[Subby]

Bit more to answer your questions:

CGMS - continuous glucose monitoring system. This is another device attached subcutaneously (below skin) that will take BG (blood glucose) readings through the day, commonly a few minute interals I believe. In the case of the Minimed pump+CGMS real time system, it will send the results to the pump and you'll get a nice little graph showing your recent BG trends. I don't know exactly the details with it: haven't used that system. I think you can set a range for it to beep at you, ie, too high, too low.

It sounds great right? I'm guessing it is pretty good to "own": I've borrowed an older CGMS for a few days at a time, and it's wonderful to get graphs of your blood glucose trends, good for researching and analysing all your insulin factors - all depending on what effort you put in, of course.

A few things it doesn't do: it doesn't make insulin delivery automatic, it's doesn't make it a "closed loop"... you still need to make decisions. Instead it gives a lot more BG history feedback (and possibly a warning of you BG trend... nice). It doesn't negate finger sticks, you need to calibrate it with a few (4, 6) tests a day. It's expensive, of course depending on your insurance/subsidy options. It seems to come with it's own set of issues in regard to accuracy, and set problems (attaching it, sore sites etc).

I've noticed people who use it who really get a lot out of it, and I am very much looking forward to the time it is government subsidised in Australia. But I don't think there's an automatic argument to jump on board with it when starting pumping, unless absolutely sure that's what you want. You can always add it in later, if with Minimed.

People with more experience feel free to correct me, please.