Libre 3 & Dexcom G7

[Tom1982]

Hello all.
After looking on line to try find the answers as to why these ain’t out yet, I’ve drawn a blank!
Why aren’t they available to buy yet? Give up waiting for NHS and going down self funding route but can’t.
Any answers appreciated.

Regards
Tom

 

[Sally71]

What has Dexcom G7 got that G6 hasn’t? If you’re self funding can’t you just use G6 until G7 is available and then change over? We have to use G6 because it links to daughter’s pump, and think it’s a pretty good system. Don’t know whether we will be able to use G7 when it comes out but as we think G6 is good I’m not sure it matters, as long as we have something that works. We are finding Dexcom much more accurate than Libre so will stick with what we have.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

What has Dexcom G7 got that G6 hasn’t?

It's smaller, doesn't need a separate transmitter, and each sensor lasts for 14 days. And faster startup.

Is it Worth it to Get the Dexcom G6 if G7 is Right Around the Corner? | Beyond Type 1

The anticipation about Dexcom G7 is exciting, but should people exploring a CGM for the first time wait or go for the G6? Here’s our advice!

beyondtype1.org

 

[Tom1982]

What has Dexcom G7 got that G6 hasn’t? If you’re self funding can’t you just use G6 until G7 is available and then change over? We have to use G6 because it links to daughter’s pump, and think it’s a pretty good system. Don’t know whether we will be able to use G7 when it comes out but as we think G6 is good I’m not sure it matters, as long as we have something that works. We are finding Dexcom much more accurate than Libre so will stick with what we have.

Purely a size thing. She’s so little her arm would be swamped by the G6. How’s the G6 been for your daughter? Has it been reliable?

 

[helli]

Purely a size thing. She’s so little her arm would be swamped by the G6. How’s the G6 been for your daughter? Has it been reliable?

I thought Dexcom does not have to go on the arm. When I trialled it, I used it on my belly.

 

[Sally71]

My daughter usually puts them on her arms, although she did do one or two on her abdomen. Seems to work fine wherever, we’ve had very few problems with them. I’m not aware that there are any rules about where they should or should not go. Smaller and quicker start up sounds good but we occasionally get problems getting them to stay on for 10 days (especially if it’s hot and she’s sweating under them) so I don’t know how we’d manage for 14 days - although we did have Libre for a few years and they stayed on!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Smaller and quicker start up sounds good but we occasionally get problems getting them to stay on for 10 days

I guess if it's smaller (and doesn't need a transmitter) it might well stick on better.

 

[Tom1982]

So for us at the moment, without a CGM, when would you check BG levels after a meal? Real example, it’s Saturday and I try to give the missus a day off of all the carb counting and so on, plus Jo has been unwell so none of us are sleeping well. Finished breakfast at 11:30 (don’t judge me, I was knackered!) an hour later should I be checking BG levels or leave it a bit? If I do check and she’s high, would you correct or wait a bit more??? Daft question I know.

 

[helli]

So for us at the moment, without a CGM, when would you check BG levels after a meal? Real example, it’s Saturday and I try to give the missus a day off of all the carb counting and so on, plus Jo has been unwell so none of us are sleeping well. Finished breakfast at 11:30 (don’t judge me, I was knackered!) an hour later should I be checking BG levels or leave it a bit? If I do check and she’s high, would you correct or wait a bit more??? Daft question I know.

Fast acting insulin keeps working for about 4 hours. Unless Jo eats any more in that time, I would avoid a correction dose within those 4 hours.
I would definitely not be correcting after an hour: I’d be unlikely to test that soon after eating.

 

[Tom1982]

Fast acting insulin keeps working for about 4 hours. Unless Jo eats any more in that time, I would avoid a correction dose within those 4 hours.
I would definitely not be correcting after an hour: I’d be unlikely to test that soon after eating.

Always a bit concerned I got the dose wrong and she’ll be low. When I checked she was 16.6. Why would it go up so high?

 

[helli]

Always a bit concerned I got the dose wrong and she’ll be low. When I checked she was 16.6. Why would it go up so high?

Because she is unwell which raises her levels?
Because the food started working before the insulin?
Because she has been moving around less than usual?
Because she has noticed your stress and got stressed herself?
Because you did not give her a large enough bolus?
There are many reasons - there is a reference which talks about the 42 things that affect blood sugars.
If you have keto test strips, it may be worth checking keto levels when she is higher than 15.
You mention she is unwell, do you have sick day rules to follow?

