the "average" person can put it together to work. I figure if I can do the CGM then I can put together the monitor I am like you in that I hope this is on the market soon.

 

That's amazing. Ours loses signal more than a few feet away, no matter what. Both with the original transmitter and the new one!

 

Accuracy is not that important, if you're talking about 5% vs. 10% or something like that.
It does not matter very much if BG is 100 when you think it's 90, what matters is if BG is
50 or 500 and you have no idea.

In that respect, even if there are small differences between two CGM receivers or BG meters,
you could go with either reading and you'd be fine.

Did you ever do two consecutive BG tests with the same meter? They rarely match within 5%.

 

Hi Kristin,
It is April ... are you trying out the Century Monitor yet? Is it dreamy? Are you sworn to secrecy? If so, feel free to once for no and twice for yes.

Thanks!
Rachel

 

In Canada, the Guardian is $2000.00 out of pocket

 

We do the same with our Dexcom, It is a great thing, he carries one in his pocket I carry mine with me and we also get readings when on different floors, the signal goes through most stuff except when it is near my laptop... I think the wireless signal confuses it? Anyway it is really nice not to have to ask him every 5 minutes when I need to get a reading off it. I don't know about the range on other systems but the dexcom works well for us.

 

How much did the extra Dexcom receiver cost?

 

I'll pm you

 

Bumping this to see if she has any info for us!

 

Our MM rep does this with a guardian - she wears the pump but also keeps the guardian around as an extra. She said we could do that if we'd like.

 

Ok, we are trying out the Guardian as extra monitor idea this week! Bless our great MM rep.

Could those of you using the Guardian give a quick summary of your settings, particularly the predictive ones? I need to learn this fast as I only have a week with it! Thanks!!

I'll keep you posted on how it goes for us.

 

Rachel, are you thinking about buying the Guardian unit? How much does just the Guardian cost?

 

I spoke with Minimed about this yesterday and they told me to add just the Guardian unit was $560. The warranty on the Guardian unit is only 1 year.

I really like the CGMS, but even with the low alert at 100 Kaylie is usually 60-70. The predictive alarms on the Guardian would be really nice.

If you could tell how the range is from the transmitter, it would be helpful.

 

We're just trying it out, Karla, to see if it would be worth the cost.

I think I am struggling with my son being in this in-between phase of independence (5, going into K in the fall). I want to respect his physical space more by not having to pull out his pump every time there is an alarm ... but he is not at the point of being able to interpret and act on the alarms himself. Does that make sense to anyone?

So an update:

Night time use: very nice to have the monitor out of the pump pack, hanging from the bed knob, particularly given the night of crazy high numbers and so, lots of checking. It was great to be able to just look at the screen without rummaging around for the pump.

We still used the RadioShack system to hear the alarms ... LOVED not hearing all the rustling. And it felt more respectful of his privacy. For example, after being tucked in, he likes to get up and "read" books by the light of his nightlight while we pretend we don't know. It was easier to pretend when I couldn't hear it happening!

Backyard: When hanging out in the back yard, we'll typically play a bit together, then we each go our own way for a bit (him to play, me to search for the hostas or other chores). I wore the Guardian and just by nature of our work/play flow, was able to pick up the data throughout it all. And when it alarmed, I just cleared it without bothering him or his pump. It worked well.

Shopping: Similar to backyard ... but always within range at the grocery story. We had an alarm so I just cleared it and threw him tab, rather than kneeling down, finding pump, etc. It seems like such a small thing, but it really feels better to be able to do it this way.

Range in house: The range isn't any better than the pump ... I found myself not keeping it on me, but moving it from room to room as he switched activities. I really really really wish the range were greater so we could just leave it on the diningroom table.

I had been hoping it could be used at school ... with the teacher having it clipped to her. But I don't think the range is great enough.

So, all in all, the ways it can help are subtle. Not sure yet that it is $560 worth of subtle.

Swimming lessons tomorrow will be another test ... we are envisioning it for swimming at the lake or pool, when we could put the pump in the cooler to protect the insulin, but leave the Guardian on (as Daryl's daughter does) or nearby. I'll let you know how it goes.