Continuos Blood Check Monitor on the news...

[AndreLaplume]

This may be old hat to the folks here and I myself heard about it 'coming' a year ago. Well, it was on the local Philadelphia new last night. A wireless blood glucose montior that moitors levels every 5 minutes and has an audible alarm for highs and lows. The hand held portion of the wireless unit looked a bit large. The part that attaches to your belly looked small, similar to that found on the pump. Benefits were touted as better glucose control, no more finger sticks (lady said she eliminated 8 to 10 day) and the need to only change the probe (not sure what they call it) twice a week. Downsides were that it is not covered by insurance and costs about $1000 (not too bad I thought---in fact I am not sure why insurance would not cover it at that price?), the probes that must be replaced twice a week and cost $35 each (guess thats why insurance is not covering it!), company says it may not be as accurate as a finger stick (news anchor said docs say it should be close enough though---huh?)

Anyway, the fact that it was on the news may mean folks will get it, the price will come down and insurance will cover it. It sounds like a great idea if it works. Ideally it would be combined with a pump at ome point too. I would guess they need to get the price of the probe thingy's down to about $4 each before insurance will cover this...figure thats about $32 a month which is what they likely already cover in lancets per month on average. Of course if the unit improves control by leaps and bounds almost immediately, then they'd likely cover it soonner to eliminate future charges due to complications....


Anyone have something like this....whats your opinion?

[Cyborg]

Had the Dexcom CGMS for awhile. Got sick of the false alarms and poor customer service. I ended up sending my unit back. I posted a thread here on the forum of my daily experiences with the device.

[Funnygrl]

Had the Dexcom CGMS for awhile. Got sick of the false alarms and poor customer service. I ended up sending my unit back. I posted a thread here on the forum of my daily experiences with the device.
I thought you liked the customer service, it just wasn't accurate enough?

[NoelD]

Mini Med is backordered on theirs for about 3 months right now, and a new transmitter is in the works with a rechargeable battery, because the current one dies in about 9 months now (yes, $1000 every 9 months). They are in talks with insurance companies as well. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of GA is paying for it right now, but on a case by case basis only. It is accurate, as long as you calibrate it at least 2x a day with fingersticks, and ONLY when your BG is stable, not rapidly changing. Calibrating 4x a day would make it even more accurate. I wore a trial of the CGMS GOLD, one that doesn't show you on the screen what your BG is, but stores the info for removal by your DR. It was 100% accurate for me as long as my BG didn't rapidly rise or fall really fast, and I did calibrate it 4x a day when my BG's were stable. The one they have now that I am getting is integrated with my insulin pump, wirelessly.

[Johnny C]

Hey I’m form Philadelphia too! I didn’t catch the news article so I’m not sure which one they are talking about but I have had the Minimed Guardian Realtime CGM for a while now. I had to go to a doctor in Austin Texas to get one as its release was limited to only a few cities in the U.S.
Like the other forum member said Mini Med makes a pump now that you can get a kit for CGM so you don’t need to have two devices on you. I like the Guardian it is by no means 100% accurate , sometimes it pretty close it is useful for seeing trends in you blood sugar and great because it records all of these readings so you can go to your CDE and download, make charts see where improvements could be made. If you live around Philadelphia and don’t have a CDE I highly recommend Gary Scheiner he has helped me a lot and is my diabetes Guru if you could call it that
Integrated Diabetes Services - Diabetes Management (http://www.integrateddiabetes.com/)
Anyway
Its not perfect and it’s a shame that the insurance company people are reluctant to shell out for it. But I really like it n being able to hit a button and see more or less where I’m at is always nice. Never had a severe low on it so I can't complain.
Once Minimed comes out with the newer transmitter for their 522/722 type pumps that will probably be the way to go for people interested in CGMs (I heard the word on the street is it would be around april but who knows for sure). Here is a link comparing the two

Diabetes Wise: Guardian RT vs Paradigm REAL-Time System (http://www.diabetes-wise.net/2006/09/cgm_comparison.html)

John

[orsaugen]

Another Philadelphian here. I have had Type 1 for 64 years and strive hard to control my glucose levels, meaning I want to stay low, preferrably below 100 mg/dl. When I first heard about the DexCom CGMS I immediately wanted to try it, and got my unit in January of this year. I used to have a serious or semi-serious hypoglycemic incident twice a month or so, often winding up in the emergency room. I have not had a single hypoglycemic incident since I went on DexCom, and although there are some weaknesses in the system (this is brand new technology) I wouldn't want to be without it. There is a DexCom nurse/rep in Philadelphia, and if you call the company in San Diego, you can get her whereabouts. I warmly recommend it, and would love to hear back from you what you decide to do.
Best regards!

[Gordonm]

Typical of a news story. It is about a year to late for "breaking" news about diabetes. I hear this and get excited that it is some new development about things to come out only to find out I heard about the "breaking" new technology 6 months before the news cast. That being said the big obsticle of CGMS is the insurance companies covering the cost. When that happens you will see a lot more people on it. Me for one! I have considered it heavily to do it on my own but it is quite expensive. I have had Diabetes for 32 years now and just recently went on the pump. Greatest thing going. Combine it with a CGMS and you have the latest technology available for diabetics. There is something always on the horizon but if you wait to hear it from the news you will be about 6 to 12 months to late. Stay tuned here on the forum for the latest updates.