CGMs; Continous Glucose Monitors

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jax

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi guys,

I kinda have this idea in my head, that when there are good, convenient and easy to use CGMs (for truly continuous use) available, most my problems will be over. This is of course a fiction I have convinced myself.

I am aware, though, there are ones you can get currently that you can use for short periods. I still think it would be mighty helpful; especially at the moment while I’m trying to work out what peculiar pattern my body has working for it.

So does anyone know what CGMs are available on the NHS/Privately. How useful they actually are? What they are like to use? (Possibly how much do they cost if you need to get them privately) How do they work? Are they worth it? etc? etc? etc?

So has anyone used a CGM… please tell me all about it… I have a hospital appointment next week, so I thought should do my research in case I feel so bold to try and wrangle anything specialist out of my doctor.

Cheers all,

Jax
 
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Hi
I've been lent a CGMS from my hospital for the last 8 weeks (as i'm pregnant & i've lost my hypo warning signs symptoms i can drop from 9.5 to 1.7 in 45mins & not feel a thing!!!!)
The CGMS they have lent me is a freestyle Navigator by Abbott it is very big & bulky it comes in 2 parts the sensor that you wear for 5 days at a time & the receiver that shows you your readings you can set different high/low alarms to alert you if your going high/low it also gives you your readings in a line graph so you can see your trends. You have to have the receiver within 5meters of you or it loses it connection the receiver is big (bigger than my insulin pump).
I haven't used any other CGMS but i'm hoping that when my pump is upgraded in oct i can get a medtronic veo & CGMS, the sensors are much much smaller & the info is sent to your pump rather than having to have a seperate receiver. It's been great being able to get a good idea of my overnight patterns without having to do hourly finger pricks overnight.
I hope thats helped!!
Most clinics will lend you a CGMS for a short time to see what your patterns are so its always worth asking. 🙂
 
Hi Jax,

I had a CGM for 3 days. It was useful in that it showed up rising blood sugars over night. It was a bit of a pain because it kept beeping at me due to the connection being a bit wobbly (I was moving around an awful lot with it in!) The night time bit which I was most owrried about was fine, I was completely oblivious to it while sleeping!

Definitely worth asking for. I got mine purely because I was struggling with my levels and happened to be in the right place at the right time! Good luck!
 
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