 

[Tom1982]

Yeah 1.6 ketones. That’s obviously higher than usual but is it a concern? She’s got another poxy cough and cold. Does type one make you more susceptible to colds and so on?

 

[rebrascora]

I agree with ecverything @helli has said.

What was her premeal reading? If she was a bit high to start with before breakfast then levels are more likely to go higher rather than come down. No judgement here, because I eat at all sorts of odd times, but if her breakfast was delayed for whatever reason, her liver will pump out more glucose (Dawn Phenomenon/Foot on the Floor) for which there is no insulin to deal with it, so that will cause her levels to be higher than usual. Once levels get above range (for me above 8) my body almost ignores the insulin I have injected, sometimes for hours, particularly in the morning. If I eat before they come down then they go high and stay high, so I have a rule where I don't eat carbs when my levels are above 8, but wait for the bolus insulin I have injected to bring them down below 8 before I eat. As an adult I can do that and it might be a couple of hours or even longer that I can be waiting to eat my food. That is not really practical with a child and obviously without CGM you would have to do lots of finger pricking to check for levels coming down which isn't practical, so you just have to accept that you will get these spikes. Of course if you didn't test, you wouldn't know, but I can appreciate that your concern over hypos with a young child is real and you wanting that reassurance. Definitely would not correct at the one or even 2 hour stage especially without CGM.

 

[Sally71]

When my daughter was first diagnosed at age 6 we had no access to any sensors at all and were told to test before each mealtime and at bedtime, and only in between if we thought she might be low or something. So that’s what we did, I’ve never got into the habit of regular post-prandial tests because I don’t see the point, you know they are going to have gone up after food!

With illness you need to test more but I wouldn’t bother more often than every couple of hours. Ketones of 1.6 is just about OK if she hasn’t been eating (starvation ketones), with a BG of 16 as well though you probably do need to do a correction. Check the sick day rules.

 

[rebrascora]

Oh dear, ketones over 1 are not ideal, but maybe if her breakfast was very late that might be a factor ie starvation ketones. Her waking/prebreakfast reading might be relevant in deciding what to do about giving her a correction now. Ie if it looks like she may have been high most of the night then those ketones would be more of a concern, rather than a waking reading of say 6 or 7 and then spiking after breakfast, in which case I would ensure that she drinks plenty of low carb fluids. 200mls per hour is the recommended fluid intake for adults with illness but not sure for a child.
You say she has a cold.... Could it be Covid?
I have been healthier and less prone to getting anything since diagnosis 3 years ago so I think if BG levels are stable and mostly in range then we are no more likely to be prone to illness than anyone else but with higher or more erratic BG then that will make us more vulnerable I believe. Obviously it is much more difficult to control the levels of a small child, so that is not in any way a reflection of your diabetes management or criticism in any way. You are on a very steep learning curve and it takes time when you are managing your own diabetes to figure it out but infinitely harder when you are trying to manage the levels of a little one who can't tell you when they feel hypo or hyper.

 

[helli]

Does type one make you more susceptible to colds and so on?

Not particularly. I have not suffered from more illness than friends and colleagues in the last 20 years since I was diagnosed.

Being aged 3 (and being around children) seems to mean more illness regardless of diabetes.

 

[rayray119]

What has Dexcom G7 got that G6 hasn’t?

I believe the dexcom G7 has been tested to reveal only a 3.5 minute delay(even with excise apparently I'll try and find the vedio I watched which said that.

 

[rayray119]

I believe the dexcom G7 has been tested to reveal only a 3.5 minute delay(even with excise apparently I'll try and find the vedio I watched which said that.

 

[mikeyB]

Well, I'm on Dexcom list for getting an email as soon as the G7 is available. I won't consider the Libre 3 because of the poor consumer service that Abbott have. They have a subscription that gives me 3 months supply of sensors and a new transmitter, and it always arrives at the time I start my last sensor.

If there is a problem with a sensor, which is rare, ring them and a new sensor will arrive the next day. Abbott won't do next day delivery, even if you offer them the money to pay for it.

I assume that the subscription will continue as normal with the G7, which is much smaller which means i can use it on my arm. The G6 is just too big to put on my arm, so I spend my time shaving areas of my abdomen to stick it down, where it is quite safe (I never sleep in the prone position).