good graphs showing glucose changes after 4 months on DEXCOM CGMS

[cwathne]

Hi everyone, I just uploaded some data from my dexcom cgms and figured that it would be good information for everyone to see, especially if you are thinking about getting a cgms.

Here are monthly charts of my glucose levels. I started on the dexcom in the middle of December 2008. It took me a couple weeks to really find out how to use it well, and over the last 4 months the results have been showing in the form of better glucose control.

for anyone who is not used to reading graphs like these it goes like this... orange dot is the average glucose reading at that specific time of day throughout the month; the rectangle around the orange dot shows the area that 50% of my readings for the month at that specific time have been in; the ends of the longer blue lines represent the highest and lowest that my blood sugar has been, and the area between the 50% box and the end of the blue line represent the highest and lowest 25% of readings

Graphs are ordered from top to bottom by date; January first, then Feb, then March, then April.

Jan
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/norwaygt/jan09dexcom.jpg

Feb
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/norwaygt/feb09dexcom.jpg

March
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/norwaygt/mar09dexcom.jpg

April
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/norwaygt/apr09dexcom.jpg

not perfect, but definitely an improvement :D

[Subby]

Nice one. Really helped to avoid/reduce your larger spikes, eh?

I can't say how much I look forward to CGMS becoming affordable in my parts.

[CaitE]

this is really cool!!!
Thanks for posting.

[shiftzor]

I want one :D. Do your meter readings back up your cgms? Just wondering how they compare.

[zoelula]

Could someone do me (and maybe other newbies) a favor and post a brief introduction to what a CGMS. It seems all the info on here is more detailed or comparing one model to another. I know it is a way to continuously track blood glucose, but that's it. Some questions I have is WHAT is it? Something that is inserted somehow into your body, around your wrist, or what? Does it show trends? Like after breakfast yesterday I was at 46 and I was worried and took glucose tablets over treating and causing a high. Would it have told me that I was 46 but going up? Also, in terms of the prevention of both hyper and hypo glycemia does it set off an alarm if you are low (or going low)? Just a general description of what a CGMS does would be very appreciated.
Zoe

[shiftzor]

Could someone do me (and maybe other newbies) a favor and post a brief introduction to what a CGMS. It seems all the info on here is more detailed or comparing one model to another. I know it is a way to continuously track blood glucose, but that's it. Some questions I have is WHAT is it? Something that is inserted somehow into your body, around your wrist, or what? Does it show trends? Like after breakfast yesterday I was at 46 and I was worried and took glucose tablets over treating and causing a high. Would it have told me that I was 46 but going up? Also, in terms of the prevention of both hyper and hypo glycemia does it set off an alarm if you are low (or going low)? Just a general description of what a CGMS does would be very appreciated.
Zoe

Look at this (towards the bottom) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_glucose_monitoring) which sums it up quite nicely. A sensor sits just below the skin monitoring glucose levels in intestinal fluid and reports back to a receiver/monitor which gives you averages/warnings/trends. Hope that helps.

[zoelula]

Thanks, Shiftzor; I never thought of looking in wikipedia!

[Gordonm]

I hate to be the downer here but you are getting spikes of up to 400? Your average is good but yo uwant to reduce the wild up/downs you are getting.

[Subby]

Ah, but you've missed the point. Watch that top spike point, as the months progress.

I wonder if there was something in particular to account for the sudden improvement in Feb, cwathne? I mean, sure the CGMS helped over this time, but it's really just informing you of your trends, you still have to manage your BG and make changes. What would you say are the top specific ways it did so?

[Gordonm]

Here is my CGMS chart from a MM sensor. This was taken from 4/22/09 to 4/28/09

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/72redvette/scan-2.jpg

[Gordonm]

Yes after looking at it again more carefully I can see great improvement. I was in a rush and did not see the months at the top.

Mine is just one of the charts that you can get and is a 1 week chart. The different colors are different days and the dotted line is the average. The CGMS is a great tool.

[GretchO]

Look at this (towards the bottom) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_glucose_monitoring) which sums it up quite nicely. A sensor sits just below the skin monitoring glucose levels in intestinal fluid and reports back to a receiver/monitor which gives you averages/warnings/trends. Hope that helps.

Interstitial fluid. The sensor is inserted below the skin and measures interstitial fluid (the fluid surrounding cells). The sensor has a small transmitter attached to it that transmits the fluid readings to your pump. You can set high and low blood sugar levels - when you reach these levels you get alarms. This is especially helpful (though kind of annoying) if you go low overnight.

While the interstitial fluid readings are about 15 minutes behind a reading you would get from a finger stick, you can and do see trends quite readily. I find the sensor very helpful while basal testing. Some people don't get a lot of accuracy from their sensors - I have had very good luck with mine. My sensor readings are usually very close to a finger stick reading.

You can insert sensors pretty much anywhere you'd put an infusion set - I use my lower back, sometimes my legs, sometimes my upper arms. I put an IV3000 over both the sensor and transmitter to keep everything nicely taped down so I rarely feel or know that I've got one inserted.

[cwathne]

I hate to be the downer here but you are getting spikes of up to 400? Your average is good but yo uwant to reduce the wild up/downs you are getting.
the top of the blue line in the graph is the highest single reading during the entire month

but you're right, its too high

[cwathne]

Ah, but you've missed the point. Watch that top spike point, as the months progress.

I wonder if there was something in particular to account for the sudden improvement in Feb, cwathne? I mean, sure the CGMS helped over this time, but it's really just informing you of your trends, you still have to manage your BG and make changes. What would you say are the top specific ways it did so?

letting me know when i am on the way to being high/low has made a large difference in my life.

I still have troubles with going high at night; i think that is a result from having 2 very bad hypo episodes; one a year ago, and one not long after my dx.

[GretchO]

letting me know when i am on the way to being high/low has made a large difference in my life.

I still have troubles with going high at night; i think that is a result from having 2 very bad hypo episodes; one a year ago, and one not long after my dx.

I've always had problems with lows over night - and I never have been able to detect them myself. The sensor was a tremendous help in setting good basal rates for me to reduce those, but I still sometimes have pretty severe lows. Again, the sensor is great for detecting them before they get too bad - though it's a pain to have it wake you up, it's sooooo much better to be able to treat right away and stave off a bad low and possible liver dump. Even now when the pump alarms that I'm going low over night I never believe it because "I feel fine!" - until I test and see that the sensor is correct. I don't wake up any more feeling like I've been hit by a bus from a bad low.

[Beckernj]

I have a cgm as well. My readings are about the same....I for one really hate injecting things into me(sucks being a diabetic lol)
so 2 things instead of 1(pump) is hard on my pschy Overall it is worth it tho

[alexalisbeth]

Graphs = AWESOME!

I just started my very first Dexcom sensor today and I'm psyched to start looking at the data as a whole.

One of my coworkers joked while I was pressing buttons that it looked like I was playing with one of those Tamagotchi toys and then though about it and said "Well, I guess you kind of are, except you REALLY can't let this one die..."