Ever been on a CGMS?

[koblenz]

Anyone ever been on one of those Constant Glucose Monitors?

I am going to be hooked up next Friday for 3 days. My CDE wants to "fine-tune" my lantus & Novolog before I start my pump training in a few months. She also said she likes to put her patients on one every few years as a sort of check-up.

I have to be VERY strict with my carbo counting, exercise and such during this period, but I guess it is supposed to be a great way to get a "better picture".

I have noticed since joining here that this seems to be a great place to vent and fish for ideas and comments.

... so I will be needing some good come backs to the "borg" and "Darth Vader" jokes I will certainly be getting at work. :rolleyes:

[JasonSmithMT]

Ah yes ... the Borg joke. That was the first thing my partners at work came up with. Still looking for a good come back. Haven't got the Darth Vader one yet. :rolleyes:

My guess is that those kind of jokes are real likely for those of us in the IT field. I have a MM 512 which has RF communication built in and my partners are already trying to figure out what the right RS232 command they can send over 916.5 MHz to put my pump in Suspend mode. UGH!

I haven't been on cgms but it would be a great way to fine tune your doses. I've heard of several doctors who take this approach. Good luck.

Jason

[Shalyndria]

Wow you have a great CDE, koblenz! Sounds like she's actively interested in seeing you achieve your optimum control. The legwork that you do now will also make the transition to pumping much easier.

I've never been on a CGMS but I'd love to try one. We've discussed them several times before, so you might want to use the forums search engine to read the past posts (if you haven't already).
Good luck and let us know what you think of it when you're finished! :)

Shy

[Belinda]

I have been on a CMGS twice. My endo like yours likes to hook his patients up every so often.......(not in the summer again due to the don't get it wet problem and I love the pool). The thing he told me is to do what I normally do. Don't change anything due to the fact that I am wearing the CMGS. This will and did give him an accurate view of the carb ratio. For example.....pasta kicks in alot later for me, so I ate it and did what I normally do when I eat it. This is where we discovered it kicks in two/half hours later due to this handy device....so just do what you normally do, keep records of it like your suppose to and enjoy the results....it is not a bad thing to see and gives you a better view of how your body works. Keep us posted.

[am1977]

I'm with Shy. I have always been interested in trying this myself, just to get a little insight into my blood sugar readings. I've run it by my Endo, but he isn't so enthusiastic about it, don't know why, but I'd still be interested in seeing the results of the monitoring.

Let us know how it goes for you and what you find out. Hopefully, it will be helpful to your treatment plan. :)

[Belinda]

I think I will ask in October if I could wear one again..it has been a while since the last hook up....

[koblenz]

Thanks for the advice gang!

Yeah Shy, being new to diabetes, I think I lucked out getting this Endo / CDE combo. However, I did interview several in my med group before picking this one; but of course at that time, I didn't know what the heck I was doing. :confused:

I get hooked up on Sep 17th and disconnected on Sep 20th. Sep 20th is also my first pre-pump "consultation".

I will post the results and my impressions on this thread! Stay tuned.....

[Dewey]

Hey Koblenz,

I have been on a CGMS, and it was pretty cool. I wore it for a 72 hour period, and got the results printed out and given to me at the endo's office. One thing I didn't like was the fact that it wouldn't show the results to me, but I knew that going in (as it was in the trial phase). If not for the price, I'd certainly look into owning one. It's kind of a glucowatch and sleep sentry all in one (only it's invasive...). Good luck, and please do keep us posted! :)

[gettingby]

Never been on one but I sure would like to know how it goes.
Cin

[UCOChick]

I have been on the CGMS twice. The first time went great, no problems and my results helped a lot with changing my insulin intake. The second time I wore it, which was a month later, the system kept messing up and the infusion set wouldnt stay put. I eventually took it off and said...Find another guinea pig...so frustrating when you are a full time college student and you have to fix the CGMS every 10 minutes

[JasonSmithMT]

UCOChick - I'm curious are you using or have you used an insulin pump? I've never used CGMS but from what I gathered I envision the insertion to be very similar to a infusion site. I wonder if the CGMS insertion is more difficult to maintain than an infusion site insertion.

Jason

[koblenz]

Update Jason...

I just received an appointment reminder e-mail from my CDE and she included the following in the e-mail:

"You will have a small plastic cannula under your skin in you abdomen that is attached to a small device (about the size of a pager) for 72 hours. It will measure blood glucose every 3 minutes for the 3 days and you cannot disconnect from it during that time. At the end of the three days, the device is downloaded to the computer and we get a three day read out of blood sugar values."

I will let you know the details when I get it attached on Friday.

[UCOChick]

No I have not used an insulin pump, I should be recieving it soon though. The insertion is exactly the same, but for some reason, since I am an athletic person, the CGMS didnt want to work with me during that I guess.

[nantomsuethom]

Thomas wore a CGM a couple of weeks ago. I would definitely have him wear it again. His CDE called the other day and changed his basals. Since the change in basals he has not felt those sudden drops. Its only been a few days, hopefully it stays that way.
He also wished he could see the # on the meter.

[JasonSmithMT]

Koblenz - let us know how the CGMS goes.

UCOChick - Good luck with the pump. I think you will love it. Hopefully you won't run into problems keeping your insertion site inserted.

Jason

[koblenz]

Another update...

Had it removed this morning, and they are supposed to download and send me my results in about a week or so.

The infusion set looking cannula was "installed" in my upper-back buttocks. Did not hurt as much as I was expecting. The tape they used to hold it on itched pretty bad, but I got used to that.

- I still had to do my own BS tests and enter those numbers in the unit. It would not display it's readings to the user however.
- When I took a shot, I had to hit a button on the unit
- When I ate a meal, I had to hit a button on the unit.
- I had to keep a log of all BS tests, inections, meals, snacks, carbs, etc.

So except for the itching part, it was not too bad. Lots of keeping track of stuff for a few days, but hey, it was for my own good. Overall it was not bad at all.

More when I receive my results....

[koblenz]

OK, another update... I am going to attempt to attach an image of the results, lets see if it posts OK.

My CDE faxed me a copy of one of the graphs that is produced by the software. It is all five days of monitoring on one graph. As it is a fax copy, it is a little hard to read.

My CDE and Endo are going to be e-mailing over the next few days with recommendations and adjustments. When I go in for my next appointment at the end of this month, I will get to see the pretty color printouts of all the reports produced.

Now, onto my results. Pretty interesting and I am still digesting the results. Obviously, I will need to make a few adjustments for my post-breakfast levels, but my overnight numbers look pretty good IMHO. I am a little suspect of some of the periods shown and the reliability of the readings, as they fall and rise again dramatically over a very short period of time.

I have a few ideas of what I might do to improve my readings. I am going to suggest to my CDE and let her wisdom and experience overrule me where needed; as I am still pretty new to diabetes (7 months since Dx).

But how cool is this? Only a few years ago, something like this was science fiction and we would still be guessing at most of it.

[Belinda]

Today my endo changed some of my basal rates and then has me coming back in on Nov. 11 to view results and meet with him and a CDE and decide if I want to get the CGMS again for the 3rd time...he wants it done before the first of the year if I do it...I wanted it today so you can only imagine how I will be by the 11th....

[koblenz]

I can certainly understand that Belinda, I would have wanted it to. On the otherhand, if he could only hook you up once, I think I would prefer it be hooked up after some time on the new regimen....hmmmm.

My doctor told me that each time they hook someone up, it is like an $800.00 charge to the Ins Co. So maybe that had a factor in his decision; but it shouldn't.

Well, good luck with the adjustments and getting monitored again.

[Belinda]

Originally posted by koblenz


My doctor told me that each time they hook someone up, it is like an $800.00 charge to the Ins Co. So maybe that had a factor in his decision; but it shouldn't.

Well, good luck with the adjustments and getting monitored again.


I am not sure in one year I was hooked up twice...once in the summer and then in the winter! go figure....he is really good about writing things so that they are "medically necessary" and I have had no trouble with the insurance but then again....new laws and deductibles each Jan!!!